Tasos Roussos

Tasos Roussos (1934-2015) was born in Athens. He earned a degree in philology and worked as a teacher in both private and public secondary education. In 1965, he was employed by the National Theatre, where he retired in 1986. From 1978, he taught Modern Greek Literature at the Drama School of the National Theatre and served as its director from 1989 until his retirement in September 2007. He was involved in literature (poetry, prose, translation) and published essays, articles, literary reviews, poems, and short stories in various magazines and newspapers. His works have been translated into English, Polish, Romanian, Spanish, Estonian, and Slovenian. He translated and completed the fragmentarily surviving tragedy "Hypsipyle" by Euripides, which, translated into English by Athanasios Anagnostopoulos, was presented as a reading in Boston in 2001 and had its world premiere at the Epidaurus Festival in 2002. He was a member of the Society of Greek Playwrights, the Society of Authors, the Hellenic Center of the International Theatre Institute, the Theatre Museum, and the Greek Pen Club. He served as president and vice-president of the Artistic Committee of the National Theatre and vice-president of the Hellenic Festival. Many of his translations of ancient drama, as well as from the classical and contemporary repertoire, have been performed by the National Theatre and various troupes. His novella "The Manuscripts of Manuel Salinas," with his own libretto and music by Pericles Koukos, was staged at the Athens Festival and later at the Greek National Opera. He was awarded twice by the Society of Literary Translators for his translation of the Complete Works of Aeschylus and for his translations of Seneca's tragedies, by the Society of Greek Playwrights for his translation work in ancient drama, and by the Academy of Athens in December 2003 for his overall literary contribution. He passed away in Athens on the morning of Tuesday, February 24, 2015, at the age of 81.