January 5

Events

• 1668: Methodius III is elected Patriarch of Constantinople.
• 1822: Elias Mavromichalis lands in Aliveri with 600 Maniates to aid the cause of the Greek Revolution on the island of Euboea.
• 1825: Greek War of Independence General, Theodoros Kolokotronis, is put on trial by the revolutionary government.
• 1837: Athens City Council President, Ioannis Makriyiannis, brings up the subject of a constitution during a session. His suggestion is greeted with applause by the Council.
• 1900: The city of Piraeus gets electric lighting.
• 1913: During the First Balkan War, the Greek Navy engages the Ottomans at the Battle of Lemnos.
• 1941: A Greek Army football team plays against an English one (4-2) at Leoforos. Two months later, Panathinaikos face a team of English aviators (6-2). The English took these initiatives aiming to reinforce the ties with the Greek people.
• 1941: Greek warships bombard Italian positions in Avlona.
• 1959: Stavroula Gouvoussi drowns her daughter-in-law Metaxia with the help of her son Dimitris. For this crime, she will become the first woman executed for a crime in Greece. Dimitris Gouvoussis will be executed as well.
• 1964: Patriarch Athenagoras meets Pope Paul VI on the Mount of Olives. It marks the first time the leaders of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church have met since the Council of Florence in the 15th Century.
• 1972: 27-year old electrician, Vasilis Lymperis, sets his mother-in-law's house on fire killing her, his estranged wife and his two children.

Sports

• 1940: Greek boxer, Anton Christoforidis, marks his US debut by defeating Willie Pavlovich in Madison Square Garden, New York.

Births

• 1867: Dimitrios Gounaris, politician
• 1908: Pantelis Zervos, actor
• 1950: Achilleas Aslanidis, footballer
• 1972: Sakis Rouvas, singer

Deaths

• 2009: Evangelos Depastas, athlete (800m and 1500m).
• 2025: Costas Simitis, former PM of Greece