ΤΟ REUTERS ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΜΙΚΗ ΘΕΟΔΩΡΑΚΗ
"Our Mikis has gone": 'Zorba the Greek' composer Theodorakis dies at 96
Composer of the "Zorba the Greek", Mikis Theodorakis, gives an interview to Reuters on his balcony across from the Acropolis in Athens October 18, 1989. Theodorakis has switched his allegiance from communists to Conservatives. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis/File Photo
ATHENS, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose life and music mirrored Greece's soul and crossed international boundaries in his captivating score for the film "Zorba the Greek", died on Thursday, plunging the country into three days of mourning.
A towering man with a brooding presence and a shock of wavy hair, Theodorakis's work evoked a progressive, democratic vision of the world, though his political struggles reflected a darker side of Greece rarely seen by visitors.
As news of his death at home in Athens at the age of 96 swept across the country of 11 million, authorities declared three days of mourning and tributes poured in from across the political spectrum.
"Today we lost a part of Greece's soul. Mikis Theodorakis, Mikis the teacher, the intellectual, the radical, our Mikis has gone," said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.
Theodorakis introduced a carefree image of Greece to the world in the 1960s with "Zorba", the earthy soundtrack to a movie starring Anthony Quinn as the lovable, eponymous rogue who dances barefoot on a Cretan beach......
