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 Spiros Kayales and the 1897 Revolution in Crete - Akrotri, Crete, Greece Posted by:  neoc1
N 35° 31.505 E 024° 03.351
35S E 233030 N 3935262
A monument featuring Spiros Kayales, a hero of the 1897 Revolution in Crete, is located in Venizelos Park overlooking Chania, Greece.
Waymark Code: WM11QGG
Location: Greece
Date Posted: 12/03/2019
Views: 2
A statue of the hero of the 1897 Revolution in Crete, Spiros Kayales depicts him standing on top of a rock set on top of a three tiered stone block base. He is wearing a jacket, knee-length trousers, and calf-length boots. He has a sheathed knife tucked into a sash around his waist and is wearing a bandolier across his left shoulder and chest. He is holding a flag over his head with his right hand. With his left hand he is gripping a corner of the flag.
A bronze plaque contains the story of his role in the Cretan Revolution of 1897. It is inscribed:
SPIROS KAYLES
The rebel who his body Into a pole
January 1897 Turkish atrocities they burn Christian
neighborhoods and slaughter people in Chania
provoking the last Cretan Revolution, which led to the
creation of the Revolutionary Army of Akrotri
February 4- 1897 A large Greek flag is delivered to
El. Venizelos by the first mate of a Greek war ship,
grandson of the national hero Admiral K. Kanaris,
and holsted at this point.
February 9-1897 Ships from the Great Powers
(England, France, Russia, Germany, Austria, Italy)
anchored outside Chania's harbour, start fierce
bombardment.
A cannonball hit the flag pole. The young rebel
Spiros Kayles throws himself the of inferno of the
bombing, and the flag by using his body as a
flagpole despite the danger. The Italian admiral Kanevaro
astonished by this action, stops the bombing.
A few months later Crete gains Independence, which
leads to the union with Greece in December 1918.
Spiros Kayles was born in 1872 and died in Chalepa,
Chania in 1926. He fought in the Balkan Wars
(1912 - 13) with the Greek Army.
The statue was erected here in 1997 for the centennial
celebration of the event
Sculpted by
Glannis P. Markantonakis
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A second plaque is inscribed in both Greek and English. It is inscribed (in English):
SPIROS KAYLES
OFFERING OF THE
PANCRETAN ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
IN COLLOBORATION WITH THE
MUNICIPALITY OF CHANIA
1997
Name of the revolution that the waymark is related to:
Cretan Revolution of 1897
Adress of the monument:
Venizelos Park
Akrotri, Crete Greece
What was the role of this site in revolution?:
The site where Spiros Kayles held the Greek flag as a signal Italian ship to cease the bombardment.
Link that comprove that role: [Web Link]
When was this memorial placed?: 01/01/1997
Who placed this monument?: Pancretan Association of America & The municipality of Chania
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Visit Instructions:
Post at least one clear picture of the monument, and if it's possible, where you are on. More pictures are welcome.
Please write your impression about the monument.
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