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SPYROS KAYALES
The Cretan revolt of 1897 started with the massacre of
Christians in Chania in January 1897. A resolution by
Cretan revolutionaries from Akrotiri, near Chania, declared the end of Turkish rule and asked the king of Greece
to occupy the island. On February 3, a small force from
Greece under Colonel Timoleon Vassos landed in western
Crete with a vague declaration implying ENOSIS.
The Great Powers (Britain, France, Italy, Austria, Germany and Russia) sent a fleet to prevent war between
Greece and Turkey, told Vassos not to enter Chania, and
ordered the Greek revolutionaries to leave Akrotiri and
haul down the flag of Greece that had been raised.
The Cretan revolutionaries at Akrotiri defied the Great
ry
THERISON
In July-August 1889, a Cretan revolutionary movement
declared ENOSIS with Greece. The Turks effectively
maintained control of the major population centers and
defeated major revolutionary action. However, at the
village of Therison, in the interior southwest of Chania,
the Cretan revolutionaries successfully, and defiantly, resisted Turkish attacks.
Turkish authorities were determined to defeat the
Therison insurgents with a large force from throughout
the island. The Therison revolutionaries were reinforced
by men from all of the surrounding villages. In an epic
battle, in which the Christian defenders used the geography to their advantage, the significantly outnumbered
Cretans routed a large Turkish force, inflicting massive
casualties on the Muslim attackers.
The victory at Therison confirmed the soul of Crete.
The interior could not be conquered and the seeds of future ENOSIS efforts were intact.
Powers, whereupon the fleet commenced a bombardment of the Cretan positions at Akrotiri. The flag of
Greece was shot down. The Greek flag was re-hoisted
on a smaller flag pole, but it was also shot down. There
were no more flag poles.
At this point, the hero Spyros Kayales took the Greek
flag and used his body as a flagpole. Through their telescopes, admirals from the fleet saw the Greek flag flying from the human flagpole of Kayales and ordered
an end to the shelling. Cretan bravery had conquered
the hearts of the foreign naval officers. Vice Admiral
Canevaro later wrote, “The raising of the flag in this
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