Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (), commonly referred to as Iraklis Thessaloniki, is a multisports club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece.
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908 and is one of the oldest and most historic sporting clubs in Greece, hence the nickname "Gireos" (). In 1910, the name "IraklÃÂs" (, ) was added to the club's name to honour the ancient Greek demigod Heracles (or Hercules as the Roman equivalent), hence the nickname "Imitheos" (). The club's colours are blue and white, inspired by the flag of Greece.
History
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis traces its roots to 1 July 1899 when Omilos Filomouson () was established. The club was established as a cultural union of the Greeks of Thessaloniki (then under Ottoman sovereignty), and its sports department was founded in 1902. In 1903 the club joined forces with Olympia, another Greek Gymnastic Club of Thessaloniki. Football was a new sport at the time, but rapidly increasing in popularity and thus the board of directors decided to line up a football team. The first football match by the Omilos Filomouson team was held on 23 April 1905 which won by 3âÂÂ0 against Union Sportive, a team of the Western European diaspora of Thessaloniki.
Later on, Omilos Filomouson faced financial problems. As a result, members of Omilos Filomouson founded on 29 November 1908 a new sporting club, called Makedonikos Gymnastikos Syllogos (), that gained a permission to operate by the Ottoman authorities. The new club's first president was a Greek doctor, Alkiviadis Maltos. The name of the club had a direct reference to the ethnic tensions that took place in the area at that time.
Due to the Young Turks revolt of 1908 and their promises for ease of ethnic tensions in the area, the club was forced to change its name. Thus a new name was decided in 1910 for the club, Othomanikos Ellinikos Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (). ähe name "IraklÃÂs" () was added to the club's name as an honour to the ancient Greek demigod. The new name was approved, together with a new statute and a new board of directors, by a general assembly of the club on 13 April 1911.
After the integration of Thessaloniki in the Kingdom of Greece on 26 October 1912, the operation of the club was accepted by the Greek courts in 1914 and became a fully registered sports club on 11 January 1915 as Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" ().
Crest and colours
The crest of G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis depicts the demigod Heracles in a moment of rest leaning on his gnarled club, a scene inspired by the statue of Farnese Hercules, itself a copy of a statue crafted by Lysippos in the 4th century BC. Throughout the entire club's history, its colours are blue or cyan and white to resemble the colours of the flag of Greece given the fact that G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was established while Thessaloniki was a part of the Ottoman Empire. The club is so known in Greece as "Kianolefkoi" ().
Sections
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis maintains sections in many sports including:
Former Sections
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (men's inline hockey) (founded in 2008) â Inline hockey
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (men's ice hockey) (founded in 2008) â Ice hockey
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (men's cricket) (founded in 2015) â Cricket
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (cycling) (founded in 1931) â Cycling
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (wrestling) (founded in 1924) â Wrestling
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (boxing) (founded in 1965) â Boxing
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (judo) (founded in 1979) â Judo
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (ju jutsu) (founded in 2022) â Ju Jutsu
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (weightlifting) (founded in 1920) â Weightlifting
- G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (teqball) (founded in 2025) â Teqball
Honours
Source:
Basketball
Source:
Volleyball
Source:
- Greek Championship
- Champions (5): 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012
- Greek Cup
- Winners (6): 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2012
- Greek Super Cup
- Winners (4): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
ÃÂthletics
Source:
Men
- Greek Championship
- Champions (6): 1975, 1976, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986
- Greek Cup
- Winners (2): 1979, 1990
Women
- Greek Championship
- Champions (1): 1991
- Greek Cross Country Championship
- Champions (6): 1967, 1981, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2009
- Greek Cup
- Winners (3): 1989, 1990, 1991
Source:
Men
Women
- Greek Rugby Sevens Championship
- Champions (2): 2014, 2024
Fencing
Source:
Men
- Greek ÃÂpée Team Championship
- Champions (1): 1983
Women
- Greek Foil Team Championship
- Champions (1): 1978
Freestyle wrestling
Source:
Men
- Greek Championship
- Champions (11): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
European honours
Notable supporters
- Grigoris Arnaoutoglou, TV presenter
- Thodoris Atheridis, actor
- Nikos Chatzivrettas, basketball player, former Iraklis player
- Athanasios Giannousis, former Mayor of Thessaloniki
- Konstantinos Karamanlis, former Prime Minister of Greece
- Georgios Lianis, former Minister of Sports, politician
- Georgios Katsanis, former Iraklis athlete, special forces in the 1974 Cyprus war
- Savvas Kofidis, football player and coach, former Iraklis captain
- Nikos Kouvelas, basketball player, former Iraklis player
- Sotiris Kouvelas, former Mayor of Thessaloniki, former MP
- Andrej Kravárik, Slovak volleyball player, Greek champion with Iraklis
- Alekos Leonis, volleyball player and coach, Greek champion with Iraklis
- Giannis Mangriotis, politician, former Minister of Macedonia-Thrace
- Theodoros Karaoglou, politician, former MP
- Lefteris Kakiousis, basketball player and coach, former Iraklis captain and coach
- Konstantinos Kosmopoulos, former Mayor of Thessaloniki
- Lazaros Kyrizoglou, former mayor of Ampelokipi, Thessaloniki
- Theocharis Manavis, former Mayor of Thessaloniki
- Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, former Iraklis athlete, saboteur during German Occupation (1941-44)
- Anastasios Katsabis, footballer, former Iraklis captain
- Ieroklis Michailidis, actor
- Giorgos Orfanos, former Minister of Sports, politician
- Lazaros Papadopoulos, basketball player, 2005 European champion, former Iraklis player
- Michalis Papadopoulos, former Mayor of Thessaloniki
- Daniil Papadopoulos, football player and coach, former Iraklis captain
- Lakis Papaioannou, former football player
- Eleana Papaioannou, singer
- Antonis Remos, singer
- Dimitris Starovas, musician, actor
- Paschalis Terzis, singer
- Polina Trigonidou, model, journalist, volleyball player
- Fanis Toutziaris, footballer, former Iraklis player
- Dimitris Verginis, basketball player, former Iraklis player
References
See also
External links