Tag Archives: Georgios Grivas Digenis (Γεώργιος Γρίβας Διγενής)

Archbishop Makarios III (Αρχιεπίσκοπος Μακάριος Γ’) and Georgios Grivas Digenis (Γεώργιος Γρίβας Διγενής) busts

Γρίβας και Μακάριος ΣΙΜΑΕ (1)n Γρίβας και Μακάριος ΣΙΜΑΕ (2)n Γρίβας και Μακάριος ΣΙΜΑΕ (3)n Γρίβας και Μακάριος ΣΙΜΑΕ (5)n

Artist: Leonidas Spanos

Location: Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 Struggle (SIMAE) premises, Strovolos. Nicosia district

Material: Bronze

Category: Cypriot Church, ΕΟΚΑ 1955-59, Public Figures

Photography: Evangelia Matthopoulou

The memorial was commissioned in 2002 by the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 Struggle (SIMAE) and the unveiling took place on April 13th 2005.

Selected sources:
~ Σημερινή (Simerini), February 17, 2009.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), February 17, 2009.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2008.9, Meeting Minutes April 10, 2008.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2009.10, document March 24, 2009; Meeting Minutes March 12, 2009.

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Georgios Grivas (Γεώργιος Γρίβας) statue

Ανδριάντας Γεώργιου Γρίβα Διγενή (3)n Ανδριάντας Γεώργιου Γρίβα Διγενή (12)n

Artist: Theodoulos Theodoulou

Location: Georgios Griva Digenis Avenue, Limassol. Limassol district

Material: Brass

Dimensions: 2.42 meters

Category: ΕΟΚΑ 1955-59

Photography: Evangelia Matthopoulou

Georgios Grivas’ statue is located in the yard of his hideout, which is now a memorial place. The initiative for the statue, which is identical to that of the “Monument to Memory and Honor” at Chlorakas made by the same sculptor, was commissioned by the General Georgios Grivas Digenis Foundation in Athens and its branch in Cyprus. It  was supported through extensive fundraising. The unveiling took place on January 27th 2002 to coincide with the commemoration of his death.

Because of Georgios Grivas’ (known mostly as Grivas Digenis) disagreements with President Archbishop Makarios III after 1960 and especially before his death in the beginning of the 1970s, the initiatives to create a memorial caused ongoing conflicts and confrontations among political parties and local authorities until the unveiling of the statue in 2002.

Selected sources
~ Θάρρος (Tharos), July 7, 1980, p. 8.
~ Πολίτης (Politis), June 5, 2004.
~ Σημερινή (Simerini), March 27, 1985, p. 4.
~ Σημερινή (Simerini), September 25, 1985, p. 3
~ Σημερινή (Simerini), March 15, 1986, p. 2.
~ Σημερινή (Simerini), June 3, 1986, p. 14.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), January 27, 1997, p. 3.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), January 28, 1997, p. 4.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), January 29, 1997, p. 7.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), January 30, 1997, p. 5, 10.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), May 17, 1997, p. 16.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), August 8, 1997, p. 20.
~ Χαραυγή (Haravgi), February 13, 2002.
~ Αρχείο Δήμου Λεμεσού (Limassol Municipality Archive), 15.3.01.

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The 1955-59 Heroes’ grove

Ηρώον Απελευθερωτικού Αγώνα ΕΟΚΑ 55-59 (5)n Ηρώον Απελευθερωτικού Αγώνα ΕΟΚΑ 55-59 (6)n Ηρώον Απελευθερωτικού Αγώνα ΕΟΚΑ 55-59 (13)n Ηρώον Απελευθερωτικού Αγώνα ΕΟΚΑ 55-59 (16)n Ηρώον Απελευθερωτικού Αγώνα ΕΟΚΑ 55-59 (21)n

Location: Pelendri – Kato Amiantos main road, Pelendri. Limassol district

Category: ΕΟΚΑ 1955-59

Photography: Evangelia Matthopoulou

The “Forest of the 1955-59 Heroes” is an extensive and complex memorial place made up of separate but interconnected parts: the Propylaea; the stele for the victims; the Fighters’ Hall; the hero-martyrs stairs; the Panayia Eleftheriotissa chapel; the EOKA oath text; the Honor Monument or Liberty Monument; the memory flame; and the heroes’ grove. 

The Pelendri memorial place is dedicated to the hundred and eight EOKA 1955-59 fighters who died during the struggle. Around Pelendri area a considerable number of conflicts took place and many hideouts of EOKA fighters were located.

