Theodoros Stefanidis

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Theodoros Stefanidis ( Greek Θεόδωρος Στεφανίδης , also Theodore Ph. Stephanides , * 1896 in India ; † April 13, 1983 ) was a Greek author, doctor and natural scientist. He became known as the paternal friend and teacher of the zoologist Gerald Durrell through his book My Family and Other Animals , his brother Lawrence Durrell's book Black Olives. Corfu, island of the Phaeacians and Henry Miller's The Colossus of Maroussi .

Life

Stefanidis was born in India in 1896 to Greek parents. He first grew up in Bombay until the family moved to Greece in 1907.

He served on the Macedonian front in World War I and also took part in the Greco-Turkish War of 1921/22.

In 1925 and 1926 he published translations of Greek poetry into English. In 1929, however, he went to Paris and studied medicine there , then returned to Corfu and opened the first X-ray laboratory there . In addition to medicine, he carried out systematic scientific and biological research on behalf of the Corfiot authorities to prepare for the fight against malaria . In addition, he was particularly passionate about astronomy . Stefanidis was also a well-known biologist. In 1938 he discovered three species of microorganisms that were named after him ( Cytherois stephanidesi , Thermocyclops stephanidesi and Schizopera stephanidesi ). He wrote a biological treatise on freshwater life in Corfu, which is still cited today. Stefanidis left Corfu in 1938, moved to Saloniki, and worked in a company with an anti-malaria unit established by the Rockefeller Foundation . Stefanidis was not only recognized as a scientist and doctor, but also as a writer who wrote in both Greek and English and translated Greek poetry into English, in particular a large part of the works of the Greek poet Kostis Palamas and the Greek epic work Erotokritos .

In 1936 he met the Durrell family; he remained lifelong friends with Gerald Durrell and Lawrence Durrell and was a meticulous editor of Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals and Lawrence Durrell's The Greek Isles .

From 1939 to 1945 he participated as a member of the British Medical Corps in the campaigns in Crete, Sicily and the desert war in Africa . His experiences were included in the autobiographical book about the Battle of Crete Climax in Crete . Island Trails , published in 1973, contains a factual description of Corfu around 1930 and other Greek islands.

After the war, Stefanidis stayed with his family in London, where he worked as an X-ray assistant at St Thomas' Hospital , Lambeth until 1961 .

Works

  • Grammata ston Lorens Darel (1961–1982) ("Letters to Lawrence Durell.") Athens 2006 (Greek).
  • Climax in Crete. London, 1946.
  • The microscope and the practical principles of observation. London, 1947.
  • A Survey of the Freshwater Biology of Corfu and of Certain Other Regions of Greece. London 1948.
  • The golden face. London 1965.
  • Island trails, introduction by Gerald Durrell. London 1973. ISBN 0-356-04600-1 .
  • Worlds in a crucible. London 1973. ISBN 0-7051-0178-9 .

Translations

  • Kostis Palamas, a portrait and an appreciation Theofanis G. Stavrou and Constantine A. Trypanis. Including, Iambs and Anapaests and Ascraeus by Kostis Palamas; translated by Theodoros Stefanidis and Georgios Katsimbalis . Minneapolis 1985.
  • Kostis Palamas, The twelve words of the Gipsy, translated by Theodoros Stefanidis and Georgios Katsimbalis, London 1974.
  • Kostis Palamas, A hundred voices translated by Theodoros Stefanidis and Georgios Katsimbalis, London 1976.
  • Kostis Palamas, The king's flute. translated by Theodoros Stefanidis and Georgios Katsimbalis, Athens 1982.
  • Kornaros, Vitzentzos, Erotocritos: translated by Theodoros Stefanidis, Athens 1984.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2005 (original title: Prospero's cell , translated by Peter Bermbach, Herbert Zand), ISBN 3-499-11102-0 (a travel report from 1937)
  2. ↑ Henry Miller: The Colossus of Maroussi. A trip to Greece. ISBN 3-499-10758-9 .
  3. ^ Poems , (Poems by Kostis Palamas ), Modern Greek Poems
  4. ↑ Description on WoRMS World Register of Marine Species
  5. ↑ Description on WoRMS World Register of Marine Species
  6. ↑ [1]
  7. ^ A Survey of the Freshwater Biology of Corfu and of Certain Other Regions of Greece. London 1948.
  8. ↑ Climax in Crete. London, 1946.
personal data
SURNAME Stefanidis, Theodoros
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stephanides, Theodore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek author, doctor and scientist
DATE OF BIRTH 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH India
DATE OF DEATH April 13, 1983