PYRRHUS: KING OF EPIRUS

Early life
Pyrrhus was the son of Aeacides of Epirus and Phthia, and a second cousin of Alexander the Great. Prince of one of the Alexandrian successor states, Pyrrhus' childhood and youth went by in unquiet conditions. He was only two years old when his father was dethroned and the family took refuge with Glaukias, king of the Taulanti, one of the largest Illyrian tribes.

Later, the Epirotes called him back but he was dethroned again at the age of 17 when he left his kingdom to attend the wedding of Glaukias' son in Illyria. In the wars of the diadochi Pyrrhus fought beside his brother-in-law Demetrius I of Macedon on the losing side in the pivotal Battle of Ipsus (301 BC). Later, he was made a hostage of Ptolemy I Soter by a treaty between Ptolemy I and Demetrius. Pyrrhus married Ptolemy I's stepdaughter Antigone and in 297 BC, with Ptolemy I's aid, restored his kingdom of Epirus. Next he went to war against his former ally Demetrius. By 286 BC he had deposed his former brother-in-law and taken control over the kingdom of Macedon. Pyrrhus was driven out of Macedon by Lysimachus, his former ally, in 284 BC.

Struggle with Rome

In 281 BC, the Greek city of Tarentum, in southern Italy, fell out with Rome and was faced with a Roman attack and certain defeat. Rome had already made itself into a major power, and was poised to subdue all the Greek cities in Magna Graecia. The Tarentines asked Pyrrhus to lead their war against the Romans.
Pyrrhus was encouraged to aid the Tarentines by the oracle of Delphi. His goals were not, however, selfless. He recognized the possibility of carving out an empire for himself in Italy. He made an alliance with Ptolem Ceraunus, King of Macedon and his most powerful neighbor, and arrived in Italy in 280 BC.
He entered Italy with an army consisting of 3,000 cavalry, 2,000 archers, 500 slingers, 20,000 infantry and 20 war elephants in a bid to subdue the Romans.
Due to his superior cavalry and his elephants he defeated the Romans, led by Consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, in the Battle of Heraclea in 280 BC. There are conflicting sources about casualties. Hieronymus of Cardia reports the Romans lost about 7,000 while Pyrrhus lost 3,000 soldiers, including many of his best. Dionysius gives a bloodier view of 15,000 Roman dead and 13,000 Greek. Several tribes including the Lucani, Bruttii, Messapians, and the Greek cities of Croton and Locri joined Pyrrhus. He then offered the Romans a peace treaty which was eventually rejected. Pyrrhus spent winter in Campania.
When Pyrrhus invaded Apulia (279 BC), the two armies met in the Battle of Asculum where Pyrrhus won a very costly victory. The consul Publius Decius Mus was the Roman commander, and his able force, though defeated, broke the back of Pyrrhus' Hellenistic army, and guaranteed the security of the city itself. The battle foreshadowed later Roman victories over more numerous and well armed successor state military forces and inspired the term "Pyrrhic victory", meaning a victory which comes at a crippling cost. At the end, the Romans had lost 6,000 men and Pyrrhus 3,500 but, while battered, his army was still a force to be reckoned with.

Ruler of Sicily

In 278 BC, Pyrrhus received two offers simultaneously. The Greek cities in Sicily asked him to come and drive out Carthage, which along with Rome was one of the two great powers of the Western Mediterranean. At the same time, the Macedonians, whose King Ceraunus had been killed by invading Gauls, asked Pyrrhus to ascend the throne of Macedon. Pyrrhus decided that Sicily offered him a greater opportunity, and transferred his army there.
Pyrrhus was proclaimed king of Sicily. He was already making plans for his son Helenus to inherit the kingdom of Sicily and his other son Alexander to be given Italy. In 277 Pyrrhus captured Eryx, the strongest Carthaginian fortress in Sicily. This prompted the rest of the Carthaginian-controlled cities to defect to Pyrrhus.
In 276 BC, Pyrrhus negotiated with the Carthaginians. Although they were inclined to come to terms with Pyrrhus, supply him money and send him ships once friendly relations were established, he demanded that Carthage abandon all of Sicily and make the Libyan Sea a boundary between themselves and the Greeks. Meanwhile he had begun to display despotic behavior towards the Sicilian Greeks and soon Sicilian opinion became inflamed against him. Though he defeated the Carthaginians in another battle, he was forced to abandon Sicily and return to Italy.

Retreat from Italy
While Pyrrhus had been campaigning against the Carthaginians, the Romans rebuilt their army by calling up thousands of fresh recruits. When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, he found himself vastly outnumbered against a superior Roman army. After the inconclusive Battle of Beneventum in 275 BC Pyrrhus decided to end his campaign in Italy and return to Epirus which resulted in the loss of all his Italian holdings.

Last wars and death
Though his western campaign had taken a heavy toll on his army as well as his treasury Pyrrhus yet again went to war. Attacking King Antigonus II Gonatas he won an easy victory and seized the Macedonian throne.
In 272 BC, Cleonymus, a Spartan of royal blood who was hated among fellow Spartans, asked Pyrrhus to attack Sparta and place him in power. Pyrrhus agreed to the plan intending to win control of the Peloponnese for himself but unexpectedly strong resistance thwarted his assault on Sparta. He was immediately offered an opportunity to intervene in a civic dispute in Argos. Entering the city with his army by stealth, he found himself caught in a confused battle in the narrow city streets. During the confusion an old Argead woman watching from a rooftop threw a roofing tile which stunned him, allowing an Argive soldier to kill him (some reports claim he was poisoned by a servant).

Legacy
While he was a mercurial and often restless leader, and not always a wise king, he was considered one of the greatest military commanders of his time. Plutarch records that Hannibal ranked Pyrrhus as either the greatest or the second greatest commander the world had seen (after Alexander the Great if the second version of the tradition is followed). Pyrrhus was also known to be very benevolent. As a general Pyrrhus' greatest political weaknesses were the failure to maintain focus and the failure to maintain a strong treasury at home (many of his soldiers were costly mercenaries).
His name is famous for the phrase "Pyrrhic victory" which refers to an exchange at the Battle of Asculum. In response to congratulations for winning a costly victory over the Romans, he is reported to have said: "One more such victory will undo me!" (In Greek: Αν έτι μίαν μάχην νικήσωμεν, απολώλαμεν.)
Pyrrhus wrote Memoirs and several books on the art of war. These have since been lost although Hannibal was influenced by them and they received praise from Cicero.

