Coordinates	8°3′″N34°54′″N
{{infobox greek dimos |name	Ioannina |name_local Ιωάννινα
Pop municipality	97657
Area municipality	402.0
Pop municunit	70203
Area municunit	46.6
Pop community	61629 |population_as_of 2001 |elevation 480 |lat_deg 39 |lat_min 40 |lon_deg 20 |lon_min 51 |postal_code 45x xx |area_code 26510 |licence ΙΝ |mayor Filippas Filios |website www.ioannina.gr |image_skyline Ioannina Greece.jpg |caption_skyline Ioannina and Lake Pamvotida seen from Mitsikeli mountain. |city_flag |city_seal |districts |party |since |elevation_min |elevation_max }}

Ioannina (, ), often called Jannena (, ) within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 (in 2001). It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis (). It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the capital of Ioannina peripheral unit and the Periphery of Epirus. Ioannina is located 450 km northwest of Athens, 290 km southwest of Thessaloniki and 80 km east of the port of Igoumenitsa in the Ionian Sea.

Founded by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD, Ioannina flourished following the Fourth Crusade, when many wealthy Byzantine families fled there in the early 13th century following the sack of Constantinople. It was the capital of the Despotate of Epirus from 1358 to 1416, before surrendering to the Ottomans in 1430. Between 1430 and 1868 the city was the administrative center of the Pashalik of Yanina. In the period between the 16th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment. Ioannina joined Greece in 1913 following the Balkan Wars.

The city has both a General and a University Hospital, and is the seat of the University of Ioannina (situated 5 km south of the city, with 17 departments and 20,000 students) as well as several departments of the Τechnological Educational Institute of Epirus, the headquarters of which are located in Arta.

The city's emblem consists of the portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian crowned by a stylized depiction of the nearby ancient theater of Dodona.

Name

The city's formal name, ''Ioannina'', means "Town of John" in Greek. There are two name forms in Greek, ''Ioannina'' being the formal and historical name, while the colloquial and more commonly used ''Jannena'' or ''Jannina'' () represents the vernacular tradition of Demotic Greek. The demotic form also corresponds to those in the neighbouring languages (e.g. , , ).

History

Antiquity

The first indications of human existence in the prefecture of Ioannina are dated back to the Paleolithic period (38,000 years ago). This is testified by the stone tools that were found in the cavern of Kastritsa. The first recorded inhabitants of the area were the Epirote Greek tribe of the Molossians.

Byzantine period

It is unknown when exactly the city was founded, but an unnamed new, "well-fortified" city, recorded by the historian Procopius (''De Aedificiis'', IV.1.39–42) as having been built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) for the inhabitants of ancient Euroia, is usually identified with Ioannina.

However, it was not until 879 AD that the name Ioannina was used for the first time in the Acts of the Fourth Council of Constantinople in 879, which refer to one Zacharias, Bishop of Ioannina. During the time of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria, the town was part of the Bulgarian Empire. The name Ioannina was also mentioned as an Episcopal See, under the self-governing (Autocephalous) Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid in 1020 in an imperial document by Basil II (r. 976–1025).

The city was conquered in 1082 by the Normans under the leadership of Bohemond of Taranto, who repaired the existing city walls in order to repel the offensive of emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). Alexios I nonetheless recovered the city in 1108.

Despotate of Epirus (1204–1430)

In the 13th century, the creation of the Despotate of Epirus favored Ioannina, which became its second most important city after its capital, Arta, and the capital of a ''thema'' of Ioannina. The founder of the Despotate, Michael I Komnenos Doukas settled refugee noble Byzantine families, such as the Philanthropenoi, Strategopouloi, Dragovitsoi, Zervoi, etc., who fled Constantinople after the fall of the city to the Fourth Crusade. These refugee families, together with the local nobility, took over the government of Ioannina in 1318 and broke away from Arta. In the same year, Ioannina became tributary to the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328). The city was elevated to a metropolitan bishopric, and in 1319 Andronikos II issued a chrysobull conceding wide-ranging autonomy and various privileges and exemptions on its inhabitants.

In 1337–1340, Andronikos III Palaiologos (r. 1328–1341), aided by John Kantakouzenos, dissolved the Despotate of Epirus and Ioannina became once again part of the Byzantine Empire. A few years later however it fell to the Serbs, who had, by then, expanded their state over much of Byzantine and Bulgarian territory to form the Serbian Empire. The city's privileges were also honored by the Serbs, and as a result Ioannina rose to economic and cultural prominence over the next century. The city flourished, becoming an important financial and cultural center. During the Byzantine times it was referred to as the "metropolis of knowledge".

The city was the capital of the restored Despotate of Epirus from 1358 to 1416. In 1366/67 the Serb Thomas II Preljubović became the new overlord of Ioannina, under whose rule the city stood against Albanian attacks. After Preljubović's death in 1384, the city surrendered to Esau de' Buondelmonti (1385–1411) and Carlo I Tocco (1411–1430).

Early Ottoman period (1430–1647)

The death of Tocco in 1430 signaled the submission of Ioannina to the Ottoman Turks who granted several privileges to the town in exchange for its surrender. These were known as the ''Rule of Sinan Pasha'', from the name of Kara Sinan Pasha, who signed the treaty.

In 1611 the city suffered a serious setback as a result of a peasant revolt led by Dionysius the Philosopher (aka ''Skylosophos''), Bishop of Larisa. The Greek inhabitants of the city were unaware of the intent of the fighting as previous successes of Dionysios had depended on the element of surprise. Much confusion ensued as Turks and Christians ended up indiscriminately fighting friend and foe alike. The revolt ended in the abolition of all privileges granted to the Christian inhabitants, who were driven away from the castle area and had to settle around it. From then onwards, Turks and Jews were to be established in the castle area. The ''School of Despoton'' at the Church of Taxiarches, that had been operating since 1204 was closed. Aslan Pasha also destroyed the monastery of St John the Baptist within the city walls, killed the monks and in 1618 erected in its place a mosque, Aslan Camii, today a museum.

Center of Greek Enlightenment (1647–1830)

Despite that blow, the city managed to recover. Its inhabitants continued their commercial and handicraft activities which allowed them to trade with important European commercial centers, such as Venice and Livorno, where merchants from Ioannina established commercial and banking houses. The first three Greek owned printing presses that were operating in Venice and published thousands of books for the Ottoman ruled Greek people were established by members of the Ioannite diaspora: Nikolaos Glykys (1670), Nikolaos Sarros (1687) and Dimitrios Theodosiou (1755). Ioannina was the centre through which the books printed on these presses were channelled into Greece. These were significant historical, theological as well as scientific works, including an algebra book funded by the Zosimades family of Ioannitan benefactors, books for use in the schools of Ioannina such as the ''Arithmetica'' of Balanos Vasilopoulos, as well as medical books. At the same time these merchants and entrepreneurs maintained close economic and intellectual relations with their birthplace and founded charity and education establishments. These merchants were to be major national benefactors.

