Mikis Theodorakis, Zorba musician, and political stalwart dies at aged 96
The musician will be best remembered for his disobedience to Zorba the Greek film and military rule
Renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, who made the classic film Zorba the Greek in 1964 and was a symbol of resistance to the former military junta, died in Athens in the aged years.
An outstanding genius and political surname, Theodorekis was revered for his inspiring music in his native country and his disobedience during the Janta period that ruled from 1967 to 1974.
Following the news of his death on Thursday, the Greek flag was flown at half-mast at the Acropolis, and Parliament observed a minute of silence.
But Theodorakis was perhaps the most famous in the world for his film title scores, including Z in 1969 and Serpico in 1973. His work ranges from opera to choral music and popular songs, providing a soundtrack to his country life.
Advertising
In recent years, he has suffered a heart attack, for which he had previously been treated in a hospital.
Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendonनी said: “Today we have lost a part of the Greek spirit. Mikis Theodorakis, our Mikis, teacher, intellectual, radical died. ”
The president, Katrina Skelaropoulo, hailed him as a “pan-Hellenic personality” who was “a universal artist, an invaluable asset to our music culture.”
“He was given a prosperous and fruitful life that he lived passionately, dedicated to music, art, a life dedicated to our country and its people, to freedom, justice, equality and social cohesion.”
Announcing the three-day national mourning, Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis said at a cabinet meeting: “Mikis Theodorakis is now going to eternity.
“His voice calmed down, and with him the whole Hellenism calmed down.”
Born into a Cretan family on the North Aegean island of Kiosk on July 29, 1925, Theodorakis joined the resistance against German and Italian occupation of Greece when he was 17 years old during World War II.
After completing his musical studies at the Paris Conservatory, Theodorakis was elected to Parliament in 1964 as a left-wing deputy. That same year he also acquired the theme of Zorba Greek, on which actor Anthony Quinn performed the popular Sirtaki dance which gained fame. “Jorba Dance”.
Theodorakis was one of the first left-wing politicians to be arrested when a dictatorship seized control of the government during the coup d’tat. Pardoned a year later, he joined the establishment of the Secret Patriotic Front, which led to another detention and a ban on his work.
Even in his old age, he showed an active interest in Greek politics and slipped into financial crisis, living in a house below the Acropolis in the eyes of a large number of people.
After coming to power in 2015, he slammed former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for betraying his left-wing roots by agreeing to implement drastic reforms as ordered by the European Union.
