List of famous Medieval Macedonians

in Medieval Macedonian History / by Admin / on March 9, 2007 at 10:09 pm /

Some Great Macedonians (15th-19th century)

Andronikos Kallistos (b.Thessaloniki, 1400 – d. London, 1486). He lived and studied in Constantinople. After its fall he went to Italy where he joined Vissarion. He taught in Bologna (1464), Rome (1469), Florence, Paris and London (1476). From there he began the systematic teaching of Greek literature in France. He communicated the principles of Aristotelian thought to many of his students, whose learning won them distinction in Europe. He possessed a large collection of Greek manuscripts.
Damaskinos (Stouditis) (b. Thessaloniki – d. 1577). A student of Th. Eleavoulkos in Constantinople. Bishop of Liti and Rendini (1564). Metropolitan of Nafpaktos and Arta. Patriarchal exarch of Aitolia.

Malachias Rizos (b. Thessaloniki). Abbot of a Unitist monastery near Palermo.

Dimitrios the Deacon (b. Thessaloniki). Student of Michail Ermodoros Listarchos from Constantinople. Multilingual. A monk in Egypt. Sent to Germany by the Ecumenical Patriarch Iosaph the Magnificent, to investigate the new heresy of Protestantism. He resided in Wittemberg for six months (1559). He made a great impression on Melangthonas, to whom he presented the Confessions of Augustine as a gift for the Patriarch.

Theofilos (b. Zichni, Serres, circa 1460-1470). A monk at Iveron Monastery. Copyist of many codices and probable founder of the monastery’s fine library.

Ioannis Kottounios (b. Veroia, 1572 – d. Padua, 1657). Student at the Greek college of Ayios Athanasios in Rome (1605-1613). He studied medicine, Greek literature, theology and philosophy at Italian universities. He taught at the universities of Padua, Bologna and Pisa, where he became particularly well known. A student of the renowned Italian philosopher Cesare Cremonini and his successor to the chair of philosophy at Padua. In 1653 he founded the Kottounian Hellinomouseio (a boarding school for Greek boys). He was a friend of Mart. Krousios, Leon Allatios and other personalities of his time. An eminent scholar and commentator on the works of Aristotle.

Mitrofanis Kritopoulos (b. Veroia, 1589 – d. Wallachia, 1639). A monk on Mount Athos. He was a close associate of Kyrillos Loukaris. He studied in England and Germany. He traveled to Europe and mingled with the greatest scholars and theologians of his day. He made Orthodoxy known in the West and was particularly concerned with the problem of unifying the Orthodox Church with the churches of Western Europe. He taught Greek in Vienna (1627-1630). Elected patriarch of Alexandria (1636), where he put together an important library.

Kallinikos Manios (b. Veroia, 1624 – d. 1665). Student at the Greek College of Ayios Athanasios in Rome (1642-1647) and later at the Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide. He returned to Veroia where he was active in the field of education (1649) and was instrumental in the founding of the town’s first school.

Konstantinos Kallokratos (b. Veroia, 1589). Student at the Greek College of Ayios Athanasios in Rome (1600-1610), where he studied philosophy and theology. He taught at a school in Calabria for Greek-speaking Albanians. His bosom friend was Leon Allatios. A brilliant man and a skilled poet.

Georgios (Grigorios) Kontaris (b. Servia). A monk, he studied Latin and Italian in Venice (1665), becoming a master of philosophy. School principal in Kozani (1668-1678). Later teacher in Servia. Elected metropolitan of Servia and Kozani (1673-), metropolitan of Athens and metropolitan of Smyrna (1690). He was the first to show interest in Ancient Greek history.

Anastasios Michail (b. Naousa – d. Russia, after 1722). General studies in Ioannina with G. Sougdouris as his teacher of rhetoric and philosophy. In 1702 he met with distinguished German theologians in Constantinople. He went to Halle and was later elected a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He produced enlightening work for Christians and Greeks in Moscow, where he won renown for his theological and philosophical knowledge.

Georgios Parakeimenos (b. Kozani). He studied medicine and philosophy at Padua. Director of the Kozani school (1694-1707). Physician and preacher.

Sevastos Leontiadis (b. Kastoria, 1690 – d. 1765). Student of Anthrakitis in Siatista, Kastoria and Ioannina. Studies in Italy. Director of the Kastoria school (1726-1728). He taught in Kozani (1728-1733) and Moschopolis.

Dimitrios Karakasis (b. Siatista, 1734). He studied medicine, philosophy and mathematics at Halle, Saxony. Degree in medicine (1760). Physician in Vienna, Larisa, Siatista, Kozani, Bucharest. Taught in Siatista.

Manassis Iliadis (b. Meleniko, early 18th century – d. Bucharest, 1785). Studied medicine at Padua and Bologna, physics and mathematics in Germany and Italy. Physician in Bucharest. He taught philosophy and physics at the Bucharest Academy.

Michail Papageorgiou (b. Siatista, 1727 – d. Vienna, 1796). Studied philosophy in Ioannina under Eugenios Voulgaris. Studied philosophy and medicine in Germany. Taught in his birthplace, Selitsa, Meleniko, Vienna and Budapest.

Konstantinos Michail (b. Kastoria). A philosopher-physician and linguist, he spoke Greek, Latin, French and German. Student of Michail Papageorgiou. He left all his books to the schools of Kastoria.

Ioannis Emmanouil (b. Kastoria). Studied philosophy in Pest and Vienna.

Thomas Mandakasis (b. Kastoria, early 19th century). Studied medicine and philosophy at Leipzig. Degree in medicine (1758). Physician abroad. Director of the Kastoria school (1767-1770).

Dimitrios Darvaris (b. Kleisoura, 1754 – d. Vienna, 1823). He studied Latin, Greek and Slavonic in Budapest, Zemun and Bucharest; philosophy at Halle, Saxony. He taught Greek in Zemun.

Georgios Sakellarios (b. Kozani, 1765 – d. 1838). Student of Kallinikos Barkosis and Amphilohios Paraskevas. He studied German and French as well as philosophy in Hungary. He also studied medicine in Vienna and practiced medicine in Kozani, Naousa, Tsaritsani and Kastoria. He was chief physician at the court of Ali Pasha. He was an associate of Rigas Ferraios and Perraivos.

Michail Perdikaris (b. Kozani, 1766 – d. Monastir, 1828). Physician, scholar. He studied medicine and literature at Italian universities and in Vienna. Conservative, yet a true ideologue, he was a faithful student of Amphilohios Paraskevas and Harisios Megdanis. He taught in the Danubian principalities and practiced medicine in Epirus, Kozani, Thessaloniki, Monastir and elsewhere.

Michail Doukas (b. Siatista – d. Mount Athos). He studied philosophy in Vienna, where he was also a merchant.

Harisios Megdanis (b. Kozani, 1769 – d. 1823). A student of Amphilohios Paraskevas. He studied rhetoric, philosophy and mathematics at Livadi. A private tutor in Pest. He returned to Kozani and entered the priesthood. He taught in Kozani and other Macedonian towns. He also acted as both physician and preacher.

Grigorios Zaviras (b. Siatista, 1744 – d. Shabat Shalashi, Hungary, 1804). A student of Varkosis in Siatista. A merchant in Budapest. He founded a school for the Greek community in Kalocsa, Hungary, where he also taught. His wonderful library, which he donated to the Greek Church in Pest, has been preserved. A sage of his time, with a multitude of diverse interests and enormous intellectual powers.

Vasilios Papaefthymiou (b. Kostantziko). He taught at the Greek community’s school in Vienna (1802-1804).

Athanasios Christopoulos (b. Kastoria, 1772 – d. Transylvania, 1847). He studied medicine, philosophy and law in Budapest and Padua. A student and friend of professor Lambros Fotiadis. Courtier of the prince Alexandros Mourouzis and judge in Wallachia, where he was the “Spokesman for foreign cases.” He helped to draft the urban law code in Wallachia, which was also the first document of its kind in Modern Greek. Emissary of the ‘Philiki Etaireia’. He lived in Greece from 1828 to 1836.

Grigorios Zalykis or Zalykoglous (b. Thessaloniki, 1777 – d. Paris, 1827). He studied Greek, Latin and French philosophy in Bucharest. A student of the famous teacher Lambros Fotiadis. He enthusiastically espoused the views of Korais. Secretary to Choiseul Goffier (from 1802). Co-founder of the “Greek Language Hotel” in Paris (an organization aimed at the liberation of Greece (1809), a forerunner of the ‘Philiki Etaireia’). First Secretary at the Ottoman Embassy in Paris (1816-1820). When the Greek War of Independence broke out in 1821, he took refuge in Transylvania, Bessarabia and St. Petersburg under the wing of Tsar Alexander.

Eufronios Rafail Popovits (b. Kozani, 1774 – d. Iasio, 1853). He studied rhetoric, philosophy, physics, political science and economics in Hungary. He completed his studies in Vienna. He taught at the Greek schools in Pest, Vienna and Zemun and also engaged in journalistic activity in Vienna, where he edited the newspaper “News from Eastern Places” (2 July 1811-27 December 1811). He bequeathed his library to Kozani.

Georgios Rousiadis (b. Kozani, 1783 – d. Athens, 1854). A student of Amphilohios Paraskevas. He studied in Vienna. A teacher in the Greek community in Vienna and the Greek community in Pest. A member of the ‘Philiki Etaireia’, he took part in the Greek War of Independence. After the liberation, he lived in Western Europe. He returned to Athens in 1848.

Minas Minoidis (d. France). A student of Athanasios Parios. He taught rhetoric and philosophy in Serres and Thessaloniki. He also taught Ancient Greek language and literature in Paris. Interpreter at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. Militantly opposed to Korais’ ideas on the Language Question, he was his most severe and unfair critic. A fervent supporter of the fight for independence. He discovered the verse myths of Vavrios in a Mount Athos manuscript.