Vagias was born in Lekel, Ottoman Empire, modern southern Albania.
He participated in several conflicts during the Greek revolution that led to the independence of Greece.
[1] He participated in a number of major conflicts such as the Second Siege of Missolonghi (1823) under Kitsos Tzavelas and the Battle of Domvraina.
[1] He also fought in the Battle of Arachova (1826) under commanding general Georgios Karaiskakis.
There Vagias together with revolutionary leader, Gardikiotis Grivas, commanded a force of 500 men and succeeded in annihilating an invading unit of 1,500 Ottoman-Albanians.