Daskalogiannis

SKINNED ALIVE BY THE TURKS

Daskalo Gianni ("Giannis The Teacher"), was one of the many leaders in the Cretan aspect of the rebellion. He was born in Anopoli, the village on the hill top above Chora Sfakion. At the end of the Turkish occupation (1669 - 1898) in 1770 the Turks had offered a settlement to the Cretans where there would be no more deaths. Daskalo Gianni, knowing full well he was walking into a trap, went to meet the Turkish leaders. He hoped that something could be resolved, or at the very least, his death could provide a pivotal point of inspiration for the liberation of Crete. Needless to say, the Turks brutally tortured him and beat him in an attempt to extract strategic information from him. Even after they skinned him alive, he would still not betray his people to the barbaric enemy. He died of his injuries quickly. These were followed by riots which led to the declaration of Crete as an independent “Cretan State” in 1898.

Daskalogiannis