EPIROTES ON THE ANCIENTS

Αντιλήψεις Ηπειρωτών για τους αρχαίους Έλληνες - του Δρ Κώστα Βίτκου

1. Αφηγήσεις
«Στου Βερνίκου το κάστρο κατοικούσαν οι Έλλενοι, ανθρώποι άξιοι και πολύ δυνατοί. Μπροστά τους εμείς φαινόμασταν μύγες. Όντας φλανηκε η καινούργια πλάση, έζηε ακόμα ένας απ’ αυτουνούς τους Έλλενους, που δεν ήγλεπε, ήταν γκαβός. Μαζώχτηκαν οι-γ-ανθρώποι και τον κοίτααν. Είχε κάτι ποδάρες, κάτι χερούκλες, τέτοιες για! – Για δομούτε το χέρι, τους λέει αυτός, να ιδώ τη δύναμή σας. Οι ανθρώποι τόδωκαν το γυνί. Το ’πεκ’ αυτός με το χέρι του και το λύισε. – Είστε, τους είπε – γιατί πήρε το γθνί για χέρι – δυνατοί και σεις, αλλ’ εμείς ήμασταν αξιότεροι» (Βερνίκο Ιωαννίνων, 20ος αι.). Δομούτε =δώστε μου, ’πεκε = το έπιασε.

«Για είναι Καστρί πόχει πέτρες θεριές, χτισμένες μια αχπάνου στην άλλη. Αυτά τα ’φτιαννα άλλο σόι κόσμος και που δεν τους γέννησε μάνα. Αυτοί ήταν από τους παλιούς Έλληνες» (Απλουχώρι Ιωαννίνων, 20ος αι.). Καστρί =Δωδώνη.

«Οι Έλληνες ήταν πάρα πολύ μεγάλοι άνθρωποι, το κεφάλι τους έφτανε ως τα σύννεφα. Ήταν ψηλότεροι και χοντρότεροι από το βουνί της Σιούτιστας. Όταν έχτιζαν τα κάστρα που φαίνονται ακόμα στην Κρετσούνιτσα και στη Βελτσίστα, άπλωνε ο ένας το χέρι του από την Κρετσούνιστα και ο άλλος από τη Βελτσίστα και εδανείζονταν τα σύνεργά τους. Τότες που ζούσαν οι Έλληνες δεν χρειάζονταν γιοφύρια, γιατί αυτοί πηδούσαν τον Καλαμά σαν που πηδούμε εμείς σήμερα τες αυλακιές στο χωράφι. Φώναζαν από δω κι απηλογιόνταν από την Άρτα. Με εκατό δρασκελιές πάγαιναν από δω ως τα Γιάννενα. Όταν πολεμούσαν αναμεταχύ τους, έρριχναν ο ένας στον άλλο ραϊδιά, γιατί δεν είχαν ντουφέκια τότες. Τέτοιοι θα ήμασταν και εμείς, αλλά ανάθεμα στη Μονοβύζα, που μας κατάντησε σαν που είμαστε σήμερα!» (Μικρό Σούλι, Κουρέντων, 19ος αι.). Τα χωριά Κρετσούνιστα και Βελτσίστα απέχουν δυόμισι ώρες μεταξύ τους. Το ένα βρίσκεται στη δεξιά, το άλλο στην αριστερά όχθη του Θύαμη (Καλαμά). Η απόσταση του Μικρού Σουλιού από την Άρτα είναι δύο ημερών δρόμος. Ραδιά = ογκόλιθοι, βράχοι. Μονοβύζα = γυναίκα με ένα βυζί.

«Τη Σκάλα της Παραμυθιάς την έχτισε η Μονοβύζα. Η Μονοβύζα ήταν από τη γενιά των Ελλένηδων. Είχε ένα παιδί μοναχά, κι αυτό άξιο σαν κι αυτή, και τση το σκότωσαν οι-γι-άλλοι Ελλένηδες. Άντας έμαθε το σκοτωμό του παιδιού της, άρπαξε ένα τσουμπάρι και το πέταξε στους φονιάδες. Και σήμερα είναι το τσουμπάρι αυτό και φαίνεται στσι Κοντάτες» (Παραμυθιά, 20ος αι.). Τσουμπάρι = (μικρός) λόφος.

«Η Μονοβύζα ήταν από τη γενιά των Ελλένηδων. Είχε ένα βυζί μοναχά που το ’ριχνε στην πλάτη, γιατί ήταν πολύ μεγάλο και σβαρνίζουνταν. Κατοίκαε στο παλάτι της στη Γκρίκα» (Παραμυθιά, 20ος αι.). Σβαρνίζουνταν = σερνόταν πάνω στο χώμα. Γκρίκα = χωριό της Θεσπρωτίας.

2. Εκφράσεις - τραγούδια
«Η Αγγελική της Κούμαινας έχει άντρα παλικάρι,
Σαν Έλληνας έχει τσαμπά και στήθια σα λιοντάρι»
(19ος αι.). Τσαμπά = μακριά μαλλιά, κότσο.

3. Αθανασία - θάνατος
«Στα χρόνια τα παλιά ζούσαν στα μέρη αυτά άλλης λογής άνθρωποι, οι Έλληνες. Αυτοί έχτισαν το κάστρο μας. Τις μεγάλες βαριές πέτρες που βλέπεις εκεί τις κουβαλούσαν με τα χέρια τους. Οι Έλληνες δεν έμοιαζαν με τους σημερινούς ανθρώπους. Ήταν ψηλοί σαν τα κυπαρίσσια. Καθένας τους στην καθησιά του έτρωγε ένα ολόκληρο βόδι και όσα καρβέλια μπορεί να ψήσει ένας φούρνος μεμιάς. Για να καταλάβεις πόσο γερά έτρωγαν: κάποτε αρρώστησε το παιδί μιας Ελλήνισσας και έχασε την όρεξή του. Όταν άρχισε να παίρνει τ’ απάνω του, μια γειτόνισσα ρώτησε τη μητέρα πώς τα πηγαίνει ο γιος της. – Κάτι καλύτερα, είπε εκείνη. Σήμερα έφαγε πέντε καρβέλια ψωμί και ένα βουβαλοκέφαλο. Με αυτό ήθελε να δείξει πως η όρεξη του παιδιού της είχε αρχίσει να ξανάρχεται. Αυτοί οι άνθρωποι σιγά-σιγά χάθηκαν, γιατί η γη, τόσο που έτρωγαν, δε βαστούσε να τους θρέψει» (Θεσπρωτία, 20ος αι.).