The initiative for the memorial was taken by the EOKA 1955-59 fighters’ association of Limassol city and district (ΣΑΠΕΛ/SAPEL). Subsequently the coordination of the construction, which lasted from 1994 to 2001, and its funding was undertaken by the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle (ΣΙΜΑΕ/SIMAE). The first inauguration took place on September 28th 1997, while some parts of the construction were still pending completion. A second event followed on November 11, 2001 specifically for the exhibition place in the Fighters’ Hall. 

On the walls of the Propylaea two inserted copper plaques bear the portraits of Archbishop Makarios III and Georgios Grivas (known as Digenis) made by Leonidas Spanos.

Close by, in the Fighters Hall, is situated Evangelos Moustakas’ work titled “Liberty breaks its chains”. It is a modern, abstract synthesis in brass, based in insinuation than in narration. However, the dynamic formation of the trapped in the rods liberty, or victory, clearly pictures the struggle required. 

In the basement of the hall a series of paintings titled “Hymn to Liberty”, made by Andreas Makariou, narrate in a stylized way eloquent scenes of martyrdom, fighting, death, hope and heroic deeds. Andreas Makariou is also the artist of the paintings at the “Agios Georgios Boat Museum” in Chlorakas, where the second extensive and complex memorial dedicated to EOKA 1955-59 is located. 

The path, the “hero-martyrs stairs”, which leads to the Honor’s Monument or Liberty Monument is 650 meters long and is made up of 108 steps, each one symbolically dedicated to one of the dead fighters. Their names are engraved on marble plaques and inserted in the steps.

The Honor’s Monument or Liberty Monument is situated on a plateau overlooking the valley and the surrounding mountains. It consists of three parts: a low horizontal cement wall, a vertical pillar and the altar with the sacred fire, the eternal flame.

On the cement wall Evangelos Moustakas has carved a bas relief on a white marble plaque which symbolically and in a stylized manner narrates the martyrdom of the fighters. The waving flag, the replicated pieta pattern, the angel of victory who hastens the dead, and the sun implying hope, life and symbolizing resurrection make part of the narration. The end result bears strong aesthetic similarities to the reliefs on the commemorative wall in Chlorakas’ commemoration place made by the same artist. Under the bas relief, on the sloped surface of the marble is engraved the EOKA oath extending and accentuating the preceding visual narration. 

The inauguration of the memorial place took an extensive celebrative and symbolic form: a number of EOKA memorials all over Cyprus were symbolically selected by SIMAE to join with religious rituals for the Pelendri main events. In addition, on the eve of the inauguration a ceremonial ritual torch flame was lit at each selected memorial site and they were carried to Pelendri to light its altar. The flame was kept lit over night and during the inauguration ceremonies the following day.

Selected sources:
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), September 22, 1997, p. 8. 
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), September 24, 1997, p. 4. 
~ Κρατικό Αρχείο Κύπρου, Αρχείο Πολιτιστικών Υπηρεσιών Υπουργείου Παιδείας & Πολιτισμού (State Archive of Cyprus): 268/1968/12, Meeting Minutes September 27, 1994. 
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.94.7, vol. 7, Meeting Minutes September 14, 2008.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2008.9, document June 6, 2008.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2009.10, Meeting Minutes May 7, 2009. 

Keywords:

Monument to Memory and Honor

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Μνημείο ΕΟΚΑ 1955-59, Ανδριάντας Γρίβα (8)n Μνημείο ΕΟΚΑ 1955-59, Ανδριάντας Γρίβα (17)n

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA  old location

Artists for the Monument for Memory and Honor: 

Sculptor: Nikos Kouroussis, Architect: Margarita Danou

Artist for Georgios Grivas (Γεώργιος Γρίβας) statue: 

Theodoulos Theodoulou

Artist for the reliefs: Evangelos Moustakas

Artist for the paintings: Andreas Makariou

Location: Chlorakas coast, Agios Georgios/Alyki location. Pafos district.

Dimensions: 14 meters, + 1.5 meter the stainless steel rays of the Monument

2.5 meters the Grivas statue

Category: EOKA 1955-59, Modern sculpture

Photography: Adrienne Christiansen & Evangelia Matthopoulou

The initial planning and the meetings for the construction of an extensive memorial area started in 1993 among SIMAE (Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggles), Chlorakas community and the EOKA 1955-59 Fighters’ Union. The memorial area commemorates two historical events. The first is the arrival of Georgios Grivas (known as Grivas Digenis) at Chlorakas on November 11, 1954 with a view to organize and lead EOKA (National Organization of Cypriot Fighters) guerilla struggle. The second is the capture of “Agios Georgios” boat by the British soldiers on January 25, 1955. The arrangement of the place would include the already existing small museum where “Agios Georgios” boat was kept. The artistic proposals were submitted to the special committee SIMAE created for this specific reason.

