Antonis Katsantonis

According to the local historical tradition of the Evrytania Prefecture, he was a Sarakatsanos klepht leader born in the village of Marathos, Agrafa. His real name was Antonis Makriyannis (Αντώνης Μακρυγιάννης), son of Yannis Makriyannis (born in Petrovouni, Epirus—not to be confused with Yannis Makriyannis born in Avoriti, Doris).

In 1802 he abandoned his life as a shepherd and began participating in raids by klephts; it was then that he acquired the nickname kaçak ("fugitive" in Turkish). During the years 1803-1808, he successfully battled several times against the army of Ali Pasha, the most notable of them being the Battle in the Mount Prosiliako (Μάχη στου Προσηλιάκου) in 1807. He is mentioned as having killed Veli Gega, a member of Ali Pasha's Supreme Council.

In the summer of 1809 Katsantonis is said to have been struck down by a serious illness identified as smallpox, so he appointed his brother Kostas Lepeniotis (Greek: Κώστας Λεπενιώτης or Kostas from Lepenou) to take over from him as leader of the Agrafa's klephts; according to tradition, when Ali Pasha heard this news, he sent an Ottoman army officer called Mühürdar to arrest Katsantonis in the cave where he was staying and being treated by a doctor called Thanasis Doufekias (Greek: Θανάσης Ντουφεκιάς); eventually, Katsantonis and his second brother, Yorgos Chasiotis (Greek: Γιώργος Χασιώτης or Yorgos from Chasia) were captured and were taken to the Pasha, who had them tortured to death. Katsantonis was executed in public by having his bones crushed with a sledgehammer.

The same tradition states that in 1823 Markos Botsaris avenged the death of Katsantonis by killing Mühürdar at the Battle of Kefalovryso, in Karpenisi.

His legend had a considerable impact on post-Independence Greek culture, since he has been recognized as one of the people who had prepared the Revolution and had envisioned the ideal of an independent Greek nation, well before the popularization of the corresponding organized ideological Movement in Greece.

• Dimitrios Papakaryas, Ιστορικά του Φουρνά των Αγράφων [The History of Fourna of Agrafa], Athens, 1992. (in Greek)

• Article on Katsantonis and Lepeniotis by the local history encyclopedia of Evrytania. (in Greek)