(1821-2021) Webinar #1: Laconians in the Epanastasi

0:00 - Introduction
2:41 - Tourkokratia
3:44 - Pyrgospita
5:00 - Maniot Piracy
7:14 - Lambros Katsonis
9:29 - Early Conflicts
20:20 - Orlov Revolt
23:09 - 1780 Invasion of Mani
27:24 - The Sacking of Passavas
28:22 - Zacharias Barbitsiotis
30:01 - Becoming Kapetan Zacharias
32:14 - Aspirations of a Klepht
34:04 - Laconia after Zacharias
35:38 - 17th March 1821
37:10 - Early Successes
39:03 - Reversal of Fortunes
42:52 - Victory and Grief
44:17 - Conclusion + Q&A

As the first in a series of digital webinars commemorating the bicentennial (1821 – 2021) of the Greek War of Independence, the Pallaconian Brotherhood was proud to invite Miltiadis Paikopoulos to give a lecture on the 17th of March 2021 titled “Laconians in the Epanastasi”.

There was a special significance with the lecture, because on the 17th of March 200 years ago, the Laconians assembled at Areopolis in the Mani peninsula, at the behest of Petrobey Mavromichalis and declared war on the Ottoman Turks. Indeed, the declaration at Areopolis on the 17th preceded the usual date of commemoration, the 25th of March, by over a week.

Miltiadis’ lecture aims to be both accessible for newcomers to Greek history, but also interesting and exciting for those familiar with the subject. The lecture covered (among other things): The Laconian Revolts from 1453 - 1770 (Εξεγέρσεις από 1453 έως 1770), The Orlov Revolt (τα Ορλωφικά), The Ottoman Invasions of Mani (Οθωμανικές εισβολές στη Μάνη), Kapetan Zacharias Barbitsiotis (Καπετάν Ζαχαριάς Μπαρμπιτσιώτης), The Laconian Origins of 1821 (Λακωνική καταγωγή του 1821) and The Laconian impact on the War (Λακωνική συμβολή στον πόλεμο).

Miltiadis completed his BA from the University of Melbourne in 2020, double majoring in Classics and Ancient World Studies. As of the time of this lecture, he is currently a Juris Doctorate student at the University of Melbourne.

He has served as the Pallaconian Youth President from 2018 and has an interest in Classical Sparta, the Hellenistic East, Byzantine Greek and the history of modern Greece from the War of Independence to the 20th Century.

Recently, he has also published his first book ἔργᾰ ἀκμαῖα (2021), which is a collection made up of his select undergraduate essays, covering many topics from his interests, as varied as Aristotelian Ideology, Spartan hegemony and the 1974 invasion of Cyprus.

The Pallaconian Brotherhood would like to thank Miltiadis for presenting this exciting lecture on our Laconian ancestors, bringing attention and provoking thought on a much-deserving topic! Συγχαρητήρια Μιλτιάδη!