Calliope Tatti

Who was Calliope Tatti?

Calliope Tatti was born in Thessaloniki, Ottoman Empire in 1894. Great-granddaughter of Constantine Tattis who was member of the secret Greek society Filiki Eteria which in early 19th century organized the successful Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Spouse of the Cretan gendarmerie officer Evangelos Sarris. After his premature death in 1917 she got married in 1922 to the chairman of the BAR association of Thessaloniki George Seremetis who was one of the most prominent attorneys in the city. He later served as mayor of the same city.

Calliope Tatti studied at the English school of Thessaloniki during the years of the Ottoman administration. She spoke fluently English, French, Turkish and Greek.

Thessaloniki was captured by the Hellenic Army under Crown Prince Constantine during the first year of the First Balkan War. Tatti immediately after the capture of Thessaloniki she volunteered to serve as a nurse in the hospital organized by the "Central City School" that was taking care of the wounded soldiers during both Balkan Wars. From her two marriages she had three sons, the first Constantine Sarris from the first husband and the two others from the second. The first 2 sons became lawyers and practiced law in Thessaloniki and the third one became a physician who was trained and practiced in the United States.