In the 17th century Ioannina was a thriving city with respect to population and commercial activity as both French and Turkish travelers Jacques Spon and Evliya Çelebi, respectively, attest. Evliya Çelebi visited the city in 1670 and mentioned the presence of 1,900 shops and workshops and 4,000 houses. The great economic prosperity of the city was followed by remarkable cultural activity. During the 17th and 18th centuries, many important schools were established. The ''Epiphaniou'' was founded in 1647 by a Greek merchant in Venice, Epiphaneios Igoumenos. The ''School of Gouma'' or ''Gioumeios'' was founded in 1676 by a benefaction from another wealthy Ioannitan Greek from Venice, Emmanuel Goumas. It was renamed to ''Balaneios'' by its Rector, Balanos Vasilopoulos in 1725. Here worked several notable personalities of the Greek Enlightenment, such as Bessarion Makris, the priests Georgios Sougdouris (1685/7–1725) and Anastasios Papavasileiou (1715-?), monk Methodios Anthrakites, his student Ioannis Vilaras and Kosmas Balanos. The ''Balaneios'' taught Philosophy, Theology and Mathematics. It suffered financially from the capture of Venice by the French and finally stopped in 1820. The school's library that hosted several manuscripts and epigramms was also burned the same year due to Ali Pasha's activities. Another school founded by a benefaction by merchants of the Maroutsis family, which were also active Venice. The Maroutsaia School opened in 1742 and its first director Eugenios Voulgaris championed the study of the Physical Sciences (Physics and Chemistry) as well as philosophy and Greek. The ''Maroutsaia'' also suffered by the fall of Venice and closed in 1797 to be reopened as the Kaplaneios thanks to a benefaction from an Ioannitan living in Russia, Zois Kaplanis. Its schoolmaster, Athanasios Psalidas had been a student of Methodios Anthrakites and had also studied in Vienna and in Russia. Psalidas established an important library of thousands of volumes in several languages and laboratories for the study of experimental physics and chemistry that caused the interest and suspicion of Ali Pasha. The ''Kaplaneios'' was burned down as most of the rest of the city after the entry of the Sultan’s armies in 1820. These schools took over the long tradition of the Byzantine era, giving a significant boost for the Greek Enlightenment. Neophytos Doukas a famous Epirote scholar wrote, with a little exaggeration:

''During the 18th century, every author of the Greek world, was either from Ioannina or was a graduate of one of the city's schools.''

In 1789 the city became the center of the territory ruled by Ali Pasha, an area that included the entire northwestern Greece, Thessaly and parts of Euboea and the Peloponnese. The Muslim-Albanian lord Ali Pasha was one of the most influential personalities of the region in the 18th and 19th century. Born in Tepelenë, he maintained diplomatic relations with the most important European leaders of the time and his court became a point of attraction for many of those restless minds who would become major figures of the Greek Revolution (Georgios Karaiskakis, Odysseas Androutsos, Markos Botsaris and others). Although during this time Ali Pasha committed a number of atrocities against the Greek population of Ioannina, culminating with the sewing up of local women in sacks and drowning them in the nearby lake, this period of his rule coincides with the greatest ever economic and intellectual era of the city. As a couplet has it "''The city was first in arms, money and letters''". The efforts of Ali Pasha to break away from the Sublime Porte alarmed the Ottoman government, and in 1820 (the year before the Greek War of Independence began) he was declared guilty of treason and Ioannina was besieged by Turkish troops. Ali Pasha was assassinated in 1822 in the monastery of St Panteleimon on the island of the lake, where he took refuge while waiting to be pardoned by Sultan Mahmud II.

Period 1830–1943

The ''Zosimaia'' was the first significant educational foundation after the outbreak Greek War of Independence (1828). It was financed by a benefaction from the Zosimas brothers and began operating in 1828 and fully probably from 1833. It was a School of Liberal Arts (Greek, Philosophy and Foreign Languages). The Zosimaia was badly damaged in an air raid by Italian planes in 1940 and was rebuilt on a new more spacious location with donations from Ioannitans after 1955. The mansion of Angeliki Papazoglou became a school for girls called ''Papazogleios'' as an endowment following her death and operated until 1905. Today it is a public school. In 1869, a great part of Ioannina was destroyed by fire. Nonetheless, the marketplace was soon reconstructed according to the plans of the German architect Holz and thanks to the personal interest of Ahmet Rashim Pasha, the local governor. The communities of people from Ioannina living abroad were active in financing the construction of most of the city's churches (the Cathedral, St. Nicholas of the Agora, St. Marina, Archimandrio etc.), schools and other elegant buildings of charitable establishments. The first bank of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Bank, opened its first branch in Greece in Ioannina which shows the power of the city in world trade in the 19th century. During the spring of 1877 the Albanian leaders organized a congress in the city regarding the decisions of the Constantinople Conference and sent a memorandum to the Ottoman government demanding among others the establishment of Albanian language schools. In May 1877 the Albanians of the city led by Abdyl Frashëri formed the Albanian Committee of Janina, an organization with the aim of defending Albanian rights. On the other hand, the Greek population of Ioannina region authorized a committee in order to present to the European governments their wish for union with Greece and Dimitrios Chasiotis, a notable member of this committee, published a memorandum in Paris in 1879.

Ioannina was incorporated into the Greek state on 21 February 1913 after the Balkan Wars. After the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922) and the subsequent population exchange, the Turkish element left, and the city received Greek refugees from Asia Minor.

Jewish community

According to oral folklore Jewish communities inhabited the site of the modern city as early as 70 AD. According to Greek scholar P. Aravantinos a synagogue destroyed in the 18th century bore an inscription, which dated its foundation in the late 9th century AD. There was a Romaniote Jewish community living in Ioannina before World War II. The Nazis deported the majority of them (1,860) to concentration camps during the final months of German occupation in 1944. Almost all of the people deported were murdered on or shortly after 11 April 1944, when the train carrying them reached Auschwitz-Birkenau. Today only around 50 are left.

Climate

Ioannina has a Mediterranean climate tempered by its inland location and elevation. Summers are typically hot and dry, while winters are wet and colder than on the coast. Ioannina is the wettest city in Greece. The absolute maximum temperature ever recorded was 42.4°C, while the absolute minimum ever recorded was −13°C.

Landmarks and sights

Islet of Pamvotis lake: One of the most notable attractions of Ioannina is the islet on Lake Pamvotis. The island is referred to as "Nisaki" (Νησάκι, Greek for "little island", literally) by everyone, including its inhabitants. Passengers are ferried back and forth from the mainland to the island (about a 15-minute ride each way) on small motorboats which run on varying schedules, according to the season (about once every half hour, or more, in the spring and summer, much less frequently in the winter). Tourists can visit the monastery of Agios Panteleimon which has been converted into a museum containing information and paintings, as well as re-creations of Ali Pasha's lounging and living quarters. Ali Pasha spent the last days of his life in St Panteleimon, waiting for a pardon from the Sultan.

The Island Museum is not the only attraction on the island: there are many gift-shops, tavernas, churches and bakeries on the island's winding streets. Some of the people of Ioannina even choose to make the tiny island their yearlong home, with simple rowboats moored outside their homes, or in small marinas, in the event they need to get to Ioannina proper when the motorboats are not running. The island of Ioannina in Lake Pamvotis has six monasteries : the monastery of St Nicholas (Ntiliou) or Strategopoulou from the 11th C, the Monastery of St Nicholas (Spanou) or Philanthropinon from 1292, St John the Baptist (1506 AD), Eleousis (1570 AD), St Panteleimon (17th C) and of the Transfiguration of Christ (1851 AD). The monasteries of Strategopoulou and Philanthropinon functioned also as colleges. In the latter taught Alexios Spanos, the monks Proklos and Comnenos and the Apsarades brothers, Theophanis and Nektarios. The school continued its activities until 1758, when it was superseded by the newer collegial foundations within the city.

