Herodes Atticus

Herodes Atticus (Greek: Ηρώδης ο Αττικός Iródis o Attikós; AD 101–177), or Atticus Herodes, was a distinguished and rich Greek aristocrat and sophist who served as a Roman senator. Appointed consul at Rome in 143, he was the first Greek to hold the rank of consul ordinarius, as opposed to consul suffectus. In Latin, his full name was given as Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes (Greek: Λούκιος Βιβούλιος Ίππαρχος Τιβέριος Κλαύδιος Αττικός Ηρώδης). According to Philostratus, Herodes Atticus was a notable proponent of the Second Sophistic. M.I. Finley described Herodes Atticus as "patron of the arts and letters (and himself a writer and scholar of importance), public benefactor on an imperial scale, not only in Athens but elsewhere in Greece and Asia Minor, holder of many important posts, friend and kinsman of emperors."

Ancestry and family

Herodes Atticus was a Greek of Athenian descent. His ancestry could be traced to the Athenian noblewoman Elpinice, a half-sister of the statesman Cimon and daughter of politician Miltiades the Younger. He claimed lineage from the Athenian King Theseus, the Athenian Monarch Cecrops, King Aeacus and the God Zeus. He had an ancestor four generations removed from him called Polycharmus, who may have been the Archon of Athens of that name from 9/8 BC-22/23. His family bore the Roman family name Claudius. There is a possibility that a paternal ancestor of his received Roman citizenship from an unknown member of the Claudian gens.

Mario Frangoulis

Mario Frangoulis (Greek: Μάριος Φραγκούλης; born 1967) is a Greek tenor and is best known for his song, "Vincerò, Perderò". He sings in Italian, Spanish, English, French, and Greek; he is fluent in all five languages.

Biography

Early life

Frangoulis was born on 18 December 1967 in Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) of Greek parents. When he was four years old he was sent to Athens, Greece to live with his maternal aunt Loula and her husband George. The couple adored him so much and Mario considered them as his parents. At the age of eight Frangoulis began singing in various choirs and at the age of eleven he played the part of Issachar in a school production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to follow by many different roles in several other school theatrical performances, including the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret and at sixteen played Tony in West Side Story.

Musical and theatrical studies

When Frangoulis was six years old, he started violin lessons, which he continued for twelve years, receiving a first prize when he was as young as fourteen. He graduated from the Conservatory in 1984, and although he did not further his violin studies, this particular musical training assisted Frangoulis with his operatic studies later in life.