The Gregoris Afxentiou SAGA

On 21 January small groups became active in the villages of the area in order to seize hunting guns. 22 January was fixed as the day for collection of guns. According to information they had, the British laid ambushes and carried out searches. Thus some groups could not operate. The Palechori group was attacked with the result that Kyriacos Kokkinos was injured while Giorgos Matsis escaped. The Agros and Ayios Ioannis groups with Batarias and Avgoustis managed to seize the weapons. In Agros, Afxentiou cooperated with Diomedis Mavroyiannis (Agamemnon). From there he moved to Papoutsa and started to construct a very well designed hideout in Aetofolies. He reconstructed the group which had been scattered and brought the weapons which the group had hidden at Phini in the bus of Georgios Spyrou. The sector under his command was enormous. It included the villages: Palechori, Agros, Agridia, Dymes, Potamitissa, Pelendri, Ayios Mamas, Trimiklini, Kato Amiandos, Pano Amiandos, Omodhos, Kilani, Kyperounta, Handria, Spilia, Kannavia, Saranti, Alithinou, Livadhia, Lagoudera, Polystipos, Alona, Platanistasa, Fterikoudi, Askas, Ayios Constantinos, Ayios Pavlos, Zoopigi, Kalo Chorio, Louvaras, Arakapas, Eftagonia, Macheras Monastery, Pharmakas, Lazania, Fikardou, Kapedes, Analiontas, Ayios Epiphanios, Lefkara, Klirou, Kalo Chorio, Deftera, Lythrodontas, Pera Pedi, Mandria, Arsos, Potamiou, Platres, Phini. The sector mentioned above was “the heart of EOKA”. Gregoris Afxentiou moved constantly in the whole area. His object was to seize weapons. At the end of January 1956, Polycarpos Yiorgatzis escaped from the Kokkinotrimithia detention camp and joined the Afxentiou group at Papoutsa. Afxentiou was now busy constructing hideouts in houses together with Michael Ashiotis. In February 1956, accompanied by Giorgos Matsis, he went to Macheras Monastery and became acquainted with Abbot Irineos. On 15 March 1956 the fighters boarded the bus of Kyriacos Tryphonos and drove to Kyperounta from where they reached Handria on foot, where they joined Polycarpos Yiorkatzis and Andreas Tsiartas.