List of Pontic Greeks

→This is a list of Pontic Greeks (Greek: Πόντιοι, Pontioi ), i.e. Greeks from the region of Pontus, in modern northern Turkey.

Ancient

• Diogenes (412/404 BC – 323 BC), also known as Diogenes the Cynic, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynic philosophy
• Clearchus of Heraclea (401–353 BC)
• Chion of Heraclea (4th century BC), the son of Matris, a noble citizen of Heraclea, on the Pontus, was a disciple of Plato
• Heraclides Ponticus (390–310 BC), a Greek philosopher and astronomer who lived and died at Heraclea Pontica
• Chamaeleon (350–275 BC), a Peripatetic philosopher of Heraclea Pontica
• Diphilus (342–291 BC), of Sinope, a poet of the new Attic comedy and contemporary of Menander
• Dionysius of Heraclea, a tyrant of Heraclea on the Euxine.
• Mithridates the VI of Pontus (132–63 BC), the most important king of the Kingdom of Pontus
• Laodice, Mithridates VI's sister and first wife
• Diophantus, son of Asclepiodorus, of Sinope, was a general in the service of Mithridates VI of Pontus
• Cleopatra of Pontus (born 110 BC), the Pontic wife of Tigranes the Great and daughter of Mithridates VI of Pontus
• Arcathius, a prince from the Kingdom of Pontus
• Machares, a Pontian prince and son of King Mithridates VI of Pontus and Queen Laodice
• Pharnaces II of Pontus, a prince, then King of Pontus and the Bosporan until his death
• Athenais Philostorgos II, princess from Kingdom of Pontus, was a Roman Client Queen of Cappadocia
• Stratonice of Pontus, a Greek woman from the Kingdom of Pontus, a mistress and fourth wife of King Mithridates VI of Pontus
• Xiphares, a Pontian Greek prince, son of King Mithridates VI of Pontus and Stratonice of Pontus

Roman

Rulers

• Pythodorida of Pontus (30 BC or 29 BC – 38)
• Polemon I of Pontus (1st century BC, died 8 BC)
• Polemon II of Pontus (12 BC/11 BC–74)

Writers

• Strabo (63/64 BC–24 AD), a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher
• Hypsicrates (1st century), a Greek writer
• Memnon of Heraclea (1st century), a Greek historical writer
• Marcian of Heraclea, a Greek geographer from Heraclea of Pontus

Saints

• Saint Gregory of Neocaesarea, a Christian bishop of the 3rd century
• Saint Macrina the Elder, the mother of Saint Basil the Elder, and the grandmother of Basil the Great, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Saint Peter of Sebaste, and Saint Macrina the Younger
• Saint Eugenios of Trebizond, martyred under Diocletian (284–305) and a cult devoted to him developed in Trebizond
• Athanasius the Athonite (c. 920 – c. 1003), was a Byzantine monk

Other

• Anicetus (1st century), pirate, leader of unsuccessful anti-Roman uprising in Pontus in 69

Byzantine

Rulers of the Trebizond Empire

• Alexios I Komnenos (1056–1118/1048), Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and the founder of the Komnenian dynasty.
• Andronikos I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond from 1222–1235
• Ioannis I Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond from 1235 to 1238.
• Manuel I Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond from 1238 to 1263.
• Andronikos II Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond from 1263 to 1266.
• Georgios Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond from 1266 to 1280.
• Ioannis II Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond from 1280 to 1297.
• Theodora Megale Komnene, Empress of Trebizond from 1284 to 1285.
• Alexios II of Trebizond (1282 – 1330), Emperor of Trebizond from 1297 to 1330.
• David Megas Komnenos (c. 1408 – 1 November 1463) Last Emperor of Trebizond from 1459 to 1461

Clerics

• Ecumenical Patriarch John VIII, patriarch of Constantinople from 1064–1075. (also saint)

Scholars

• Gregory Choniades (died 1302), astronomer.
• Michael Panaretos (1320–c.1390), a historian, protosebastos and protonotarios in the service of Alexios III Megas Komnenos.
• George of Trebizond (1395–1472 or 1473), a philosopher and scholar, one of the pioneers of the Renaissance.
• George Amiroutzes (1400–1470), a Renaissance scholar and philosopher.
• Basilios Bessarion (1403–1472), a Catholic Cardinal Bishop and the titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, one of Greek scholars who contributed to the great revival of letters in the 15th century.

