Simos Menardos (Greek: Σίμος Μενάρδος) (Mytilene, 1871 – Athens, 23 July 1933) was a Greek and Cypriot academic, writer, philologist, folklorist, poet, lector in Mediaeval and Modern Greek at the University of Oxford, professor of Ancient Greek Philology and later rector of the University of Athens and member of the Academy of Athens and Parnassos Literary Society.[1]

Simos Menardos
Σίμος Μενάρδος
Rector of the University of Athens
In office
1925–1926
Vice-Rector of the University of Athens
In office
1924–1925
Personal details
Born1871 (1871)
Mytilene, Ottoman Greece
DiedJuly 23, 1933(1933-07-23) (aged 61–62)
Athens, Kingdom of Greece
Alma mater
OccupationAcademic, Philologist, Folklorist, Educator, Scholar, Writer, Poet

Early life and education

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Menardos was the son of Greek diplomat Georgios Menardos (Γεώργιος Μενάρδος) from Tinos and the Greek Cypriot Augousta Frangoudes (Αυγούστα Φραγκούδη), of the well known Frangoudes family of Limassol. He was born in Myteline in 1871, where his father was appointed as vice consul of Greece, and spend his childhood in Cyprus. From his mothers side he was first cousin to the Cypriot journalist and politician Georgios Frangoudes.[2][3]

He graduated from the Gymnasium of Athens and then studied philology and law at the University of Athens. In the law department he was in the same class as Christodoulos Sozos. Menardos then returned to Cyprus and worked as the principal of the Greek School at Larnaca (Ελληνική Σχολή Λάρνακος) between 1896-1898. Subsequently, from 1898 until 1904, he worked as a lawyer in Limassol. Later, between 1904 and 1907, he undertook post-graduate studies in Italy, France and the UK. From 1907 until 1909 he was appointed superintendent of the Greek schools of Cyprus (the first non-British person to be appointed to this position), and helped to found and organise the Cyprus Museum.[2][4] He was a member of the Committee of the Cyprus Museum.[5]

Academic work

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Menardos specialised in Cypriot medieval and modern philology and dialectology focusing on the Cypriot dialect. He wrote studies on linguistics, toponymy, folklore, mostly about Cyprus, but also Lesbos, Rhodes, Cephalonia, Tinos and Mykonos. He was a translator and epigrammatist.[6] He published a translation of Aristotles' Poetics along with commentary from Ioannis Sykoutris.[7] He published a number of books as well as articles in journals such as Δελτίον Ἰστορικῆς καί Ἐθνολογικῆς Ἑταιρείας, Αθήνα, Νέος Ἑλληνομνήμων, Λαογραφία, Ἐπετηρίς Παρνασσοῦ.[8]

Menardos was appointed to the first Lectureship in Mediaeval and Modern Greek at Oxford University, giving his inaugural lecture on 29 October 1908. He lectured until 1914 when the position was disestablished due to financial reasons. Oxford bestowed him an honorary doctorate. From 1911 until 1933 he was professor of Ancient Greek Philology at the University of Athens, in 1916 and in 1922 he was dean of the School of Philosophy, vice rector (1924-1925) and finally rector (1925-1926). In 1919 he inaugurated the Koraes Chair at King’s College, with a series of lectures on modern greek poetry.[9][2][10] He also gave lectures on modern Greek poetry at the University of Cambridge.[11] In 1926 he was elected as a member of the Academy of Athens, and he acted as its first General Secretary from 1928 until his death in 1933.[2][7] He was a member of the Parnassos Literary Society.[12] In 1930 he was president of the Committee of the Troisième Congrès International des études byzantines à Athènes.[13] In 1930 he published his only poetry collection titled Επιγράμματα (Epigrams).[4]

Legacy

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Kostis Palamas dedicated a poem to him titled To Simos Menardos (Στον Σίμο Μενάρδο).[14] In honour of his contributions to the study of the Cypriot dialect, the Cyprus University of Technology has named its language center after Menardos.[15]

Publications

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Publications about Menardos

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  • Συκουτρής, Ι. (1933). Σίμος Μενάρδος. Αθήναι: Τύποις Παρασκευάς Λεωνή.
  • Tillyrides, A. (1979). Unpublished letters of Simos Menardos, Κυπριακαί Σπουδαί, 43.
  • Κασίνης, Κ. Γ. (1982). Ο Σίμος Μέναρδος και η Υποψηφιότητα του Παλαμά για το Βραβείο Νόμπελ. Αθήνα.
  • Χρυσάνθης. Κ. (1989). Μια επιστολή του Σίμου Γ. Μενάρδου. Εταιρία Κυπριακών Σπουδών. Λευκωσία.

References

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  1. ^ Amantos, K. (1933). "Simos Menardos". Byzantion. 8 (2): 795–797. ISSN 0378-2506. JSTOR 44169693.
  2. ^ a b c d Polignosi. "Μενάρδος Σίμος". www.polignosi.com. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. ^ Polignosi. "Μενάρδος Γεώργιος". www.polignosi.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b Κείμενα Κυπριακής Λογοτεχνίας. Τόμος Β΄ (PDF). Υπουργείο Παιδείας και Πολιτισμού, Παιδαγωγικό Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου. 2012. p. 69. ISBN 978-9963-0-4536-5.
  5. ^ Merrillees, Robert Stuart (2005). "Towards a fuller history of the Cyprus Museum". Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes (in French). 35 (1): 191–214. doi:10.3406/cchyp.2005.1482. ISSN 0761-8271.
  6. ^ L., R.; P., Ch. (1934). "Corrado Ricci (1858-1934)". Revue Archéologique. 4: 63–64. ISSN 0035-0737. JSTOR 41748352.
  7. ^ a b Marshall, F. H. (1938). "Ἀριστοτέλους Περὶ Ποιητικῆς. Translation by the late Simos Menardos. Introduction, text and commentary by the late I. Sykoutris. Ἀκαδημία Ἀθηνῶν. Ἑλληνικὴ Βιβλιοθήκη. Pp. 148 + 285. Athens: Kollaros. 1937". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 58 (2): 289–290. doi:10.2307/627351. ISSN 2041-4099. JSTOR 627351.
  8. ^ Polignosi. "Λαογραφία". www.polignosi.com. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  9. ^ Bryer, Anthony (1988). "Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies: a partial view". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 12 (1): 1–26. doi:10.1179/byz.1988.12.1.1. ISSN 0307-0131.
  10. ^ B., E. P. (1926). "The Dedication of the Gennadeion at Athens". American Journal of Archaeology. 30 (2): 203–204. doi:10.1086/AJS497447. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 497447.
  11. ^ "Σίμος Μενάρδος | Εκδόσεις Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών". publications.upatras.gr. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  12. ^ Σταύρου, Σταύρος. "Ο Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου (1955-1959)" (PDF). Φιλολογικός Σύλλογος «Παρνασσός».
  13. ^ "Le troisième congrès international des études byzantines à Athènes (12-18 octobre 1930)". Revue des études byzantines. 29 (158): 235–236. 1930.
  14. ^ "Κωστής Παλαμάς: Στο Σίμο Μενάρδο". www.greek-language.gr. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Ομιλία Π. Περσιάνη στο ΤΕΠΑΚ: Ανάγκη άμεσου εκσυγχρονισμού των μεθόδων διδασκαλίας της γλώσσας". paideia-news.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
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