Odysseas Androutsos

Odysseas Androutsos Οδυσσέας Ανδρούτσος
Born	Ithaca, Republic of Venice
Died	June 5, 1825 Athens, Ottoman Empire
Battles/wars	Battle of Gravia, Battle of Vassilika
Relations	Andreas Androutsos (father)

Odysseas Androutsos (or Odysseus Androutsos, Greek: Οδυσσέας Ανδρούτσος) (1788–1825) was a hero of the Greek War of Independence.

Early life

He was born in Ithaca in 1788, however his family was from the village of Livanates in Phthiotis prefecture. His father was Andreas Androutsos, a klepht and his mother was from Preveza.

After losing his father, Androutsos joined the Turkish army of Ali Pasha and became an officer, however, in 1818 he joined the Friendly Society (Filiki Eteria) which was planning the liberation of Greece from the Ottoman Empire.

Greek Revolution

In May 1821, Omer Vryonis, the commander of the Ottoman army, advanced with 8,000 men, after crushing the resistance of the Greeks at the river of Alamana and putting Athanasios Diakos to death, headed south into the Peloponnese to crush the Greek uprising.

Battle of Gravia

Gravia Inn.

Odysseas Androutsos with a band of 100 or so men took up a defensive position at an inn near Gravia, supported by Panourgias and Diovouniotis and their men. Vrioni attacked the inn but was repulsed with heavy casualties (over 400 dead). Finally, he was forced to ask for reinforcements and artillery but the Greeks managed to slip out before the reinforcements arrived. Androutsos lost two men in the battle and earned the title of Commander in Chief of the Greek forces in Roumeli.

Downfall

Androutsos' glory did not last long. In the following year, 1822, he was accused by political opponent Ioannis Kolettis of being in contact with the Turks and was stripped of his command. Finally, in 1825, the revolutionary government placed him under arrest in a cave at the Acropolis in Athens. The new commander, Yiannis Gouras, who once was Androutsos' second in command, had him executed on June 5, 1825.

See also

• Battle of Gravia

Persondata
Name	Androutsos, Odysseas
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1788
Place of birth	Ithaca
Date of death	1825
Place of death	Athens