About Minos Volanakis
Lived 1925 – 1999 (aged 73–74). Minos Volanakis was a Greek theatre director, translator, actor, film producer and librettist.
Minos Volanakis (; 1925 or 1926, Athens – 15 November 1999, Athens) was a Greek theatre director and translator.
Work He studied with Karolos Koun, for whom he translated American plays into Greek language, and first made his name for his translations of the dramas of his friend Jean Genet, as well as for productions of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Aristophanes' Lysistrata at the Athens Festival. In protest against the government, he left Greece in 1966 for England, where he became an associate director at the Oxford Playhouse.
He provided the translation into English of Euripides' Iphigeneia at Aulis for a production at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York in 1967, which Michael Cacoyannis directed. He directed a production of Euripides' The Bacchae at the Lyceum Theater in New York in 1968 and the US première of Genet's The Screens in 1971. In 1973 he directed Euripides' Medea at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York, which opened on January 17.
Volanakis served twice as the artistic director of the National Theatre of Northern Greece (1974 – 1977 & 1986 – 1989). In 1984 he directed a production of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex for the National Theatre of Greece, which subsequently transferred to the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Broadway (opening on July 17 of that year).
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Minos Volanakis's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Minos Volanakis's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Minos Volanakis?
Greek theatre director
When was Minos Volanakis born?
Minos Volanakis was born in 1925 in Athens.
When did Minos Volanakis die?
Minos Volanakis died on 15 November 1999 in Athens.
What was Minos Volanakis's occupation?
Minos Volanakis was a theatre director, translator, actor, film producer and librettist.
What nationality was Minos Volanakis?
Minos Volanakis was Greek.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Minos Volanakis. https://biography.guide/minos-volanakis/
MLA: "Minos Volanakis." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/minos-volanakis/.
Chicago: "Minos Volanakis." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/minos-volanakis/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:04 UTC