Dimitris S. Loukatos, 1908–2003

Abstract

It was with great sadness that folklorists in Greece and worldwide learnt of the death of Professor Dimitris Loukatos, President of Greek Society. It is a sad irony that Professor Loukatos was buried on the eve of his name day, the feast of St Dimitrios on 26 October. In addition to the many honours he had received during his lifetime for his outstanding work as an author, his friends and admirers also honoured him in death. local Cephallonian newspaper Imerisios acclaimed him as The Father of Greek Folklore (24 October 2003), an epithet hitherto given only to the pioneering folklorist Nikolaos G. Politis (1852-1921). Dimitris Sotiris Loukatos, or Mimis as he was affectionately known to his closest friends, was born in Argostoli, Cephallonia, in 1908. He excelled as a pupil and, like the minority of his generation who received schooling, he was taught through the medium of katharevousa--the archaic pure form of the Greek language. Outside school he was also attentive to the language and customs of his fellow islanders and became a master of Kephallonitika dialect), an expertise that is evident in several of his earliest works about Cephallonian traditions. Dimitris Loukatos studied philology and educational studies at University of Athens 1925-30. After graduation he was employed as a high-school teacher in Cephallonia, Athens, and subsequently in Kilkis. In 1938 he was commissioned by the renowned folklorist Georgios A. Megas to work as Editor for Archives of at the Academy of Athens (now Centre for Greek Research). His work there was interrupted during the war years when, in 1940, he was sent to Albania to be part of the Greek army that repulsed Mussolini's troops. Interestingly, Professor Loukatos' swan-song was the publication of the diary notes he made during this campaign: Oplitis sto Alvaniko Metopo (Soldier on the Albanian Front. Potamos: Athens, 2001). After fighting bravely for his fellow countrymen in the war, Dimitris Loukatos did not want to fight against them in the terrible Greek Civil War that ensued. In 1947 he went to the Sorbonne, Paris, where he was awarded a doctorate in 1950. On his return to Greece he resumed his work as Editor at the Archives of Folklore. In this capacity he took an active part in many folklore projects, including research on his own native island of Cephallonia just after the devastating earthquake of 1953. In 1964 he was assigned to the newly created School of Philosophy at the University of Ioannina, a post he retained until 1969. Professor Loukatos subsequently held chairs in the Universities of Crete (1979-81) and Patras (1984-5). In addition to his distinguished academic career, Professor Loukatos is to be remembered most for his prolific writing. He published more than 450 academic works--mainly articles--references to which are to be found in practically every major publication connected with Greek folklore or Greek anthropology. Among his most celebrated works is Kephallonitiki Latria (Cephallonian Folk Religion. Loukatos: Athens, 1946), which is a fascinating scholarly record of the distinct folk religion and unique Orthodox rituals celebrated on the author's native island. His rich accompanying glossary of Orthodox terms includes several entries not found in Ilias Tsitsels's standard dictionary of Cephallonian dialect (Glossarion Kephallinias. In Neoellenika Analekta. Athens, 1876). Kephallonitiki Latria was translated into French by Jean Malbert as Religion Populaire a Cephalonie, and published by the Institut Francais in Athens in 1950, but unfortunately without the author's glossary. Professor Loukatos's fascination for Cephallonian folklore also led to the publication of Kephallonitika Gnomika (Cephallonian Folk Sayings. Minas Myrtidis: Athens, 1952), which is a rich collection of Cephallonian folk sayings and maxims, and also of proverbs that are arranged thematically and accompanied by a detailed index. …