On International Women’s Day, we look back at influential Greek women who have played crucial roles in Greece’s history, even dating back to antiquity. This is also the case for modern Greece, where so many amazing women changed and shaped the country today.
The ten most influential Greek women
Laskarina “Bouboulina” Pinotsis
Laskarina Pinotsis, also known as “Bouboulina,” was born in 1771; contrary to every societal category occupied by women of that time, her actions and courage played a vital role in Greek independence.
Pinotsis fought in the Greek War of Independence in 1821, serving as the naval commander of her own ship that she had equipped with her own funds. Bouboulina was killed in 1825 as the result of a family feud on the island of Spetses.
She is widely considered one of the most influential Greek women of all time, and she is commemorated across the country. On the island of Spetses the Bouboulina Museum is housed in the 300-year-old mansion of the naval hero’s second husband Bouboulis, and her descendants still live there.
Her statue also stands in the harbor in Spetses. Various streets all over Greece and Cyprus are named in her honor, notably Bouboulina Street near the National Technical University of Athens (the Polytechnio) and the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Penelope Delta
Penelope Delta was one of the most popular and successful Greek authors of the late 19th and early 20th century. She became known for her contributions to Greek children’s literature. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1874, she was the daughter of Emmanuel Benakis, a prominent figure and member of the elite of the Greek society of the 19th century.
Delta’s historical novels significantly influenced modern Greek perceptions of their national identity and history. Her works include ”The Secrets of The Swamp,” a fascinating book exploring the Macedonian struggle and Greece’s effort to liberate the region of Macedonia before the Balkan Wars. Another great novel of Delta is “Gia tin Patrida” (For the Sake of the Fatherland) and “Ton Kairo tou Voulgaroktonou” (In the Years of the Bulgar-Slayer). Delta was also known for her association with Ion Dragoumis and her friendship with Eleftherios Venizelos, Greece’s iconic statesman.
Delta died in Athens in 1941 at the age of 67.
The Lady of Ro
Despina Achladiotou, commonly known in Greece as the Lady of Ro (Η Κυρά της Ρω), was a Greek patriot who lived on the tiny islet of Ro in Castellorizo, Greece’s easternmost island complex.
Born around 1890, she became famous across the country for raising the Greek flag daily on the island, even when it was under Italian control, before the liberation of the Dodecanese after World War II.
Her dedication to the country and patriotism earned her full military honors at her funeral in 1982.
Eleni Skoura
Eleni Skoura was the first woman to be elected as a member of the Greek parliament. She was a true trailblazing politician who became the first female to get such a role in 1953. Born in Volos in 1896, she was active during the Greek-Italian War and the German nazi cccupation of Greece, leading volunteer organizations.
Skoura was nominated by Alexandros Papagos, the right-wing post-war PM of Greece and served until 1956. She made significant contributions to social and women’s issues, earning her the Military Medal for Extraordinary Accomplishments and the Order of Beneficence.
Skoura died in 1991 at the age of 94.
Katina Paxinou
Katina Paxinou was a film and stage actress. She was born in 1900 and became one of the most famous actresses around the world during the first half of the 20th century.
During World War II, she lived in the United Kingdom but soon moved to the United States, where she made her film debut in “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Her performance in the 1943 feature film was widely praised, and she won the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Sofia Vembo
Sofia Vembo, also known in Greece as the “Songstress of Victory,” was a very popular and beloved Greek singer and actress. Born in Gallipoli in 1910, she rose to fame during the Greco-Italian War with her patriotic and satirical songs that held Greece’s morale high during Mussolini’s attack in October 28, 1940.
Vembo’s performances inspired thousands of Greek soldiers and civilians alike and she donated 2,000 gold pounds to the Greek Navy. After the war, she acquired her own theater in Athens and was awarded the rank of Major in the Greek Army for her contributions during the Axis occupation of the country.
Vembo died in 1978 at the age of 68.
Melina Mercouri
Melina Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer, and politician. She received an Oscar nomination and won a Cannes Film Festival Award for her performance in the 1960 film “Never on a Sunday.” Mercouri was also nominated for three Golden Globes and two BAFTA Awards in her acting career.
Later on in life, Mercouri became a politician. She joined the center-left PASOK party and was a friend of party leader Andreas Papandreou. She was elected as a member of the Hellenic Parliament, and in October 1981, Mercouri became Greece’s first female Minister of Culture and Sports.
Maria Callas
Maria Callas, a Greek soprano, was one of the most famous and influential opera singers of the 20th century. She was born to Greek parents in the United States in 1923, but received her musical education in Greece and established her career in Italy.
Her relationship with the Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis was a hot topic of discussion for many years across the globe, and unfortunately oftentimes her turbulent personal life overshadowed her extraordinary talent. Rumors swirled about her love life, her feuds with other opera singers, and her drastic weight loss — which many believe was the reason for the decline of her musical career.
In 2006, Opera News wrote of her: “Nearly thirty years after her death, she’s still the definition of the diva as artist — and still one of classical music’s best-selling vocalists.” Her real name was Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulos.
Irene Pappas
Irene Papas was a Greek actress and singer who starred in over 70 films during the course of her life. Her career spanned more than 50 years; she chose to retire in 2003, at the age of 77. She was launched into the international spotlight when she starred in “The Guns of Navarone” and “Zorba the Greek.”
She won the Best Actress award in 1961 at the Berlin International Film Festival for Antigone and the same award in 1971 from the National Board of Review for The Trojan Women. Her real name is Eirini Lelekou. Sadly, Papas passed away in September 2022 at the age of 93.
Nana Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri is a Greek singer. During her impressive music career, she has released over 200 albums and singles in at least twelve different languages, including Greek, French, English, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Hebrew, Welsh, Mandarin Chinese and Corsican.
Mouskouri became famous all around Europe for the song “The White Rose of Athens,” originally recorded in German, as “Weiße Rosen aus Athen.“
She became a multilingual television star and cultivated a distinctive image due to her signature black-rimmed glasses, which were unusual for the time. Mouskouri became a spokesperson for UNICEF in 1993 and was elected to the European Parliament as a Greek deputy from 1994 to 1999.
Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain was born in 1938 in Greece. She is the first child of King Paul of Greece and Frederica of Hanover, and was born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark. Sofia became a member of the Spanish royal family and served as Queen of Spain during the reign of her husband, King Juan Carlos I, from 1975 to 2014.
She completed her secondary education in a boarding school in Germany before going back to Greece where she specialized in childcare, music and archaeology. She married Juan Carlos in 1962 and has three children with him: Elena, Cristina, and Felipe. Their son Felipe VI is the current King of Spain.
Katerina Sakellaropoulou
Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the current president of Greece since 13 March 2020, is the first female elected by parliament to serve in the highest political office in the country.
Born in Thessaloniki, she studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and completed her postgraduate studies in public law at Paris II University.
In October 2015 she was appointed Vice-President of the Council of State, and in October 2018 she became the first female president of the court, following a unanimous vote. Her election came after the Syriza government, which was in power at the time, considered her progressive record on issues such as the environment and human rights.
On 15 January 2020, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, nominated her for the post of President of the Hellenic Republic, a post she was elected to on 22 January 2020 with 261 MPs voting in favour in the 300-seat Parliament.