Ioannina has wealth of attractions and museums, highlighting that the traffic difficulties in the city and the spatial fragmentation of attractions, the visitor finds it difficult enough to visit them all. The most notable attractions are the following:

The National Archaeological Museum of Ioannina, Litharitsia Castle Square. Includes archaeological exhibits from 4 prefectures of Epirus.You can see here all the history of Epirus from prehistoric Time until 19th century. The ''Ioannina castle It is in the center of the town, and was the heart of the Despotate of Epirus, and the Ottoman vilayet. The maze-like layout of the castle's streets (many of which lead to dead ends) were allegedly designed to confuse pirates of old who breached the castle walls: they would get lost within the fortress, and thus be captured before escaping with their bounty. The citadel bears the name Its Kale''' (Ιτς Καλέ, from Turkish ''Iç Kale'', "inner castle"). The Fethiye Mosque: It is located in Its Kale Fortress. The name means the conquest Mosque was built in 1430 on the ruins of a Byzantine church. Originally a wooden post in 1611 but was rebuilt stone. The final form was given by Ali Pasha in 1795. The Aslan Pasha Mosque: The Aslan Pasha Ottoman Mosque now houses the Municipal Ethnographic Museum and its three departments, Greek, Ottoman Muslim and Jewish. The Old Ottoman Library: The building is ruined. You can see it from outside. The House Hussein Matei (= Bishop House) (Hussein Matei House). The building is ruined. You can see it from outside. The Veli Pasha Ottoman Mosque. Historic Centre of Ioannina: You can see here small traditional shops and houses, and many souvenir shops.

Stoa Loulis (= Arcade Loulis): In this commercial center existed for many years, the three religious nations in the city, Christians, Jews and Muslims. Initially the gallery operated an Inn and then became a commercial center.

The Byzantine Museum: Housed in a building rebuilt on the ruins of seraglios of Ali Pasha, which was completely destroyed by fire in 1870. The museum opened in 1995 in order to preserve the findings of the wider region of Epirus, chronologically covering the early Christian, Byzantine and post-Byzantine period. Also outside the museum from the report of collections, and a cultural center after hosts musical and theatrical events, periodic reports, etc. The collections include early Christian and Byzantine sculptures and exhibits Arta, ceramics, books, pictures and valuable collection of silverware. The summer season runs every Monday 12.00-19.00 hours and rest days 08.30-19.00. The museum is accessible to people with disabilities. The Museum of Fotis Rapakousis: Located in the complex of Aslan Mosque, in north-west of the fortress citadel of Ioannina. The City Knights, by mutual concession relationship between him and the collector, the collection of hosts on its premises, since 2000. This has included so the cultural resources and currently operates in parallel with the Municipal Folklore and Ethnographic Museum, housed in Aslan Mosque. The entire collection contains 6,000 objects, grouped in four categories: weapons with their accessories, jewelry from the 18th and 19th centuries, various, ceramics (Islamic art pottery of the Greek area, Tsanak Kale) Opening hours: 9.00 to 16.00. The Municipal Gallery of Ioannina (Dimotiki Pinakothiki): Housed since 2000 in Pyrsinela neoclassical building, built in 1890. Basil Pyrsinella who served as mayor of Ioannina, spent the entire movable and immovable property in 1958 in the municipality of Ioannina. In 1960 he created the first Regional Municipal Art Gallery in Greece, which first opened in the building until metestegasi Mela in today's housing. The works of the Gallery's collection are major stoys Modern, painters and sculptors, which was collected through purchases and donations from various collectors and artists. This includes about 500 works, paintings, drawings, prints, pictures and sculptures. Hours Monday to Friday 9:00 to 13:00 and 18:00 to 21:00. Weekends 10:00 to 13:00 and 18:00 to 21:00.

Botanically, the region of Ioannina is dominated by robust, fragrant pine trees, many of which grow within the city itself, especially around the old castle, or fortress walls.

The Cathedral of St Athanasius was completed in 1933. It was built on the foundations of the previous Orthodox Cathedral which was destroyed in the fires of 1820. It is a three-aisled basilica. It has become a place of pilgrimage for the martyrdrom of St George of Ioannina, an orphaned youth hanged in public by the Turks in 1838 for proclaiming his Christian faith.

The churches of the Assumption of the Virgin at Perivleptos, St Nicholas of Kopanon and St Marina were rebuilt in the 1850s by funds from Nikolaos Zosimas and his brothers on the foundations of previous churches that perished in the great fire of 1820.

The Jewish Synagoge of Ioannina: During the Ottoman period, the Jewish community, both Sepharadi and Romaniote, experienced a flowering. The Jews of Ioannina were an active presence in the city's life until March 1944, when the German occupation troops arrested the entire population, 1,870 strong at the time, along with Jews from Preveza, Arta and Corfu, and deported them to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, where most perished. Today the community compirises about 60 persons and the synagoge lies inside the Castle of Ioannina. Date 7th Century. Near Ioannina, 10Km south of the city, lies the Pavlos Vrellis Greek History Museum, a museum with wax statues, like the Madame Tussaud Museum in London, England. Established on year 1995 this second Museum of Pavlos Vrellis (died 2010) is the result of the personal work of one man.

Local products

The region of Ioannina is well known for the production of feta cheese. The area is also famous for its spring water Zagori, which is sold over much of Greece.

Ioannina is famous throughout Greece for its silverwork, with a plethora of shops selling silver jewelry, bronzeware and decorative items (serving trays, recreations of shields and swords, etc.). The ornate style of the jewelry and artwork tends to reflect more Turkish sensibilities than Greek ones, likely due to the lengthy Turkish occupation of the area.

Hookahs are sold to tourists as novelty items and vary in size from small (3 inches in height) to quite large (4-. tall). The larger sized hookahs are often purchased by Greeks and tourists alike to be used in home decor.

Newspapers

Ipirotikos Agon is a locally published newspaper.

Municipality

The present municipality Ioannina was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following 6 former municipalities, that became municipal units (constituent communities in brackets):

Ioannina (Ioannina, Exochi, Marmara, Neochoropoulo, Stavraki)

Anatoli (Anatoli, Bafra, Neokaisareia)

Bizani (Ampeleia, Bizani, Asvestochori, Kontsika, Kosmira, Manoliasa, Pedini)

Ioannina Island (Greek: ''Nisos Ioanninon'')

Pamvotida (Katsikas, Anatoliki, Vasiliki, Dafnoula, Drosochori, Iliokali, Kastritsa, Koutselio, Krapsi, Longades, Mouzakaioi, Platania, Platanas, Charokopi)

Perama (Perama, Amfithea, Kranoula, Krya, Kryovrysi, Ligkiades, Mazia, Perivleptos, Spothoi)

Notable Ioannites

Christos Adamidis (1885–1943), pioneer aviator and Hellenic Army General.

Methodios Anthrakites (1660–1736), scholar.

Markos Avgeris (1884–1973), poet.

Kosmas Balanos (1731–1808), scholar.

Dimitrios Chatzis (1913–1981), novelist.

Michael Christaris (1773–1851), scholar.

Josef Elijia (1901–1931), Jewish Greek poet.

Mit’hat Frashëri (1880–1949) politician and writer.