«Φόντες ήμουν εφτά χρονώ παιδούλα, έσκαβα μια μέρα με τον μπαρμπ’-Αναγνώστη τον εκκλησιάρη στην Παλιοχώρα για μια θαματουργή εικόνα. Όπου να, ξεθάβουμε κάτι κάρακλα και ραχοπόδαρα, τόσα! – ου, μπαρμπ’-Αναγνώστη, είπα, τι άνθρωποι είναι τούτοι; - Αμ οι παλιοί Έλληνες, κόρη μου, ήταν δρακοθεμελιακοί. Θηλυκιά ώρα δεν ήξεραν ποτέ. Έριναν οι γυναίκες το βυζί στην πλάτη να βυζάξουν το παιδί κι ομπρός ζύμωναν. Κι οι-γι-άντρες, γιες μου, έδεναν τα μουστάκια πίσω στο κεφάλι, όταν έτρωγαν. Τέτοια θερία ακατέλυτα ήταν! – Καλά, και δεν πέθαιναν; - Πώς δεν πέθαιναν! Το νου τους τον είχαν στον αγέρα, και από το πολύ τ’ ασικλίκι δεν τήραγαν τη γης. Εκεί που πάγαιναν σ’ ένα γλέντι με το κεφάλι απάνω όλοι αντάμα, δεν τήραξαν ένα χάσμα μπροστά τους και διάβηκαν ολοσούσουμοι στον Κάτω Κόσμο. Για δαύτο τη λεν Παλιόχωρα! Και λέοντας αυτά ο μπαρμπ’-Αναγνώστης ο κλησιάρης, βάρεσε κι η αξίνα απάνω στο κόνισμα της Παναγίας, μεγάλη η χάρη Της!» (Λευτεροχώρι Φιλιππιάδας, 20ος αι.).

«Για να φτιάσουν το κάστρο της Κουκουλίστας οι Έλληνες, επειδής δεν έβρισκαν εκεί σιμά μεγάλα λιθάρια, πήγαιναν σε δυο ώρες μακριά και κουβάλαγαν πέτρες από πάνω απ’ τα Σχωρέτσαινα. Σήκωναν πέτρες τόσο μεγάλες, που δεν μπορούν τώρα να τις αναταράξουν ούτε με βιζίλες. Τόσο στοιχειωμένοι ήταν εκείνοι οι άνθρωποι, γυναίκες άντρες. Αλλά τότες τους ήρθε ο σωσμός τους. Ο Θεός έστειλε κάτι κουνούπια που τους τσίμπαγαν και πέθαιναν ένας κοντά στον άλλον. Και μια Ελλέννισσα, πόφερνε ένα θεόρατο λιθάρι για το κάστρο, δεν πρόφτασε να τ’ αποσώσει στην Κουκουλίστα και πέθανε στο δρόμο. Και το λιθάρι έμεινε σιμά στο λαγκάδι που χωρίζει την Τζιούμα από τα Σχωρέτσαινα» (Σχωρέτσαινα Τζουμέρκων, 20ος αι.). Βεζίλες = μοχλοί.

«Οι παλιοί Έλληνες πέθαιναν ο ένας κοντά στον άλλον, γιατί τους στίμπαγαν κάτι κουνούπια μεγάλα, θεοκούνουπα, πόστειλε ο Θεός για να τους καταστρέψει. Πολλοί απ’ αυτούς, για να γλιτώσουν, τρύπωναν μέσα στους λόγγους, στις σπηλιές, κι όπου πρόφταιναν. Ένας τυφλώθηκε, κι ύστερ’ από καιρό βγήκ’ απ’ το σπήλιο που ’ταν κρυμμένος, κι εκεί ήβρηκε έναν ζευγίτη απ’ τη νέα πλάση και του ζήτησε να του δώκει το χέρι του. Ήθελε να δοκιμάσει τι δύναμη έχουν οι άνθρωποι απ’ τη νέα γενιά. Ο ζευγίτης φοβήθηκε κι αυτός να του δώσει το χέρι του, τόδωκε το υνί απ’ τ’ αλέτρι. Ο Έλληνας το ’πιασε με τη χερούκλα του, το χεράκωσε και το ’σφιξε τόσο πολύ που το ’καμε σαν προζύμι μαλακό, και το υνί έβγαλε νερό. Τότε ο Έλληνας είπε: - Και σεις είστε γεροί, όχι όμως σαν εμάς. Εμείς ήμασταν δυνατότεροι!» (Σχωρέτσαινα Τζουμέρκων, 20ος αι.).

«Παλιόν καιρό οι-γι-αθρώποι ήταν πολύ μεγάλοι. Μεγαλύτεροι απ’ όλους ήταν οι Ελλένηδες. Αυτοί ήταν κακοί αθρώποι, γι’ αυτό ο Θεός έστειλε κάτι κουνούπια μεγάλα με μύτες σιδερένιες και τους κυνήγαγαν. Μοναχά τη νύχτα έβγαιναν οι αθρώποι, που κοιμούνταν τα κουνούπια, και το πουρνό, πριν βαρέσει ο ήλιος, και το βράδυ, μότι βασίλευε. Όλη την άλλη μέρα κάουνταν μες στη γης. Είχαν φτιάσει εκεί κατοικιά ίσια για έναν άνθρωπο. Είχαν το χωμί τους, το νερό τους σε μποτίλιες, τη λάμπα τους κι ό,τι άλλο χρειαζούμενο. Μα δεν μπόρεσαν να ζήσουν όλη τη μέρα κλεισμένοι, κι ένας-ένας χάθηκαν. Σήμερα σκάφτουν και βρίσκουν τα κατοικιά τους, σεντούκια λιθαρένια. Μέσα βρίσκουν τα κόκαλά τους, λάμπες, μπότια και ό,τι άλλο είναι» (Παραμυθιά, 20ος αι.). Μπότια = στάμνες.

Ευχαριστούμε τον Δρ Κώστα Βίτκο για την παροχή αυτού του άρθρου.

SOULIOTES

The Souliotes (or Souliots, Suliots; Greek: Σουλιώτες) were the inhabitants of Souli, a historic mountain settlement 73 km southeast of Igoumenitsa in Thesprotia and its surrounding areas in the mountains of Mourgana in Epirus in northwestern Greece. They established an autonomous association of villages resisting Ottoman rule in the 17th and 18th centuries. Souliotes became famous across Greece for their successful resistance against the local Ottoman governor Ali Pasha. After their defeat in 1803, the Souliotes were forced to move to other parts of Greece, and many of them later became active in the Greek War of Independence starting in 1821, under leaders such as Markos Botsaris and Kitsos Tzavelas.

