The Varvakeio High School () is a public Greek

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

and

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in

Psychiko Psychiko ( ) is a town and a suburb in the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens agglomeration, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Filothei-Psychiko, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal ...

History

Varvakeio was founded by Ioannis Varvakis, who donated a big part of his fortune to the state, in order to build a public, fee-less high school. The realization of Varvakis' dream came true after his death as the building was opened in 1860, initially across from the present-day Varvakios Agora (central market). Badly damaged in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the original

Panagis Kalkos Panagis Kalkos (, 1818–1875) was one of the first Greeks, Greek architects of the modern Greek state. Educated in Munich, he is a representative of a strict neoclassic style in architecture. He built some of the most characteristic neoclassic bu ...

-designed building was demolished in 1955 or 1956. The school moved several times before settling on its current location in

in 1983. Originally all-male, the school became co-ed in 1979. Today, the school is recognized as one of the leading Model Schools (Πρότυπα Σχολεία) in Greece . Admission is highly competitive and determined through entrance examinations . The school is distinguished for its academic excellence, enriched curriculum and record of producing notable alumni.

Notable alumni

The Varvakeio High School has produced, over the years, notable alumni in varied fields. Some of them include:

Arts and literature

Freddy Germanos Freddie or Freddy may refer to: Entertainment *Freddy (comic strip), a newspaper comic strip which ran from 1955 to 1980 * Freddie (Cromartie), a character from the Japanese manga series'' Cromartie High School'' *Freddie (dance), a short-lived 1 ...

, actor *

Georgios Drosinis Georgios Drosinis (; 9 December 1859 – 3 January 1951) was a Greek author, poet, scholar and an editor. He is considered to be a co-founder of the New Athenian School ( Greek literary Generation of the 1880s). Biography Georgios Drossinis was ...

, poet *

Dimitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos (; – 2 November 1960) was a Greek and American conductor, pianist, and composer. Life and career Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angelikē (Angeliki) Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods s ...

, composer and pianist *

Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( ; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiathos, in the western part of the Aegean Sea. The isl ...

, novelist and poet * Antonis Samarakis, writer

Economics and politics

Evangelos Averoff Evangelos Averoff-Tossizza (Greek: Ευάγγελος Αβέρωφ Τοσίτσας) (Trikala, 17 April 1910 – Athens, 2 January 1990) was a Greek politician, leader of the New Democracy party (1981–1984), member of parliament, and author. ...

, former President of

New Democracy New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a type of democracy in Marxism, based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that w ...

party and Minister *

Leonidas Kouris Leonidas Kouris () (born in Athens, 1949) is a Greek politician; former mayor of Athens and prefect of eastern Attica Attica (, ''Attikḗ'' (Ancient Greek) or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the en ...

, former

Mayor of Athens The mayor of Athens is the head of Athens#municipality of Athens, Athens. The current mayor is Haris Doukas who assumed office on 1 January 2024. Kingdom of Greece (1832–1924) Second Hellenic Republic (1924–1935) Kingdom of Greece (1935 ...

Theodoros Pangalos Theodoros Pangalos (, romanized: ''Theódoros Pángalos''; 11 January 1878 – 26 February 1952) was a Greek general, politician and dictator. A distinguished staff officer and an ardent Venizelist and anti-royalist, Pangalos played a leading r ...

, current Member of the Hellenic Parliament *

Alexandros Papagos Alexandros Papagos (; 9 December 1883 – 4 October 1955) was a Greek military officer who led the Hellenic Army in World War II and the later stages of the subsequent Greek Civil War. The only Greek army career officer to rise to the rank of Fie ...

, former

Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic (), usually referred to as the prime minister of Greece (), is the head of government of the Greece, Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Cabinet of Greece, Greek Cabinet. The officeholder's of ...

* Dimitrios Papadimoulis, current Vice-President of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

* Yagos Pesmazoglou, former economist,

Member of the Hellenic Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic instit ...

and MEP *

Konstantinos Tsatsos Konstantinos D. Tsatsos (; July 1, 1899 – October 8, 1987) was a Greek diplomat, professor of law, scholar and politician. He served as the List of heads of state of Greece#Third Hellenic Republic (since 1974), second President of Greece, Pr ...

, former diplomat and President of the Hellenic Republic * Nikolaos Vettas, AUEB professor of Economics

Science

* Constantinos Daskalakis,

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

professor of computer science (1999 alumnus) *

Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis Constantinos A. Doxiadis (14 May 1913 – 28 June 1975), often cited as C. A. Doxiadis, was a Greek architect and urban planner. During the 1960s, he was the lead architect and planner of Islamabad, which was to serve as the new capital city ...

, architect * Christos Papakyriakopoulos,Spandagos, E., 2008. =Χρίστος Παπακυριακόπουλος / ο ερημίτης του Πρίνστον. 1st ed. Athens: Aithra. mathematician *

Mihalis Yannakakis Mihalis Yannakakis (; born 13 September 1953 in Athens, Greece)Columbia University: CV ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

professor of computer science

Other

Kostas Axelos Kostas Axelos (also spelled Costas Axelos; ; 26 June 1924 – 4 February 2010) was a Greek-French philosopher. Biography Axelos was born in Athens in 1924 to a doctor and a woman from an old Athenian bourgeois family, and attended high scho ...

, philosopher *Saint

Nectarios of Aegina Nectarios of Aegina (; 1 October 1846 – 8 November 1920), Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina, is one of the most renowned Greek saints, venerated both in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. On 20 Ap ...

Michael Stathopoulos
former UoA Professor of Law and member of the Greek Academy

References

External links

*
Website of the Varvakeio Alumni Association
{{Coord, 38, 00, 04, N, 23, 45, 59, E, source:kolossus-elwiki, display=title Schools in Athens 1860 establishments in Greece Educational institutions established in 1860