Nikolaos Glykys (1619–1693), merchant and book publisher.

Georgios Hadjikonstas (1753–1845), benefactor.

Epifanios Igoumenos (1568–1648), scholar.

Maroutsis family, traders and benefactors.

Elisabeth Kastrisogia (1800–1863), benefactor.

Bessarion Makris (1635-1699), scholar.

Leonidas Palaskas (1819–1880), hellenic navy officer.

Grigorios Paliouritis (1778–1816), scholar.

Anastasios Papavasilopoulos, 18th century scholar

Athanasios Psalidas (1767–1829), scholar, of the main contributors of the Modern Greek Enlightenment.

Ahmed Reshadi, kaymakam of Lezhë and Metsovo.

Abdülhalik Renda Chairman of the Turkish National Assembly.

Dimitrios Theodosiou, book publisher.

Athanasios Tsakalov, one of the three founders of Filiki Eteria

Nikolaos Sarros (1617–1697), book publisher, owner of one of the first Greek printing-houses in Venice.

Georgios Stavrou (1787–1869) benefactor, founder of the National Bank of Greece.

Simon Strategopoulos 15th century noble and governor of Ioannina.

Georgios Sougdouris (1645/7–1725), scholar.

Balanos Vasilopoulos (1694–1760), scholar.

Ioannis Vilaras (1771–1823), poet and scholar.

Hierotheos (Vlachos), theologian.

Pavlos Vrellis (1922–2010), sculptor.

Zosimades, benefactors, founders of the famous Zosimaia School.

Sports teams

Ioannina is home to a major sports team called PAS Giannina, which currently promoted to Superleague. Its an inspiration for many of old as well as new supporters of the whole periphery of Epirus, even outside Ioannina.

Transport

Ioannina is served by Ioannina National Airport.

The Via Egnatia highway (part of the E90) passes by Ioannina. It links Igoumenitsa (port) with the Turkish border.

Air Sea Lines flies from Lake Pamvotis to Corfu with seaplanes. Air Sea Lines has suspended flights from Corfu to Ioannina for 2007.

Long-distance buses (Ktel) ride daily to Athens (7 hours) and Thessaloniki (3 hours).

Population data

Population of the Municipality of Ioannina.

{| class=wikitable ! Year !! Town population !! Municipality population |- | align="left"|1981 || 44,829 || – |- | align="left"|1991 || 56,699 || 63,725 |- | align="left"|2001 || 61,629 || 70,203 |}

Population statistics, 1981–2001.

References

Sources

External links

Ioannina Photos by Dimitris Sioutis

Reveal Ioannina

Municipality of Ioannina

Category:Greek prefectural capitals Category:Greek regional capitals Category:Populated places in Ioannina (peripheral unit) Category:Municipalities of Epirus

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Coordinates	8°3′″N34°54′″N
Name	Manos Hatzidakis''(Μάνος Χατζιδάκις)''
Background	non_performing_personnel
Birth date	October 23, 1925
Origin	Xanthi, Greece
Death date	June 15, 1994
Occupation	Musician, composer
Website	http://www.hadjidakis.gr }}

Manos Hatzidakis () (October 23, 1925 – June 15, 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of the Greek music. He was also one of the main prime movers of the "Éntekhno" song (along with Mikis Theodorakis). In 1960 he received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for his Song ''Never on Sunday'' from the film of the same name.

Biography

His very first work was the tune for the song "Paper Moon" ("Χάρτινο το Φεγγαράκι"), from Tennessee Williams' ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' staged by Karolos Koun's Art Theatre of Athens, a collaboration which continued for 15 years. His first piano piece, "For a Small White Seashell" ("Για μια Μικρή Λευκή Αχιβάδα"), came out in 1947 and in 1948 he shook the musical establishment by delivering his legendary lecture on rembetika, the urban folk songs that flourished in Greek cities, mainly Piraeus, after the Asia Minor refugee influx in 1922 and until then had heavy underworld and cannabis use connections and were consequently looked down upon. Hatzidakis focused on the economy of expression, the deep traditional roots and the genuineness of emotion displayed in rembetika, and exalted the likes of composers like Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis. Putting theory to practice, he adapted classic rembetika in his 1951 piano work, ''Six Folk Paintings'' (''Έξι Λαϊκές Ζωγραφιές''), which was later also presented as a folk ballet. In 1949 he co-founded the Greek Dance Theatre Company with the choreographer Rallou Manou.

At this point he began writing immensely popular "pop" songs and movie soundtracks alongside more serious works, such as 1954's ''The C.N.S. Cycle'' (''O Kyklos tou C.N.S.''), a song cycle for piano and voice recalling the German lied in its form, if not in style. In 1955 he wrote the score for Michael Cacoyannis' film ''Stella'', with actress Melina Mercouri, singing the movie's trademark song "Love that became a double-edged knife" ("Αγάπη που 'γινες δίκοπο μαχαίρι"). Hatzidakis always maintained that he wrote his serious pieces for himself and his less serious ones to make a living.

In 1959, Hatzidakis met Nana Mouskouri, his first "ideal interpreter", a skilled vocalist who shaped the sounds of his music. It was 1960 that brought him international success, as his song "Never on Sunday" ("Τα παιδιά του Πειραιά"), from Jules Dassin's film ''Never on Sunday'' (Ποτέ την Κυριακή), won him an Academy Award and became a worldwide hit.

In 1962, he produced the musical ''Dream Street'' (''Οδός Ονείρων'') and completed his score for Aristophanes' ''Birds'' (''Όρνιθες''), another Art Theater production which caused an uproar over Karolos Koun's revolutionary direction. The score was also used later by Maurice Béjart's 20th Century Ballets. He also wrote the music for a song which Arthur Altman added English lyrics to and gave to Brenda Lee. The song was "All Alone Am I". In 1964 he released the album ''15 Vespers'' (''Δεκαπέντε Εσπερινοί'') with the famous song "Mr Antonis ("Ο Κυρ Αντώνης").

In 1965, his LP ''Gioconda's Smile'' (''Το Χαμόγελο της Τζιοκόντας'') was released on Minos-EMI. In 2004, it was re-released, digitally remastered as an audiophile LP and a CD in the EMI Classics collection. In 1966 he travelled to New York City for the premiere of ''Illya Darling'', a Broadway musical based on ''Never on Sunday'', which starred Mercouri. He did not return to Greece until 1972 due to his opposition to Greece's military dictatorship.

In exile

While in the United States he completed several more major compositions, including ''Rhythmology'' (''Rythmologia'') for solo piano, his compilation, ''Gioconda's Smile'' (produced by Quincy Jones), and the song cycle, ''Magnus Eroticus'' (Megalos Erotikos), in which he used ancient (Sappho, Euripides), medieval (stanzas from folk songs and George Hortatzis' romance ''Erophile'') and modern (Dionysios Solomos, Constantine Cavafy, Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Gkatsos) Greek poems, as well as an excerpt from the Old Testament book "Wisdom of Solomon". His LP ''Reflections'' with the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble contained several of his most beautiful songs, either in orchestral form or with English lyrics written by the band - a record that preceded fusion trends by several decades.

