As you walk around the town centre of Neapoli, you will come across five statues, all located within walking distance of each other.
1. Outside the entrance to the Folklore Museum (which is housed in the old High School of Neapoli) is a statue to Nikolaos Grammatikakis
(1863-1926), who was the Headmaster of the High School.
2. Walk up the hill towards the park and at the bus stop opposite the bus station, up a small flight of steps, there is a small alcove with the
statue of Roussos A. Koundouros (1891 – 1944). He was born in Agios Nikolaos and attended Neapoli High School, before going to Athens
University to study Law. After graduating he joined his cousin’s practice in Chania. In 1926 he was elected as the Deputy of Lasithi. From
1930 to 1939 he held the position of President of the Municipal Council of Agios Nikolaos. He was instrumental in improvements to the city,
e.g. electric lighting, the opening of the hospital and improving the city’s water supply. He was married to Maria Pantermarakis, who was a
teacher from Neapoli, and they had five children together. He was a founding member of The National Liberation Front (EAM) in Crete. In
1944, the year of his death there were 1.8 million members; at that time the Greek population stood at 7.5 million people. He was arrested
by the Germans and, after being tortured, was executed. The Koundourios Municipal Library in Agios Nikolaos was founded in his memory.
3. Further on up the hill after about 25 metres, you will find the main entrance to the park, where you will come across the last three statues.
On the left you will see a memorial to Emmanouli Kokkinis (1826-1897), leader of Mirabello, who fought for Cretan independence.
4. On the right is a statue to Strathgos Zerbonikolas. He was from Madras, India, and the inscription says that he fought in the War of
Indepence, like a Cretan, even though he was a foreigner. It also says “I embraced death like a local man.”
5. In the middle stands the most impressive statue of Eleftherios Venizelos and the main square in Neapoli is named after him.
Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos was born in 1864, in Mournies, near Chania, Crete, which was at the time under Ottoman rule. His mother
was Styliani and his father was Kyriakos Venizelos, a merchant and revolutionary. When he was two years old the Cretan revolution broke
out and the family had to flee to the island of Syros because of his father’s involvement in the revolution. It wasn’t until 1872 that they were
allowed back to Crete. He graduated in Law from Athens University and practised in Chania. He had a passion for reading and could speak
English, Italian, German and French.
He later became a Greek statesman and leader of the Greek National Liberation Movement. He is credited with a significant role in the
autonomy of Crete and in the union of Crete with Greece. He was elected no less than eight times as Prime Minister of Greece, as leader of
the Liberal Party. He served from 1910-1920 and 1928-1933. One of the main contributions of Venizelos to Greek political life was the
creation, in 1910, of the Liberal Party. His influence was such that he is known as “The Maker of Modern Greece”.
Throughout his career he was always at odds with the Royalists and survived two assassination attempts. In 1920 King Alexander of Greece,
having ruled for only three years, died from blood poisoning caused by a monkey bite. The question then arose whether Greece should be
a monarchy or republic and Venizelos lost the 1920 election, resulting in King Constantine (Alexander’s father) being returned from exile.
Venizelos withdrew from politics and left for Paris. He signed the Treaty of Lausanne with Turkey on 24 July 1923, but was again forced into
exile after serving as Prime Minister in 1924. Whilst in exile he translated Thucydides into modern Greek, although he never saw its
publication in 1940.
He was to serve another term as Prime Minister in 1928, but was defeated in the 1932 elections.
In 1936 he suffered a stroke and died five days later in Paris. He is buried in Akrotiri, Crete. His funeral was a great ceremony with huge
numbers in attendance.
Athens International Airport is named after Venizelos.
In 1980, a film was released about his life.
Statues of Neapoli
As you walk around the town centre of Neapoli, you will come
across five statues, all located within walking distance of each
other.
1. Outside the entrance to the Folklore
Museum (which is housed in the old High
School of Neapoli) is a statue to Nikolaos
Grammatikakis (1863-1926), who was the
Headmaster of the High School.
2. Walk up the hill towards the park and
at the bus stop opposite the bus
station, up a small flight of steps, there
is a small alcove with the statue of
Roussos A. Koundouros (1891 – 1944).
He was born in Agios Nikolaos and
attended Neapoli High School, before
going to Athens University to study
Law. After graduating he joined his
cousin’s practice in Chania. In 1926 he was elected as the
Deputy of Lasithi. From 1930 to 1939 he held the position of
President of the Municipal Council of Agios Nikolaos. He was
instrumental in improvements to the city, e.g. electric lighting,
the opening of the hospital and improving the city’s water
supply. He was married to Maria Pantermarakis, who was a
teacher from Neapoli, and they had five children together. He
was a founding member of The National Liberation Front
(EAM) in Crete. In 1944, the year of his death there were 1.8
million members; at that time the Greek population stood at
7.5 million people. He was arrested by the Germans and, after
being tortured, was executed. The Koundourios Municipal
Library in Agios Nikolaos was founded in his memory.
3. Further on up the hill after about 25
metres, you will find the main entrance
to the park, where you will come across
the last three statues. On the left you
will see a memorial to Emmanouli
Kokkinis (1826-1897), leader of
Mirabello, who fought for Cretan
independence.
4. On the right is a statue to
Strathgos Zerbonikolas. He was
from Madras, India, and the
inscription says that he fought in the
War of Indepence, like a Cretan, even
though he was a foreigner. It also
says “I embraced death like a local
man.”
5. In the middle stands the most
impressive statue of Eleftherios
Venizelos and the main square in
Neapoli is named after him.
Eleftherios Kyriakou
Venizelos was born in 1864,
in Mournies, near Chania, Crete,
which was at the time under
Ottoman rule. His mother was
Styliani and his father was
Kyriakos Venizelos, a merchant
and revolutionary. When he was
two years old the Cretan revolution broke out and the family
had to flee to the island of Syros because of his father’s
involvement in the revolution. It wasn’t until 1872 that they
were allowed back to Crete. He graduated in Law from Athens
University and practised in Chania. He had a passion for
reading and could speak English, Italian, German and French.
He later became a Greek statesman and leader of the Greek
National Liberation Movement. He is credited with a
significant role in the autonomy of Crete and in the union of
Crete with Greece. He was elected no less than eight times as
Prime Minister of Greece, as leader of the Liberal Party. He
served from 1910-1920 and 1928-1933. One of the main
contributions of Venizelos to Greek political life was the
creation, in 1910, of the Liberal Party. His influence was such
that he is known as “The Maker of Modern Greece”.
Throughout his career he was always at odds with the
Royalists and survived two assassination attempts. In 1920
King Alexander of Greece, having ruled for only three years,
died from blood poisoning caused by a monkey bite. The
question then arose whether Greece should be a monarchy or
republic and Venizelos lost the 1920 election, resulting in King
Constantine (Alexander’s father) being returned from exile.
Venizelos withdrew from politics and left for Paris. He signed
the Treaty of Lausanne with Turkey on 24 July 1923, but was
again forced into exile after serving as Prime Minister in 1924.
Whilst in exile he translated Thucydides into modern Greek,
although he never saw its publication in 1940.
He was to serve another term as Prime Minister in 1928, but
was defeated in the 1932 elections.
In 1936 he suffered a stroke and died five days later in Paris.
He is buried in Akrotiri, Crete. His funeral was a great
ceremony with huge numbers in attendance.
Athens International Airport is named after Venizelos.
In 1980, a film was released about his life.
Statues of Neapoli