Kouroussis’ Monument to Memory and Honor was placed at the exact place where George Grivas disembarked marking the start of EOKA struggle. According to the artist’s initial description, the two pillars, made of cement and coated with bronze, originate from the shape and symbolic function of a belfry – as a call to arms – while the stainless steel rays on the top would depict a ship. His proposal was promoted in November 1996 as the most appropriate of all submissions for consideration. Nevertheless during the process of the construction the ship depiction was abandoned by Kouroussis and the abstract arrangement of rays took its place. The unveiling of the Monument took place on November 26th 2000.

Georgios Grivas statue was commissioned by SIMAE; the General Georgios Grivas Digenis Foundation; and the EOKA 1955-59 Fighters Union. It is an exact copy of Georgios Grivas’ statue at Limassol, made by the same artist, Theodoulos Theodoulou. The unveiling took place on November 26th 2000.

The statue was initially placed in front of the Monument to Memory and Honor. After intense protests by the artist Nikos Kouroussis and the architect Margarita Danou, it was moved and placed close to the nearby commemorative wall.

The reliefs on the commemorative wall that connect the monument with the museum are sculpted on white marble by the Greek sculptor Evangelos Moustakas. They narrate the arrival of Grivas, the weapons’ transportation and the capture of “Agios Georgios” boat. They were commissioned by SIMAE and the EOKA 1955-59 Fighters Union.

After its capture, “Agios Georgios” boat was sold by the British in 1960 in an auction. The Mayor of Pafos, following Makarios’ III instructions, bought the boat and placed it in a covered area, constructed for that purpose. This initial construction was renovated and expanded in 1994 and, again, in 2000. Today it is named ”Agios Georgios Boat Museum”. In addition to the boat, inside the museum remnants of the guerrilla guns and ammunition are displayed, while black and white photographs of EOKA fighters decorate part of the walls around the boat. The paintings on the walls follow a distinct aesthetic of socialist realism and capture such symbols as the Greek flag and the cross; figures of the crew; “Agios Georgios” boat; “Sirin” ship (with which Georgios Grivas arrived in Cyprus in November 1954); and stylized scenes of the debarkation.

Approximately 200 meters from Alyki location where Georgios Grivas disembarked in 1954, Zina Kanther built a small chapel dedicated to Saint George. The Diocese of Pafos commissioned the frescoes made by George and Alexander Konstantinidis.

Selected sources:
Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), August 26, 1993, p. 17.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), June 14, 1996, p. 16.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), July 5, 1996, p. 11.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), November 10, 1998, p. 2.
~ Φιλελεύθερος (Fileleftheros), November 27, 2000, p. 10.
~ Κρατικό Αρχείο Κύπρου, Αρχείο Πολιτιστικών Υπηρεσιών Υπουργείου Παιδείας & Πολιτισμού (State Archive of Cyprus): 268/1968/13, Meeting Minutes November 8, 1995.
~ Κρατικό Αρχείο Κύπρου, Αρχείο Πολιτιστικών Υπηρεσιών Υπουργείου Παιδείας & Πολιτισμού (State Archive of Cyprus): 268/1968/14, Meeting Minutes May 3, 1996.
~ Κρατικό Αρχείο Κύπρου, Αρχείο Πολιτιστικών Υπηρεσιών Υπουργείου Παιδείας & Πολιτισμού (State Archive of Cyprus): 268/1968/16, Meeting Minutes February 25, 1998.
~ Κρατικό Αρχείο Κύπρου, Αρχείο Πολιτιστικών Υπηρεσιών Υπουργείου Παιδείας & Πολιτισμού (State Archive of Cyprus): 268/1968/18, document December 11,1998.
~ Αρχείο Συμβουλευτικής Επιτροπής Μνημείων Υπουργείου Παιδείας & Πολιτισμού (Advisory Monuments’ Committee), 14.3.01/5, document February 27, 2003.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2008.9, documents January 11, 2008; June 6, 2008; Meeting Minutes May 13, 2008.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2009.10, document April 16, 2009; Meeting Minutes April 26, 2002; April 9, 2009; May 7, 2009.
~ Ιστορικό Αρχείο ΣΙΜΑΕ (Historical Archive of the Board for the Historical Memory of the EOKA 1955-59 struggle), 17.2009.11, documents May 12, 2009; June 12, 2009; October 27, 2009.

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