Greek Composer And Politician Mikis Theodorakis Has Died At The Age Of 96
Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis has died. He was 96 years old. His music for Zorba the Greek was full of joy — but his own story was much more complicated.
by Anastasia Tsioulcas
Sep 02, 2021
4 minutes
Greek composer and politician Mikis Theodorakis died Thursday at age 96. A notice on his website cited cardiopulmonary arrest as the cause of death. Theodorakis' music for the film Zorba the Greek became a worldwide shorthand for a seize-the-moment kind of joyfulness.
However, Theodorakis endured a lot of tragedy — and he was a much more complicated person than Zorba the Greek and its most famous song, a carefree dance, would suggest.
Theodorakis was imprisoned, tortured and exiled multiple times: the first time during World War II, as a resistance fighter; again during the brutal Greek civil war of the 1950s; and then again
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