Vassilis Vassilikos, the acclaimed Greek writer best known for his 1967 political novel Z, passed away at 89.
Z was translated into 32 languages and adapted into the award-winning film Z, directed by Costa-Gavras with music by Mikis Theodorakis. The book is an account of the assassination by right-wing thugs of the social-democratic Greek politician Grigoris Lambrakis in 1963.
He also collaborated with Greek director Nikos Koundouros on the script of the film “Mikres Afrodites.”
Vassilikos is the most translated Greek writer after Greek heavyweights Nikos Kazantzakis and poets Yiannis Ritsos and Constantinos Cavafis.
Born in Kavala on November 18, 1934, Vassilikos graduated from Karyotaki High School in Kavala and Anatolia American College in Thessaloniki.
He later pursued studies in Law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and television directing at the Yale University Drama School in New Haven, Connecticut.
From 1967 to 1994, with the initial seven years spent in exile to escape Greece’s military dictatorship, he resided and worked in Italy, France, and the United States (New York), with a three-year break (1981-1984) during which he served as the deputy director general of public broadcaster ERT during the socialist administration of Andreas Papandreou.
Throughout his career, Vassilikos held various roles, including assistant director in foreign productions, documentary director, screenwriter, script editor, draftsman at Arte (1990-1993), journalist, and writer.
Vassilikos also served as the ambassador of Greece to UNESCO from 1996 to 2004.
In the 2014 Greek local elections, he ran as a PASOK candidate for the councillor for the City of Athens. In the 2019 Greek legislative election, he was elected as a Member of Parliament with the leftist SYRIZA party. Vassilikos was married to soprano Vaso Papantoniou and left behind a daughter.
Watch the Ζ (Costa Gavras) – Trailer below.
