Greece has announced three days of mourning after Mikis Theodorakis, the composer who found international fame with his film score for Zorba the Greek , died aged 96.

Theodorakis, who captivated audiences home and abroad with his hoarse voice, messy mane and thumping melodies, died at his home on the foot of the Acropolis after suffering years of heart problems.

His forthright communist and left-wing beliefs were sullied with public declarations in later life that he was “anti-Israel and antisemitic” and that “everything that happens today in the world has to do with the Zionists”.

News of his death plunged the nation into mourning as pundits, politicians and the press praised his musical and political contribution.

“We all forgot you were mortal,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis,