Rocambole Gang: A tour of Athens during the time of the Greek Bonnie and Clyde
The notorious Rocambole Gang (Rokamvol/Ροκαμβόλ in Greek) operated in Athens in the late 1920s and caused fear among the city’s residents and upset law enforcement authorities. The gang consisted of brothers Andreas and Koula Christofileas (Ανδρέας και Κούλα Χριστοφιλέα) as well as other casual members. The way they acted and the time coincidence with the famous criminal couple of America, resulted in them becoming known in the criminological history of Greece as the Greek “Bonnie and Clyde”.
In this article, we combine the narration of the events from the gang’s story with a travel tour of the parts of the city where it took place. In our narrative, we follow the chronological order of the events but at the end of the article, you will also find a tour suggestion based on the locations of the events. At the same time, through archive photographs, we try to represent Athens of that time.
