Demetrios Vikelas
1835–1908
Biography
Demetrios Vikelas was a Greek businessman and man of letters, and the first president of the International Olympic Committee. He was born on Syros in 1835 and spent his childhood in Greece and Istanbul. He made his fortune in London, where he married, and then lived for many years in Paris, partly because his wife's health required it. He gave up trade for literature and history, and wrote novels, short stories and essays that won him a respected name.
He is remembered as a writer chiefly for Loukis Laras, first published in Athens in 1879 and written during his years in Paris. It is framed as the autobiography of an old man from Chios and recalls the destruction of that island during the Greek War of Independence. Greek scholars regard it as a significant work in the development of modern Greek prose. He also made many translations and published short stories in Athenian newspapers.
In 1894 he represented Greece at the congress that Pierre de Coubertin called to revive the Olympic Games. The congress founded the International Olympic Committee, decided on a modern revival with the first Games in Athens in 1896, and chose Vikelas as its first president. He stepped down after the Games and remained in Athens until his death in 1908. The site holds Loukis Laras, the novel by which he is still best remembered as a writer.
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Books
Λουκής Λάρας
by Demetrios Vikelas
An old merchant looks back on his youth on Chios when the Greek War of Independence broke out. His memoir follows a young man who is no hero, only someone trying to save his family and his trade as war and massacre sweep through the Aegean. This book uses the racial and other…
Summary written by Claude Opus 5.5.