Kyra-Frosini was a legendary figure in Epirus prior to Greek independence. Kyra-Frosini was the wife of Ioannina merchant Dimitrios Vasiliou, renowned in the area for her beauty and intelligence. As her husband was away for extended periods of time to Venice, on business, she met and had an affair with Muhtar Pasha who was the eldest son of the region's ruler, Ali Pasha. The wife of Muhtar Pasha found out about the affair while her husband was away in Adrianople, went to Ali Pasha and demanded that he take action. Ali Pasha proceeded to arrest Kyra-Frosini in person and locked her up in prison along with 17 other women, also adulteresses. The arrest caused an uproar amongst Ioannina's Greek community and Ali Pasha hesitated to take action. Finally, two days later, on January 11, 1801, he ordered the 18 women to be drowned in Lake Pambotis. The execution took place but the local Greeks came to view the women - especially Kyra-Frosini - as martyrs of their faith and nation. Kyra-Frosini was buried with honours and her two children were taken in by the Bishop of Ioannina who was her uncle. Many songs and poems have been written on the subject with the view that she was a Christian woman who had fallen but repented and was unjustly executed.
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