- Neoclis Kyriazis
Neoclis Kyriazis (Greek: Νεοκλής Κυριαζής ) b.1877
Nicosia ,Cyprus – d. August 1956, amedical doctor andhistorian who made significant contributions to thehistory ofCyprus .Family
Neoclis Kyriazis was born in 1877 in
Nicosia . His father was George Kyriazis [ A. Koudounaris. Merikai Paleai Oikogeneiai tis Kyprou – Some Old Families of Cyprus. Nicosia 1972.] , one of five Greek brothers fromThessaly , who founded thecigarette empireKyriazi Freres [Papastratos SA. History of Greek Cigarette, Athens 1998] . His mother was Zafiro Odyssea Chasapoglou [N Kyriazis. Tselepis Hadji-Petrakis Kytherios. Chronicles of Cyprus 1923, 320-323.] great grand-daughter of Tselepis Hadji-Petrakis Kytherios (1770-1830), one of the richest landowners inCyprus [De Marcellus. Souvenirs de l’Orient. Paris, 1839] . Neoclis’ maternal grandmother, Maritsa Tano, was a descendant of the Tano family, belonging to theItalian nobility [A. Georgiadis. The Tano Family. Gastria-Patriki 1992.] . He married Maria Pieridi (1871-1953), herself a descendant of anotherItalian nobility family (Cariddi ) [A. Koudounaris. Merikai Paleai Oikogeneiai tis Kyprou –Some Old Families of Cyprus. Nicosia 1972.] [Mihail Dimitri Sturdza. Grandes familles de Grece, d’Albanie et de Costandinople. Paris 1983.] .Historical Work
Kyriazis was a member of the National Council of
Cyprus [Nikodemos Mylonas, by Ch. Papadopoulou, Times of Cyprus 1957, vol 10-14.] . As a member of theSt Lazarus Committee he founded theMuseum ofSt Lazarus church inLarnaca [MK Christophides. Cypriot Biographies. Literary Cyprus (Filologiki Kypros) 1962, p170-179.] . One of his greatest achievements was the salvage and subsequent publication of many historical details concerningCyprus through the ages [MG Michaelides. Neoclis G Kyriazis, Kypriakai Spoudai 1982.] . He started publishing articles on this subject from 1909, and over a period of 47 years he published several books and over 370 articles and studies. He participated in the publication of the monumental ‘Cyprus Chronicles’ (Kypriaka Chronica) a scientific/historical magazine (1923-1937) consisting of 4200 pages [KP Hadjioannou. Neoclis Kyriazis, Cyrpiot Studies (Kypriakai Spoudai) 1956 p 213-215.] . These Chronicles were under the auspices of a four-member committee (theBishop ofKition Nikodemos Mylonas, prof. Ioannis Sykoutris, Loukis Z Pieridis, and Neoclis Kyriazis), and covered every aspect of the history of Cyprus from the ancient times through to the Turkish and subsequently British occupation. Kyriazis was the only, or nearly only, author of this periodical from 1929-1937.He worked as
medical doctor in Larnaca and wrote both scientific and popular papers on thehistory of medicine , a subject continued by his grandson DrMarios Kyriazis [Medicine in Ancient Kition and Old Larnaca. 2001, Larnaca Municipality.] . As a doctor he was credited with the founding of a quarantine facility to prevent the spread ofcommunicable diseases from sailors visiting Larnaca. His medical library, instruments and other memorabilia are now exhibited at theLarnaca Municipality Historical Archive (http://www.larnaka.com.cy).Books
Popular Medicine (Dimodis Iatriki), 1926
Historical Pages, 1929
Bibliography of Cyprus (Kypriaki Bibliographia), 1935
Cypriot Proverbs (Kypriakai Paroimiai), 1940
Social Activities of Larnaca, 1947
Historical News of the Holy
Stavrovouni Monastery , 1948History of the Holy
Kykkos Monastery , 1949Monasteries in Cyprus, 1950
Names of the Holy Mother (Eponymiai tis Panagias), 1950
The Villages of Cyprus, 1952
History of Larnaca Municipality (published posthumously in 1995)
Honours
The Bishop of
Kition said: "Kyriazis was a rare and constructive personality with live national consciousness and selfless love for this island". [Holy Bishopric of Kition, 30 January 1985.] .Larnaca Municipality honoured Kyriazis by naming a street after him. The Society of Cypriot Studies dedicated a commemorative plaque [Kypros Chrisanthis, Kypriakai Spoudai MΣT 1982.] in the courtyard ofSt Lazarus church. This roughly translates as:"Of the same craft as Esculapius" - "Neoclis Kyriazis" - "Humble pride of Larnaca" - "Lover of honourable letters" - "And sailor of the manuscripts" - "We salute you".
References
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