Many Greek Australians would have the blood of warriors running in them, your ancestors who fought valiantly in battle, but what we do with that blood is entirely up to us.

Some may even fight in battle today, and that is what Greek Aussie wrestlers The Parea are doing.

“We truly believe that we have the warrior blood of our Greek ancestors in our veins, and sometimes that’s the only thing that gets you through a day,” pro wrestler Gabriel Aeros told Neos Kosmos.

“You’re about to go out to battle, about to go out to war, and our ancestors literally would have stood at the front of a battlefield with a sword and a shield all those years ago, and somewhere along the line we were born, and that blood is still within us.

“I truly believe that The Parea has the ability to activate that blood and stand on that battlefield and fight like our ancestors did.”

Now take your mind back and picture your ancestor.

You feel the impact as your back hits the ground. Dirt flies into your mouth but you’re struggling to spit it out as you gasp for air having been winded from the slam. Fast forward a few days, and you’re in the same situation, only this time there’s blood everywhere as a spear impales you to the ground. You are an Ancient Greek soldier, first wrestling a fellow soldier days before you go out to battle, then fighting in said battle.

Thousands of years later, your descendent feels the same impact of hitting the ground, this time in a ring and for a different goal, to win a championship title.

This descendant is a member of wrestling tag team, The Parea, who are proudly representing their heritage as they battle it out in the ring.

Gabriel Aeros and Eli Theseus, The Parea, are bringing the Greek back to wrestling, a connection with strong history that seems to have fallen to the wayside.

Greeks and wrestling go hand in hand, dating back to Ancient Greece, with legend, literature and philosophy all referencing the sport and the ancient Olympics showcasing it. Soldiers wrestled as part of their training and leaders and philosophers often practiced it including Plato, Socrates and Aristotle.

Today, the Greek connection remains, but as the sport has evolved into different subgroups, including Greco-Roman and professional wrestling, the Greek prominence has somewhat disappeared in recent times, particularly for the latter.

Readers may know of professional wrestling, with its rise in popularity beginning in the 80s, older generations may recall the likes of Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant and ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. Popularity peaked in the late 90s and while viewership is no longer the level it once was, millions still watch pro wrestling, and more so WWE (the industry leader). And while it may be scripted and choreographed, it still takes a lot of skill, athleticism, and sacrifice.

Greeks had once dominated the professional wrestling industry in the early 1900s to 1930s.

The biggest Greek name was the ‘Golden Greek’ Jim Londos, who once drew a crowd of nearly 100,000 for a show in Greece.

Spiros Arion was another big name in Australia. Also dubbed the ‘Golden Greek’, Arion was an Egyptian born Greek and became a fan favourite on the Australian wrestling scene in the 60s and 70s. Thousands of Greek Australians would flock to shows to witness Greek greatness.

As for the last 30-40 years, there hasn’t been a real Greek representation, but we would be wrong to say there aren’t any wrestlers with Greek heritage, just none that really acknowledge or represent it.

That was until Aussie Greek sensations The Parea arrived on the scene.

The Adelaide based duo who are in their mid 20s, are five-time Tag Team Champions and on the rise to becoming one of the hottest acts in the industry.

Their goal? To wrestle for the number one company in the world.

“Our trajectory is towards the WWE. That’s our number one priority. That’s our number one focus point,” Theseus told Neos Kosmos.

“Whatever stops we must make on the way there, we’ll make those stops. And we want The Parea brand and ourselves as professional wrestlers to go as high as we possibly can, like if we could be the next John Cena (WWE’s biggest star of the last 20 years), that’s what we are willing to do and we want to do.

“So, we have no limitations on how high we want to go. The sky’s the limit for us.”

The pro wrestling scene in Australia isn’t as vast as it is in the US, Mexico, or Japan, so the spotlight doesn’t really reach the independent wrestlers here.

That is not to say there are no wrestling fans here, you just need to look back a few years.

