Hello hello! Being the ambassador for Monaco, I must ask- is there anything you can tell me about Aristotle Onassis? I find him fascinating from an outsider's point of view, but I wonder what he's thought of in his home country! If that's too much of a specific question, who do you think were the most important/influential Greek people of the 20th century? (@champagne-embassy ā„)
Hello, sexy (Baguette)~ I am so glad that you decided to ask me about such theme and I am terribly sorry for the delay. Anyone who has keep tracing me must have noticed my two months absence in my writing blog.Ā
Anyway. This terribly postponed post is about some of the most influential Greeks of the past century in more than one fields~
This weekās post is about Influence on 20th Century
To answer your question, my dear friend, Greeks keep a neutral attitude towards him. To be precise, not many like to mention his name. It creates a controversial topic and results in awkward silence. But most importantly, no one gets to talk about him.
For my foreign friends who do not know Aristotle Onassis:
ĪĻιĻĻĪæĻĪĪ»Ī·Ļ Ī©Ī½Ī¬ĻĪ·Ļ (Aristotelis Onassis) was one of the most successful magnates with a Greek origin and one of the richest men ever. Born in Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey), Onassis was one of the immigrants after the Turkish invasion of Smyrna (or else known as the Destruction of Minor Asia) in 1921 and fleed to Argentina. We shall talk about the massacre another time.
By overhearing telephone calls of his competing businessmen, Aristotle managed to succeed and build a strong strategy for his upcoming tobacco company starring the opera singer and girlfriend, Claudia Muzio, as an advertisement. This didnāt just prove to be a lucrative move but also a social justice message, persuading women to start smoking.Ā
Ā (Aristotle Onassis, Source)
Onassis was best known for his romances and flawed relationships. He was married to Athina Livanou (Īθηνά ĪĪ¹Ī²Ī¬Ī½ĪæĻ ) when he started to date and flaunt about his relationship with Maria Callas (ĪαĻία ĪάλλαĻ), whom we will talk in just a bit. After JFKās assassination, Aristotle was Jacqueline Kennedyās next husband. A friendship turned into an intimate relationship settled on the island of Skorpios (ΣκοĻĻιĻĻ, Scorpion) near Levkada (ĪĪµĻ ĪŗĪ¬Ī“Ī±). Of course and Skorpios was Aristotleās property and it still exists today, having seen it myself.
To sum it up, he was one of the few rich Greeks (*ba dum ts*). Depending on who youāll ask, youāll hear a different opinion on him and his actions.What one cannot evade, however, is the fact that he is one of the few known Greek personalities!
To elaborate on my given question I shall present you some more celebrities that definitely played a role in shaping our Modern History.
A) ĪĻĪ¬Ī½Ī½Ī·Ļ ĪεĻĪ±Ī¾Ī¬Ļ (Ioannis Metaxas)
(Ioannis Metaxas greeting, Source)
Ioannis Metaxas was our dictator and the strongman of the 4th August Regime from 1936 to 1941. From a young age, he was involved in the military, having joined ΣΣΠ(Ī£ĻĻαĻιĻĻική Ī£Ļολή ĪĻ ĪµĪ»ĻĪÆĪ“Ļν, Evelpidon Military Academy) and several other military academies. He was in favour of the kingās reign and was a strong opponent of Venizelos, our next featured man. The dictatorship of Metaxas was one of the most fascistic movements in Greece, similarĀ to Adolf Hitlerās. A pinpoint of it was the creation of ĪĪĪ (Īθνική ĪĻγάνĻĻĪ· ĪεολαίαĻ, National Youth Organisation). He is best known for denying to join the Axis Powers, despite his beliefs. According to him, saying yes would have been the same as sayingĀ ādivide us into three pieces (again)ā.
B) ĪĪ»ĪµĻ ĪøĪĻĪ¹ĪæĻ ĪενιζĪĪ»ĪæĻ (Eleftherios Venizelos)
(Eleftherios Venizelos, Nationalistic Source)
Eleftherios Venizelos is one of the most notable politicians of the 19th AND 20th century having contributed to the Cretan Problem and helping Greece as a Prime Ministry during World War 1, the Balkan Wars and several troubling situations such as the National Schism. Most know his name due to our national airport, and indeed he made lots of travels himself. I need to make a whole post about him. Just a summary isnāt enough.
C) Īελίνα ĪεĻĪŗĪæĻĻĪ· (Melina Merkouri)
(Melina and her cigarette, Source)
Behold- the true Queen of Greece. Both a great actress and a strong politician, she had a strong influenceā¦abroad. She began acting during the war (both WW2 and the Civil War that followed) and was globally recognised as a celebrity at the age of 40. She fought against the junta of 1987-1974 (Which we have talked about in here) and was elected as Head Minister of Civilization (with Ī ĪĪ£ĪĪ). She devoted the rest of her life to bring back the Elgin Marbles (The Marbles of Parthenon located in the British Museum). She died of lung cancer. Her last message was written on a pack of cigarettes:Ā āĪα Ī¾Ī±Ī½Ī±Ī³Ļ ĻĪÆĻĻ (Tha xanagiriso, I will be back)
D) ĪαĻία ĪĪ¬Ī»Ī»Ī±Ļ (Maria Callas)
(The Diva, Source)
Maria. Who doesnāt know the most famous Diva of the Opera? Maria Callas is one of the most notable women ever to step on the scene. Maria was born and raised in America, having Greek origin. She began to sing professionally at the age of 17, already being offered protagonistic roles such as Madama Butterfly or Leonora in Beethovenās Fidelio. Her first husband, Giovanni Battista Meneghini, was the one to urge her to lose weight and become moreĀ āpresentableā. Just after, her operatic career began playing one role after another. From Carmen to La Traviata, Medea to Macbeth, she spread worldwide fame with her unique voice.
Of course and there is an abudance of more people that I could have mentioned like Karamanlis, Papandreou, Tsatsos, Theodorakis but to name a few. But I figured that I can mention them in future posts (To be precise: Greece in the 80s and Greek Music). If you wish for more details, send an ask.
Thank you very much! @hetaliafandomdirectory @aphaskevent @champagne-embassy












