He was killed on the night of August 11-12, 1956, by the ignition of explosive material.

Artemos Frantzeskou finished the primary school of his village and was a machinist. He studied social systems a lot and was an ideological socialist. From the beginning of the struggle, he took the oath of EOKA in Metohi of Kykkos together with other fellow villagers, of which he assumed the leadership under the nickname “Athos”. In November 1955, together with his fellow fighters, he carried out his first ambush against the English in their village. In January 1956, at the head of his group, he collected twenty-one shotguns, which he distributed to the surrounding villages. On May 21, 1956, they set up a second ambush against the British on the Athienou-Pyrogion road, in which they also used bombs of their own making.

At the suggestion of a chemist from their village, they lit vine sticks in a furnace and, when they became red coals, they closed the furnace and the coals were extinguished, without necessarily getting them wet. Then they ground the coals and mixed their powder with sulfur and nitrous. With this kind of gunpowder they filled their bombs with which they also supplied the surrounding villages. In this work, which was done at Francesco’s house, his parents and siblings also helped. On the night of August 11-12, 1956, while Artemos and other associates were manufacturing the gunpowder in his house, suddenly a spark fell on the tin box with the flammable material.

“Artemos”, his competitor narrates, “grabbing death in his arms, rushed out and saved us. We saw our leader burn like a candle. The next day, before we buried him, we paraded him honorably on our shoulders through all the streets of the village, wrapped in the Greek flag.”

The death of Artemos Frantzeskou like the death of other fighters in similar circumstances, is indicative of the difficulties encountered by the EOKA fighters in the titanic effort for the freedom of Cyprus.