Antonis Benakis (Greek: Αντώνης Μπενάκης) (1873–1954) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

art collector and the founder of the Benaki Museum in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, the son of politician and magnate Emmanuel Benakis and the brother of author Penelope Delta. He is the hero of Delta's book "''Trellantonis''" (Crazy Antony), a literary account of the sundry, mischievous adventures of children growing up in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, in the early 20th century.

Biography

Antonis Benakis was born in 1873 in

, in the

Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short- ...

, and was the son of businessman, politician and magnate Emmanuel Benakis and

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

born mother Virginia (née Choremi). He was a member of the Benakis and Choremi families and he grew up in the strict climate of the family home in Alexandria, about the daily life of which several testimonies are preserved through the books of his sister, Penelope Delta. He moved permanently to Athens in 1926. It is certain that Antonis Benakis, the founder of the Benaki Museum, was influenced by the example of his father Emmanuel Benakis (1843–1929), and the great statesman

Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos (, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Cretan State, Cretan Greeks, Greek statesman and prominent leader of the Greek national liberation movement. As the leader of the Liberal Party (Greece), Liberal Party, Venizelos ser ...

(1864–1936), a close friend and colleague. During his own lifetime Benakis donated the museum that he created to the Greek state, now the Benaki Museum. Benakis pursued a continuous involvement, until his death, in enriching and improving the organization of the museum's holdings, and his role in ensuring its financial security. Benakis was a member of the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest and, after the Order of World Scouts (formed in 1911), is the second-oldest international organization in the Scout Movement, having been established in 1922. It has 176 members. ...

from 1949 until 1951.

References

External links

The Benaki Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benakis, Antonis 1873 births 1954 deaths Greek art collectors Scouting and Guiding in Greece Greek philanthropists People from Alexandria Egyptian people of Greek descent World Scout Committee members Egyptian emigrants to Greece