ΑΘΑΝΆΣΙΟΣ ΔΙΆΚΟΣ

In an attempt to learn more about the city and Greek history, I thought a good starting point would be understanding where my difficultly pronounceable street name came from. A quick Lilo search and I found that Athanasios Diakos was known for his role as a General (this title was given posthumously) in the Greek War of Independence. He was the grandson of an outlaw who actually became a monk by the age of 17! It was after this, while at the monastery, that he had a conflict with a Turkish official (killing him I believe!) and he was forced to flee to the mountains and began fighting for independence! I don't claim to have done any extensive research on his life (and only read the Wikipidia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasios_Diakos) but it was interesting to learn that that one of the first towns he captured (with other fighters) in 1821 was Livadia, where I was this summer on my second Workaway project! Today there are statues and streets in cities and towns throughout Greece that honor his memory. I'll have to ask some Greek friends and family if they know who he is.