Mikis Theodorakis laid to rest in small Cretan village – end of an era

Mikis Theodorakis, an emblematic and charismatic composer and political maverick idolized as one of modern Greece’s cultural “icons”, was laid to rest on Thursday in a small Cretan village’s cemetery.

Theodorakis, 96, passed away at his longtime Athens residence, located just south of the Acropolis, last week, marking an end to an era in Greece and for millions of fans around the world.

A funeral service in the Greek Orthodox church of St. Nicholas, in the village of Galata, outside the port city of Hania, was broadcast live by most television stations in the country and again attended by most of Greece’s political leadership.

Singers from Crete and a crowd of people bid farewell to Mikis Theodorakis, by singing the great song of the Cretan tradition “o Antriomenos”, written by Ourania Melabianaki and sang, among others, by Nikos Xilouris and Domna Samiou.

The Cretans welcomed him as he deserved

On Thursday morning, the moment when the body of Mikis Theodorakis arrived at the metropolitan church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary to the sounds of the Philharmonic of the Municipality of Chania, the gathered citizens burst into applause and shouted “immortal”.

Members of cultural and traditional associations lined up in the area in front of the church – wearing traditional Cretan costumes – while on the way to the church students sang songs by Mikis Theodorakis.

The moment when the coffin passed among 96 Cretan rockers, as many as the years of the great composer, sent thrills.

“To Palikari” sung by his daughter

His youngest daughter, Margarita, bid also farewell to her beloved father, Mikis Theodorakis.

Margarita Theodorakis sang to the great Greek composer the song “To Palikari”, which was firstly sang by the late Grigoris Mpithikotsis.

“You will always be alive in the hearts of us all, but mainly in my heart” were the only words said by Margarita Theodorakis.

“Beacon of inspiration”

Hundreds of citizens gathered to leave one last flower, including tourists who have “embraced” his work. “I am waiting since early in the morning to say goodbye to Mikis, our Mikis, who taught us a lot with his attitude towards life and his music that reached all over the the world”, a resident of Galata, in Chania, told to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

“Mikis Theodorakis is a beacon of inspiration for our generation, we learned from him,” said another one.

Statement by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after the funeral service for Mikis Theodorakis 

Today, Crete welcomes on his last voyage the great ecumenical Greek of Romiosini. Mikis Theodorakis lived a life full of passion and intensity. He turned music from an individual experience into a project for collective action. He consistently and passionately served the values of freedom and justice, but above all the unity of the Greeks.

We bid farewell, today, to the last great Greek of the 20th century.

His songs will be whispered and sung by us, our children and our grandchildren, in memory of this great, unique Greek of Romiosini.