Princess Rallou Karatza ( el, Ραλλού Καρατζά; ro, Ralu Caragea; 1799,

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 (" ...

– 1870, Thonberg near

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

) was a

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

Greek artist. She was the daughter of the Prince of

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

Ioannis Karatzas Ioan Gheorghe Caragea (sometimes Anglified as John Caradja; History of the Romanian language, pre-modern Romanian: ''Ioan Gheorghie Caragea'', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Cyrillic: Їωан Геωргïє Караџѣ; Greek language, Greek: Ἰ� ...

(r. 1812–1818). She convinced her father to found a Royal Dramatic Society, and founded the first court theatre. She became an

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, theatre director, translator and participant in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. She had an early interest for theatre, both ancient and modern. She became the founder of the first theatre in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

called "Cişmeaua Roşie", formed by students from the Greek School in Bucharest. She became a member of the secret group Filiki Eteria, which worked for the independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire, and became a great weapon in the propaganda for Greek independence through the plays she performed on stage. She translated and directed plays from Western Europe and gave scholarships for actors to study in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. She moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1829. Married to George Argyropoulos, she died on 16 April 1870 in Thonberg near

References

* Marcu, George (ed.), ''Dicţionarul personalităţilor feminine din România'', Editura Meronia, București, 2009. * Jennifer S. Uglow, ''The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography'', 1982.

External links

* George Marcu
DOAMNE ŞI DOMNIŢE ALE ROMÂNILOR: IV. DOMNIŢA RALLOU CARAGEA
at reteaualiterara.ning.com 1799 births 1870 deaths 19th-century Greek actresses 19th-century translators 19th-century Greek women writers 19th-century Greek writers Rallou Greek stage actresses Greek theatre directors Greek translators Greek princesses Women in the Greek War of Independence Wallachian people of the Greek War of Independence Members of the Filiki Eteria 19th-century Romanian actresses Phanariotes {{romania-actor-stub