Alexandra Mavrokordatou ( el, Αλεξάνδρα Μαυροκορδάτου; 1605–1684) was a famous Greek intellectual and

salonist A salon is a gathering of people held by an inspiring host. During the gathering they amuse one another and increase their knowledge through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "e ...

. She was also known as Loxandra Scarlatou. She was the daughter of Scarlatos Beglitzi. A member of the

Mavrokordatoi The House of Mavrocordatos (also Mavrocordato, Mavrokordatos, Mavrocordat, Mavrogordato or Maurogordato; el, Μαυροκορδάτος) is the name of a family of Phanariot Greeks originally from Chios, a branch of which was distinguished in the ...

, one of the most famous

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 ...

families, she was raised 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 (" ...

, where she was given a good education. She married the rich Greek silk merchant Nikolaos Mavrokordatos (1599-1649). After two unhappy marriages, she became the first Greek woman start a salon in the Ottoman Empire.Jennifer S. Uglow : The Macmillan dictionary of women's biography (1982) Christian Greeks were not obliged to obey the Islamic laws of restriction in contacts between the sexes, which made a literary salon possible. Her example was soon followed by other Greek women, and she became quite influential in society as the centre of political discussions. In 1683, her son

Alexander Mavrocordatos Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

participated in the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...

and was blamed for the Ottoman loss to Austria, and Alexandra was accused by the Turks of having encouraged his alleged treason because of her wish to liberate Greece from Ottoman rule. She was arrested and put in jail, where she died at the age of 79 in 1684.

References

1605 births 1684 deaths 17th-century Greek people 17th-century Greek women 17th-century Greek politicians

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

Ottoman culture Ottoman Athens Salon-holders from the Ottoman Empire Constantinopolitan Greeks {{Greece-bio-stub