Encyclopedia > Alexandros Panagoulis

As Oriana Fallaci notes, his attempt was an ultimate political act against the dictatorship. In the interview taken after the liberation of A. Panagoulis, Fallaci quotes him as follows: I didn’t want to kill a man. I’m not capable of killing a man. I wanted to kill a tyrant.^[1].

A. Panagoulis was judged by the Military Court in 3 November 1968, condemned to death with other members of National Resistance on the 17th November 1968 and consequently transported to the island Aegina for the execution. As a result of political pressure of the international community, the junta refrained from executing him and instead incarcerated him at the Military Prisons of Bogiati (S. F. B.) on the 25 November 1968. Oriana Fallaci Oriana Fallaci (born June 29, 1929) is an Italian journalist , author and political interviewer. ... November 3 is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 58 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... (Redirected from 17 November) November 17 is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

Alexandros Panagoulis refused to cooperate with the junta, and was subjected to physical and psychological torture. He escaped from the Military Prisons of Bogiati (S.F.B.) where was kept, in 5 June 1969. He was soon arrested and led provisionally in the camp of Goudi. He eventually placed in solitary confinement at Bogiati from where he unsuccessfully attempted to escape on several occasions. June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ...

He reportedly refused amnesty grants from junta. In August 1973, after four and a half year in jail, he benefited from a general amnesty that the military regime granted to all political prisoners during a failed attempt by George Papadopoulos to liberalize his regime. Panagoulis went on self-exile to Florence, Italy, in order to contribute to the resistance. He was there hosted by Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, who was to become his companion and biographer. 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Georgios Papadopoulos (Greek Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος, (May 5, 1919 – June 27, 1999) was the head of the military coup détat that took place in Greece on April 21, 1967 and leader of the military government that ruled the country during the period 1967 - 1974. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... Oriana Fallaci Oriana Fallaci (born June 29, 1929) is an Italian journalist , author and political interviewer. ...

Restoration of Democracy

After the restoration of Democracy, Alexandros Panagoulis was elected as Member of Parliament under the ticket of the Union of Centre – New Forces (E.K. – N.D.), in 1974. He launched a series of allegations against mainstream politicians who were openly or secretly in cahoots with the junta. He eventually fell in disagreement with the leadership of his party, from which he resigned. He remained in the Greek Parliament as an independent deputy. He stood by his allegations, which he openly charged against the Minister of National Defence Evangelos Averof and others. He reportedly received political pressure to tone down his allegations. Image File history File links Alekos_EDHN.jpg Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli ton Ellinon; literally Council of the Greeks) is the parliament of Greece, located in Syntagma Square in Athens. ...

Panagoulis was killed on the 1 May 1976 at the age of 38 in a car accident in Vouliagmenis Av. (Athens), only few days before the revelation of files of the Junta's military police (the E.S.A. file) that he was in possession . The revelation of files in question, which never materialized, reportedly included incriminating evidence on the collaboration of some mainstream politicians with the junta. There has been much speculation by a part of the Greek press that the car accident was staged to silence Panagoulis and to cover-up the evidence in question. May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ...

Poetic work

Alexandros Panagoulis was brutally tortured on a daily basis during the junta. Many believe that he maintained his faculties thanks to his will, determination to defend his beliefs, as well as his keen sense of humour. While imprisoned at Bogiati, Panagoulis is said to have written his poetry on the walls of his cell or on small papers, often using his own blood as ink (as told in the poem 'The Paint'). Many of his poems have not survived. However, he managed to smuggle some to friends while in prison, or to recall and rewrite them later. While in prison his first collection in Italian titled Altri seguiranno: poesie e documenti dal carcere di Boyati (Others will Follow: Poetry and Documents of the Prison of Boyati) was published in Palermo in 1972 with an introduction of the Italian politician Ferruccio Parri and the Italian film director and intellectual Pier Paolo Pasolini. For this collection A. Panagoulis was awarded the Viareggio International Prize of Poetry (Premio Viareggio Internazionnale) the following year. After his liberation he published his second collection in Milan under the title Vi scrivo da un carcere in Grecia (I write you from a prison in Greece) with an introduction by Pier Paolo Pasolini. He had previously published several collections in Greek, including The Paint (I Bogia). Nickname: Palermu Motto: Official website: http://www. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... Ferruccio Parri (January 19, 1890 - December 8, 1981), Pinerolo, Piedmont was an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy for several months in 1945. ... Pier Paolo Pasolini (March 5, 1922 - November 2, 1975) was an Italian poet, intellectual, film director, and writer. ... Milan (Italian: Milano; Milanese -dialect of Lombard-: Milán) is the main city of northern Italy, and is located in the plains of Lombardy, the most populated and developed region in Italy. ...

Poems

Promise

The teardrops which you will see

flowing from our eyes

you should never believe

signs of despair.

They are only promise

promise for Fight.

(Military Prisons of Bogiati, February 1972) Image File history File links Alekos_Panagoulis_Palazzo_Medici. ...

Vi scrivo da un carcere in Grecia, 1974

My Address

A piece of match for pen

Blood dropped in the floor for ink

The forgotten wrapping of gauze for paper

What should I write?

My Address only perhaps I manage

Strange the ink and it freezes

I write you from a prison

in Greece

(Military Prisons of Bogiati, 5 June 1971 – After biting)

Vi scrivo da un carcere in Grecia, 1974.

The Paint

I gave life to the walls

a voice I gave them

more friendly so that would become my company

and the guards asked

to know where they could find the paint

The walls of the cell

kept the secret

and the mercenaries searched everywhere

but paint they could not find

Because they did not think for one moment

that they should search into my veins

Vi scrivo da un carcere in Grecia, 1974

Legacy

The life and the work of Alexandros Panagoulis attracted the interest of artists. Renown music composer Mikis Theodorakis, also persecuted by the Junta, set some of his poems to music. Moreover, the poetry and the life of A. Panagoulis became object of study of several researchers. These include Un Uomo (A Man), written by the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, his companion. Mikis Theodorakis Mikis Theodorakis (Greek: Μίκης Θεοδωράκης) (b. ... Oriana Fallaci Oriana Fallaci (born June 29, 1929) is an Italian journalist , author and political interviewer. ...

To many Greeks, Alexandros Panagoulis's attempted "tyrannicide" rendered him a symbol of freedom, democracy, human rights and civil and political freedoms. He constitutes a unique instance in which an attempted assassin has been elevated to the status of hero of democracy due to his political ethos. Tyrannicide, literally means the killing of a tyrant. ...

The Greek State, upon the persuasion of Panagoulis's friends and admirers, issued a postage stamp in his honour (1996), a prepaid telephone card (1996), and gave his name in public squares and stations, including the Alexandros Panagoulis Metro Station in Athens (2004).

Notes

1. ↑ FALLACI, O. (1976), Interview with History, Boston, Houghton Mifflin, p. 342.