Etymology:

Modern dictionaries derive "Souli" from Albanian suli, meaning mountain summit. In the nineteenth century, the poet Andreas Kalvos (1792 - 1869) had linked the name to the Selloi, the ancient priests of Zeus at the sanctuary of Dodona. Kalvos used this association in his ode "Εις Σούλι" ('To Souli') written in honor of the Souliotes' heroic role in the struggle for Greek independence.

HISTORY:
Identity and origins:

Most sources agree that Souli was settled first by Greek and Arvanite settlers who moved up into the mountain areas from the coastal area of Thesprotia. Biris places the ultimate origin of these first Souliote settlers further north in Albania, arguing that their folk culture showed traces of Gheg rather than Tosk influence. According to one theory, they were of Greek and Albanian descent, who came to identify politically and ethnically as Greeks.

Portrait of Katharina "Rosa" Botsaris, daughter of Markos Botsaris by Joseph Stieler in 1841.

Irrespective of where the Souliotes came from, they were considered Greeks by their contemporaries. Many 19th century romantic men such as the Greek patriot Lambros Koutsonikas projected this into the past, and considered them descendants of Epirote Greeks who migrated to the mountains in ancient times in order to flee from Roman forces. However, other 19th century authors such as Christoforos Perraivos merely acknowledged the Souliotes' status as omogeneis (of Greek ancestry). Even though the Souliotes were of Greek descent and very patriotic, they did not establish a formal national identity since they collected taxes from both Greek and Turkish villages. Athanasios Psallidas, a secretary of Ali Pasha, stated that Souli (also known as Kakosouli) contained Greek fighters who fought against the Albanians for many years. An author of unknown origin stated that the Souliotes, under tyranny in Epirus, have proven that Greece still gives rise to individuals like Leonidas at Thermopylae. Aside from contemporary accounts, the Souliotes were known as Greeks even by their enemies. Beli Pasha, son of Ali Pasha, sent letters to his father from April to December 1803 calling the Souliotes "Romans" (Ρωμέους), "Romioi" (Ρωμιούς) and "Romegans" (Ρωμέγους), that is, ethnic Greeks. Ahmed Moufit, great-grandson of Ali Pasha's sister (Siachnisa), attempted to convert the Souliotes into Orthodox Albanians in his chronicles. He wrote angrily about how the Souliotes invited Ali Pasha's attack in 1789 because they called themselves Christian Greeks who became tools of Russia.

Souliote Confederation:

The core of Souli was the "Tetrachori" (Four Villages: Souli, Kiafa, Avariko and Samoniva), which are believed to have been founded some time around 1600 AD. The formation of the Four Villages occurred after settlers from the plains of Thesprotia migrated up into the mountains of Mourgas. The Souliotes established an autonomous confederacy dominating a large number of neighbouring villages in the remote mountainous areas of Epirus, where they could successfully resist Ottoman rule. At the height of its power, in the second half of the 18th century, the Souliot state is estimated to have comprised up to 12,000 inhabitants in about 60 villages.

Souliote wars:

The Ottoman Turks attempted numerous times to conquer the territories of the Souliot Confederacy. The first conflicts between the Souliotes and the Ottomans (including Muslim Albanians) date back to 1635, if not earlier. In 1731, Hadji Ahmed, pasha of Ioannina, received orders from the Sultan to subdue the Souliotes and he lost his army of 8000 men. In 1754, Mustafa Pasha lost his army to the Souliotes too. In the following years, Mustafa Kokka came in with 4000 soldiers and Bekir Pasha with 5000. In the end, both failed to defeat the Souliotes. In 1759, Dost Bey, commander of Dhelvinou, was defeated by the Souliotes and Mahmoud Aga of Margariti, the governor of Arta, suffered the same fate in 1762. In 1772, Suleyman Tsapari attacked the Souliotes with his army of 9000 men and was defeated. In 1775, Kurt Pasha sent a military expedition to Souli that ultimately failed. When Ali became pasha of Ioannina in 1788, he tried for 15 years to destroy the Souliotes. In 1792, his army of 3000 Turk-Albanians (Τουρκαλβανοί) was eliminated. Although he had hostages (such as Fotos Tzavellas who was the son of Lambros Tzavellas), the Souliotes fought bravely under the command of Georgios Botsaris, Lambros Tzavellas, and Dimos Drakos. Even women under the command of Moscho (Lambros Tzavellas' wife) participated in the battle. Eventually, 2000 Turk-Albanians and 74 Souliotes were killed.


A painting by Ary Scheffer (1795 - 1858), "The women, entrapped, turned towards the steep cliff. It was December 16, 1803 when the dance began. As the enemy charged against them, the women one-by-one threw their children from the cliff before jumping after them themselves. The decision: to choose death over enslavement" (1827 - Oil on canvas, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France).

The Souliotes obtained all of their supplies from Parga, and also acquired support from Europe. Russia and France provided weapons and ammunition to them. For the European powers, the Souliotes were seen as an instrument to weaken the Ottoman Empire. When the British politicians turned to the Ottoman Empire in order to strengthen their forces against Napoleon, the weapons and ammunition supplies were interrupted. Without support from outside and wearied by years of siege, the unity of the Souliot clans started to split. The Botsaris family for political reasons left Souli and parleyed with Ali Pasha. However, the remaining Souliotes in Souli gathered together in Saint George's Greek Orthodox Church and decided either to win or die. The remaining Souliotes numbered at no more than 2000 armed men. The main leaders were Fotos Tzavellas, Dimos Drakos, Tousas Zervas, Koutzonikas, Gogkas Daglis, Yiannakis Sehos, Fotomaras, Tzavaras, Veikos, Panou, Zigouris Diamadis, and Yorgos Bousbos. The Souliotes won all of the decisive battles, which forced Ali Pasha to build castles in neighboring villages so as to prepare himself for a long siege. The Souliotes stayed without food and ammunition, but they could have held longer if not for a traitor named Pelios Gousis who helped the Ottomans to enter into the village of Souli. The Souliotes withdrew to the fortresses of Kiafa and Kughi, where they fought their last battle on December 7, 1803. They eventually capitulated and Ali Pasha promised to release them with all of their property and even weapons to the Ionian Islands. On December 12, 1803, the Souliotes left Souli towards the coast of Epirus. A monk named Samuel remained in Kughi and set fire to the powder magazines with a massive explosion that cost him his life. In the meantime, the Ottoman army attacked the other Souliotes, neglecting the promises Ali Pasha had made to them. In a famous incident on December 16, 1803, the so-called Dance of Zalongo, 22 Souliot women were trapped by enemy troops and committed suicide to avoid capture. According to tradition they did this by jumping off a steep cliff one after the other while dancing and singing. Other Souliotes also reached the harbor of Parga, which was under Russian control at the time. The Souliotes either settled down in Parga or set off for the Ionian Islands.