In 2018, WWE did a premium live event that drew over 70,000 people, and Theseus says the independent wrestlers in Australia wonder where all these fans are.

He continues, saying The Parea want to help grow the wrestling scene in Australia, but that is not their priority. They have their eyes on a specific market of fans.

“We would like to help grow the scene as much as possible here, because it does benefit us, but we have business elsewhere.”

“If we can continue to carve out an individual side market with the Greek community in Australia, then I think that will do wonders for our progress, transitioning into a more mainstream market.”

Aeros added that it isn’t just the Greek community their representing, but all cultural groups.

“We can represent the whole Greek and even ethnic community because our community and cultural group is very similar to that of the Italians and the Lebanese etc,” he told Neos Kosmos.

“The Parea is something that a lot of these people can get behind.

“We have shows where a lot of Italians will come up to us or just boys that we sort of look like or behave like, those who are culturally similar.

“We want to make a big thing for us and now that we’re at the level we’re at, we aren’t just known as ‘those boys from the area’. We have taken something that we’ve all wanted from kids, and we’ve taken it to the top and we’re representing the whole community.”

Aeros, whose real name Anastasios Charabidis, is Greek on both sides of his family, with his mum’s side from Zakynthos and his dad’s side from Korinthos and Kalamata.

Theseus’ real name is Elijah McGregor-Dey, is half Greek from his mother’s side and half Scottish Anglo from his dad’s side.

The two formed their team at Riot City Wrestling after immediately connecting as young Greek Australians.

“It sort of just took off for us with The Parea to be honest with you,” Aeros said.

“Because Elijah and I connected on a very deep level with of our cultural heritage, and growing up in a very similar household, we thought it’d be dumb not to be a tag team.

“In wrestling everything is sort of gimmicked, as you know if you’re a wrestling fan. So, we created something very special early on, on a personal and business level. And the Parea is essentially now the biggest brand in the whole of Australian wrestling, and soon to be the world I believe.”

Being Greek Australian, Theseus and Aeros relate in many ways to Greek Aussies.

Interestingly, they both grew up playing Aussie rules footy rather than soccer like many other young Greek boys.

One way they, particularly Aeros, relate to others in the community is the backlash or misunderstanding from relatives.

While Theseus’ family were more accommodating of his aspirations, Aeros’ had more backlash. His father was supportive, however his mother feared the sport. The misunderstanding comes from his grandparents.

“My yiayiathes and papouthes on both sides, I still don’t even think they understand what I’m doing and I’ve been doing it for eight years,” said Aeros.

“They’ll be like – ‘how’s the fighting going?’ I say it’s going well, and they say ‘ok’. Like they try to understand, but they don’t really understand, which is very sweet in a way.”

“It’s hard, and they just want you to be safe. They’re like ‘don’t get hurt’.”

Both men have dealt with the trials and tribulations of trying to succeed as a pro wrestler, to the point where the idea of quitting doesn’t sound too bad.

In wrestling there is a demand to look, talk and wrestle a certain way and travelling constantly, and the tax on your personal life is immense, with both men revealing they have lost relationships because of it.

The Parea implore the Greek community to get behind them, because they aren’t doing it just for themselves, but for the entire community.

“Honestly get around The Parea. You won’t regret it. We’re here to stay. We’re going to take this global, and it’s probably not too far off,” said Theseus.

“We’re going to be up there with George Kambosos Jr, Nick Kyrgios, and all of these Greek Australian athletes. It’s going to be The Parea’s name next to these guys.”

Aeros encouraged people to follow their journey “because it’s going to make a lot of people in the community very proud. And I think it’s important that you see it from the bottom up. Because you can say I saw The Parea when they were just young boys, and now they’re the biggest stars in the world”.

“We’re the biggest thing in the whole Australian wrestling scene… and we represent the Greek community and the ethnic community very passionately on our backs. And we’re going to carry that all the way to the top of Mount Olympus.”

Want to follow their journey? Follow them on Instagram at @gabrielaeros and @elitheseus