Κι ας μη νομίζουμε πως είμαστε μεγάλοι,

τρανοί, υπερκόσμιοι κι αθάνατοι ποιητές,

Περνούμε εμείς, έρχονται πίσω άλλοι

κι όλοι μας είμαστε φτωχοί τραγουδιστές…

Vassilis Vassilikos was a versatile spiritual man. Having political concerns but also the talent and the background to deal with many fields of creativity, he left behind a rich oeuvre.

He has written novels, short stories, poetry, plays, translations and has worked as a director, scriptwriter and journalist. The characteristics of his works include the immediacy of his discourse along with his deep knowledge of modern history and Greek society.

Vassilikos is among the most widely translated Greek writers. His best-known work is certainly “Z”, which refers to the assassination of the EDA (United Democratic Left) MP Gregory Lambrakis in 1963. The text was originally published in serialized form by the magazine Tachydromos in 1966 and in the same year it was published in book form by Themelion Publications. The dictatorship banned its publication in Greece, but gave impetus to the translation of the book and its circulation abroad so that “Z” became a book – a symbol of the anti-dictatorial struggle. In 1969, while Greece was ruled by the military junta of the colonels, the book was made into a film by Kostas Gavras, achieving great commercial success, mainly in France and the USA.

Because of his political views, Vassilikos went into self-exile during the years of the dictatorship. He lived and worked abroad for almost thirty years without ever abandoning his roots.

In addition to his work as a novelist, he has held the position of deputy general director of ERT from 1981 to 1984 and the position of script consultant at Arte. He was ambassador of Greece to UNESCO (1996-2004) and was elected MP for SYRIZA in the 2019-2023 parliamentary cycle.

Since 1994 he presented the TV show about books “Axion Esti” on ERT where he hosted some of the greatest contemporary writers, leaving a legacy and a valuable archive.

The figure of Vassilis Vassilikos, with his characteristic flat-bellied fedora and the smoking pipe, will remain one of the most recognizable in modern Greek literature.