Quick Facts
Biography
Yanis Kordatos (Greek: Γιάνης Κορδάτος; 1 February 1891-1961) was a Greek Marxist historian and sociologist.Kordatos wrote over twenty historical works dealing with Ancient, Byzantine, and Modern Greek history. Some of his most notable books include A History of Greek Literature from 1453-1961 (1962), The Last Days of the Byzantine Empire (1975), A History of Ancient Greek Philosophy (1946, 1975), The Commune of Thessalonica (Salonika), 1342-1349 (1975), and The Social Meaning of the Greek War of Independence of 1821 (1972). He is considered the father of Greek Marxist historiography.
Early life
Kordatos was born on February 1, 1891 in Zagora, Greece. His father Alexandros, was a merchant. He studied at Smyrna (Izmir)'s Graeco-German Lyceum in 1907. In 1908, he studied at the Franco-Hellenic Lyceum in Constantinople (Istanbul). Kordatos also studied Law at the University of Athens in 1911.
Politics
Kordatos was a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Labour Party of Greece (SEKE), which later became the Socialist Labour Party of Greece-Communist (SEKE-K). In 1924, it was renamed the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).