Konstantinos CHatzopoulos

Konstantinos Chatzopoulos was born on May 11, 1868, in Vrachorion, Agrinio. He was the first of seven children of landowner Ioannis Chatzopoulos and Theofania Staikou, who came from a prominent family of local leaders, many of whom were members of the Filiki Eteria and fighters in the 1821 Greek War of Independence. After completing his primary education in Agrinio and secondary education in Messolonghi, he enrolled in the Law School of Athens in 1882 at the age of just fourteen. He graduated in 1888 with the grade "Good." After completing his military service (1889-1891), he worked for two years as a lawyer in Agrinio. From 1893 to 1900, he resided in Athens. During the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, he was drafted and served in Arta. He then returned to Athens and, the following year (1898-1899), published the magazine "Art," which aimed to promote the demotic Greek language and introduce its readers to European literature. Although short-lived, Chatzopoulos's magazine—whose collaborators included I. Gryparis, K. Theotokis, A. Karkavitsas, M. Malakasis, Boem, P. Nirvanas, K. Palamas, L. Porphyra, among others—was a milestone in the intellectual development of the country. In 1990, he inherited land from his grandfather and traveled to Germany. In Dresden, he met and married Finnish Sunny Haggmann. From August 1901 to June 1905, they lived with their family in Athens. In June 1905, with his wife and their three-year-old daughter, they moved to Munich. In July 1906, they relocated to Berlin, but in February 1908, they returned to Munich. During his stay in Germany, Chatzopoulos embraced socialist ideals (1907), engaged with the intellectual and artistic life of the country, translated numerous plays (including works by Ibsen and Strindberg), and published poems, prose, and critical essays in "Noumas" and other publications. He also translated the "Communist Manifesto" by Marx and Engels into Greek, which was serialized in the newspaper "The Worker" of Volos in 1908. With the outbreak of the war in 1914, Chatzopoulos moved with his family to Athens. He ceased to be a member of the "Socialist Center of Athens"—although he did not renounce socialist ideas—disillusioned by the internal conflicts among its members. In 1916, he co-founded the "Society of Social and Political Sciences" with other intellectuals. In July 1920, Chatzopoulos traveled one last time to Munich with his family to bring back their belongings to furnish their new home on Mavromichali Street. However, while en route to Brindisi on the Italian steamer "Montenegro," he died of food poisoning. He was buried in Brindisi. Many years later, his daughter transferred his and his wife's remains to the First Cemetery of Athens. He published poetry collections, short stories, the prose works "Love in the Village" (1910), "The Tower of Akropotamos" (1915), "Autumn" (1917), and the satirical ethnography "The Superman" (1915).