Military Figure. Cypriot freedom fighter against the British Rule in Cyprus. Grigoris Afxentiou was a member of the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters, EOKA. It was not long before he became second in command to General Georgios Grivas, leader of the rebellion. While he failed to enter Hellenic Military Academy in Athens, Greece. He joined the Hellenic Army where he rose to become a Second Lieutenant in the Greek military. After returning to Cyprus in 1953 he went into business with his father. Soon he joined EOKA where he soon became second in command to General Georgios Grivas, the Hero of the Liberation of Cyprus. About 2km north of Machairas monastery lies the hide-out of Grigoris Afxentiou, hero of the 1955-59 Liberation Struggle. On 3 March 1957 British troops surrounded his hide-out and called upon Afxentiou to surrender his weapons. His response was to shout out "MALON LABE" (Come and Take them). He refused and after 7 hours of battle the British poured petrol into the hide-out and blew it up. Afxentiou perished. Personal belongings of the hero are exhibited in a museum near his place of death.
Military Figure. Cypriot freedom fighter against the British Rule in Cyprus. Grigoris Afxentiou was a member of the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters, EOKA. It was not long before he became second in command to General Georgios Grivas, leader of the rebellion. While he failed to enter Hellenic Military Academy in Athens, Greece. He joined the Hellenic Army where he rose to become a Second Lieutenant in the Greek military. After returning to Cyprus in 1953 he went into business with his father. Soon he joined EOKA where he soon became second in command to General Georgios Grivas, the Hero of the Liberation of Cyprus. About 2km north of Machairas monastery lies the hide-out of Grigoris Afxentiou, hero of the 1955-59 Liberation Struggle. On 3 March 1957 British troops surrounded his hide-out and called upon Afxentiou to surrender his weapons. His response was to shout out "MALON LABE" (Come and Take them). He refused and after 7 hours of battle the British poured petrol into the hide-out and blew it up. Afxentiou perished. Personal belongings of the hero are exhibited in a museum near his place of death.
Bio by: Robert C. Peurifoy
Advertisement
See more Afxentiou memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
