Famous People Born In Athens

Giannis Antetokounmpo is a professional basketball player and plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. He’s called ‘Greek Freak’ as he hails from Greece and also due to his size, speed and ball-handling skills. He was named NBA’s Most Valuable Player twice and NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2020. He represents Greece at the international level.

Sophocles was an ancient Greek writer. He is one among three tragedians from his era whose plays have survived. Sophocles was the most decorated and celebrated playwright for almost five decades, during which he won 24 out of 30 dramatic competitions, which took place in the city-state of Athens during the religious festivals of the Dionysia and the Lenaea.

Arianna Huffington is a Greek-American author, businesswoman, and syndicated columnist. She is credited with co-founding the popular news aggregator and blog, The Huffington Post. She is also the founder of Thrive Global, for which she also serves as the CEO. She has been featured on lists, such as Time magazine's 100 most influential people and Forbes magazine's Most Powerful Women.

Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, the son of King George I of Greece, served as a major general in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. The Turkish forces recaptured Smyrna and Andrew was blamed for the loss of Greek territory. As a result, he was exiled from Greece and he lived in France where he died.

Remembered as both an Athenian military leader and an author, Xenophon, a friend of Socrates, remains a major link between historians and the Greek philosopher, with his works such as Symposium and Memorabilia. He also led the Ten Thousand, in a Persian expedition under Cyrus the Younger.

Pericles was an influential and prominent Greek statesman and orator. He also served as the general of Athens during fifth-century Athens, which came to be known as the Golden Age of Athens. Thanks to his efforts, Athens became known as the cultural and educational center of the ancient Greek world. Pericles is also credited with beautifying and protecting the city.

Greek filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter Yorgos Lanthimos initially studied business and was also part of the Greek national basketball team before stepping into films. A prominent figure of the Greek Weird Wave movement, he is known for his Academy Award-nominated screenwriting in The Lobster and direction in The Favourite.

The daughter of former WTA player Angelikí Kanellopoúlou, Sakkari was introduced to tennis at age six. Greek tennis sensation Maria Sakkari has had a career-high ranking of number 6 in singles. Known for her aggressive style, Sakkari was born and raised in Athens but moved to Barcelona at 18 to train.

Solon was an Athenian lawmaker, statesman, and poet. He is best remembered for his efforts to legislate against the moral, economic, and political decline in archaic Athens. Although his efforts did not prove to be fruitful during his lifetime, Solon is often credited with laying the foundation for Athenian democracy. 

Phidias was a Greek painter, sculptor, and architect. He is credited with sculpting the famous Statue of Zeus at Olympia, which was an important part of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias is widely regarded as one of the greatest ancient Greek sculptors and is seen as the pioneer of the Classical Greek sculptural design.

One often hears of "draconian" laws in the context of archaic, harsh, and severe laws in the modern times, and the adjective was derived from Draco, a 7th-century Athenian legislator and the first on record. He replaced the oral law with a written code, which punished almost all crimes with death.

Maria Amalia Mercouri was a Greek actress, singer, politician, activist, and socialist. Mercouri had a profound acting career and is remembered for her portrayal of Ilya in the film Never on Sunday, which earned her a Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award. As a politician, Mercouri served as the Minister of Culture and Sports, the first female to do so.

Konstantinos Mavropanos is a Greek football player who currently plays for the popular Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart. He is also an important member of the Greece national football team. Before playing for VfB Stuttgart, Mavropanos has also played for Arsenal and FC Nürnberg. 

Greek-born French actor and director Ariane Labed is best known for her Volpi Cup-winning debut role in Attenberg. She initially co-created the Vasistas theater troupe and was associated with the National Theater of Greece. She later won the Locarno, César, and Lumières awards for her performance in Fidelio: Alice's Odyssey.

Stavros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon who was credited for building the world's biggest supertankers. He is also credited with founding an international shipping company named Niarchos Ltd. Niarchos is also remembered for his love for horses. A renowned thoroughbred horse breeder and racer, Stavros Niarchos was often ranked number one on the breed list in France.

Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark was the son of Queen Olga and George I of Greece. A talented painter, Nicholas was nicknamed Greek Nicky within the royal family to tell him apart from his cousin Nicholas II. In 1896, Prince Nicholas helped organize the Summer Olympics. He was godfather to George Simitis' son and future Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.

Praxiteles was a Greek sculptor and son of famous scupltor Cephisodotus the Elder. The first scupltor to create a life-size statue of the nude female form, Praxiteles was the most celebrated among all the Attica sculptors of the fourth century BC. Praxiteles' supposed relationship with his beautiful model Phryne has inspired interpretation in works of art, such as comic opera.

Considered a Romanian hero, Helen of Greece and Denmark is remembered for her selfless act of saving Romanian Jews during World War II. The daughter of Greek king Constantine I, Helen served as the queen mother of Romania during the rule of her son, King Michael I.

Lindsay Armaou is a Greek-born Irish singer and actress best known for her association with the popular girl group B*Witched. Over the years, Armaou has helped increase the popularity of B*Witched, thanks to her fame as an actress outside the music industry.

An ancient Athenian legislator, Cleisthenes is often referred to as the father of Athenian democracy. He not only served as the chief archon, or the top-most magistrate, of Athens, but also transformed the Athenian constitution and made it more democratic. He is believed to have introduced ostracism as a punishment.

Miltiades the Younger was a Greek Athenian military leader who served as an eponymous archon of Athens from 524 to 523 BC. He is best remembered for playing a major role in the Battle of Marathon against the invading Persian force. The battle resulted in the crushing defeat of the Persians and gave rise to the famous Greco-Persian Wars.

Born to French producer Michèle Ray-Gavras and Greek-French director Costa-Gavras, French filmmaker Romain Gavras was no stranger to films as a child. Apart from making films such as The World Is Yours and countless ads, he has also directed iconic music videos such as Jamie xx’s Gosh and M.I.A.’s Bad Girls.

Pope Anacletus, or Cletus, was once the bishop of Rome and later set up 25 Roman parishes as the pope. He was said to have been martyred during Domitian’s rule. He finds mention in Dante’s Divine Comedy and has been named to the Roman Canon of the Mass.

Nikolaos Michaloliakos is a Greek politician best known for founding and leading the far-right political party Golden Dawn. A convicted criminal, Michaloliakos and 67 other political leaders from his party, were found guilty by the Athens Appeals Court of leading a criminal organization.

Cleon was an Athenian general who played an important role during the Peloponnesian War. Although he is often portrayed in a negative way, Cleon is best remembered for his compassion towards the poorer citizens which helped increase his popularity; he increased the pay for jury work, providing a livelihood for many poor Athenians.

After losing his father as a child, Alcibiades came under the tutelage of Socrates. He was known for his shifting allegiance, siding with Athens first, and then Sparta, during the Peloponnesian War. He was known to win wars more with his deceptive means than his military tactics.

Greek-Romanian model and actor Anastasia Tsilimpiou started her career as a child actor. She soared to fame with her roles in the Greek series Gia tin kardia enos Angelou and To Nisi and the Turkish series Muhteşem Yüzyıl: Kösem. She also delivered an award-winning performance as Helen Keller in To thafma tis Anne Sullivan.

Mary Tsoni was a Greek singer and actress best remembered for playing important roles in films like Evil, Evil: In the Time of Heroes, and Dogtooth. She was honored at the Sarajevo Film Festival with the Best Actress award for her performance in Dogtooth. A month before her 30th birthday, Mary Tsoni was found dead due to pulmonary edema.

Greek filmmaker, producer, and screenwriter Theo Angelopoulos is remembered for his Palme d'Or-winning film Eternity and a Day. He dropped out of law school to study film and later became known for his signature slow narratives and long takes. He died after being hit by a motorcycle while shooting the film The Other Sea.

Often regarded as ancient Greece’s first female physician, Agnodice is believed to have disguised herself as a man to study midwifery. Some sources, however, claim she was a mythical figure. Dragged to court by her jealous male counterparts, she later revealed her gender. She paved the way for future female doctors.