August 17

Events

• 1901: Archaeologist Ch. Tsountas announces the discovery of a neolithic settlement in Sesklo, near Volos.
• 1909: The Great Powers demand that Turkey negotiates the Cretan matter only with themselves and not Greece.
• 1944: German troops execute 148 Greeks in Kokkinia, Piraeus.
• 1999: A powerful earthquake (6.6 on the Richter scale) causes extensive damage to Izmit (Nicomedia) Turkey. Greek rescue units will be among the first on the scene. A political rapprochement between the countries will follow.
• 2007: PM Costas Karamanlis formally requests that President Karolos Papoulias dissolve Parliament and proclaim general elections.

Sports

• 2004: Judo athlete, Elias Eliadis, wins gold in the Athens Olympic Games.

Deaths

• 2001: Nikos Goumas, President of AEK FC.
• 2012: Panos Markovits, football coach.
• 2020: Savvas Theodoridis, footballer