Later years

Hatzidakis returned to Greece in 1972 and recorded ''Magnus Eroticus'' with singer Fleury Dantonaki, an opera-trained alto and singer Dimitris Psarianos. Following the junta's overthrow, he became active in public life and assumed a number of positions in the Athens State Orchestra (KOA), the National Opera (ELS), and the National Radio (ERT). In 1985 he launched his own record company "Seirios" (Sirius). In 1988 he helped Foivos Delivorias get started in his singing career. In 1989 he founded and directed the Orchestra of Colours (Orhistra ton Chromaton), a small symphonic orchestra. He assumed the role of score composer for his friend Federico Fellini's films, following Nino Rota's death, but the collaboration never materialized because of Hatzidakis's mounting health problems.

Death

He died on June 15, 1994 in Athens, aged 68, from heart disease and diabetes. His estate and archives were bequeathed to his adopted son, George Theophanopoulos-Hatzidakis. In 1999 the City of Athens dedicated Technopolis in his memory.

Musical scores

''Adoulotoi Sklavoi'' - ''Unsubdued Slaves - US title'' (1946)

''Kokkinos Vrahos'' (1949)

''Dyo Kosmi'' - 'The Two Worlds'' (1949)

''Nekri Politeia'' - ''Dead City - US title'' (1951)

''O Grousouzis'' - '' The Grouch - US title'' (1952)

''Agni Tou Limaniou'' - ''Lily of the Harbour - US title'' (1952)

''Never on Sunday'' ''(Ποτέ Την Κυριακή)'' (1960)

''Topkapi'' (1964)

''Gioconda's Smile (Το Χαμόγελο Της Τζοκόντας)'' (1965)

''Illya Darling'' (1967) Broadway musical

''Reflections'' (1969) - Performed by the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble

''Sweet Movie'' (1974)

''Memed My Hawk'' (1984)

''Reflections'' (2005) - Performed by Raining Pleasure. Special appearance by Meriam performing the song "Kemal"

''Amorgos'' (2006)

References

Category:1925 births Category:1994 deaths Category:People from Xanthi Prefecture Category:20th-century classical composers Category:Best Song Academy Award winning songwriters Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease Category:Deaths from diabetes Category:Greek film score composers Category:Greek composers Category:LGBT musicians Category:LGBT people from Greece

de:Manos Hadjidakis el:Μάνος Χατζιδάκις es:Mános Chatzidákis fr:Mános Hadjidákis it:Manos Hadjidakis he:מאנוס חג'ידאקיס nl:Manos Hadzidakis no:Manos Khatzidakis pt:Manos Hadjidakis ru:Хадзидакис, Манос fi:Manos Hadzidakis sv:Manos Hadjidakis tr:Manos Hacidakis uk:Манос Хадзідакіс

Coordinates	8°3′″N34°54′″N
Name	Ali Pasha of Tepelena
Smallimage
Alt	Ali Pasha
Office	Pasha of Yannina
Term start	1788
Term end	1822
Alongside
Succeeding
Order2
Office2
Term start2
Term end2
Alongside2
Vicepresident2
Viceprimeminister2
Deputy2
Lieutenant2
Monarch2
President2
Primeminister2
Governor2
Succeeding2
Predecessor2
Successor2
Constituency2
Majority2
Birth date	1740
Birth place	Tepelenë, Ottoman Empire (now Albania)
Death date	January 24, 1822 (aged 82)
Death place	Ioannina, Ottoman Empire (now Greece)
Ethnicity	Albanian
Otherparty
Partner
Religion	Islam, Sufi, Bektshi Order
Data5
Nickname	''"Arslan"'' ()''"Lion of Yannina"''
Military data5	}}

Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed ''Aslan'', "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena (1740 – January 24, 1822) was an Ottoman Albanian ruler (pasha) of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina. Ali had three sons: Ahmet Muhtar Pasha (served in the 1809 war against the Russians), Veli Pasha of Morea and Salih Pasha of Vlore. Ali Pasha of Tepelena died on February 5, 1822 at the age of 80.

Name

His name in the local languages was: Albanian: ''Ali Pashë Tepelenjoti'' , Aromanian: ''Ali Pãshelu'', Greek: Αλή Πασάς Τεπελενλής ''Ali Pasas Tepelenlis'' or Αλή Πασάς των Ιωαννίνων ''Ali Pasas ton Ioanninon'' (Ali Pasha of Ioannina) and Turkish: ''Tepedelenli Ali Paşa''.

Early years

Ali was born into a powerful clan in the village Beçisht at the foot of the Këlcyrë mountains near the Albanian town of Tepelenë in 1740, He was one of the Tosk tribes, and his ancestors had for some time held the hereditary office of bey of Tepeleni. His father Veli was bey (and possibly a retired Janissary).

About his origin, Robert Elsie, expert in Albanian culture and affairs, states that he was born of a Turkish family from Anatolia. However, this has been refuted since it was proven that his family originated from southern Albania.

Ali's father, Veli Bey, was murdered when Ali was fourteen years old by rival neighbouring chiefs who seized the territories of his Tosk tribe. The family lost much of its political and material status following the murder of his father. In 1758 his mother, Hanko a woman of extraordinary character, thereupon herself formed and led a brigand band, and studied to inspire the boy with her own fierce and indomitable temper, with a view to revenge and the recovery of their lost wealth. According to Byron: "Ali inherited 6 dram and a musket after the death of his father...Ali collected a few followers from among the retainers of his father, made himself master, first of one village, then of another, amassed money, increased his power, and at last found himself at the head of a considerable body of Albanians".

Ali became a famous brigand leader and attracted the attention of the Turkish authorities. He was assigned to suppress brigandage and highway robbery and always in the field fought for the "Sultan and Empire" with great bravery, particularly against the famous rebel Pazvantoğlu. He aided the pasha of Negroponte (Euboea) in putting down a rebellion at Shkodër, it was during this period that he was introduced to the Janissary units and was inspired by their discipline. In 1768 he married the daughter of the wealthy pasha of Delvina, with whom he entered an alliance.

His rise through Ottoman ranks continued with his appointment as lieutenant to the pasha of Rumelia. In 1787 he was awarded the pashaluk of Trikala in reward for his services at Banat during the Austro-Turkish War (1787–1791). In 1788 he seized control of Ioannina, and enlisted most of the Brigands under his own banner. Ioannina would be his power base for the next 33 years. He took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to expand his territory still further until he gained control of most of Albania, western Greece and the Peloponnese.

During war-time, Ali Pasha could assemble an army of 50,000 men in a matter of two to three days, and could double that number in two to three weeks. Leading these armed forces was the Supreme Council. Commander in Chief of this Council was the founder and financier, Ali Pasha. Members of the Council included Myftar Pasha, Veli Pasha, Xheladin bej Ohri, Abdullah Pashe Taushani and a number of his trusted men like Hasan Dervishi, Halil Patrona, Omar Vrioni, Meço Bono, Ago Myhyrdari, Thanasis Vagias, Veli Gega (murdered by Katsantonis), and Tahir Abazi.

Among many acclaimed personalities Ali Pasha was dubbed the "Mahometan Buonaparte".

Ali Pasha as ruler

During the early days of his rule he was personally known for his alertness, he soon became a well known Albanian Muslim figure he also commanded one of the largest battalions of Albanian Janissaries, his servicemen also included men such as Samson Cerfberr of Medelsheim. Ali Pasha adhered to the Sufi Order of the Bektashi Brotherhood. Ali Pasha was also known to have fasted during the month of Ramadan.

