Greece Restores Historic Home of Pavlos Melas, Heroic Officer of Macedonia

After the renovations which commenced in August of 2019 have finally been completed, the historic home of officer Pavlos Melas has now been fully restored, and a celebration of the restoration is scheduled for Wednesday, October 13th, the 116th anniversary of his death.
The home, located in the northern Athenian suburb of Kifissia, had once been reduced to rubble, a deplorable state for the home of one of Greece’s most important military heroes.

Pavlos Melas was a hero in the northern Greek region of Macedonia’s struggle for freedom from the Ottomans in the late nineteenth century.
Born in 1870 in the French city of Marseille to Greek parents, Melas traveled to Athens, where his father Michael Melas had once served as mayor, to study. He later joined the Hellenic Army.
His marriage to Natalia Dragoumi, the daughter of influential Macedonian politician Stephanos Dragoumis, along with his naturally patriotic sentiments, led him to lend his full support to Macedonia’s long-fought struggle for freedom from the Ottoman Empire.
While much of the rest of the country had already been liberated from Ottoman rule, Macedonia still had not been reunified with Greece at that time. The region was also threatened by Serbia’s and Bulgaria’s plans for territorial expansion.
Entering Macedonia under a pseudonym, Melas mood at the forefront of many battles for the region’s freedom, until he was betrayed and killed by the Ottomans in 1904. His death was not for naught, however, as it brought even more awareness to the struggle against the Ottomans in Greece.
The hero’s home has now been restored to its former glory. The ceremony honoring its re-opening will be attended by Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Speaker of the Parliament Kostas Tasoulas.
Many Greek military and cultural officials will also be in attendance at tomorrow’s ceremony.