Celebrate Oxi Day in Athens on October 28th, commemorating Greece’s defiant “No” to Mussolini in 1940. Join thousands at the vibrant parade through Syntagma Square, honoring bravery and national pride.
Tag: heroism
waiter at Karteros Beach, Crete, heroically saved a swimmer caught in strong currents, diving into the sea with a lifebuoy to bring him safely to shore. The incident, captured on video, has raised questions about the lack of professional lifeguards at the popular beach.
Manolis Bikakis, a 20-year-old Cretan commando, single-handedly halted a Turkish advance during the 1974 Cyprus invasion. Armed with a PAO and eight missiles, he destroyed six tanks and a battalion, saving Nicosia airport. Unrecognized in his lifetime, this “Greek Rambo” was posthumously honored in 2015.
In the dark of May 30, 1941, under Nazi occupation, two young Greeks, Manolis Glezos and Lakis Santas, scaled the Acropolis to strike a blow against tyranny. With only a knife and unyielding resolve, the 19-year-olds cut down the swastika flag, a hated symbol of oppression, from the sacred rock. As dawn broke, Athenians gazed in awe at the empty pole, their spirits lifted by an act of defiance that would echo through history.
Following the school and military parades in Alexandroupolis on October 28, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis stated that he aimed to convey a message of “spiritual uplift and national pride.” He highlighted Greece’s history of heroism, noting how Greeks have often prioritized a higher ideal over personal fate. “From Leonidas’ ‘Molon labe’ to the defiant spirit of the Souliotes and the nationwide ‘No’ of October 28, 1940, this Greek spirit serves as our beacon and our compass,” he declared.
