His real name was Ioannis Triantaphyllou and was born in 1797 in the Avoriti settlement of Krokyleio Fokidas. He received the nickname Makriyannis, which means “long John”, because of his height. In 1811, he reached Arta, occupied himself with trade, and became a wealthy man.
In 1820, Makriyannis joined Filiki Etaireia and immediately took part in the preparations for the Greek War of Independence. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Castle of Arta, but he bravely withstood torture and escaped from prison. During the Greek Revolution, Makriyannis get involved in several battles, such as the «battle of Stavros», «the battle of Peta», «the siege of Arta», and «the defense of Nafplio», and «the siege of Acropolis of Athens».
In 1829, Makriyannis began to chronicle his “Memoirs”, considering it his duty to document the events for future generations. Memoirs were first published in 1907 and in December 1983, published the second manuscript entitled “Visions and miracles”.
Makriyannis, living the events, became part of Greek History and is still mentioned today, for his live-action as “General”, “Statesman”, “Warrior of the Greek Revolution” and “Author”.
«Because I am illiterate and cannot keep order in my writings» mentioned Makriyannis in the prologue of his memoirs.
«I also made mistakes and I do, I am human. And our good and bad must be written». These are the concluding words of the epilogue of Makriyannis’ memoirs.