Greece. Internationally Admired Composer’s Birth Anniversary Remembered on New Gold Coins

Mikis Theodorakis (1925-2021) was a leading Greek composer of the 20th century and one of the most prominent personalities of modern Greece, with international acclaim. His vast repertoire encompassed all music genres such as symphonic, chamber music, opera, ballet, film and theatre scores as well as countless contemporary songs. Blending folk and Byzantine elements with his solid classical background, he pioneered the entechno or, artful popular song genre as he named it.  More importantly, Mikis set to music poetry both Epical and lyrical, Greek and universal which endeared him to the Greek people who regard his work as a national treasure.

Born on the island of Chios, part of the North Aegean islands chain on the 29th July 1925, Michail Theodorakis was the son of Georgios Theodorakis, an attorney and Aspasia Poulakis. Raised and encouraged to admire Greek folk music influenced by Byzantine liturgy as a child, Mikis, as he was affectionately known, had already talked about becoming a composer when he grew up. With a fascination for all thing musical, he taught himself to write his first songs without access to musical instruments and took his first music lessons as an adolescent. In the midst of the Second World War and occupation, Mikis gave his first concert at the age of seventeen but during the Civil war which erupted after the German surrender, he was arrested and sent into exile on the island of Icaria. After the restoration of the Greek kingdom, he was able to resume his musical studies at the Athens Conservatoire In 1950, finishing his studies and passing his last two exams. Afterwards, Mikis travelled to Crete, where he became head of the Chania Music School and where he founded his first orchestra. While in Crete, he married Myrto Altinoglou in 1953 and the following year, they travelled to Paris where he entered the Conservatoire de Paris and where he composed his symphonic works. His Piano concerto, his first suite, his first symphony, and his scores for the ballet Greek Carnival, Le Feu aux Poudres, Les Amants de Teruel, received international acclaim. Theodorakis returned to Greece in 1960 and his roots in Greek music, where he was credited with contributing to a cultural revolution in his country. His most significant and influential works are based on Greek and world poetry, he wished to give back to Greek music a dignity which in his perception it had lost.

Despite his considerable success in music, Theodorakis took an interest in politics and became a member of the Greek Parliament following the 1964 elections. That same year, he was approached by producer Michael Cacoyiannis to write the music for his film Zorba the Greek starring Anthony Quinn. Due to the unforgettable music score and chorography for the Syrtaki dance, inspired by old Cretan traditional dances, the film became an international success and Mikis’ name had climbed to heights not known before.

However, even his international acclaim could not protect him or his family from arrest, internment and eventual exile during the Military junta in April 1967. Mikis and his family finally left Greece in 1970, settling in Paris and did not return until the collapse of the junta and the restoration of democracy in 1974. 

Mikis would later stand again for election to the Greek parliament, serving from 1981 to 1986 and again in 1989 to 1993. During this time from 1990 to 1992 he was a minister in the government of Prime Minister Constantine Mitsotakis. After his resignation as a member of Greek parliament, he was appointed General Musical Director of the Choir and the two Orchestras of the Hellenic State Radio which he reorganised and with which he undertook successful concert tours abroad. In March 1997, just after performing a concert at the Berlin Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Theodorakis was hospitalised from respiratory difficulties and when he declared that he had taken part in his last concert. He lived in retirement reading, writing, publishing arrangements of his scores and texts about culture and politics. With his final set of songs, a Rhapsody for Strings created in January 2013, Theodorakis achieved the distinction of producing one of the largest works by any composer of any time. Mikis died at his home in Athens on the 2nd September 2021 at the age of 96 after which the Greek Prime Minister declared three days of national mourning to honour him. As part of his funeral, he lay in state in the chapel of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, with thousands of people from all walks of life, as well as political leaders paying their last respects. After the official ceremonies and according to his will, his remains were transferred to be buried in the town of Galatas, near Chania, Crete, where his parents and brother were buried.

 The obverse and reverse sides are designed by senior engraver and artisan George Stamatopoulos who recreates one of a series of photographs of Theodorakis taken while conducting his orchestra during a visit to the Netherlands in 1972 and is positioned to the right side of the coin. In the background, the field is arranged with a circular pattern of musical notes. Within these notes is the commemorative text 100 ΧΡΟΝΙΑ ΑΠΟ ΤΗ ΓΕΝΝΗΣΗ ΤΟΥ ΜΙΚΗ ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑΚΗ (100^th year of the birth of Mikis Theodorakis) placed to the left of the primary design along with the year of release 2025 and the distinctive palmette mintmark of the Greek Mint. The reverse side includes an arrangement of piano keys along the rim and border which encircles both a treble clef indicating a musical score and the crest of the Hellenic Republic which is integrated within the clef. The text ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ is shown within the crest and the denomination of the coin 200 ΕΥΡΩ is seen just to the right.

Available from the 16th March, each coin is encapsulated and presented in a matte-polished wood custom case and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. For additional ordering information, please visit the website of the Bank of Greece.