Pavlos Melas

Template:Expand Greek Template:Short description Template:Infobox military person Pavlos Melas (Template:Langx; 29 March 1870 – 13 October 1904) was a Greek revolutionary and artillery officer of the Hellenic Army. He participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 and was amongst the first Greek officers to join the Macedonian Struggle.

Early life and career

Melas was born in 1870 in Marseille, France, as the son of Michail Melas who was elected MP for Attica and mayor of Athens and brother of Vassileios M. Melas, who was also an officer of the Hellenic Army. The Melas family was of Greek aristocratic descent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His father was a wealthy merchant from Epirus.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1876, his family moved to Athens.<ref name="gs">Template:Cite book</ref> He graduated from the Hellenic Army Academy as an artillery lieutenant in 1891.<ref name="gs" /> In 1892, he married Natalia Dragoumi, the daughter of Kastorian politician Stephanos Dragoumis and sister of Ion Dragoumis.<ref name="gs" /><ref name="ck">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="jm">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1895, the couple had a son named Michael and a daughter, Zoe. He became member 25 of the Ethniki Etaireia. Melas participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.<ref name="gs" /> He was an Orthodox Christian.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Armed action

Melas, with the cooperation of his brother-in-law Ion Dragoumis, the consul of Greece in the then Ottoman occupied Monastir (now Bitola), Kottas Christou, and Germanos Karavangelis, metropolitan bishop of Kastoria, tried to raise money for the economic support of Greek efforts in Macedonia. After the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising, he decided to enter Macedonia in June 1904, to assess the situation and to see if there is any possibility of establishing a military unit to fight the Bulgarian Komitadjis (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, IMRO) and the Ottoman Turks. In July 1904, under the alias "Captain Mikis Zezas" (Καπετάν Μίκης Ζέζας), he reentered Macedonia with a small unit of men and fought against the IMRO. They crossed the border by Meritsa and worked their way up into the Florina region, recruiting new members as they went.

Death

On 13 October 1904, when he was killed after being surrounded by Ottoman forces in the village of Statista.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> News about his death spread in Greek society. In Athens, the Journalists' Union of Daily Newspapers organised a memorial service to honour him, which was attended by 100,000 people. Schools and shops were closed, and numerous flags, mourning ribbons and portraits of him were set up.<ref name="ck" /> The village in which he was killed has been renamed Melas in his honour, after joining Greece.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After his death, Greek efforts were intensified, resulting in more resources being dedicated for Macedonia by the Greek government.<ref name="jm" /> The efforts were aimed at weakening Bulgarian armed influence.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Legacy

He is considered to be a national hero of the Macedonian Struggle.<ref name="gs" />

Many of his personal belongings can be seen in the National Historical Museum in Athens, the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in Thessaloniki, the Pavlos Melas Museum in Kastoria, and the Pavlos Melas House in Kifissia, Athens.

A bust of him was made on his cenotaph at Kastoria, commissioned by his wife and co-funded by the municipality in 1920, with the inscription calling him the "first martyr for Macedonian liberty".<ref name="ck" />

His granddaughter, Natalia Mela, was a sculptor.

Gallery

Pavlos Melas as a second lieutenant in the Greek Army. Portrait by Georgios Jakobides.
Pavlos Melas in Makedonomachos uniform, 1904
Germanos Karavangelis at the grave of Pavlos Melas, 1906
Pavlos Melas with his wife and children