Arkadi, Therison and Kayales:
Symbols in the Struggle for Enosis
TONY J. KOCOLAS
N
ovember 1 and December 1, 2013, are glorious
dates in Cretan history; they represent 100 years of
ENOSIS, or the union of Crete with Mother Greece. On
November 1, 1913, Turkey formally renounced its claim
to Crete in favor of Greece. On December 1, 1913, the
Greek flag was formally raised in Crete, with the major
officials of the Greek government and the Greek king
in attendance, marking the formal union of Crete with
Greece. This anniversary epitomizes the successful conclusion of 700 years of armed struggle by the people of
Crete against foreign domination.
After 1830, when Greece became independent, the objective of all Cretan revolts was ENOSIS, or union with
Mother Greece. There are numerous symbols in this
struggle for freedom, but the ones that had the most
emotional and significant impact were the Holocaust of
Arkadi in 1866, the Battle at Therison in 1889, and the
heroism of Spyros Kayales (Kayaledakis) in 1897. These
symbolic events had a profound impact on the people
of Crete and Greece and international opinion leading
—
to ENOSIS.
The Cretan revolts started long before the independence of Greece in 1830. The British historian Michael
Llewellan Smith bluntly states, “The history of Crete under the Turks is the history of her revolts.” The earliest
major Greek revolt against Turkish rule was in Crete in
1770 under the immortal Sfakiano Daskaloyiannis. As
most students of Cretan history know, Daskaloyiannis
suffered a martyr’s death.
The Cretans heroically fought during the war for Greek
independence from 1821 to 1830, but were not permitted to join Greece after Hellas became independent. Af8
KPHTH | NOVEMBER 2013
ter 1830 the objective of all Cretan revolts would be
ENOSIS, or union with Mother Greece. Between 1841
and 1865 there were four significant revolts against
Turkish/Egyptian rule. The Turks would promise reforms; then resume their mistreatment of the people
of Crete.
ARKADI
In May 1866 the people of Crete again revolted against
the hated Turks. The revolt spread like wildfire. The
fearless Cretans defeated Turkish forces throughout
the island and confined Turkish rule to a handful of
urban centers. Hundreds of volunteers from the Greek
mainland joined their Cretan brothers in the struggle
for freedom. It seemed as if the dream of ENOSIS
might be achieved. Unfortunately, the Turks were
committed to crushing the uprising at all costs.
Since Turkey had no fear of a confrontation with any
major power, they sent tens of thousands of troops to
Crete to crush the revolt. By early October 1866, the
Turks gained control of most of the island and pursued the Cretan revolutionaries.
By late 1866 the core of the revolutionaries fortified
themselves at the Monastery of Arkadi, a few miles
from the town of Rethymnon. The Cretan force consisted of barely 1,000 people, of whom less than 300
were combatants. The Turkish force besieging Arkadi
numbered more than 15,000 men with 30 cannon. The
Cretans beat back numerous assaults on Arkadi and
rejected all Turkish offers for surrender. On November 8, 1866, a massive Turkish assault broke through
Arkadi’s defenses and the fall of the fortress became