On 29 November 1908, in a Thessaloniki still under Ottoman rule, a group of Greeks voted on the first statute of a purely Greek gymnastics club. That meeting gave birth to Iraklis, the club the city respectfully calls the "Elder". This year the blue and whites celebrate 118 years, and we look back at their story through their shirt.

The Music Lovers and the first ball

Iraklis has its roots in Omilos Filomouson, a literary and music society founded in 1899. A few years later, around 1902, its members took up sport, and on 23 April 1905 their football team beat another local side 3-0. After the society ran into financial trouble, some of its members set up the Macedonian Gymnastic Club, with physician Alkiviadis Maltos as its first president. That is the birth certificate of Iraklis.

A name from mythology

After the Young Turk revolution in 1910, the club had to remove the word "Macedonian" and adopt a title acceptable to the authorities. It was then that the name "Iraklis" (Heracles) first appeared, in honour of the ancient demigod, which also gave the team its second nickname, "Imitheos" (the Demigod). After the city's liberation, the club was officially registered as Gymnastic Club of Thessaloniki "Iraklis" on 11 January 1915. Two national heroes, Georgios Ivanof and Georgios Katsanis, also belong to the club's story, and facilities of the club bear their names today.

Why blue and white

In a city where the Greek flag could not fly freely, the members chose its colours for the shirt. Blue and white quietly declared the identity of the athletes, which is why fans call the players the "Kianolefkoi" (Cyan-Whites). The classic kit is blue and white stripes, but over the decades Iraklis has also worn all blue, all white, a chessboard pattern and hoops. Away from home the team usually chose white or orange. In 2024-25 the shirts were made by Lotto, and since 2025 by Erima.

The demigod on the badge

The emblem of the parent club shows Heracles resting on his club. The pose recalls the famous Farnese Hercules, a statue copying a 4th-century BC work by Lysippos. The football team uses a simpler symbol: a capital Greek Eta (H) inside a circle, familiar to generations of fans in the stands.

The night of 1976 and "Nureyev"

Since 6 November 1960, Iraklis has played at the Kaftanzoglio. Its brightest page, however, was written in Athens on 9 June 1976, in the Greek Cup final against Olympiacos. The match ended 4-4 after extra time and Iraklis lifted the trophy 6-5 on penalties. Two of the goals came from Vasilis Hatzipanagis, the magician from Tashkent whom many called the "Nureyev" of Greek football. With 281 appearances and 61 goals up to 1990, he remained the face of the club. In 1985 came the Balkans Cup too, after a 5-4 aggregate win over Argeș Pitești.

Hard times and a return

The Elder has also lived through hard times. In 1980 the club was relegated over a bribery affair in which it was later cleared, and in 2011 it was demoted administratively to the fourth tier despite never finishing in a relegation place. Mergers and fresh starts followed, but the fans never left. In 2023 supporters raised 225,000 euros in three working days to settle one of the club's debts.

Happy birthday, Elder. One hundred and eighteen years after the meeting of the Music Lovers, the blue and white shirt still carries the same pride it did in the Thessaloniki of 1908, and everyone who loves the history of Greek sport wishes it many more grounds to be worn on.

Browse our retro football shirts at sportarena.gr.

Photo: Kaftanzoglio – Hansi667, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0.