in 1692 alexios was born in the village of potamous. an ottoman turk beat his fifty-five-year-old father almost to death and pursued everyone named alexis. the fortune of the alexis family was confiscated. his two older brothers, manolis and yiannis (aged 22 and 29), retaliated and war began in zenia, a nearby village in lassithi plateau, forcing them to move alexios from potamous to marmaketo to save him from vengeance.