Davelis: The Greek Jesse James and the Haunted Treasure Cave

Legendary bandit Christos Davelis, 2nd fractional of the 19th period (crop). Bequest of Odysseas Fokas. National Gallery  Public Domain

The sanction of Christos Davelis has go a Greek legend. He was a hardened road robber, a loved and feared outlaw, a ladies’ man, and had a treasure cave named aft him.

Christos Natsios (his existent name) was calved successful Steiri, a colony successful Boeotia, to a household of shepherds from Epirus successful 1832. This was soon aft Greece was liberated from Ottoman rule.  When helium was young, helium worked arsenic a shepherd successful the pastures of the Daou Monastery successful Penteli until 1 time his beingness changed dramatically.

A hegumen gave him a missive to present to a nun. Out of curiosity, the young shepherd took it to idiosyncratic to read, since helium couldn’t work himself. He recovered retired that it was a lover’s missive and decided to conscionable the nun himself. Natsios was a handsome young antheral and the nun surrendered to his charms. When the hegumen recovered out, helium was enraged and accused Natsios of theft. He was arrested and was consequently severely beaten with a cane. After this event, helium returned to his village.

There, helium fell successful emotion with the girl of a clergyman and had an matter with her. However, the clergyman had arranged for his girl to wed a affluent farmer. When the husbandman discovered that his aboriginal bride had had an affair, helium decided to avenge himself against the young man. He pointed Natsios retired to a Greek service detachment looking for a deserter named Nastos. Natsios tried to person them that his sanction was not Nastos but to nary avail. As a effect of this brushwood helium escaped and took to the mountains.

Entrance to the Davelis Cave, Penteli Mountain. Public Domain

Natsios becomes Davelis

Once connected Penteli Mountain, helium joined a pack of bandits led by the celebrated Kakarapis, a relative of his mother. Soon helium formed his ain pack and adopted the nickname Davelis. They robbed travelers, villagers and shepherds from the Attica, Evia, Boeotia and Phthiotida regions.

Another pivotal infinitesimal successful Davelis’ adventurous beingness was erstwhile the Italian duchess Luisa Bacoli arrived successful Greece, hoping to prosecute the pack for extortion connected her travel to Delphi. The duchess fell successful emotion with Davelis. That angered his second-in-command, Yiannis Megas, who was besides lovestruck by the duchess. Such was his obsession with her that helium near the pack and joined the Gendarmerie, swearing that helium would pursuit down Davelis.

Davelis’ astir celebrated feat took spot successful 1855 erstwhile his pack kidnapped a high-ranking French service serviceman who had arrived astatine Piraeus Port with the ngo of preventing Greece’s information successful the Crimean War connected the broadside of Russia. Davelis demanded a ransom of 30,000 drachmas successful golden to merchandise the French officer. This was exorbitant for the time. The Greek authorities had nary prime but to wage the ransom instantly for fearfulness of sparking a superior diplomatic quality that could perchance pb to the interference of overseas powers successful Greek politics.

Davelis’ fable grew successful magnitude erstwhile helium recovered structure successful a cave connected Penteli Mountain, considered to person been haunted, arsenic a hideout. The cave is portion of a subterranean analyzable linked to galore different caves. It has been associated with supernatural phenomena. In ancient Greece, it was a spot of worship of the deity Pan and was associated with a cult of Nymphs. In the Middle Ages, Christian hermits utilized the cave arsenic their location and built a religion astatine its entrance. Later, it was utilized by heretical monastic groups that divided from the Orthodox Church.

Eventually, it was named the Davelis Cave. Urban fable has it that Davelis has hidden important treasures successful its depths.

The Davelis folklore

By 1856, the pack was operating chiefly successful Athens. In a amusement of strength, the Davelis pack entered the suburban Menidi gendarme presumption and forced the gendarmes to surrender each their guns. The humiliating incidental angered the Gendarmerie and a merciless hunt for Davelis was ordered. Davelis and his men went into hiding, portion helium corresponded with Duchess Bacoli, who offered him harmless transition to Italy. Somehow the letters were intercepted by Davelis’ nemesis, his erstwhile partner, Yiannis Megas.

On July 12, 1856, a gendarmerie detachment, led by Yiannis Megas, located the pack adjacent the colony of Zemeno successful Boeotia. A dense engagement ensued. Davelis, seeing his overpowered comrades autumn 1 aft the other, challenged Megas to a duel to the death.

Megas, inactive vengeful, rushed to chopped disconnected Davelis’ caput with his lance, but Davelis managed to onslaught and termination him first. A gendarme changeable Davelis, fatally wounding him, portion reportedly shouting, “Neither Davelis successful the mountains, nor Megas successful the palaces.” The gendarmes nailed Davelis’ caput to a rod successful Syntagma Square that they near connected nationalist presumption for respective days thereafter.

This added to the fable of Davelis. For decades to follow, tidbits of the beingness and feats of the legendary bandit, whether existent oregon imaginary, fueled the imaginativeness of Greeks. Among the legends surrounding Davelis was 1 claiming that helium often disguised himself to bent retired astatine Athenian cafés to chat with patrons.

Another fable was that helium was the person of the French Duchess of Piacenza (Δούκισσα της Πλακεντίας successful Greek) who had a mansion connected Penteli Mountain. Supposedly, helium visited her done an underground passageway beneath the Davelis Cave.

The sanction Davelis has go engraved successful the corporate caput of Greeks. He was a larger-than-life bandit who was admired and feared astatine the aforesaid time, and the cave named aft him volition support his sanction live for generations to come.