Dimitrios Indares | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Δημήτριος Ινδαρές |
| Born | around 1777 |
| Allegiance |  First Hellenic Republic |
Dimitrios orDimitrakis Indares (Greek:Δημήτριος Ινδαρές/Δημητράκης Ινταρές) was a fighter of theGreek War of Independence.
Indares was born inLeivartzi, a village inAchaea, around 1777, to family expatriated fromMystras. His family name was Papadopoulos, but he was nicknamed 'Indares' from the Turkishidare (= administration, direction, management), Indares (= commander, chief of a military corps).[1] Until the final adoption of this surname, he signed as Spiliopoulos ('son of Spilios').
As a young man he went toZakynthos, where he joined theBritish Army for a short time. There he was initiated into theFiliki Eteria and then undertook the initiation of the 33 villages of the Leivarzi-Kapeli area.[2] On March 16, 1821, he organized the attack against the Turks ofMostenitsa and set fire to the tower of the Muslim Albanian landowner fromLalas, Elmaz Agha, where he found plenty of ammunition, part of which he contributed to the siege of the towers ofKalavryta. This fact is probably the first attack at the beginning of the revolution against an inhabited settlement, since the attack to the city of Kalavryta andKalamata took place later.[3]
The attack on Elmaz Agha's tower was in part motivated by revenge against Elmaz for having abducted his cousin Eleni, daughter of the local magnate Christodoulos Papadopoulos.[4] The romance between the Muslim Elmaz Agha and the Christian Eleni around the year 1800, was a major local event and became a legend, which survived as a folk song with various variations.[5]
At the battle ofPyrgos, on April 3, 1821, as the leader of a group from Kalavryta he hurried to strengthen the defense of the rebels underCharalambos Vilaetis against the attack of the numerous Albanians of Lala.
While the Lalaians had already entered the city looting and destroying, and the body-to-body conflict was now raging in the area of Agios Charalambos (Kanoulia), the arrival of the Kalavryta rebels took the Turks by surprise. Attacked in their rear, they were forced to withdraw.[6]
Indares offered great services in thebattle of Lalas, at Pousi, where, among other things, he provided the tools used by the Greek rebels to entrench themselves. He showed great zeal as he went alone from outpost to outpost, expecting a night attack from the Turks.[7]
He fought in the battle ofAgios Vlasis (July 1827), as the leader of a contingent from his home area and contributed to the effort ofTheodoros Kolokotronis, to recover the villages of Achaea that had submitted to the Ottomans. Some 1,100 Greeks, led by Vassilios Petimezas, Dagres fromArgos and Indares, were attacked by 6,000 Turks under Deli Ahmed and 2,000 turncoat Greeks under D. Nenekos. Indares was seriously injured.[8]
His activity is also mentioned in other military operations: inPatras,Akrata,Alonistaina,Piana, Chrepa,Kremasti (Monemvasia), Gerakovouni.
In 1825 theProvisional Administration of Greece promoted him tochiliarch. After the end of the war, he became an officer of theRoyal Phalanx, with his final promotion on August 27, 1845, to the rank ofCaptain of the Phalanx (equivalent to Colonel).
He is registered in the Archive of the Struggle Committee (EBE) as Spiliopoulos / Indares, with several reports on his activities and important signatures.
In amemorandum that Indares submitted to KingOtto of Greece in 1844, he includes a brief account of his participation in the war but also of his subsequent activity in the community of the wider area of Kalavryta. The memorandum is in the General Archives of the State.[9]
His grandson was the Greek-Australian journalistLambros Indares [el].