Ilias Lagios

The poet Elias Lagios was born in Arta in 1958 and succumbed to his injuries in Athens on 5 October 2005, following a fall from his balcony. He published the following poetry collections: ‘Progress in Progress’, Olin 1981, ‘Exercises I–IX’, 1984 (under the pseudonym Alexis Fokas), "The Works of Alexios and Marianna", Estia Bookshop 1990, "Synestiasis", 1991, "The Story of Lady Othello", Estia Bookshop 1992, "Marianna’s Book", Ikaros 1993, "The Little Hero: the sketch", Anti 1996, "The Deserted Land", Erato 1996, "On Animals", Parousia 1996, "Little Muses", Eratos 1997, “Of the Woman-Woman”, Eratos 1998, “The Twenty-Four Hours of Dea”, Kastaniotis 1998, “Theatre Studies”, Kastaniotis 1998, “An Act of Submission”, Eratos 2000, "February 2001", Erato 2002, "The Man from Galilee", Erato 2004, and the "folk" tale "The Abduction of the Box", Erato 2003. He contributed to the following anthologies: "Triodion", Agra 1991 (with Dionysis Kapsalis and Giorgos Koropoulis), "Anthodesmi", Agra 1993 (with Michalis Ganas, Dionysis Kapsalis and Giorgos Koropoulis). He also edited the following publications: Kostis Palamas, "And I Have a Glory to Ask of You" (anthology), Hermes 2001, Stelios Anemodouras, "The Little Hero", Katarti 2001, Robert E. Howard, "Conan the Barbarian", Katarti 2001, Ioannis Gryparis, "Scarabs and Terracottas", Indiktos 2002, Johnston McCulley, "The Mark of Zorro", Katarti 2003, Edgar Rice Burroughs, "Tarzan at the Centre of the Earth", Katarti 2003, Kostis Palamas, "The Unshakable Life", Ideogramma, 2004.

The Deputy Minister of Culture, Ms Fani Palli-Petralia, said of his death: “Ilias Lagios was one of the most important figures in Greek poetry of the 1980s generation.” The president of SYN, Alekos Alavanos, said: “The poet Ilias Lagios, a great poetic talent of our time [...] leaves his work as an important legacy for us all.”

Mikela Chartoulari wrote in “Nea” on 6 October 2005: "An exceptionally gifted craftsman of poetry, a 'battery-powered tracker of truth' with a deeply subversive voice, Elias Lagios died yesterday at the age of 47, a victim of his own profane self. Profane, because he clashed with the art establishment, with ‘politically correct’ behaviour, with the silent violence of everyday life, with his own health. He stayed up all night, drank, starved, wore himself out, became obsessed, abandoned himself to his passion and... took his own life. [...]"

Nikos G. Xydakis wrote in "Kathimerini" on 9 October 2005: "A tender 47-year-old adolescent, both immature and precocious, a dazzling talent, wasteful with words and feelings, wasteful above all with himself. A poet. [...]"