12-07-16 Nikos Filis’ statement on the death of  Professor D.N. Maronitis

 In the person of D.N. Maronitis we bid farewell to one of the last great university professors, who with his wisdom, his international recognition in Hellenic studies, his breadth of learning, his penetrating research on Homer, his dedication to the spoken, popular Greek language, as well as with his democratic spiritual courage and his ethos of resistance, taught generations of university students by his example. His example went far beyond the University of Thessaloniki, where he taught for decades.

D.N. Maronitis was one of the most important intellectual figures in the anti-dictatorship struggle (1967-1974) and during the post-junta restoration of democracy. He himself was an example of what he wrote in his 1971 book, 18 Texts  - a reaction ‘to the deep wounds of our collective life, to the great waves which one cannot avoid even if one wants to, even if one is cowardly or a traitor’.

Maronitis was a continual, fruitful presence in public life, always honest, sometimes ‘unpleasant’, a point of reference for democratic educational reform, and a vigilant, democratic conscience.

We offer the final salutation with a deep sense of gratitude.

Condolences of Alternate Minister Sia Anagnostopoulou on the death of Dimitris Maronitis

 With great sorrow we were informed of the death of the great philologist Dimitris Maronitis. From his translations to his essays, studies and university lectures, and from his newspaper commentaries to his interventions in public debate, D.N. Maronitis helped fashion our thought and speech.

Maronitis was a man dedicated to the defense of our freedoms and democracy. He was persecuted by the junta of the colonels and was tortured at the EAT-ESA military police during the dictatorship.

Dimitris Maronitis was a scholar of ancient Greek studies who had a deep and abiding interest in modern Greek literature, which he analysed in academic terms in order to document and disseminate it.

At the same time, his exemplary translations made ancient Greek literature accessible to a broader audience. Dimitris Maronitis raised the standards of literary scholarship. His contribution was invaluable. Today, the Greek language itself mourns.