University Of Athens

Nikos Kazantzakis was a Greek writer whose works earned him nine nominations for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Regarded as a giant of modern Greek literature, Kazantzakis achieved international fame when his works, such as The Life And Times Of Alexis Zorba and The Last Temptation of Christ, were adapted into feature films. 

Constantine II of Greece reigned as the King of the Hellenes from 1964 until 1973 when the Greek monarchy was abolished. His reign culminated in the Greek junta and the former King of Greece was forced into exile when the countercoup against the junta failed. Constantine is also a former sailor who won an Olympic gold in the 1960 Olympics.

Georgios Papanikolaou was a Greek physician who was a pioneer in early cancer detection. He reported that uterine cancer cells could be detected in vaginal smears as early as 1928, but his work did not receive much attention until the 1940s. He invented the Papanicolaou test, commonly known as the Pap smear or Pap test for cervical screening.  

Stavros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon who was credited for building the world's biggest supertankers. He is also credited with founding an international shipping company named Niarchos Ltd. Niarchos is also remembered for his love for horses. A renowned thoroughbred horse breeder and racer, Stavros Niarchos was often ranked number one on the breed list in France.

Alexis Tsipras is a Greek politician who served as the Prime Minister of the country from 2015 to 2019. From 2018 to 2019, he served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The current Leader of the Opposition, Alexis Tsipras has also been serving as the president of Syriza, the left wing political party in Greece . In 2015, he was named among 100 most influential people by Time.

New Democracy member Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who has served as the president of Greece, is also a former minister of the interior. Born to a teacher, he initially studied law and then served in the Hellenic Army, before eventually joining the faculty of law at the University of Athens.

Nikolaos Michaloliakos is a Greek politician best known for founding and leading the far-right political party Golden Dawn. A convicted criminal, Michaloliakos and 67 other political leaders from his party, were found guilty by the Athens Appeals Court of leading a criminal organization.

Georgios Papandreou was a Greek politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece on three occasions between 1944 and 1965. Papandreou, whose illustrious political career spanned over 50 years, is also credited with founding the Papandreou political dynasty. Georgios Papandreou was also counted among the best orators in Greece.

A Greek music icon, Anna Vissi had started training in music at age 6 and won her first talent contest at age 12. Born in Cyprus, the singer later moved to Athens and also briefly studied law. After soaring to fame with Eurovision, she gradually became one of Greece’s best-selling artists ever.

Andreas Papandreou was a Greek politician and economist. An influential political figure, Papandreou is credited with founding PASOK, a political party which he led between 1974 and 1996. Andreas Papandreou also served as the Prime Minister of Greece on two occasions. He is also remembered for popularizing turtleneck sweaters among his political supporters, causing an uproar among his political foes. 

Konstantinos Karamanlis had been a 2-time president and 4-time prime minister of Greece. A qualified lawyer, he stepped into politics with the Populist Party and held important cabinet posts, such as that of the minister of labor. His efforts led to Greece joining the European Economic Community.

Odysseas Elytis was a Greek poet, translator, and essayist. He is widely regarded as one of the most popular and important exponents of romantic modernism of his generation. He is also one of the most celebrated poets of the latter half of the 20th century. Odysseas Elytis was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979.

Konstantinos Mitsotakis was a Greek politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on two occasions; from 1980 to 1981 and then in 1992. From 1990 to 1993, he also served as the Prime Minister of Greece. Konstantinos Mitsotakis is also credited with nurturing his son Kyriakos Mitsotakis' political career, who is the current Prime Minister of Greece.

One of the world’s most prominent computer science theorists, Christos Papadimitriou is also a professor at Columbia University. Best known for his research on computational complexity, he has also contributed to areas such as the theory of evolution, game theory, robotics, and economics. He has taught at Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, too.

Cornelius Castoriadis was a Greek-French philosopher, economist, social critic, and psychoanalyst. He is known as a co-founder of the Socialisme ou Barbarie group. An influential author in both academic and activist circles, he was the author of The Imaginary Institution of Society. Later in life, he joined the faculty of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS).

Konstantinos Stephanopoulos was a Greek politician best remembered for serving two successive terms as the nation's president from 1995 to 2005. One of the most honored and respected politicians, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos was known for his gentlemanly behavior, one to keep a low-key profile even during his presidency. 

Karolos Papoulias was a Greek politician who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on two occasions; from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1993 to 1996. An influential and popular politician, Karolos Papoulias also served as Greece's President from 2005 to 2015.

Legendary Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis was one of the prominent figures of Éntekhno orchestral music and was one of the first to popularize the rebetika genre. His Greek movie score Ta Pediá tou Pireá, or Never on Sunday, was the first foreign-language film track to win an Academy Award.

Dimitris Avramopoulos is a Greek politician who has served in several high-level cabinet posts, including the Mayor of Athens, Minister for National Defence, Minister for Tourism, and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Dimitris Avramopoulos also had a successful career as a diplomat and also worked as former Prime Minister of Greece Konstantinos Mitsotakis' Special Adviser.

Part of the Demotic movement of the late 1800s, Greek poet Kostís Palamás later pioneered the new school of Athens, also known as the Palamian School, which rejected the traditional literary styles and introduced a significant restraint. He is remembered for his works such as Trisevgene and Asalefte Zoe.

Born in Cyprus, Alkinoos Ioannidis failed to learn the drums due to the lack of drum trainers in Nicosia and leaned the guitar instead. He later moved to Greece to study theater and then deviated to music. Apart from performing at concerts in Greece and Cyprus, he has also headlined festivals.

Seraphim of Athens served as the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece. In his capacity as the Archbishop, a position which he served from 1974 until his death in 1998, Seraphim of Athens visited the Patriarchates of Belgrade, Sofia, Antioch, Moscow, and Constantinople. During his 24-year tenure as Archbishop, he swore in numerous Prime Ministers and six Presidents of Greece.

Charilaos Trikoupis was a Greek politician who served the office of the Prime Minister on seven occasions between 1875 and 1895. He is credited with proposing and funding modern and ambitious projects, such as the establishment of the Corinth Canal. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest Prime Ministers to have ever served Greece.

Christodoulos of Athens served as the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece from 1998 to 2008. He is credited with launching new Church social services to tackle social issues like the support for single mothers, the welfare of drug addicts, and the support for abused women. Christodoulos of Athens also established an NGO named Solidarity to aid humanitarian causes.