Ali's policy as ruler of Ioánnina was mostly governed by expediency; he operated as a semi-independent despot and pragmatically allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time. In fact, it was Ali Pasha and his Albanian soldiers and mercenaries who subdued the independent Souli.

Ali Pasha wanted to establish in the Mediterranean a sea-power which should rival that of the dey of Algiers. In order to gain a seaport on the Albanian coast that was dominated by Venice, Ali formed an alliance with Napoleon I of France who had established François Pouqueville as his general consul in Ioánnina.

After the Treaty of Tilsit, where Napoleon granted the Czar his plan to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, Ali switched sides and allied with the Britain in 1807, a detailed account of his alliance with the British was written by Sir Richard Church. His actions were permitted by the Ottoman government in Constantinople for a mixture of expediency—it was deemed better to have Ali as a semi-ally than as an enemy—and weakness, as the central government did not have an agenda to oust him at that time.

The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron visited Ali's court in Ioánnina in 1809 and recorded the encounter in his work ''Childe Harold''. He evidently had mixed feelings about the despot, noting the splendor of Ali's court and the Greek cultural revival that he had encouraged in Ioánnina, which Byron described as being "superior in wealth, refinement and learning" to any other Greek town.

In a letter to his mother, however, Byron deplored Ali's cruelty: "His Highness is a remorseless tyrant, guilty of the most horrible cruelties, very brave, so good a general that they call him the Mahometan Buonaparte ... but as barbarous as he is successful, roasting rebels, etc, etc.."

Different tales about his sexual orientation emerged from western visitors to Pasha's court (including Byron, the Baron de Vaudoncourt, and Frederick North, Earl of Guildford). These documenters wrote that he kept a large harem of both men as well as women. Such accounts may reflect the Orientalist imagination of Europe and underplay the historical role of Pasha rather than telling us anything necessarily definitive about his sexuality.

Ali Pasha, according to one opinion, "was a cruel and faithless tyrant; still he was not a Turk, but an Albanian; he was a rebel against the Sultan (Mahmud II), and he was so far an indirect friend of the Sultan's enemies". Throughout his rule he is known to have maintained close relations and corresponded with famous leaders such as Husein Gradaščević, Ibrahim Bushati, Mehmet Ali Pasha and Ibrahim Pasha.

Though certainly no friend to the Greek Nationalists (he had personally ordered the painful execution of the Klepht Katsantonis), however his rule brought relative stability it was only after his forceful deposition that the people of Greece objected the rule of Sultan Mahmud II and the newly appointed Hursid Pasha and thus began the Greek War of Independence.

Impact on modern Greek Enlightenment

Although Ali Pasha's native language was Albanian he used Greek for all his courtly dealings since the population of the region he controlled was predominantly Greek speaking. As a consequence, a part of the local Greek population showed sympathy towards his rule. This also activated new educational opportunities, with businessmen of the Greek diaspora, subsidizing a number of new educational purposes. As historian Douglas Dakin notes:

Atrocities

The cruelties inflicted by Ali Pasha on his subjects became notorious throughout the region, and have been described in local folksong and poetry. Forty years after the inhabitants of Gardhiq and Hormova, Albania, had wronged his mother after murdering his father Veli Bey (according to the story, she was tied and put in prison and, with her daughter, raped and tortured every night by another group of men), Ali wrought revenge by having 739 male descendants of the original offenders executed.

In 1808, Mühürdar a commanding Janissary of Ali Pasha captured one of his most renowned opponents, the Greek klepht Katsantonis, who was executed in public by having his bones broken with a sledgehammer. One of Ali's notorious crimes, was the massive murder of arbitrarily chosen young Greek girls of Ioannina. They were unfoundly sentenced as adulteresses, tied up in sacks and drowned in Lake Pamvotis. Oral Aromanian tradition (songs) tells about the cruelty of Ali Pasha's troops.

In Αt 1798 Ali's troops attacked the coastal town of Preveza, which was defended by French troops and local Greeks. When the town was finally conquered a major slaughter occurred against the local people as retaliation for their resistance. Moreover, in the early nineteenth century his troops completed the destruction of the once prosperous cultural center of Moscopole, in modern southeastern Albania, and led its Aromanian population to flee from the region.

Downfall

In the year 1819, Halet Efendi brought the attention of Sultan Mahmud II, issues conspicuously related to Ali pasha; Halet Efendi consistently accused Ali Pasha of ''grabbing power'' and influence in Ottoman Rumelia away from the Sublime Porte. In 1820, Ali Pasha after long tensions with the Turkish Reforms, allegedly ordered the assassination of Gaskho Bey, a political opponent in Istanbul ; Sultan Mahmud II, who sought to restore the authority of the Sublime Porte, took this as a major opportunity to move against Ali Pasha by ordering his immediate deposition.

Ali Pasha refused to resign his official post and put up a fierce resistance to the Sultan's troop movements, as some 20,000 Turkish troops led by Hursid Pasha were fighting Ali Pasha's small but formidable army. Most of his followers abandonned him without fighting and fled (Androutsos, his sons Veli and Muhtar) or passed to the Ottoman army (Omer Vrioni, Alexis Noutsos), who went unopposed to Ioannina, besieged from september 1820.

On December 4, 1820, Ali Pasha and the Souliotes formed an anti-Ottoman coalition, in which the Souliotes contributed 3,000 soldiers. Ali Pasha gained the support of Souliotes mainly because he offered to allow the return of the Souliotes in their land and partially because of Ali's appeal to shared Albanian origin. Initially the coalition was successful and managed to control most of the region, but when the Muslim Albanian troops of Ali Pasha were informed of the beginning of the Greek revolts in the Morea it was terminated.

Ali's rebellion against the Sublime Porte increased the value of the Greek military element since their services were sought by the Porte as well. He is said to have contracted the services of the Klephts and Souliots in exile in the Ionian Islands as well as the armatoles under his command. However he feared that the Klephts might rout him before the Ottoman Turks.

After about two years of fighting, in January 1822, however, Ottoman forces had taken most of the fortifications of Ioannina except the fortified palace inside the kastro. Ali Pasha opened negociations ; deceived with offers of a full pardon, he was persuaded to leave the fortress and settle in the Monastery of St Panteleimon on the island in Lake Pamvotis, previously taken by the Ottoman army during the siege. When asked to surrender for beheading, he famously proclaimed: "My head ... will not be surrendered like the head of a slave" and kept fighting till the end, but was shot through the floor of his room and his head cut off to be sent to the Sultan. Ali Pasha of Tepelena died on February 5, 1822 at the age of 80.

Hursid Pasha, to whom it was presented on a large dish of silver plate, rose to receive it, bowed three times before it, and respectfully kissed the beard, expressing aloud his wish that he himself might deserve a similar end. To such an extent did the admiration with which Ali's bravery inspired these men efface the memory of his crimes.

Ali Pasha was buried with full honors in a mausoleum next to the Fethiye Mosque, which still stands. Despite his brutal rule, villagers paid their last respect to Ali: "Never was seen greater mourning than that of the warlike Epirotes."

The former monastery in which Ali Pasha was killed is today a popular tourist attraction. The holes made by the bullets can still be seen, and the monastery has a museum dedicated to him, which includes a number of his personal possessions.

