Biography

Ilias Venezis (1904 - 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos, a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvali (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in 1973 in Athens. His most famous works include Number 31328 and Aeolian Land. He is considered to be one of the writers of the Generation of the '30s.

He was born and raised in Ayvali, where he graduated high school. During the Asia Minor Catastrophe, Venezis' family fled from Ayvali to Mytilene to avoid persecution - but returned to Asia Minor after the Greek army took over Smyrna and its hinterland in 1919. When he was 18, the area was recaptured by the Turkish Army, and he was taken prisoner in a "labor battalion". All prisoners were marched into the interior, but few arrived, since most of them were either killed en route, or died of the hardships they were exposed to. Of the 3000 "conscripted" into his "labor battalion," only 23 survived.

When Venezis was released he returned to Mytilene. There he met Stratis Myrivilis, founder of the weekly newspaper Kambana, who encouraged him to write an account of his experiences as a prisoner. This resulted in a novel, which was published in serialized form in Kambana in 1924. However, it did not become well known in Greece until an expanded version was published in book form in 1931.

His major novels are about his life in Asia Minor: Aeolian Land describes the lost Eden of his childhood summers, Number 31328 depicts the horrific experience of the death marches, and Tranquility reflects on his struggles adjusting to life in Greece. In Greece, Venezis worked in the banking industry while writing his novels. He married Stavritsa Molyviati in 1938, who also came from Ayvali.

During the German occupation of Greece, Venezis was taken prisoner again. He was released following the intercession of high-ranking Greek officials including Archbishop Damaskinos. After the war, he wrote in a column for the newspaper Acropolis. He was made a member of the Academy of Athens.
- IMDb mini biography by: Stefanos Sitaras