Thanassis Skordalos

Who was Thanassis Skordalos?

Thanassis Skordalos was a musician from Crete, noted for playing the lyra, the bowed string instrument of Crete and most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra.

Skordalos was born in 10 December 1920 in the village Spili of Saint Basil in Rethymno Prefecture, Crete.

He finished grammar school in Spili. It was about the same time that he first laid his eyes on the lira. He gave his first performance in front of the Cretans in Athens - at the historical music hall “Vizantio” in Omonoia Square. His first recording was in 1946 with the famous “Spiliano Syrto” where Giannis Markogiannakis was playing the lute. In 1947 when he was 27 years old, he was positioned at the Security Services of the National Bank of Greece from where he later on retired.

During his long career, Skordalos performed in most of the countries where one can find Cretan immigrants like the United States, Australia, Canada and Africa. He married Hrisoula Papadaki from Rethimnon and they had two sons and two daughters.

Thanassis Skordalos along with Kostas Mountakis are considered those lyra players who offered the most to Cretan music. Skordalos served Cretan music for 60 years and died on 23 April 1998 at the age of 78. He was and will remain one of the best artists in the Cretan music history with numerous and unique recordings. He is an inspiration for those who follow his footsteps and his legacy continues to motivate the new generations of Cretan music artists.