Cybele (actress)
Encyclopedia
Cybele was the stage name of the famous Greek actress Cybele Andrianou .
She was born in 1887 to an unmarried couple in Smyrna
and spend the first two years of her life in an Athens
orphanage. At the age of two-and-a-half, she was adopted by Anastasis and Maria Andrianou. The family of a famous Athenian lawyer of the time, who had recently lost their only child, helped Cybele's adoptive parents financially. In 1901, at the age of 14, she received her first award for her stage performance.
: Euripides
' Alcestis
and Sophocles
' Antigone
. She later became known for her performances in plays of Leo Tolstoy
, Carlo Goldoni
and Henrik Ibsen
. In 1908, she worked for the first time with Gregorios Xenopoulos
, who wrote her the theatric play The Red Rock (Ο Κόκκινος Βράχος), based his short novel written of the same name. The play was of huge success, and was repeated by Cybele's theatrical group for many years to come. Xenopoulos continued to write her at least one play a year, until 1925. Cybele also worked with the father of Dimitris Horn
) from 1910 to 1934. In 1932, she joined forces with Marika Kotopouli
, her "stage enemy", in order to compete the newly founded National Theater of Greece. After the German invasion
, she fled along with her husband, George Papandreou
, and the Greek government and royal family to the Middle East. After the war, she returned in Greece and performed various roles with the National Theater, accompanied by Ellie Lambeti
, Dimitris Horn, Mitsos Myrat and other famous actors and actresses. The summer of 1951 she made her only appearance in an ancient Greek comedy
, in Aristophanes
' Lysistrata
. Cybele appeared in only two films during her career, in 1933 and 1956.
, later Prime Minister
. When Cybele died, in 1978, at the age of 91, she had 4 children, 3 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren.
She was born in 1887 to an unmarried couple in Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
and spend the first two years of her life in an Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
orphanage. At the age of two-and-a-half, she was adopted by Anastasis and Maria Andrianou. The family of a famous Athenian lawyer of the time, who had recently lost their only child, helped Cybele's adoptive parents financially. In 1901, at the age of 14, she received her first award for her stage performance.
Career
Cybele was one of the main actresses of Nea Skini from 1901 to 1906. There, she had the chance to perform the only roles of her life based on ancient Greek tragedyTragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
: Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
' Alcestis
Alcestis (play)
Alcestis is an Athenian tragedy by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides. It was first produced at the City Dionysia festival in 438 BCE. Euripides presented it as the final part of a tetralogy of unconnected plays in the competition of tragedies, for which he won second prize; this arrangement...
and Sophocles
Sophocles
Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...
' Antigone
Antigone (Sophocles)
Antigone is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 442 BC. Chronologically, it is the third of the three Theban plays but was written first...
. She later became known for her performances in plays of Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
, Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty...
and Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
. In 1908, she worked for the first time with Gregorios Xenopoulos
Gregorios Xenopoulos
Gregorios Xenopoulos was a novelist, journalist and writer of plays from Zakynthos. He was lead editor in the now-legendary magazine "The Education of Children" during the period from 1896 to 1948, during which time he was also the magazine's main author...
, who wrote her the theatric play The Red Rock (Ο Κόκκινος Βράχος), based his short novel written of the same name. The play was of huge success, and was repeated by Cybele's theatrical group for many years to come. Xenopoulos continued to write her at least one play a year, until 1925. Cybele also worked with the father of Dimitris Horn
Dimitris Horn
Dimitris Horn was a Greek theatrical and film performer. He is regarded probably as the greatest Greek actor of modern times.-Biography:...
) from 1910 to 1934. In 1932, she joined forces with Marika Kotopouli
Marika Kotopouli
-Biography:Kotopouli was born on 3 May 1887 in Athens, to Dimitris and Eleni. Her parents were also actors, and Marika's first stage appearance came during one of their tours, in the play "The Coachman of the Alps"...
, her "stage enemy", in order to compete the newly founded National Theater of Greece. After the German invasion
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
, she fled along with her husband, George Papandreou
George Papandreou (senior)
Georgios Papandreou was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as Prime Minister of Greece...
, and the Greek government and royal family to the Middle East. After the war, she returned in Greece and performed various roles with the National Theater, accompanied by Ellie Lambeti
Ellie Lambeti
Ellie Lambeti was a Greek actress.-Family:Born in 1926 in Greece,her father owned a Greek tavern in the village of Vilia Attikis. She had six siblings. Her maternal grandfather was a Captain Stamatis who fought together with Kolokotronis against the Turks in 1821, when the modern Greek democracy...
, Dimitris Horn, Mitsos Myrat and other famous actors and actresses. The summer of 1951 she made her only appearance in an ancient Greek comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, in Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
' Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
. Cybele appeared in only two films during her career, in 1933 and 1956.
Personal life
Cybele's first husband was Mitsos Myrat, with whom she continued to work on stage after their divorce. She later married a prominent businessman. Her third husband was George PapandreouGeorge Papandreou (senior)
Georgios Papandreou was a Greek politician, the founder of the Papandreou political dynasty. He served three terms as Prime Minister of Greece...
, later Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Greece
The Prime Minister of Greece , officially the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek cabinet. The current interim Prime Minister is Lucas Papademos, a former Vice President of the European Central Bank, following...
. When Cybele died, in 1978, at the age of 91, she had 4 children, 3 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren.