Hellenic Military Academy
Pattakos was born on 8 November 1912, in the village of Agia Paraskevi in Rethymno Prefecture, Crete, and studied at the Hellenic Military Academy. He was married to Dimitra Nikolaidi and had two daughters, Rosa and Eirini. His parents were farmers. He served as a Lieutenant during the Greco-Italian War (1940-1941) and as cavalry captain and cavalry major during the Greek Civil War (1946-1949). He was a deeply religious man.