Panagiotis Krevvatas – Fighter of 1821
Panagiotis Krevvatas was born in 1785 in the area of Mystras. He was the eldest son of Dimitrios Krevvatas and Klina Notaras (sister of Andrikos Notaras). His teacher was a preacher called Maximos. He came from an old aristocratic family that had settled in Laconia in the 14th century.
His grandfather, Panagiotis, had taken part in the Orlof Revolt, and after the failure of the movement, he fled to Hydra. The Turks confiscated his property. His father, Dimitrios, however, managed to get it back and send his son to Italy for studies. After his father’s death, Panagiotis Krevvatas became one of the notables of Mystras, while at the same time, he also engaged in trade (mainly silk). Before the Revolution, he was one of the wealthiest men of the Peloponnese and one of the members of the Philiki Etairia – Company of friends (initiated by Christopher Cornelius). His primary concern was the running of schools in Lacedaemon.
At the beginning of March 1821, he left his province and went to Kalavryta, while on March 10th or 13th, he took part in the candidates’ meeting in Agia Lavra. On March 26th, he returned to Mystras, where he led the uprising in the area. Then, on May 26th, he participated in the Assembly of the Kaltesians for the coordination of the Revolution and was appointed a member of the Peloponnesian Senate. He also participated in the siege of Tripolitsa and was, in fact, one of the first to enter the city on September 23rd, 1821. In December of the same year, he took part in the siege of Corinth.
In 1822, he became a member of the Parliament, granting the military leadership of Mystras to Panagiotis Giatrakos, and in July (after the invasion of Dramalis in the Peloponnese), he fled to Tripolitsa. On the way, he met Theodoros Kolokotronis and a solid friendship developed between them, which also caused his murder. Specifically, at the request of Kolokotronis, Krevvatas offered food, munitions and 1,000,000 coins for the needs of the war (thus contributing to the defeat of Dramalis). They returned to Argolis alone without the deputies and ministers. With his attitude, however, he provoked their envy and enmity. Thus, they convinced Panagiotis Giatrakos (an opponent of Kolokotronis) to turn against him. On November 16th, 1822, people of Yatrakos, with his brother George as the main organiser, ambushed Panagiotis Krevvatas in the area of Kyani Skala (near the Kopanos bridge) on the river Evrotas and killed him on horseback. They then stripped and looted his dead body. Panagiotis Krevvatas passed away at the age of just 37.