Nikos Tsaras “Nikotsaras” (1774 – 1807)

From the village of Giannota in northern Thessaly, he was a Greek fighter, rebel and a heroic Armotolos of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Initially operating throughout the area of My Olympus, following the death of his father Panos, he inherited not only his father’s influence in the region, but also the vendetta’s, rivalries and competitors for the control of the Armatoloi in the region.

Nikotsaras was involved in numerous battles and skirmishes with the Turk-Albanian Ottomans, in the mountains and both on land and at sea.

Nikotsaras defeated the Turks at Nevrokopi and Meleniko in north-eastern Macedonia, forcing the Turks to send 8,000 troops to besiege him and his 400 fighters. After heavy losses, he and his remaining forces, headed south to Kavala then to Mt Athos, before returning to Mt Olympus.

Nikotsaras then took over the command of a pirate fleet, dealing decisive blows and earning victories against the Turkish fleet off the coasts of Macedonia, Thessaly and Euboea.

Sure to play an important part in the future Greek Revolution of 1821, before he got the chance, Nikotsaras was fatally wounded by the Turks, shot and killed on the beaches of Litochoro in 1807.

He dies on board his vessel and was buried on the island of Skiathos.