Ali Pasha in literature

In early 19th century, Ali's personal balladeer, Haxhi Shekreti, composed the poem ''Alipashiad''. The poem was written in Greek language, since the author considered it a more prestigious language in which to praise his master. Alipashiad bears the unsual feature to be written from the Muslim point of view of that time.

In the novel ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' by Alexandre Dumas, père, Ali Pasha's downfall was brought about by the treachery of Fernand Mondego, an officer in the French Army. Not knowing of the betrayal, Pasha entrusted his wife and daughter to Mondego for safekeeping but he sold them into slavery. Monte Cristo subsequently located the daughter, Haydée, and helped her take revenge on Mondego by testifying in Paris of his betrayal of Ali Pasha.

Ali Pasha is also a major character in the 1854 Mór Jókai's Hungarian novel ''Janicsárok végnapjai'' ("The Last Days of the Janissaries"), translated into English by R. Nisbet Bain, 1897, under the title ''The Lion of Janina''.

Many of the conflicting versions about the origin of the "Spoonmaker's Diamond", a major treasure of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, link it with Ali Pasha - though their historical authenticity is doubtful.

See also

Greek War of Independence

History of Albania

History of Ottoman Albania

Notes

Sources

"Ali Pasa Tepelenë." ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (2005)

"Ali Pasha (1744? – 1822)". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'' (2004).

Ellingham et al. ''Rough Guide to Greece'', (2000)

Fleming, Katherine Elizabeth. ''The Muslim Bonaparte: diplomacy and orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece.'' Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-691-00194-4.

Koliopoulos, John S. (1987) ''Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821-1912''. Clarendon Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-822863-5

Further reading

Brøndsted, Peter Oluf, ''Interviews with Ali Pacha''; edited by Jacob Isager'', (Athens, 1998)

Davenport, ''The Life of Ali Pasha'', (London, 1837)

Dumas père, Alexandre, ''Ali Pacha, Celebrated Crimes''

Fauriel, Claude Charles: ''Die Sulioten und ihre Kriege mit Ali Pascha von Janina'', (Breslau, 1834)

Jóka, Mór: ''Janicsárok végnapjai'', Pest, 1854. (in English: Maurus Jókai: ''The Lion of Janina'', translated by R. Nisbet Bain, 1897).

Manzour, Ibrahim, ''Mémoires sur la Grèce et l'Albanie pendant le gouvernement d'Ali Pacha'', (Paris, 1827)

Pouqueville, François, ''Voyage en Morée, à Constantinople, en Albanie, et dans plusieurs autres parties de l'Empire Ottoman'' (Paris, 1805, 3 vol. in-8°), translated in English, German, Greek, Italian, Swedish, etc. available on line at Gallica

Pouqueville, François, ''Travels in Epirus, Albania, Macedonia, and Thessaly'' (London: printed for Sir Richard Phillips and Co, 1820), an English denatured and truncated edition available on line

Pouqueville, François, ''Voyage en Grèce'' (Paris, 1820–1822, 5 vol. in-8° ; 20 édit., 1826–1827, 6 vol. in-8°), his capital work

Pouqueville, François, ''Histoire de la régénération de la Grèce'' (Paris, 1824, 4 vol. in-8°), translated in many languages. French original edition available on Google books

Pouqueville, François, ''Notice sur la fin tragique d’Ali-Tébélen'' (Paris 1822, in-8°)

Skiotis, Dennis N., "From Bandit to Pasha: first steps in the rise to power of Ali of Tepelen, 1750-1784", ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' 2: 3: 219-244 (July, 1971)at JSTOR

Vaudoncourt, Guillaume de ''Memoirs on the Ionian Islands ... : including the life and character of Ali Pacha''. London: Baldwin, Cradock and Joy, 1816

Category:1740 births Category:1822 deaths Category:People from Tepelenë District Category:Albanian Muslims Category:Pashas Category:Ottoman civil servants Category:18th-century Albanian people Category:19th-century Albanian people Category:18th-century Ottoman people Category:19th-century Ottoman people Category:People executed by the Ottoman Empire Category:Ottoman Greece Category:Ottoman Albanians

ar:علي باشا الألباني bs:Ali Paša bg:Али паша Янински ca:Alí Paixà Tepedelenli da:Ali Pasha de:Tepedelenli Ali Pascha el:Αλή πασάς es:Alí Pashá de Yánina fr:Ali Pacha de Janina it:Alì Pascià di Tepeleni he:עלי פאשה lt:Ali Paša hu:Ali Tepeleni pasa nl:Ali Pasja (Albanees militair) ja:テペデレンリ・アリー・パシャ pl:Ali Pasza z Tepeleny pt:Ali Paxá de Tepelene ru:Али-паша Тепеленский sq:Ali Pashë Tepelena simple:Ali Pasha sr:Али-паша Јањински sh:Али-паша Јањински fi:Ali pašša sv:Ali Pascha av Tepelenë tr:Tepedelenli Ali Paşa zh:阿里·帕夏·塔帕雷奈

Coordinates	8°3′″N34°54′″N
name	The Greek
media	The Wire
portrayer	Bill Raymond
creator	David Simon
gender	Male
first	"Ebb Tide" ''(episode 2.01)''
last	"–30–" ''(episode 5.10)''
occupation	International smuggling/Organized Crime Boss
footnotes	}}

The Greek is a fictional character on the HBO drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Bill Raymond. The Greek is the head of an international criminal organization involved in narcotics and human trafficking. The Greek is a mysterious figure involved in numerous criminal activities. His given name is never mentioned on the show, and though he is known only as "The Greek", he has stated (in the episode Port in a Storm) that he is not actually Greek. A quiet and unassuming man, the Greek prefers to keep a low profile, operating all of his business through his lieutenant Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos. His smuggling organization operated from a small diner in Baltimore for years, and while Vondas would conduct business the Greek would listen in quietly at the counter. Nick Sobotka, upon seeing the Greek identify himself, was amazed that the shadowy figure had been in plain sight the entire time.

Despite his calm appearance, the Greek is cunning and ruthless, and only interested in facts that make him more money. Series creator David Simon has said that The Greek is an embodiment of raw unencumbered capitalism. Anyone interfering in this process is eliminated immediately, and he prefers to leave victims headless and handless to hinder identification.

The Greek's smuggling operation includes importing sex trade workers, illicit drugs, stolen goods and chemicals for drug processing. He bribes union stevedores to move containers through the Baltimore port for him and uses his muscle, Sergei "Serge" Malatov, to run containers back and forth from the port to his warehouse, a front managed by "Double G" Glekas. The Greek supplies the major drug dealers in East Baltimore with pure cocaine and heroin, using Eton Ben-Eleazer to move his drugs. His chief client is Proposition Joe, but he is also affiliated with smaller drug dealing organizations like those run by "White Mike" McArdle. His sex trade interests in Baltimore include a brothel run by a madam named Ilona Petrovitch, bringing in girls from eastern Europe. He manages to avoid prosecution for his crimes because an FBI counter-terrorism agent named Kristos Koutris tips him off if a criminal investigation gets too close. It is suggested he and Vondas may serve as federal informants.

Biography

Season 2

thumb|right|250px|The Greeks The Greek began to draw police attention in Baltimore when his contact at the docks, Frank Sobotka, became the target of an investigation. At the same time a container of thirteen dead young women intended for the sex trade was discovered at the docks, triggering a high-profile homicide investigation. The container belonged to the Greek and the girls were killed by a crewman onboard the vessel that had delivered them. The ship's crew had been paying the girls for sex and when one of the girls refused, she was killed. The crewman responsible dumped her overboard and collapsed the air pipe to kill the remaining women. The Greek had Sergei track the crewman down, interrogated him personally, and had Vondas kill him.

