Polyxeni Loizias (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Πολυξένη Λοϊζιάς) (

Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...

, 1855—1942), was a Cypriot educator, writer and feminist. She was a pioneering figure in the feminist and women's movement in Cyprus.

Early life and education

She was born in

in 1855. She was educated first in the Limassol School for Girls, then in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

in the school Agia Fotini under another Cypriot educator,

Sappho Leontias Sappho Leontias (Greek language, Greek: Σαπφώ Λεοντιάς) ( Constantinople, 1830 or Moutoullas, 1832 – Constantinople, 1900) was a Cypriot writer, feminist, and educator. Early life and education Sappho was born as Sappho Clerides ( ...

and she finished her studies in 1878 in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

at Palladion again under Sappho Leontias.

Career

In 1878 after the transfer of Cyprus from the Ottoman to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, Loizias returned to Limassol and was employed as the principal of the Limassol School for Girls (Παρθεναγωγείο), which was founded in 1859 as the first school for higher education for women in Cyprus. At that point, most women were illiterate and it was not until 1895 that the British introduced a public school system, and most Cypriot families outside of the elite upper class long opposed education for girls. She taught at the school for 35 years, until 1913. She was the first educator in Cyprus to introduce physical education in the cariculum. She expanded the educational opportunities for women on Cyprus: as an author, she participated in the public debate in favour of education and a professional life for women; and as a principal, she fulfilled these reforms by sending students to study in universities in Greece when women were allowed to study in university level, no universities existed in Cyprus at the time, and by starting educational courses for adult women teachers in her school.Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Alexandra Bounia
The Political Museum: Power, Conflict, and Identity in Cyprus
/ref> She participated in several women’s associations and charity groups and was a prolific writer. She is the first woman author who lived and wrote in Cyprus, the first Cypriot woman author was her teacher Sappho Leontias who lived outside of Cyprus.

Publications

* ''Πατριδογραφία Κύπρου'', Λεμεσός, 1890. * ''Ἡ Δούλη Κύπρος'', Λεμεσός, 1890. * ''Ἴριδες'', Αθήνα, 1901.
''Ἡ ψυχή τῆς Κύπρου'' (''ἔπος'' ''ἤ'' ''ἐγκόλπιον τῶν'' ''Ἑλληνίδων'')
Λεμεσός, 1908. *
Κυπριακή Κυψέλη
', περιοδική έκδοση 1912-1920, Λεμεσός, 1921. *
Κυπριακόν Λεύκωμα
', Λεμεσός, 1924. * ''Μαθητικός Κόσμος'', Λεμεσός, 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loizia, Polyxeni 1855 births 1942 deaths People from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Cypriot people 20th-century Cypriot women 19th-century women educators Cypriot women writers Women's rights activists Feminists

Early life and education

Career

Publications

See also

References