Novelist (1904-1973)
One of the major novelists of modern Greece, Elias Venezis, whose actual name was Elias Mellos, was born in Ayvalik. He is considered one of the most influential novelists of the Generation of the 30’s, capturing the sociopolitical and geopolitical changes of modern Greece and the Greek genocide of 1931-1923.
Venezis was taken prisoner by the Turkish Army and sent to the amele taburu, Turkish concentration camps. His account of the tortures and sufferings endured by the Greeks were captured in great detail in his most celebrated work The Number 31328 which has been translated in many languages.
During the German occupation in Greece, he was again sent to a concentration camp in Greece where he again survived. The experiences of the Greeks in this infamous camp were documented into his play Block C which premiered in Athens in 1945. The hardships of the Greek people during the radical sociopolitical changes of the early 20th century and their persecution by the Turks and their allies were also documented in many other of his novels such as Manolis Lekas and Other Stories, Tranquility, Aeolian Earth, and Exodus.
His works carry both historical as well emotional weight and for his contribution to modern Greek literature and history he was awarded the National Literature Prize and became a member of the Academy of Athens.
Bibliography
- ”Venezis, Elias”. Helios New Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Passas, I. Athens: 1946. Print.
- ”Νούμερο 31328”. mixanitouxronou.gr. 2 Jul. 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
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