Mikis Theodorakis: Freedom's Musical Fighter
Mikis Theodorakis was born on the island of Chios on July 29, 1925. He hailed from Galatas, Chania (Crete) on his father’s side, and from the coastal city of Cesme, Asia Minor, on his mother’s side. Given the exceptional quality of his work and his massive international impact, he is arguably the leading figure of modern Greek culture—and certainly of Greek music—since the establishment of the Greek state by the London Protocol on February 3, 1830.
Theodorakis was active across numerous musical genres. Notably, he also excelled in classical music, composing symphonies, operas, ballets, oratorios, chamber music, and pieces for solo piano.
Additionally, he composed the internationally renowned Greek rhythm, the syrtaki, for the 1964 film Zorba the Greek. The movie was based on the iconic novel Zorba the Greek (originally The Life and Times of Alexis Zorba) by the prominent writer Nikos Kazantzakis. Directed by Michael Cacoyannis, the cinematic masterpiece starred Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, and Irene Papas.
Setting poetry to music represents another cornerstone of his oeuvre. Theodorakis transformed the verses of monumental poets into timeless songs. Most notably, he adapted works by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (1971 Nobel Prize in Literature), as well as Nobel-laureate Greek poets Giorgos Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979). He also scored the poetry of Yiannis Ritsos and Kostas Varnalis, who were honored with the Lenin Peace Prize in 1976 and 1959, respectively.
Beyond Zorba the Greek, Theodorakis composed iconic soundtracks for other major international films. These include Phaedra (1962), starring Anthony Perkins and Melina Mercouri, and Serpico (1973), starring Al Pacino.
In 1970, he received a BAFTA Award for his powerful score in Costa-Gavras’s political thriller Z. Based on the novel by Vassilis Vassilikos, the film starred Yves Montand, Jean-Louis Trintignant, and Irene Papas, ultimately winning two Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Editing. Decades later, in 1983, Theodorakis’s global cultural impact and peace activism were formally recognized when he was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize.
His compositions have been performed by legendary international artists, including The Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Joan Baez, and Édith Piaf.
Beyond his musical genius, Theodorakis was a fierce political activist and resistance fighter, later serving both as a Member of Parliament and a government minister. During the Axis occupation of Greece, he joined the resistance forces of ELAS and the youth organization EPON. His defiance led to his arrest and exile to the island of Ikaria in July 1947, and he was later imprisoned by the military dictatorship of April 21, 1967. Throughout his life, he remained an ardent champion of peace and international solidarity, actively contributing to global anti-war movements. He passed away in Athens on September 2, 2021, at the age of 96.
To mark the 101st anniversary of Mikis Theodorakis’s birth, I composed a poem entitled "Hymn to Mikis Theodorakis" to honor this monumental Greek figure of world music. This poem has since been set to music and is performed by the talented duo of Nikos Karagiannis and Nadia Karagianni.
Ιnterpretation: Nadia Karagianni-Nikos Karagiannis
Music: Nikos Karagiannis-Nadia Karagianni
Lyrics: Isidoros Karderinis
Video creation: Nikos Karagiannis
Hymn to Mikis Theodorakis
Oh, you great Greek creator,
In the heavens of our planet shines your name.
And with the bright sun upon your throne, Eagle,
It soars and carves your steps.
On Homeric sandy-blonde beaches you were born,
The Aegean Sea embraced you sweetly,
And snow-white seagulls, like musical notes,
Were spilling out from your brave heart.
In the thick darkness of the Occupation,
You proudly raised your shining stature,
And our people’s rights, in those hard years,
Bloomed within your majestic songs.
The black rocks of exile bled profusely
From your beautiful, liberating dreams,
Your words, like trumpets of peace, sounded loudly
In the deepest reaches of the world.
*Isidoros Karderinis, Journalist, foreign press correspondent accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece, member of the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in Greece, novelist, poet, and lyricist. Their articles and reports have been published across 130 countries.