Manos Eleftheriou (; 12 March 1938 – 22 July 2018), was a Greek poet, lyricist and prose writer. He had written poetry collections, short stories, a novella, two novels and more than 400 songs. At the same time he worked as a columnist, publishing editor, illustrator and radio producer.

Biography

He was born and raised in

Ermoupolis Ermoupoli (), also known by the formal older name Ermoupolis or Hermoupolis ( < "Town of Hermes"), is a town and former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality on the island of Syros, in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 loca ...

Syros Syros ( ), also known as Siros or Syra, is a Greece, Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is south-east of Athens. The area of the island is and at the 2021 census it had 21,124 inhabitants. The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano S ...

. His father was a seaman. At the age of 14 he moved with his family from Syros to Athens and for the first seven years he lived in

Chalandri Chalandri (, Ancient Greek: Φλύα, ''Phlya'', also ''Halandri'', ''Khalandri'') is a town and a suburb in the northern part of the Athens agglomeration, Greece. It is a municipality of the Attica region. Geography Chalandri is a suburb in No ...

. In 1960 they moved to

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

. In 1955 he met

Angelos Terzakis Angelos Terzakis (; 16 February 1907 – 3 August 1979) was a Greek writer of the " Generation of the '30s". He wrote short stories, novels and plays. Life He was born in Nafplion in 1907 and lived there until 1915, when he moved to Athens, whe ...

, who encouraged him to attend classes at the Drama School of the National Theater as a listener. In 1956 he was written in the theater department of the with professors Christos Vachliotis, Giorgos Theodosiadis and Grigoris Grigoriou. In 1960 in

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

, where he was to perform his military service, he began to write songs and poems.

Career

Workshop

In 1962, at the age of 24, he published his first poetic collection, entitled ''Sinoikismos'', with his own money but did not have the expected success. At the same time in Ioannina wrote the first lyrics, among them "The train leaves at 8:00", which

Mikis Theodorakis Michail "Mikis" Theodorakis ( ; 29 July 1925 – 2 September 2021) was a Greek composer and lyricist credited with over 1,000 works. He scored for the films '' Zorba the Greek'' (1964), '' Z'' (1969), and '' Serpico'' (1973). He was a three-ti ...

later toured. In October 1963 he began working at ''Reader's Digest'' where he stayed for the next sixteen years. In the meantime, they released their first two short stories, ''The Directorate'' (1964) and ''The Massacre'' (1965), for which excellent reviews were written.

Discography

In 1964 he appeared in Greek discography. He collaborated with composer Christos Leonti and Mikis Theodorakis (1967), with whom the collaboration was interrupted due to the

Dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

. These songs were first released in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1970. He also collaborated with

Dimos Moutsis Dimos Moutsis (, ; 2 August 1938 – 6 March 2024) was a Greek singer-songwriter and composer. Biography Moutsis was born in Piraeus. He was a student of the violin at the Athens Conservatoire from the age of seven and graduated at the age ...

and with Yannis Markopoulos on the album ''Theta'', whose recording started in November 1973, interrupted by the events of the Polytechnic and eventually released in 1974 with the Metropolitan. He collaborated with almost all Greek composers, such as composer Stavros Kouyioumtzis and singer

George Dalaras George Dalaras (, born 29 September 1949) is a Greek singer and musician. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek music. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Piraeus. His ...

, as well as Thanasis Gaifillias at ''The Endless Excursion'' (1975),

Manos Hatzidakis Manos Hatzidakis (also spelled Hadjidakis; ; 23 October 1925 – 15 June 1994) was a Greek composer and theorist of Greek music, widely regarded as one of the greatest Greek composers of all time. He was one of the main proponents of the " Ént ...

Giannis Spanos Ioannes "Giannis" Spanos (, ; 26 July 1934 – 30 October 2019), also transliterated as Yannis Spanos, was a Greek music composer and lyricist. In his early days as a musician he was also a piano accompanist. Spanos won the music prize at the 1971 ...

Giorgos Zampetas Giorgos Zampetas (Pronounced 'Zabetas', , sometimes romanized as George Zambetas / George Zabetas / Giorgos Zabetas; 25 January 1925 – 10 March 1992) was a Greek bouzouki musician. He was born in Athens, where he also died, but his origins were ...

Stamatis Kraounakis Stamatis Kraounakis ( ; born 25 December 1955) is a Greek music composer, music producer, lyricist, writer and director. He was born and lives in Athens and has studied Political Science in Panteion University. He has composed music for more t ...

, Loukianos Kilaidonis,

Giorgos Hatzinasios Giorgos Hatzinasios (also spelled Hadjinasios; , ; born 19 January 1942) is a Greek songwriter and composer. Early life Hatzinasios was born in Thessaloniki. His father was Agapios Hatzinasios, a native of Nigrita, Serres and a music profes ...

Antonis Vardis Antonis Vardis (; 7 August 1948 – 2 September 2014) was a Greek composer and singer. Born in Moschato, a suburb of Athens, Vardis established a 40-year career as a composer and singer, collaborating with well-known Greek singers: George Dalaras, ...

and others. At the same time, he wrote and illustrated children's fairy tales, while editing the albums on Syros: ''Symphony'', ''Drama in Ermoupolis'' and others. In the 1990s he wrote and made radio shows in Athens 98.4 FM and in the Second Programme (ERT). In 1994 he released his first novel entitled ''The Touch of Time''. In 2004 he published his first novel, ''The Chrysanthemum Time'', which was honored with the State Prize for Literature in 2005. In 2013 Manos Eleutherios was awarded for his total contribution by the Academy of Athens He died on 22 July 2018.Το τελευταίο «αντίο» στον Μάνο Ελευθερίου (Pics)

Awards

*(2005) State Prize for Literature for his novel "The Time of the Chrysanthemums". *(2013) Kostas and Eleni Uranis Foundation Award for the whole of his work, Academy of Athens.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleutheriou, Manos 1938 births 2018 deaths Greek poets Greek lyricists 20th-century Greek poets Greek radio people People from Ermoupoli Writers from Athens