Nikolis Apostolis was a Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 naval commander during the Greek War of Independence

Greek War of Independence

The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...

. Apostolis was born on the island of Psara

Psara

Psara is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small uninhabited island of Antipsara it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The only town of the island and seat of the municipality is also called...

 in 1770. He was initiated into the Filiki Eteria

Filiki Eteria

thumb|right|200px|The flag of the Filiki Eteria.Filiki Eteria or Society of Friends was a secret 19th century organization, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece and to establish an independent Greek state. Society members were mainly young Phanariot Greeks from Russia and local...

 in 1818. When the revolt against the Ottoman Empire broke out in 1821, Apostolis commanded a squadron of some 20 ships and was successful in keeping the Ottoman navy bottled up in the Dardanelles, preventing them from supplying and reinforcing their army in the Peloponnese

Peloponnese

The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...

. Apostolis continued the struggle even after his native Psara was attacked and sacked

Destruction of Psara

The Destruction of Psara was an event in which the Ottomans destroyed the civilian population of the Greek island of Psara on July 5, 1824. According to George Finlay, the entire population of the island Psara before the massacre was about 7,000....

 by the Turks in 1824. He helped supply the army and people of Messolonghi by running through the Ottoman blockade during the final siege of that city. He died in Aegina

Aegina

Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...

on April 6, 1827.