Gonos Yotas


Gonos Yotas was a Slavophone Greek Macedonian fighter in the Macedonian Struggle from Plugar, a village near Giannitsa. He was the first cousin of the Bulgarian IMRO band leader voivoda Apostol Petkov.. Gonos had been a Bulgarian komitadji for four years, from 1900 till 1904. As his mother was a Patriarchist and he harboured pro-Greek feelings, he deserted the IMRO bands and joined the Greek side in October 1904, entering the service of the Greek consulate of Thessaloniki in 1905. He was active in the area of Giannitsa, beginning his action in October 1904, initially as a guide in the marshes of Lake Giannitsa. He helped return 6 villages from the Bulgarian Exarchate to the allegiance of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. In March 1905, he joined the first well-organized Greek military group. Next year, he cooperated with Tellos Agras, achieving great successes. From 1908, he started to act with his own military group, in the end of the same year he sheltered in Athens. He was killed in a battle with the Ottoman army at the lake of Giannitsa on 12 February 1911, after a betrayal.

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