Early Modern

• Sevastos Kyminitis (1630–1703), scholar who founded the Phrontisterion of Trapezous.
• Constantine Mourouzis (died 1783), was a Phanariote Prince of Moldavia, and member of the Mourousis family.
• Alexander Ypsilantis (1792–1828), leader of the Filiki Eteria, Greek military commander and national hero.
• Demetrios Ypsilantis (1793–1832), second son of Constantine Ypsilantis, one of the early leaders of the Greek Revolution, later General under John Capodistria.
• Euklidis Kourtidis (1885–1937), Greek revolutionary leader of Pontos (a.k.a. Kapetan Euklidis)
• Anastasios Papadopoulos (1896-1922), Greek revolutionary leader of Pontos (a.k.a. Koja Anastas)

Contemporary

Actors

• Pamphylia Tanailidi (1891–1937)
• Periklis Hristoforidis (1907–1983)
• Panos Papadopulos (1920-2001)
• Stavros Xenidis (1924–2008)
• Nikos Xanthopoulos (b. 1934)
• Martha Karagianni (b. 1939)
• Vasilis N. Triantafillidis (b. 1940) (a.k.a. Harry Klyn)
• Nikos Sergianopoulos (1952–2008)
• Ieroklis Michailidis (b. 1960)
• Denis Podalydès (b. 1963)
• Victoria Haralabidou (b. 1971)
• Giorgos Kapoutzidis
• Fanis Mouratidis
• Alex Dimitriades (b. 1973)
• Mary Akrivopoulou (b. 1975)

Artists

• Joannis Avramidis (b. 1922), sculptor
• Chrysanthos Mentis Bostantzoglou (1918–1955), political cartoonist, playwright, lyricist and painter
• Nikos Engonopoulos (1907–1985), major representative of the surrealistic movement in Greece (mother)
• Arkhip Kuindzhi (1842–1910), Russian landscape painter.
• Sergey Merkurov (1881–1952), prominent Soviet sculptor-monumentalist of Greek-Armenian ancestry.
• Nonda (1922-2005), leading Greek artist of the School of Paris

Athletes

Basketball

• Panagiotis Giannakis (b. 1959) (real surname Giannakidis)
• Michalis Romanidis (b. 1966)
• Vasilis Lipiridis (b. 1967)
• Jake Tsakalidis (b. 1979)
• Dimitris Diamantidis (b. 1980)
• Lazaros Papadopoulos (b. 1980)
• Loukas Mavrokefalidis (b. 1984)
• Kostas Vasileiadis (b. 1984)

Football

• Georgios Amanatidis (b. 1970)
• Ioannis Amanatidis (b. 1981)
• Antonis Antoniadis (b. 1945)
• Christos Archontidis (coach also)
• Stefanos Athanasiadis (b. 1988)
• Elias Atmatsidis (b. 1969)
• Giorgios Georgiadis (b. 1987)
• Aristidis Kamaras (b. 1939) (mother)
• Kiriakos Karataidis (b. 1965)
• Yevhen Khacheridi (b. 1987) Ukrainian-Greek footballer for Dynamo Kyiv
• Savvas Kofidis (b. 1961) (coach also)
• Stan Lazaridis (b. 1972) former football player who represented his homeland Australia
• Yuri Lodygin (b. 1990) Russian-Greek goalkeeper for Zenit Saint Petersburg
• Takis Loukanidis (b. 1937)
• Dimitris Mavrogenidis (b. 1976)
• Kostas Nestoridis (b. 1930)
• Demis Nikolaidis (b. 1973)
• Antonios Nikopolidis (b. 1971)
• Andreas Niniadis (b. 1971) (assistant coach also)
• Dimitrios Papadopoulos (b. 1981)
• Mimis Papaioannou (b. 1942)
• Evstaphiy Pechlevanidis (b. 1960)
• Ilias Poursanidis (b. 1972)
• Ilias Rossidis (b. 1928)
• Dimitris Salpingidis (b. 1981)
• Giourkas Seitaridis (b. 1981)
• Ieroklis Stoltidis (b. 1975)
• Efstathios Tavlaridis (b. 1980)
• Ioannis Topalidis (b. 1962) (coach also)
• Vasilis Torosidis (b. 1985)
• Panagiotis Tsalouchidis (b. 1963)
• Zisis Vryzas (b. 1973) (mother)

