Dimitris S. Loukatos, 1908-2003

Folklore, April, 2004 by Thornton B. Edwards

It was with great sadness that folklorists in Greece and worldwide learnt of the death of Professor Dimitris Loukatos, President of The Greek Folklore 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. The 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 (Cephallonian dialect), an expertise that is evident in several of his earliest works about Cephallonian traditions.

Dimitris Loukatos studied philology and educational studies at The 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 The Archives of Folklore at the Academy of Athens (now The Centre for Greek Folklore 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. This was followed by Neoellenika Laographika Kimena ("Modern Greek Folklore Passages." Zaharopoulos: Athens, 1957), Synchrona Laographika ("Contemporary Folklore." Loukatos: Athens, 1963), Neoelleniki Parimiomythi ("Aetiological Tales of Modern Greek Proverbs." Ermis: Athens, 1972), and the monumental work Isagoyi stin Elleniki Laographia ("Introduction to Greek Folklore." Educational Foundation of the National Bank: Athens, 1977). This is regarded as one of the great classics of Greek folklore in which Professor Loukatos presented theories that have had a profound influence on subsequent folklore research.

Professor Loukatos is perhaps best known for his best-selling five-volume work on Greek calendar customs (all published by Philippotis of Athens), which has had both scholarly and popular appeal. The first title in the series Christouyenniatika ke ton Yorton ("Customs of Christmas and the Festive Holidays"), appeared in 1979. Some of the material in this book, such as the chapter on the Vasilopita ("St Basil's Pie") had already appeared as successful articles in various journals. The next title in the series was Paschalina ke tis Anixis ("Easter and Spring Customs") published in 1980, followed by Ta Kalokerina ("Summer Customs") in 1981, Ta Phthinoporina ("Autumn Customs") in 1982 and, finally, by Sympliromatika tou Himona ke tis Anixis ("Supplementary Customs of Winter and Spring") in 1985. Each of these volumes has been reprinted several times, and in 1992 the publishers commissioned the distinguished Greek folklorist Georgios N. Aikaterinidis to compile the indispensable Evritirio ("Index") to the five volumes.