Diaspora:

Many Souliotes entered service with the Russians on Corfu, where they became an important component of the Legion of Light Riflemen. This was a regiment of irregulars organized by the Russians among mainland refugees; it not only included Souliotes, but also Himariotes, Maniots, klephts (Greek bandits) and armatoloi (Greek anti-klepht militias created by the Ottomans that actually supported the klephts). The Souliotes participated in campaigns in Naples in 1805, Tenedos in 1806, Dalmatia in 1806, and during the defense of Lefkada in 1807. With the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 and the détente between Russia and France, the Russian forces withdrew from the Ionian Islands and the French occupied them. The Souliotes and other components of Russian units entered service with the French in a unit known as the Albanian Regiment (Régiment Albanaise). During the Anglo-French struggle over the Ionian Islands between 1810 and 1814, the Souliotes in French service faced off against other refugees organized by the British into the Greek Light Infantry Regiment. Since the Souliotes were mostly garrisoned on Corfu, which remained under French control until 1814, very few entered British service.

Souliotes in traditional costume. Oil painting by Eugene Delacroix 1824 - 1825; Louvre Museum, France.

The British disbanded the remnants of the Souliot Regiment in 1815 and subsequently decommissioned their own two Greek Light Regiments. This left many of the Souliotes and other military refugees without livelihoods. In 1817, a group of veterans of Russian service on the Ionian Islands traveled to Russia to see if they could get patents of commission and employment in the Russian army. While unsuccessful in this endeavor, they joined the Philike Etaireia ("Company of Friends"), the secret society founded in Odessa in 1814 for the purpose of liberating Greek lands from Ottoman rule. They returned to the Ionian Islands and elsewhere and began to recruit fellow veterans into the Philike Etaireia, including a number of Souliot leaders. When there were clear signs for the beginning of a Greek insurrection against Turkish rule, Ali Pasha saw an opportunity to make Epirus into an independent state. In 1820, he called upon the Souliotes for help, and they returned to the mainland to support their former enemy against the Sultan. However, Ali Pasha's plans failed and he was killed while the Turks occupied Ioannina. The Souliotes eventually gave their support for the Greek Revolution, which started on March 25, 1821. The Souliot leaders Markos Botsaris and Kitsos Tzavellas became famous generals in the Greek War of Independence. Many Souliotes lost their lives while defending the city of Messolongi. Lord Byron, the most prominent European philhellene volunteer and commander-in-chief of the Greek army in Western Greece, tried to integrate the Souliotes into a regular army. Until 1909, the Turks kept a military base on the fortress of Kiafa. Finally in 1913, during the Balkan Wars, the Ottomans lost Epirus and the southern part of the region became part of the Greek state.

Souliote clans:
Antonopoulou (akin to the Botsaris clan; from Vervitsa/Tropaia)
Kapralaioi (resettled in Messenia)
Setaioi (resettled in Messenia)
Douskaioi (resettled in Messenia)
Dentaioi (resettled in Messenia)
Tzavaraioi (resettled in Arcadia)

SCANDERBEG

Skenderbeis, the last resistance fighter against the Ottomans put up much resistance in the Balkans to stop their armies marching across much more of Europe.