As the investigation continued the police were able to link Eton and Sergei to the drug smuggling operation. When police began tracking containers as they left the port, The Greek and Vondas began to close down the operation temporarily by dumping their cell phones and stealing "clean" containers. Persuading Sobotka to keep the smuggling operation going he bought further protection from Agent Koutris by betraying a load of Colombian cocaine, giving him time to destroy incriminating evidence in the warehouse and Glekas' store.

The Greek recognized that the investigation was too extensive to stop and made plans to leave, sending Vondas to assure Proposition Joe that supply of drugs would continue albeit with new faces. He attempted to buy Sobotka's silence with promised legal aid for his son, but when he learned from Koutris that Frank was planning to turn informant he had the union man killed. Although Frank's nephew Nick Sobotka was able to identify The Greek in a photo and Sergei was pressured to give up the location of his hotel suite, Vondas and the Greek had already boarded a flight to Chicago. Aware that the Greek and Vondas were gone, the police left the investigation behind and moved on to the drug dealers he supplied.

Seasons 4 & 5

The Greek continued to supply "Proposition Joe" Stewart, who formed an organization with other drug dealers called the New Day Co-Op to provide The Greek's product to them in exchange for reduced violence and sharing of territory. When Omar Little steals an entire shipment of heroin from the Greek's men as it is being delivered to Stewart's people, Marlo Stanfield demands a meeting with Spiros "Vondas" Vondopoulos in order to allay his fears that Stewart was responsible. Once Stanfield is satisfied, he waits for the Major Crimes Unit's investigation into his activities to cease and then moves to establish a direct relationship with Vondas and the Greek. After getting in communication with Vondas through former soldier Sergei, Marlo eventually sells himself as Joe's replacement by convincing the Greek that he requires an insurance policy in the form of a replacement for Proposition Joe, in the event that anything should happen to him. Realizing that Stanfield will move against Stewart regardless of his approval, the Greek accepts Marlo's proposal to act as an "insurance policy," knowing that it will mean Joe's death.

After Stewart's murder, Stanfield meets with Vondas to initiate their new business relationship. Stanfield's tenure proves short lived when he is forced into retirement by an investigation, and the other Co-Op members purchase the connection from Stanfield. In the closing scenes of the series finale, Slim Charles and Fat-Face Rick take over meeting with Vondas while the Greek listens quietly in the background.

References

Category:The Wire (TV series) characters Category:Fictional American people of Greek descent

Coordinates	8°3′″N34°54′″N
name	Parov Stelar
alt	Parov Stelar
background	non_performing_personnel
birth name	Marcus Füreder
alias	Plasma, Cash Candy, Nola Grey
born	November 27, 1974
origin	Linz, Austria
genre	Electro Swing, Hip Hop
occupation	Producer, DJ
years active	1998-present
label	Etage Noir Recordings
website
notable instruments	}}

Parov Stelar aka Marcus Füreder (born November 27, 1974) is a musician who lives and works in Linz, Austria. He performs with his Band - the Parov Stelar Band - and as a DJ worldwide. Parov Stelar is the head of Etage Noir Recordings.

Biography

After experience as a DJ at nightclubs during the mid-late 1990s, Parov Stelar got involved in producing and publishing in 2000 for the first time.

After early works under the pseudonym Plasma and his real name, and also being a partner of the label Bushido Recordings, in 2004 he started producing under the pseudonym Parov Stelar. In the same year he founded his own label: Etage Noir Recordings.

His first release,for Etage Noir, "KissKiss EP" and the soon after released LP  "Rough Cuts", provided him immediate breakthrough on the international electronic music scene. His specific approach to music production, combined with a proven sense of sound aesthetics, led to massive reaction of audience and colleagues all around the world, giving him reputation as the founder of a new genre:  "Electroswing"

The following albums "Seven and Storm", "Shine" and latest the double album "Coco", as well as numerous singles and remixes made Parov Stelar one of the most wanted and successful artists of his kind. Parov Stelar's Tracks have been used on more than 700 Compilations (for example: Hôtel Costes, Buddha Bar, Electro Swing) and have been the soundtrack for numerous TV ads (Chrysler, Motorola, Audi,...), TV shows, TV series and movies.

The Parov Stelar Band

After starting as a solo artist and gaining initial success, in 2005 Parov Stelar decided to expand his on-stage music with a full band. This collaboration with four musicians noticeably influenced his work. Since that time, the Parov Stelar Band has increased in popularity.

Instrumentation of the Parov Stelar Band

Max the Sax aka Markus Ecklmayr (Sax)

Jerry Di Monza (Trumpet)

Beate Baumgartner (Vocals)

Gianna Charles (Vocals)

Cleo Panther (Vocals)

Willie Larsson Jr. (Drums)

Michael Wittner (Bass)

Parov Stelar (Programming)

DJ Sets

Parov Stelar's DJ sets often include live saxophone performance of his band member Markus Ecklmayr (Max The Sax), and occasionally, singer Beate Baumgartner (Yola B).

Discography

Albums

2001: Shadow Kingdom LP (2x12" Vinyl & CD, Bushido Recordings, as ''Plasma'')

2004: Rough Cuts (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

2005: Seven and Storm (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

2007: Shine (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

2008: Daylight (CD, Rambling Records)

2009: That Swing - Best Of (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

2009: Coco (CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

2010: The Paris Swing Box (Etage Noir Recordings)

EPs

2001: Shadow Kingdom EP (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as ''Plasma'')

2002: Lo Tech Trash (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Marcus Füreder)

2004: KissKiss (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2004: Move On! (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2004: Wanna get (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2004: Primavera (12" Vinyl, Auris Recordings)

2005: Music I believe in (12" Vinyl, ~Temp Records, as Marcus Füreder)

2005: A Night In Torino (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2005: Spygame (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2006: Parov Stelar EP (12" Vinyl, Big Sur)

2006: Charleston Butterfly (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2007: Jet Set EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Special)

2007: Sugar (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2008: The Flame Of Fame (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2008: Libella Swing (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2009: Coco EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2010: The Phantom EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2010: The Paris Swingbox EP (Etage Noir Recordings)

2011: La Fête EP (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

Singles

2000: Synthetica/Stompin' Ground (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Marcus Füreder)

2001: Guerrilla (12" Vinyl, Bushido Recordings, as Marcus Füreder)

2004: Get Up On Your Feet (12" Vinyl, Sunshine Enterprises)

2005: Faith (Maxi-CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

2007: Rock For / Love (12" Vinyl, Etage Noir Recordings)

2007: Shine (Maxi-CD, Etage Noir Recordings)

Videoclips

Seven (from the album ''Seven and Storm'')

Love (from the album ''Shine'')

Shine (from the album ''Shine'')

Matilda

Coco

Let's Roll

Catgroove

References

External links

Official site

Parov Stelar at Discogs

BBC music's review of his album Shine

Category:Austrian jazz musicians Category:Breakbeat musicians Category:Electronica musicians Category:Intelligent dance music musicians Category:Remixers Category:Musical groups established in 2000 Category:1975 births Category:Living people

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