Alexandros Moraitidis from Skiathos

Alexandros Moraitidis was a scholar and novelist, cousin of the famous writer Alexandros Papadiamantis, one of the most influential Greek literary figures of the 19th century.

Moraitidis was born in Skiathos in 1850 and spent his first school years on the island. At the age of 21, he graduated from the Varvakeio High School of Athens and enrolled in the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens. He worked as a journalist and a high school teacher for over 20 years, and, after the death of his wife in 1914, he devoted himself to the writing and translation of theological texts. A few years later, in 1919, he eventually published the first volume of his short stories, which received the prestigious National Award of Arts and Letters. His rich work consists of poems, plays, short stories, travelogues and many historical novels. He was elected as a member of the Academy of Athens and, in 1929, he returned to his homeland, Skiathos, as a monk, only to die a month later.

A bust of Alexandros Moraitidis has been placed on the Bourtzi peninsula, close to the port.