Of all the great Balkan heroes, perhaps the least remembered is Giorgos Kastriotis, Scanderbeg. A master of international diplomacy and indomitable freedom fighter, he was one of the last warlords to resist the oncoming Ottoman onslaught even after the fall of Constantinople, carving an empire out for himself in Albania and Epirus. In the process, he conceived of a Balkans united in a trans-national empire. For this ultra-national approach, encompassing schemes as far as Hungary and Wallachia as well as his indomitable spirit which led him to resist the Ottomans for twenty five years, Kastriotis is claimed by both Albanians and Epirots alike as a national hero. That Giorgos Kastriotis left a legacy that approached mythical proportions cannot be doubted. He was born at Kroia, now in northern Albania in 1405. It is said that when his mother was pregnant, a gigantic dragon appeared in her dreams-its head lying at the confines of the Ottoman Empire and its tail stretching as far as the Adriatic Sea. When still in his cradle, he was able to crawl out and reach for his father's guns using them as his playthings. Although his early life is shrouded in obscurity, it seems fairly certain that his father, Ioannis Kastriotis, an Epirot noble in northern Albania, upon becoming an Ottoman vassal, sent Giorgos to the Sultan's court as a hostage.At the Sultan's court, Kastriotis, who was required to convert to Islam was at once noticed for his bearing and good looks. Admired for his bravery and daring a brilliant future was promised to him in the service of the Ottomans. He learned Turkish, Slavonic, Italian and Arabic as well as his native Greek and Albanian and excelled in the study of warfare and horsemanship. His military prowess was so great that taking part in various Ottoman campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor, he became general of Adrianople.Despite enjoying an illustrious career, Kastriotis was to relinquish it for the life of a rebel. Several motives are postulated as to the reason for this. In 1439 the Senate of Ragusa in modern day Croatia, who had in the past honoured Ioannis Kastriotis by bestowing honorary citizenship on his sons, removed the name of Giorgos on the grounds he had embraced Islam. This made the secretly Christian Kastriotis wish to return to his roots. Another legend relates that just before his death, Ioannis Kastriotis secretly sent messengers to his son, lauding the example of freedom fighter Arjanit Komninos, an albanised descendant of one of Byzantium's greatest families whose revolt in Northern Epirus had been brutally suppressed and exhorted him to follow suit. More plausibly, after Ioannis Kastriotis' death in 1442, the Sultan occupied his patrimony and awarded it to Albanian renegade Hassan Bey instead of Giorgos and an enraged Giorgos resolved to desert the Sultan and claim his inheritance.In 1443, Kastriotis abandoned his post at the battle of Nish in Serbia, where the Ottoman army was defeated by a Christian coalition to stem the Ottoman advance into Europe, led by Hungarian prince Janos Hunyadi. Entering the Chancellery of the Sultan with a sword in his hand, Kastiotis bade the Grand Vizier sign a 'firman' granting him title to Kroia. He then gathered 300 Epirot and Albanian soldiers serving under him and entered Kroia. After publicly proclaiming himself a Christian and flying the Byzantine double-headed eagle flag on the battlements of the fortress, he asked the local inhabitants, both Greek and Albanian, to choose between Christianity or death. Many were massacred for refusing to renounce Islam. Although this ruthless policy suggests that Kastriotis, henceforth known both to his followers and the Ottomans as Scanderbeg or 'Lord Alexander' in admiration for his military prowess, saw himself engaged in a religious war against his former masters, it appears he saw himself too as a last defender of Byzantium in the lands that once were under the sway of the Komnenian despots of Epirus.Pitted against the might of the Ottoman Empire at its zenith, such ambition would have been quixotic and futile had Scanderbeg not possessed military genius and political vision unrivalled among his feudal contemporaries. Realising that lack of unity among the tribal leaders of Epirus and Albania had facilitated Ottoman expansion, on 1 March 1444, he engineered an alliance of all chieftains in a struggle against the Ottomans under his command. The multi-ethnic force's first baptism of fire was made on 29 June 1444. Scanderbeg met the army of Ali Pasha on the field of Torviolli and owing to his intimate and thorough knowledge of Ottoman military theory and practice, completely annihilated it, causing the deaths of eight thousand Ottomans. Scanderbeg's victory reverberated around Europe. In Rome Pope Eugene IV thanked God for the triumph of Christian arms and the courts of Europe knew there was another power in the East besides Hunyadi which could confront the Ottomans. The battle of Torviolli captured the imagination of Alfonso the Magnanimous of Naples, who dreamed of establishing a Catalan empire stretching from Barcelona to Constantinople. Pope Eugene began organising a crusade against the Ottomans and invited Scanderbeg to participate. Nevertheless, Murat II succeeded in obtaining a ten year peace treaty from Hunyadi, to avert the threat of crusade. The treaty was a triumph of diplomacy for Scanderbeg, who intrigued with Hungarian nobles to link Hunyadi's crusade with his own cause. Pursuant to the treaty, signed on 12 July 1444 at Szeged, the Ottomans pledged never again to set foot in the territory under the rule of Scanderbeg. Scanderbeg saw little reason to desist from striking at Ottomans. He continued to launch attacks against them, deflecting further punitive strikes against him by Murad. Scanderbeg was never subdued. His military successes were due to the flexibility of his skilful guerilla tactics which were likened by the Ottomans as the attack of an eagle swooping down from its eyrie. Yet Scanderbeg was not just a guerilla fighter. He sought to unite the Balkans into a coalition which would be the stepping stone for the expulsion of the Turks from Europe and Asia Minor, so as to re-vitalise the Byzantine Empire, now reduced to Constantinople and its environs. To achieve this, he sought to assist Polish King Ladislaus and Hunyadi's strike against the Ottomans in Bulgaria. In a gigantic pincer movement, Scanderbeg's troops would attack the Ottomans from behind and destroy them. However, Scanderbeg's followers refused to follow him. Their homeland was free and saw no reason to become involved in affairs that did not concern them. Scanderbeg stressed that if the coalition was defeated, there would no longer be any Christian troops to disturb the Ottomans and keep them away from his lands before the tribes acceded to his request. However the delay in taking this decision proved fatal to King Ladislaus. Clashing with the Ottoman army alone at Varna on 10 November 1444 before Scanderbeg could get his troops there, he lost the battle and his life. As he was delayed in his advance by the Serbs, who fought with the Ottomans, Scanderbeg pillaged Serbia, while recruiting Poles and Magyars, fleeing from the desolation of the Varna plain, under his banner. Scanderbeg hurried home in 1450 upon learning that Ibrahim Pasha had laid siege to the key town of Beration in Northern Epirus. For five months the Ottomans squandered men and munitions on the walls of the fortress; the Sultan promising to recognise Scanderbeg as King of Epirus and Albania in exchange for his submission in vain. On 26 October 1450, he lifted the siege at a cost of twenty thousand men. Scanderbeg gave chase to the Ottoman army, pursuing it beyond the frontier. Humiliated and desperate, Murat returned to Adrianople, dying of a stroke the following year. For a while peace reigned and during that brief interlude, Scanderbeg married the daughter of Arjanit Komnenos. Shortly after the wedding, King Alfonso of Naples placed him under his protection as a vassal and he found himself at the head of his troops, defeating Dalip Pasha and Hamza Pasha (1452). He then defeated the Ottomans at Skopje in 1453, vainly attempting to cross Macedonia and relieve Constantinople of its Ottoman besiegers. Scanderbeg's forces had to suppress a rebellion by his erstwhile Albanian lieutenant Mojsi of Dibra, who was promised a kingdom by new Sultan, Mehmet. Scanderbeg could not reach Constantinople and on 29 May 1453, Constantinople fell. Incensed but powerless, Scanderbeg focused on expelling the Ottomans from the Balkans. After dealing with rebellions by his Islamised nephew, Hamza Kastriotis, and the Albanian Djukagini and Mallesori tribes, Scanderbeg was called upon as a vassal of King Alfonso's successor, Ferrante to defend the Kingdom of Naples against the incursions of the French Duke D'Anjou. Mehmet's envoys were making repeated peace overtures to Scanderbeg and Pope Pius II promised aid for a crusade to the Epirot prince if he would aid Ferrante. Scanderbeg compromised, signing a peace treaty with Mehmet on 27 April 1461. The Epirot and Albanian chieftains welcomed the advent of peace after eighteen years of uninterrupted fighting. Meanwhile, in direct parallel with ancient Epirot King Pyrrhus, Scanderbeg crossed the Adriatic and reached Puglia on 25 August 1461, just in time to rescue King Ferrante from the siege of Barletta as well as capturing Trani and expelling D'Anjou.After these victories, his wife sent word that Ottoman armies were moving towards Epirus. On 23 September 1463, Scanderbeg declared war on the Sultan, shattering his army under Shermet Bey, at Achrida. He then returned to Kroia to await the troops that were due to arrive under Pope Pius' leadership. Fate decided otherwise, Pius dying in Ancona while preparing to sail to Epirus. With the death of Pius, his crusade collapsed. This in itself was a great victory for the Sultan, who sent out an army under Ballaban Pasha, an Albanian renegade. Ballaban fought Scanderbeg in April 1465 at Ahrida and Dryinoupolis in Northern Epirus and was outdone. In rage, Mehmet personally led a vast army to Kroia and placed Scanderbeg's stronghold under siege. Scanderbeg slipped out of the castle and secretly made his way to Rome, where he received a hero's welcome from Pope Paul II, naming him defender of the Christian faith. Little help was forthcoming, despite being showered with honours. A Cardinal took Scanderbeg aside and advised him he would have to abandon his Orthodox faith and embrace Catholicism. Scanderbeg refused.He returned to Kroia at once, accompanied by a small contingent of Venetian soldiers, and attacked Ballaban, who had taken over the siege, killing him and destroying his army with a stratagem. As there was no other way out, Scanderbeg at night let a flock of goats with candles on their horns, through a secret passage. The Ottomans, deceived by the lights of the candles, followed the flock through the passage. Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, Scanderbeg trapped them and destroyed them. Since that time Scanderbeg kept a goat's head on his helmet to commemorate his victory. This was a great blow to the Sultan, who in the spring of 1467, entered Epirus, burning and destroying everything in his path. Realising his forces were diminishing, he called a Council of Chieftains to determine a war plan at Episkopi in 1468. Upon his arrival at Episkopi, just before the opening of the Assembly, he was struck down with malaria. From his deathbed, the indomitable fighter directed the defence of Skodra. News of a victory at Skodra reached him as he was dying. He called together all his princes and the Venetian ambassador and exhorted them to continue the fight against the Ottomans until they were expelled. Giorgios Kastriotis Scanderbeg, known also as 'the eagle' died on 17 January 1468. A last beacon of hope in a world that was to fall under Ottoman rule for the next four hundred years, his conquests barely survived him. Internecine struggles between his sons and rival chieftains soon provided an opportunity for the Ottomans to conquer the eagle's eyrie. During his remarkable life, Scanderbeg not only was a thorn in the side for the Ottomans. More than any other Greek potentate, he was heavily involved in the affairs of the West, assuming legendary status. His career gave both Albanians and Epirots the necessary self-confidence and will to resist foreign domination. The Albanians adopted his coat of arms as their national flag and consider themselves 'Shqiptare' - sons of the Eagle while the Epirots revere him as a last prince of Byzantium. Both claim him as their own.Scanderbeg's posthumous renown was by no means confined to his own lands. Voltaire thought the Byzantine Empire would have survived had it possessed a leader of his quality. His life inspired poems by French poet Ronsard and Henry Longfellow. In the eighteenth century, when the Ottomans were suffering defeats in the Balkans, there was a revival of interest in the life of Scanderbeg, inspiring operas by Vivaldi, Francouer and Lacepede as well as plays by Harvard, Whincop and Lillo in London.Scanderbeg's legacy remains. His son married Irene Palaiologina, of the Byzantine royal family and fled to Italy. His descendants lived in Naples, Lecce and Ruffano. One of these, Isabella Castriota Scanderbeg was a noted poet of the eighteenth century while her namesake Isabella Stasi Castriota Scanderbeg is an Italian TV documentary writer and producer who lives in Rome. Old habits die hard. Recently, Giorgio Castriota Scanderbeg, a bank employee of Naples, has made a claim to the Albanian throne. Paradoxically enough in the light of his achievements, except in Epirus this great revolutionary, who transcends nationalism and overcame immense obstacles to ensure the freedom of the Balkans, is largely forgotten by the Greeks.

