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Zois Panou

Zois Panou (1765 - 29 August 1846) was military and chief of the Greek revolution of 1821 from Paramythia of Epirus. In addition, he also served as a proxy in various National Assemblies.

Activities during the pre-revolutionary years

Panou was born in 1765 in Paramythia and came from a wealthy and religious family in the area. His sister was the later wife of Souliotis chief Fotos Tzavelas, Despo. At the end of the 18th century, he was active as a merchant in Palermo, Sicily. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787 - 1792, he enlisted in the Russian army and later participated in the Napoleonic Wars. From 1805 he served in the Greek Battalions of the Ionian Islands, created by the Russians, which were maintained under French and British rule, reaching the rank of captain of the first class. At the same time, from 1819 he was initiated in the Filiki Etaireia (Society of friends) . In 1820, he participated in the war between the High Gate and Ali Pasha, first on the side of the sultan's troops and then, after an agreement between Ali and the Souliotes, on the side of the pasha of Ioannina. In the context of this war, where he was injured twice, he distinguished himself in the battles of Manoliasa, Theriakisi and Lelova.

Action in the Greek revolution

In July 1821, he participated together with an armed force of Parginians and Souliotes, in the failed operation of the Greek revolutionaries to occupy the fortress of Parga. On August 2, 1822, he participated with Kyriakoulis Mavromichalis, Lambros Veikos and Vassilis Zervas in the battle of Splantza, having 120 men under his command. This battle took place in the context of the effort to strengthen Souli, which was pressured by the Ottoman troops, but the death of Mavromichalis during the battle, while he was walking with some men to support the fortress of Panos, canceled the campaign. At the end of the same year, Panou was in embattled Messolonghi and later fought at the head of 30 men in Trikeri, Skiathos and Patras. In 1824, he defended Karaiskakis when he went on trial, while on April 4, 1825 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

In 1825 - 1826, he took part in the second siege of Messolonghi, included in the body of his nephew, Kitsos Tzavelas. In fact, together with Ioannis Papadiamantopoulos and Georgios Valtinos, he went to Zakynthos to find supplies and money. During the Exodus (exit) on April 10, although injured, he managed to escape.

Apart from the battlefields, Panou also contributed to the political sphere of the revolution. At the beginning of 1822, he took part in the First National Assembly of Epidaurus, signing the "Provisional Government" as a representative of the Souliotes, while later he took part in the national assemblies of Astros (1823) and Troizina.

In the context of the Greek state

After the creation of the Greek state, Zois Panou was honored with the rank of colonel of the Royal Phalanx. At the same time, in 1842, his poetry collection was published, consisting of poems he had written during the Greek Revolution in order to encourage the Greeks. He passed away full of days, on August 29, 1846.