Notable Figures from My Hometown: A Glimpse into Greek History and Culture

1. Famous people of my hometown

2. Socrates One of the most important philosophers in ancient history  He was born in 469 BC and died in 399 BC.   He’s considered to be the founder of Western Philosophy.

3. Pericles  495-429 BC  He was an ancient Athenian politician, lecturer and general of the 5thcentury BC, known as the golden age of Athens.  He was claimed the first citizen of Athens

4. Mikis Theodorakis 1925- 2021 • • A great music composer and politician. • He composed the music for the famous film ‘ Zorba the Greek’ , ‘Serpico’ and many more. • We was a nominee for Grammy awards and Nobel awards. • He is considered one of the most important composers in the world.

5. Odysseas Elytis  A great poet and man of letters  He was born in 1911 and died in 1996  He is one of the most praised poets of the second half of the twentieth century, with his Axion Esti "regarded as a monument of contemporary poetry". In 1979, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

6. Aristotle Onassis  20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975  He was one of the richest men in the world.  He was a famous ship-owner who had the biggest fleet of tankers all over the world.  He owned the Greek airline company ‘ Olympiaki Airlines’  He owned an island in the Ionian sea, called ‘Scorpio’.

7. Maria Callas  1923-1977  She was a Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.  People used to call her ‘ Divine’ because her voice was wonderful  Her fame travelled all over the world with lots of awards in classical music.

8. Melina Mercouri  1920- 1994  She was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician.  She was a Minister of culture in Greece  One of her greatest achievements was the establishment of the European Capitals of Culture with Athens chosen as the first capital in 1985.  Mercouri's political activism included her long campaign for the return of the Parthenon Marbles

9. George Papanikolaou  1883-1962  A famous Greek doctor, biologist and researcher  He became known for his invention of the Papanicolaou test, commonly known as Pap test, which is used worldwide for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer and other cytological diseases of the female reproductive system.

10. Kostas Kenteris  Born in July 1973  He is a Greek former athlete.  He won gold medals in the 200 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2001 World Championships in Athletics and the 2002 European Championships in Athletics, making him the only European sprinter to win the gold medal in all three major competitions and the only European World Champion in the 200 metres races.  He has won two gold, three silver and two bronze medals in the European Cup, as well as three gold medals in the 200 metres at the Athens Grand Prix Tsiklitiria.  He is also a 14-time golden medalist at the Greek Athletics Championships and a five-time golden medalist at the Greek Indoor Athletics Championships.

11. Miltos Tentoglou  Born in 1988  He is a Greek long jump athlete, who is considered as one of the best long jumpers of all time.  He won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest  He is the world champion in the long jump

12. Giannis Antetokoumpo  Born in 1994  An international NBA basketball player. He has been a MVP many times in the last few years  He is widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards and one of the greatest players of all time.  He has the nickname ‘ Greek freak ‘

13. Presented by: Stamatis, Jim A , Margaret, Helen, Rafailia, Nefeli, Thanos, Michael G, Aias A, Stefanos, Harry, Alex, Panagiotis, Aias T, George, Jim S, Myrto, Lina, Aggelos, Michael, Joanna, Iriana, Konstantina Learn English – Discover Europe 2024