From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
→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
Diphilus (342–291 BC), of Sinope, a poet of the new Attic comedy and contemporary of Menander
Mithridates VI Eupator (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
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 to 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
Scholars
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, general under John Capodistria
Euklidis Kourtidis (1885–1937), Greek revolutionary leader of Pontos (a.k.a. Kapetan Euklidis)
Nikos Kapetanidis (1889-1922), journalist and activist executed during the
Amasya trials
Anastasios Papadopoulos (1896-1922), Greek revolutionary leader of Pontos (a.k.a. Koja Anastas)
Venetia Kotta (1897-1945), archaeologist and historian
Contemporary
Actors
Artists
Athletes
Basketball
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
Andreas Michailidis , (b. 1988), Greek mixed martial artist
Elisavet Mystakidou (b. 1977), taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist
Alexandros Nikolaidis (1979-2022), 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
Water Sports
Weightlifting
Various Sports
Business
Konstantinos Theofylaktos , was a banker and mayor of Trabzon from 1916 to 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 to 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
Military
Models
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), Greek singer of Greek popular music, or Laïkó, he collaborated with many of Greece's 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), Greek folk singer (real surname Kesoglidis)
Kelly Kelekidou Greek singer
Lefteris Pantazis (b. 1955), 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), Greek laïko singer (real surname Paschalidis)
Natassa Theodoridou (b. 1970), Greek singer
Matthaios Tsahouridis (b. 1978), plays a range of stringed musical instruments including pontic
kemenche , Ph.D. in musicology
Despina Vandi (b. 1969), Greek singer
Birol Topaloğlu (b. 1965), Pontic songwriter and singer
Paola Foka , Greek singer (partial)
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
Science/academia
Writers
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)
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