Kostas Kalymnios

IOANNIS KOLETTIS

Ioannis Kolettis (Ιωάννης Κωλέττης) (1773- 1847) was a Greek politician of Vlach origin who played a significant role in Greek affairs from the Greek War of Independence through the early years of the Greek Kingdom.

Early life:

Kolettis was born in Syrrako, Epirus and played a leading role in the political life of the Greek state in the 1830s and 1840s. Ioannis Kolettis studied medicine in Pisa, Italy and was influenced by the Carbonari movement and started planning his return to Epirus in order to participate in Greece's independence struggles.
In 1813, he settled at Ioannina, where he served as a doctor and after gaining standing he was recruited as the personal doctor of Ali Pasa's son, Muctar Pasa. He remained in Ioannina till March of 1821, when he entered Filiki Eteria and left for Syrrako, together with chieftain Raggos, in order to spread the revolution into the Rumelia, but his efforts quickly failed because of the rapid reaction of the Ottoman army. Kolettis was the leader of the pro-French party and based his power on his relations with the leaders of Rumeli but also on his ability to eliminate his adversaries by acting behind the scenes.

Greek War of Independence:

In the First Greek National Assembly, at Epidavros, he patricipated as the representative of Epirus and in January, 1822 he became Minister of Internal Affairs. After the Second Greek National Assembly, at Astros in May, 1823 he was appointed Euboea's sub-prefect and managed to remove Turkish troops off the island. At the same time, he continued his political activities, resulting in his election as member of the Supreme Government (Νομοτεστικόν), a position that he held till 1826.
At the end of 1824, during the Greek civil war of the revolution, he was in charge of Roumeli's (Central Greece) party and defeated the Peloponnesian party, which opposed the Kountouriotis government. Nonetheless, in the Third Greek National Assembly, he supported the Peloponnesian party and with its support was assigned to train troops from Thessaly and Macedonia, with the aim of destroying Ottoman resource depots at Atalanti. However, the whole operation failed because of his inexperience in military affairs, which ruined his reputation.

Political career after 1821 :
When John Capodistria landed at Nafplio in January 1828 as Governor, he was appointed as governor of Samos and later, on July, 1829 as Minister of Defense. In October of 1831, Capodistria was assassinated; in the ensuing civil war, which lasted until 1832, Kolettis was once again leader of the Roumeliot Party. He tried, along with Theodoros Kolokotronis and Augustinos Kapodistrias to form a government but due to severe disagreements the coalition was dissolved.

Political career under Otto of Greece's rule:
Until Otto of Greece reached adulthood, Kolettis was Minister of the Navy and Minister of Defense. In 1835, he was sent to France as the ambassador where he created connections with French politicians and intellectuals. He returned to Greece after the coup that broke out in Athens in September 1843, which forced King Otto to grant a constitution and Kolettis took part in the subsequent Constitutional Assembly. To contest the elections in 1844, he formed a party, the French Party (Γαλλικό Κόμμα) and together with Andreas Metaxas, leader of the English Party formed a government. When Metaxas resigned, he became Prime Minister and served as such until his death in 1847. He is credited with conceiving the Megali Idea or "Great Idea" which became the core of Greek foreign policy until the early 20th century.

PYRROS DIMAS

Pyrros Dimas ( Πύρρος Δήμας, born October 13, 1971) is a Northern Epirot weightlifter and three-time Olympic champion.

