Grigoris Pieris Afxentiou (22 February 1928 – 3 March 1957) was a Greek Cypriot guerrilla fighter who fought against the British Colonial rule of Cyprus and is considered a national hero. In the hierarchy of EOKA (the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) he was second in command to General Georgios Grivas, with a nom-de-guerre of Zidhros.
On 3 March 1957, after an informant had betrayed his location for the sum of £5000, the British forces surrounded Afxentiou and four fellow fighters outside his secret hideout near the Machairas Monastery. Afxentiou ordered his comrades to surrender but he stayed within the cave to fight. Refusing to relinquish his arms, Afxentiou quoted King Leonidas of Sparta by shouting "molon labe" (“Come and take them”) and a seven hour firefight commenced. Ultimately, petrol was used to ignite the cave and Afxentiou perished at the age of twenty nine, a hero to his people and a continuing symbol of Cypriot pride.
In fear of a popular uprising, the British buried his scorched body in the yard of the Central Jail of Lefkosia where he still lies today.
Monuments to the young warrior are present in every town in Cyprus, but there are none as impressive as the statue we’ve brought you to see today. Standing proudly, the Eagle of Machairas gazes over the lands he died to liberate and if you check nearby caches you’ll be taken to the site of his hideout and demise, and a modern-day representation of an eagle perched majestically on a nearby hill. Terrorist or freedom fighter? Whatever your view, he was a patriot and one whom Cypriots hold dear – you’d be advised not to try logging this cache on either 3 March (the anniversary of his death) or on 1st April, a Public Holiday in Cyprus commemorating National Day which marks the start of the struggle for independence. Huge crowds, including the President of Cyprus, gather at Afxentiou’s feet to mark the occasion and it might be politic to wait for a quieter day.
Don’t forget to visit the little museum commemorating Grigoris, it’s mostly in Greek but is free and worth some of your time – it’s an interesting snapshot of a time in history not that long ago and an even more interesting insight into the minds of a people who spent thousands of years occupied by one power after another. Cyprus eventually gained independence on 16th August 1960 and Independence Day is celebrated island wide every 1st October.
TO LOG THE CACHE
It’s ironic that this wondrous statue of a man who died defying the British Colonial powers was cast in London, as is shown by the written markings on the bottom of the statue: “CAST BY MERIDIAN LONDON.
To log the cache please upload a photo of this writing, and to thwart armchair cachers or back dating of finds, the photo MUST contain something that proves you were there and that you haven’t just downloaded it from the internet or a previous holiday photo. So, a photo of the writing with your GPS, or phone, or a piece of paper with your caching name on it, or even your wife/husband/dog pointing at the writing will do. You get the gist. It’s a simple task and logs not following the requirement will be deleted.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.