Efhymios Vlachavas “Papathymios” (1760 – 1809)

Efhymios Vlachavas “Papathymios” (1760 – 1809)

From Kalampaka in Thessaly, he was a Priest and an Armatolos of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Ordained as a priest, but following the death of his father Athanasios, he assumed control of his force of Armatoloi in Thessaly, during the pre-revolutionary years.

He fought against the Turk-Albanian Ottoman ruler of Ioannina, Ali Pasha, in what were favourable conditions for a revolt.

It was a time of diminishing Empire for the Ottomans, the period of the Russo-Turkish War (1806-12) and also a period of re-awakening of Greek nationalism.

Papathymios was Ali Pasha’s most hated adversary, on countless occasions he had tried and failed to capture and kill him.

Papathymios, Nikotsaras, the Lazaioi clan and other Armatoloi had attacked several Ottoman positions on land in Thessaly, Macedonia and Sterea Ellada and were even causing problems for the Ottomans in the Aegean, where they had set up naval strongholds and had numerous armed ships on the islands of Skiathos and Skopelos.

Following Nikotsaras’ death, Papathymios and the other Armatoloi were granted an amnesty by the Sultan if they stopped their operations, most accepted, but Papathymios continued his actions.

Papathymios soon received a letter (later confirmed to be a forgery) claiming to be from the Lazaioi, a family of klephts and armatoloi, wanting a meeting with him. When he turned up, he was met by Ali Pasha’s soldiers, who promptly arrested him, then tortured him for several days. Breaking every bone in his body, his body was then cut to pieces and scattered throughout the streets of Ioannina.