Melina Mercouri

thumb|You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness. Melina Mercouri (31 October 1920 – 6 March 1994) was a Greek actress, singer, activist, and politician. She received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination, won a French Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Never on Sunday (1960) and an Italian David di Donatello for Topkapi. As a politician, she championed the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece. Quotes I was born a Greek, I will die a Greek; Pattakos was born Fascist, he will die Fascist. Helen Vlachos Free Greek voices: a political anthology https://books.google.com/books?id=lp4JAQAAIAAJ 1971 (10 Gayfere St., SWIP 3HN), Doric Publications Ltd. 9780902999008 You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence. They are a tribute to the democratic philosophy. They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness. Ian Windale The Parthenon Marbles, Melina's Speech to the Oxford Union http://www.parthenon.newmentor.net/speech.htm 9 February 1997 One of the most courageous and committed politicians I have ever met. Melina Merkouri describing Andreas Papandreou. Gage Nicholas March 21, 1982 The paradoxical Papandreou The New York Times Magazine https://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/21/magazine/the-paradoxical-papandreou.html External links Category:1920 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Actresses from Greece Category:Women politicians in Greece Category:Women born in the 1920s Category:Political activists Category:Women activists from Greece Category:Women singers