Peter Jeffreys  

     The Soliotis connection to the Petimezas family both predates the Greek revolution and continued well into the nineteenth century when members of both families intermarry.  The Petimezas clan were klefts (brigands) who ran afoul of the Turks as early as 1804 and had to flee Kalarvryta for the island of Zakynthos where they ultimately served in the British army and became accomplished soldiers.[1]  They would fight in many pivotal battles during the Greek Revolution, often side by side with the  Soliotis brothers.  Nikolaos  Soliotis was especially close with Nikolaos and Golfinos Petimezas, who were friends as well as comrades in arms.  These battles are noted by Soliotis in his Historic Essay and include the clash with Arnaoutoglou in March 1821 and the campaigns against Dramalis in August 1822 and against Imbrahim at Kastraki in May 1826.

     The Petimezas family made significant military and political contributions to the life of the Greek nation¹.  Whereas Soliotis’s career following the revolution remained rather static, the members of the Petimezas family were better at leveraging their positions to capitalize on their fame and status as heroes of 1821.  They succeeded in charting notable careers as military commanders, ministers of government, and members of parliament.  Nevertheless, the bonds between the two families remained strong.  Soliotis’s son Charalambos married Maria Petimezas, the daughter of Golfinos.  Their son Nikolaos (the physician) in turn married Vassiliki Petimezas, the granddaughter of Nikolaos Petimezas and daughter of Athanasios Petimezas, linking the families a second time (see the Family Tree for the genealogical details). The historic intersection of these two dynasties of the 1821 revolution is a notable instance when patriotism and camaraderie aligned to create unique family legacies.

¹ See the fine monograph by Stathis Koutrouvidis and Antonis Petmezas, Οικογένεια  Πετμεζά (Μέλισσα 2021) for a thorough history of the Petimezas family.