Captain Konstantis Lachanas was born in Ano Vathy, Samos, in 1769. From a young age, he was drawn to the sea and eventually became a captain. Well-traveled and battle-hardened, he fought alongside Napoleon and, upon returning to Samos, joined the Karmanioli faction in their struggle to wrest control of the island from the traditional elite, the Kallikantzari. When the Kallikantzari regained power, Lachanas allied with the rebel Nikotsaras and fought with the Serbs, who were revolting against Ottoman rule. He was renowned for his bravery, and after saving his troops from thousands of enemies during a battle at Strymonas river, the area was named after him.
Introduced to the Filiki Eteria by Gerasimos Svoronos, Lachanas owned a ship called “Pythagoras.” At the onset of the 1821 Greek Revolution, Captain Lachanas raised the revolutionary flag in Pygadaki, Ano Vathy, inviting his fellow islanders to revolt. Logothetis appointed him commander of the Third Regiment. He played a crucial role in the victorious battles for Samos and witnessed the “Massacre of Chios”.
Despite his military successes, Lachanas was deeply affected by the decision of the Great Powers not to include Samos in the new Greek state in 1830. A few years later, Samos was placed under the Principality regime, condemning the island’s revolutionary leaders to lifelong exile. Captain Lachanas left Samos and sought refuge in free Greek lands. In 1834, he was honoured by royal decree. He died in 1842 as a Major of the National Guard and was buried with public honours. A monument was erected in Pygadaki, Vathy, where he first raised the flag of revolution.
