October 26th to November 1st
OCTOBER 27TH:
On this day in 1971, Theodoros Zagorakis, the Greek soccer player turned politician, was born in Athens. Zagorakis first started his career playing for Kavala – where he made 114 appearances between 1988 and 1993. In the 1992-93 season, Zagorakis left Kavala as a winter transfer to join PAOK, part of a string of star transfers made that season. He played for PAOK until December 1997 and captained the squad in his last two seasons. He rose to become an iconic figure for the fans, as he rarely missed a league derby and often scored important goals. He played for four clubs in the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, and the Greek Super League before serving as captain of the Greek national team that won the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship. After his career, Zagorakis became president of PAOK in 2007 and immediately started sorting through its troubled financial situation. Seven years later, Zagorakis entered politics and became a Member of European Parliament.
OCTOBER 28TH:
On this day in 1940, Greece began its successful resistance of Italy’s attack in what was to be known as the beginning of the Greco-Italian War. Italy had annexed Albania in 1939 and tension began to grow between Italy and Greece – leading the Greeks to fortify their border with Albania. On October 26, Benito Mussolini demanded that the Greeks turn over territory to him. Ioannis Metaxas told Mussolini that under no circumstances would he agree to an Italian occupation of Greece (this event is the basis of ‘OXI’ Day celebrations). Mussolini decided to invade Greece – which would soon prove to be the commencement of a disastrous military campaign for Italy. Mussolini surprised everyone with the move against Greece – even Adolf Hitler, who denounced the move as a major strategic blunder. Mussolini moved ahead out of sheer hubris, convinced he could defeat the Greeks in a matter of days. The Greeks succeeded in pushing the Italian invaders back into Albania after just one week.
OCTOBER 29TH:
On this day in 1969, Eleni Menegaki, the Greek TV presenter and actress, was born in Athens. Mostly known for her TV hosting duties on a number of shows. Menegaki has grown to be extremely popular throughout Greece. In 2010, Forbes ranked her as the second most powerful and influential celebrity in Greece and top-ranked female. Menegaki was married to television program manager Giannis Latsios from 2001 to 2010, with whom she had three children. In 2015, she welcomed a daughter with businessman Mateo Pantzopoulos.
OCTOBER 30TH:
On this day in 1930, Turkey and Greece signed a treaty of friendship – also known as the Treaty of Ankara. This treaty affirmed the boundaries between Turkey and Greece, settled the property claims of repatriated populations, and established naval parity in the eastern Mediterranean. The rapprochement was due particularly to the efforts of Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos and Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk to normalize the historically problematic relations between the two countries. Venizelos even nominated Ataturk for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934. The Ankara Treaty also influenced Turkey’s accession to the League of Nations (1932) and the establishment of the Balkan Pact (1934), in which Greece and Turkey joined Yugoslavia and Romania in a treaty of mutual assistance. Turkish-Greek relations continued without any major conflict until the Cyprus Crisis in 1954. In 1964, Turkish Prime Minister Ismet Inonu renounced the 1930 Treaty and took actions against the Greek minority of Turkey.