Background:
Dimas was born in Himara, Northern Epirus and emigrated to Greece in 1991. He first competed for Greece in the 1992 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal in the 82.5 kg class. At a time when Greek success at the Olympics was limited, he and Voula Patoulidou (who won the gold at the 100m hurdles) became instant national heroes. They were greeted as such on their return to Greece at a grand ceremony attended by more than 100,000 people at the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens. His birthplace gave rise to his nickname "The Greek Lion of Himara". His outstanding number of Olympic Gold Medals created another nickname "Midas".
With the 1993 and 1995 World titles under his belt, Dimas was heavily favoured for the 83 kg class at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he was the flagbearer of the Greek Olympic team. He won the event with two new World Records.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he won yet another gold medal, this time in the 85 kg class. This made him one of just three weightlifters at that time to have won three Olympic gold medals, the others being Naim Süleymanoğlu (Turkey, but born in Bulgaria) and Kakhi Kakhiashvili (Greece, but born in Georgia).
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Dimas was again chosen as Greek flagbearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. Dimas was recovering from knee surgery and a hurt wrist and was not expected to compete in these Olympics, but he came away with a bronze medal in the 85 kg class, becoming only the fourth weightlifter in history to win a medal at four different Olympic Games and only the third to win them successively four times, thus cementing his status as a national hero in Greece.

Personal life:
Pyrros Dimas is married to Anastasia Sdougkou, a former Greek National Television (ERT) sports reporter. Together they have three children, Eleni (b. 1995), Victor (b. 1998) and Maria (b. 2000).

Trivia:
In the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, during his 202.5kg lift at the clean and jerk, he shouted "Για την Ελλάδα" (transliterated "Yia tin Ellada"; meaning "For Greece"), thus dedicating his victory to Greece. This is the catchphrase with which he is most associated in Greece.
Characteristic of his self-confidence was his tendency to keep the weights lifted after the buzzer had sounded so that the crowd could take photographs.

Weightlifting career and personal bests:
Snatch: 184.0 Kg
Clean and Jerk: 215.0 Kg
Total: 392.5 Kg (about 470-480 Sinclair Points)
Olympic (full) Front Squat: 280.0 Kg approx.
(Full) Back Squat: 330.0 Kg approx.
Clean Pull: 230.0 Kg
Deadlift: 290.0 Kg
"Power" Snatch: 155.0 Kg

ANTONIS NIKOPOLIDIS

Full name: Antonios Nikopolidis
Date of birth: October 14, 1971 (1971-10-14) (age 36)
Place of birth: Arta, Greece
Height: 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position: Goalkeeper
Current club: Olympiacos
National team: 1997-2008
Greece

Antonios Nikopolidis (Αντώνης Νικοπολίδης, born 14 October 1971 in Arta, Epirus) is an Epirot football player, a goalkeeper for Olympiacos and the Greek national football team. He is regarded as one of the best Greek goalkeepers of all time having been awarded the most caps in the national team and an integral part in the Euro 2004 triumph. He has the looks of actor George Clooney, and earned the nickname George Clooney from British and European media in the Euro 2004.

The first years and the move to Panathinaikos:
He made his first steps at his local team, Anagennisi Artas, from which he was transferred to Panathinaikos in the summer of 1989, where he was a back-up for Józef Wandzik. He made his debut during 1990/1991 season in a match against his current club, Olympiacos. In 1995 he played five games as Panathinaikos won the championship in 1994/95 and three as they retained it the following year gradually becaming a regular. Since then he has gained a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the Greek league.

From Panathinaikos to Olympiakos:
In 2002 he helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals but in 2003/04 he lost his place to Konstantinos Chalkias when his contract negotiations broke down.
Panathinaikos offered him €400,000 per annum which, although it was a pay-rise, he thought was not in line with his contributions to the team over the past 15 years nor with his current market value. As he did not immediately accept the offer the management became suspicious and decided to relegate him to the bench for the rest of the 2003-04 season. The Greek sports media and Panathinaikos fans as well at first took his side in the conflict and criticised president Vardinogiannis for conduct which they saw as a unethical if not blackmail.
Just before the Euro 2004 rumours were circulating that Nikopolidis had been approached by arch-rivals Olympiacos. It was discovered later that he had signed a prenap agreement just before the tournament begun earning him €600,000 per year for 3 years. After that the fans' disappointment in him was displayed during the celebrations following the team's 2003-04 season double when Nikopolidis, while raising the trophy, was booed by the majority of the crowd.
Soon after being instrumental in Euro 2004 helping Greece to lift the trophy, Nikopoldis joined Olympiacos making an immediate impact for his once rival team. Keeping a clean sheet in the first derby against his former club in the process, he went on to win 2 doubles in a row, making him the only Greek player to win 3 consecutive doubles with 2 different clubs. At his new team, Nikopolidis also earned a reputation for making game-winning saves in the most important games. Because of his top-quality performances and consistency he become a figure among Olympiakos fans. Displaying his penalty saving abilities, Nikopolidis saved 3 penalty kicks against AS Roma, Real Madrid, and Rosenborg BK, making him undefeated from the penalty spot in UEFA Champions League football in the Olympiakos shirt. In the 2007-08 season he also equalled the Greek league record for the most penalty kicks saved in one season, which included saves against PAOK FC and former club Panthinaikos.

Rewarding his acclaimed performances during his 4-year stint the club's board decided in January 2008 to re-extend his contract for one more season (after having already extended it for one year before the 2007-8 season) when he will be 39 years of age.

Greek national team:
He made his debut for the Greece national football team on August 18, 1999 against El Salvador. Two years later, Nikopolidis had become the undisputed choice in Greece's goal.
He played in qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and excelled as Greece qualified for UEFA Euro 2004, keeping six clean sheets and not letting in a goal in the three knockout games as he claimed a winners' medal and a place in the All-Star Squad, and was voted goalkeeper of the Euro 2004 All Star team. In UEFA Euro 2004 he played in every game and conceded 3 goals. Nikopolidis was one of the cornerstones of the Greek triumph in Portugal. However, Greece missed out on the 2006 World Cup finals. He became team captain after the retirement of Theodoros Zagorakis but lost his armband to Angelos Basinas after his short relegation to the bench following a rare catastrophic performance in the 1-4 defeat to Turkey in March 2007. In a Euro 2008 group match against Russia, Nikopolidis made a crucial error, failing to maintain his position in front of the goal. This mishap resulted in a first-half Russian goal, which led to a 1-0 defeat for the Greeks and their elimination from Euro 2008. He has featured in a World XI game in 2002, a rare honour for a Greek player.Nikopolidis is first among all goalkeepers in the history of the national team with the most caps (90 after his retirement).
On 15 June 2008, Nikopolidis announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2008, claiming that he had made this decision before the tournament started.

Honours:
Panathinaikos
Greek Championship: 1990,1991,1995,1996,2004
Greek Cup: 2004
Olympiacos
Greek Championship: 2005 , 2006 , 2007, 2008
Greek Cup: 2005, 2006, 2008
Greek Super Cup: 2007