Martial Arts

• Charalambos Cholidis (b. 1956), former wrestler
• Anton Christoforidis (b. 1918), former NBA World Light Heavyweight Champion.
• Michael Katsidis (b. 1980), Australian professional boxer, former WBO interim lightweight champion
• Stan Longinidis (b. 1965), retired professional Australian Heavyweight kickboxer and 8 time Kickboxing World Champion.
• Elisavet Mystakidou (b. 1977), taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist.
• Alexandros Nikolaidis (b. 1979), taekwondo athlete and Olympic medalist.
• Panagiotis Poikilidis (b. 1965), wrestler
• Mike Zambidis (b. 1980), professional kickboxer, a 13 time World Champion, and current W.K.B.F. super-welterweight kickboxing world champion.

Track & Field

• Hrysopiyi Devetzi (b. 1975), triple jump and long jump (mother)
• Anastasia Kelesidou (b. 1972), discus thrower
• Voula Patoulidou (b. 1965), competed in the 100 metres, 100 metres hurdles and in the long jump events
• Ekaterini Stefanidi (b. 1990), pole vaulter
• Georgios Theodoridis (b. 1972), sprinter specializing in the 60 metres and 100 metres
• Athanasia Tsoumeleka (b. 1982) (mother), race walker

Water Sports

• Andreas Kilingaridis (b. 1976 - d. 2013), sprint canoer
• Aikaterini Nikolaidou (b. 1992), rower
• Nikolaos Siranidis (b. 1976), diver

Weightlifting

• Ilya Ilyin (b. 1988) (Pontian maternal grandfather, Iakovos Fountoukidis)
• Valerios Leonidis (b. 1966)
• Kakhi Kakhiashvili (b. 1969) (grandmother)

Various Sports

• Eleni Daniilidou (b. 1982), tennis player
• Ioannis Melissanidis (b. 1977), artistic gymnast
• Ioannis Tamouridis (b. 1980), cyclist
• Elena Vesnina (b. 1986), tennis player (Greek Pontian grandfather)

Business

• Konstantinos Theofylaktos, was a banker and mayor or Trabzon from 1916 until 1918.
• Filaret Galchev (b. 1963), Russian businessman, chairman of Eurocement group (real name Filaretos Kaltsidis)
• Mike Lazaridis (b. 1961), founder and co-CEO of Research In Motion (RIM), which created and manufactures the BlackBerry wireless handheld device
• Dimitris Melissanidis (b. 1946), founder of Aegean Marine Petroleum, president of AEK Athens F.C. from 1992–1995.
• Ivan Savvidi (b. 1959), Deputy to the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Chairman of PAOK FC and FC SKA Rostov-on-Don, Businessman and president of the Federation of Greek Communities of Russia

Journalists

• Vicky Hadjivassiliou (mother)
• Nikos Kapetanidis was a Pontic Greek journalist and newspaper publisher.
• Mary Kostakidis (b. 1954), former weeknight SBS World News Australia presenter.
• Alexandra Pascalidou (b. 1970), journalist, television hostess and author.
• Pantelis Savvidis (b. 1954)
• Tatiana Stefanidou (b. 1970)
• Makis Triantafyllopoulos (grandmother)
• Popi Tsapanidou
• George Valavanis

Military

• James G. Stavridis, Retired United States Navy admiral & 12th Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
• Vladimir Triandafillov (1894–1931), Soviet military commander and theoretician (real surname Triantafyllidis)

