Klepht

As Kleften or Klephts (Greek Kleftes Κλέφτες " robber " ) refers to rebels in the freedom struggle of the Greeks against Ottoman rule.

The Kleften recruited originally from Greeks who escaped from various reasons, the Turkish Justice and went to the mountains. They changed over time of bandits to resistance fighters.

Since the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453 and the subsequent disintegration of the Byzantine Empire, there had been small, usually meaningless attempts at insurrection of small groups and individual settlements that were always put down by the local Ottoman forces. Nevertheless, there were many who went for their struggle for freedom on mountains and in forests to do from there repeatedly attacks. Mainly caravans passing and supply organizations were raided under Ottoman flag. The rebels were not popular in the whole population, but had the most innocent farmers pay for their attacks.

1770 they organized an uprising against the Turkish rule. Although there were up to the beginning of the revolution in 1821, no further successes on the part of the Greeks, but was born a myth that gave courage and hope. So the Kleften had a not insignificant part of the freedom struggle. Your free life in the mountain regions of Greece found in folk songs and ballads reflected and lives in songs and legends to this day.

Kleftiko

The Greek court ( Greek, Κλέφτικο Kleftiko = Räuberart ), a slow- cooked in a closed container roast of lamb or goat, bears his name back on the Kleften. Since this could hide and thus had to hold any own herds, they stole other people and their livestock fed on them in part. This " tradition " stayed even later, when the shepherds are mutually stole the lambs, not to decimate their own herds.

Famous Kleften

• Athanasios Diakos
• Georgios Karaiskakis
• Theodoros Kolokotronis
• Laskarina Bouboulina

• Greek History ( Modern Times )
• Greek Cuisine