Anastasios Metaxas ( el, Αναστάσιος Μεταξάς; 27 February 1862 – 28 January 1937) was a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
shooter
Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can b ...
.
Biography
Metaxas was the royal architect of
George I of Greece
George I (Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913.
Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
and is best known for being the architect chosen by
George Averoff
George M. Averoff (15 August 1815, Metsovo – 15 July 1899, Alexandria), alternately Jorgos Averof or Georgios Averof (in Greek: Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ), was a businessman and philanthropist. He is one of the great national benefactors ...
to restore also the
Panathinaiko Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium ( el, Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο, Panathinaïkó Stádio, ), as spelled by Philostratus. or ''Kallimarmaro'' (Καλλιμάρμαρο, , lit. "beautiful marble") is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. O ...
for the
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
, the birth of the modern Olympic movement, while the design was from
Ernst Ziller
Ernst Moritz Theodor Ziller ( el, Ερνέστος Τσίλλερ, ''Ernestos Tsiller''; 22 June 1837 – 4 November 1923) was a German-born university teacher and architect who later became a Greek national. In the late 19th and early 20th c ...
. He studied architecture at
University of Dresden and passed with honours, in his time he would also expand or reform many historic buildings including the
Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to th ...
and the
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
The National Archaeological Museum ( el, Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο) in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It i ...
to name a couple.
Other works of his include the design for
St Andrew's Cathedral, Patras
, image = Agios Andreas Church Patras Dec 2016.jpg
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, country ...
and various public buildings and mansions in Athens.
Metaxas was also an avid shooter and would appear in four
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...
and win two medals,
he firstly competed in the
1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, Agónes tis 1is Ol ...
in the stadium he helped restore, he entered the
200 metre military rifle and the
300 metre free rifle, three positions
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
and he would end up finishing in fourth place in both events.
Ten years later, Metaxas was competing at the
1906 Intercalated Games
The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...
, where he competed in nine events,
with his best result being a silver medal in the Trap, double shot at 14 metres.
Two years later Metaxas won a bronze medal in the trap shooting event at the 1908 Summer Olympics, held in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, tying for third place with
British shooter
Alexander Maunder, with 57 of 80 targets hit.
[ Metaxas's medal in this event does not appear in the IOC medal database.]
In 1912, aged 50, Metaxas made his final Olympic appearance at the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
in
Stockholm,
Sweden, where he finished sixth in the
trap competition and 35th in the
30 metre rapid fire pistol event.
Metaxas would later turn to politics as a member of the
People's Party.
Architectural works
File:AgiosAndreas.jpg, St Andrew's Cathedral, Patras
, image = Agios Andreas Church Patras Dec 2016.jpg
, image_size = 250
, pushpin map =
, pushpin label position =
, coordinates =
, location = Patras
, country ...
File:Μέγαρο Πάλλη 6110.jpg, Pallis mansion, Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square ( el, Πλατεία Συντάγματος, , "Constitution Square") is the central square of Athens. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and militar ...
File:Athens Economical University old bldg.jpg, Main building of ASOEE
File:Γαλλική Πρεσβεία, Αθήνα 6452.jpg, French embassy, Athens
File:Aretaieion Hospital Athens.jpg, Aretaieion Hospital
File:Syggros.jpg, Syggros Hospital
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Metaxas, Anastasios
1862 births
1937 deaths
Politicians from Athens
Anastasios
Greek MPs 1935–1936
Members of the Greek Senate
Greek male sport shooters
ISSF rifle shooters
Architects from Athens
Olympic shooters of Greece
Shooters at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Shooters at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Shooters at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Shooters at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for Greece
Olympic bronze medalists for Greece
Olympic medalists in shooting
Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games
Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Sportspeople from Athens
19th-century Greek architects
20th-century Greek architects