Models

• Olympia Hopsonidou Miss Star Hellas 2006

Music

• Aristotelis Koundouroff (1896–1969), composer of the Modern Era
• Iovan Tsaous (1893–1942), musician, and composer of rebetiko songs (real name Yiannis Eitziridis or Etseiridis)
• Odysseas Dimitriadis (1908–2005), classical music conductor.
• Stelios Kazantzidis (1931–2001), a prominent Greek singer. A leading singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's foremost composers (father)
• Chrysanthos (1934–2005), singer and songwriter (his surname is Theodoridis)
• Marinella (b. 1938) one of the most popular Greek singers whose career has spanned several decades (her surname is Papadopoulou)
• Pavlos Sidiropoulos (1948–1990), rock Singer, guitarist, songwriter and the "father" of the Greek Rock (father)
• Diamanda Galas (b. 1955), US avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, performance artist and painter (Pontian ancestry on her father's side)
• Lefteris Hapsiadis (b. 1953) lyricist, poet and writer of novels
• Vasilis Karras (b. 1953), is a Greek folk singer (real surname Kesoglidis)
• Kelly Kelekidou popular Greek singer.
• Lefteris Pantazis (b. 1955), is a Greek folk singer (real surname Pagozidis)
• Pantelis Pantelidis (1983-2016), Greek singer, youtuber, songwriter and lyricist.
• Lefteris Papadopoulos, lyricist, poet and journalist
• Antonis Remos (b. 1970), is a Greek laïko singer (real surname Paschalidis)
• Natassa Theodoridou (b. 1970), popular Greek singer
• Matthaios Tsahouridis (b. 1978), plays a range of stringed musical instruments one of them is pontic Kemenche. He has a PhD in Musicology.
• Tania Tsanaklidou (b. 1952), famous artist, both singer and actress
• Despina Vandi (b. 1969), is one of the most famous and successful Greek singers.
• Birol Topaloğlu(b. 1965), Pontic songwriter and singer

Politics

• Adonis Georgiadis (b. 1972), Greek politician, historian, publisher, and author.
• Leonidas Iasonidis (1884–1959), political activist, Congressman of Greek parliament and Minister.
• Ioannis Passalidis (1886–1968), a prominent member of the Greek Left and founder of the United Democratic Left party.
• Dimitrios Partsalidis (1903/1905–1980), communist politician
• Nikos Papadopoulos (b. 1939) Greek-born Swedish Social Democrat politician
• Gavriil Kharitonovich Popov (b. 1936), former mayor of Moscow (real name Gavriil Papadopoulos)
• Savvas Tsitouridis (b. 1954), politician and member of the New Democracy and former Minister for Employment and Social Protection
• Markos Vafiadis (1906–1992), leading cadre of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) during the Greek Civil War.
• Evangelos Venizelos (b. 1957), current Minister for National Defence of Greece since October 2009 (mother)

Science/academia

• George Gurdjieff (1866? – 1949), a mystic and spiritual teacher. (real name Georgios Georgiades)
• Viktor Sarianidi (b. 1929), well-known Soviet archaeologist.
• Fyodor Yurchikhin (b. 1959), cosmonaut and spacecraft's mechanical engineer (mother)

Writers

• Aris Alexandrou (1922–1978), a novelist, poet and translator (father)
• Christos Chomenidis (b. 1966)
• Sano Halo (b. 191__), survivor of the Greek Genocide and named Grandmother of the Pontic Greeks
• Thea Halo (b. 1941) (mother), author of "Not Even My Name", a memoir of her mother's experiences during the Greek Genocide
• Theodor Kallifatides (b. 1938) (father)
• Dimitris Psathas (1907–1979), journalist and satirical writer (mother)
• Nikolay Sherbina (b. 1821), Russian poet of 19th century (maternal grandparent)

Various

• A. I. Bezzerides (1908–2007), Greek-Armenian novelist and screenwriter, best known for writing Noir and Action motion pictures, especially several of Warners' "social conscience" films of the 1940s (father)
• Amalia Fleming (1909–1986), doctor, activist, politician and wife of the discoverer of penicillin, Sir Alexander Fleming.
• Anastasios Papadopoulos (1896–1922), guerilla fighter and leading figure of Pontus.
• Yanis Kanidis (1930–2004), Greek-Russian physical education teacher & hero who died to save the lives of his students during the Beslan school hostage crisis
• Filon Ktenidis (1889–1963), playwright, accountant, journalist, doctor and the founder of Panagia Soumela in Kastania,Vermiou in Greece.

References