Spyros Melas(1882-1966)

Spyros Melas was a Greek journalist, writer, dramatist, stage director, editor and academic. He was one of the most productive figures with a long-standing service and manifold activities in the intellectual domain of his time. He was born in Nafpaktos and joined the Athens University Law School, but did not complete his studies. He started his career in journalism with the newspapers 'Asty' and 'Acropolis', while he was soon distinguished as a chronicler and war correspondent at the Balkan Wars, where he served as an artillery sergeant and at the Greco-Italian war, as well. He published his experience in his book "Polemikes selides" (War Pages).

He served as the chief editor in the newspapers "Chronos", "Nea Imera", "Patris", as the director in "Democratia" (1924) and collaborated with many others ("Ebros", "I Kathimerini", "Eleftheria", "Estia", "To Vima"), while in 1948, he published the periodical "Elliniki Dimiourgia".

He also deployed an important activity in the theater area, as a writer, actor and director. In 1925, he founded the short-lived "Theatro Tehnis" (Art Theater) and in 1929 co-founded the theater company "Elefthera Skini" (Free Stage) with Marika Kotopouli and Dimitris Myrat. He was the director of this companies. He revived notably the Athenian repertoire from 1924 until 1936 and collaborated with Aliki Theodorides and Kostas Mousouris.

In 1935, he was elected a member of the Academy of Athens, where he served as the president in 1959.