Solon Zephyros Grigoriadis ( Greek: Σόλων Ζέφυρος Γρηγοριάδης; February 1912 – October 24, 1994) was a Greek Navy officer, journalist, writer and politician.

Life

Son of

Greek Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

general and political figure

Neokosmos Grigoriadis Neokosmos Grigoriadis ( el, Νεόκοσμος Γρηγοριάδης; c. 1879– c. 1967) was a Hellenic Army general, notable for his involvement in the Greek Resistance during World War II as a leading member of the left-wing National Liberati ...

, Solon Grigoriadis was born in

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

( Vodena) in 1912. In 1932 he graduated from the

Hellenic Naval Academy The Hellenic Naval Cadets Academy ( el, Σχολή Ναυτικών Δοκίμων, abbr. ΣΝΔ, lit. "School of Naval Cadets") is a military university and has the responsibility to educate and suitably train competent Naval Officers for the He ...

as an Ensign. However, his naval career was very brief; beginning in 1935, he worked for various Greek newspapers, writing articles on world politics, economics and

geopolitics Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and after the fall of Greece to the Nazis, he was active in the Greek Resistance, joining the left-wing National Liberation Front (EAM) and serving as an officer in the

Greek People's Liberation Navy The Greek People's Liberation Navy (; ''Elliniko Laiko Apeleftherotiko Naftiko''), commonly abbreviated as ELAN (ΕΛΑΝ), was the naval force of the communist-led Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) resistance movement during World War II, a ...

(ELAN), the naval branch of the more famous

Greek People's Liberation Army 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 ...

(ELAS). He was also involved in politics, being elected in the " National Council" that EAM had set up, representing

. His father Neokosmos Grigoriadis was Chairman of the Council. As a war correspondent, Grigoriadis covered many important 20th century conflicts, such as the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

, and many of his articles and publications about strategy and politics were published in Greek and international military reviews. He was the first Greek journalist who visited

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

in 1965, as a war correspondent. His writing style combined historical accuracy with journalistic flavor, and this was a major factor in the success of his works. He died in

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 October 1994.

Works

His works include: *Η Ιστορία της Σύγχρονης Ελλάδας 1941-1974 (''History of modern Greece 1941-1974'') *Δεκέμβρης-Εμφύλιος 1944-1949 (''Dekemvriana - Civil War 1944-1949'') *Συνοπτική Ιστορία της Εθνικής Αντίστασης (''Concise History of the Greek Resistance'') *Οικονομική Ιστορία Ελλάδας (''Economic History of Greece'') References 1912 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Greek historians National Liberation Front (Greece) members Hellenic Navy officers Greek war correspondents {{Greece-historian-stub People from Edessa, Greece