Greeks in South Africa

Greek South Africans
Έλληνες Νοτιοαφρικανοί

Greek Orthodox Saints Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Hillbrow, Johannesburg
Total population
120,000 (estimate)
Languages
South African English Afrikaans Greek
Religion
Greek Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Mediterraneans, Turkish South Africans, Italian South Africans, Portuguese South Africans

Map of the top 50 countries with the largest Greek communities.

Greek South Africans are South Africans of Greek ancestry from Greece and Cyprus. The Greek population in South Africa is estimated to be around 120,000.

Notable people

• George Bizos – human rights lawyer who campaigned against apartheid; noted for representing Nelson Mandela during the Rivonia Trial
• Demetri Catrakilis – professional rugby union player for Harlequins
• Stanley Christodoulou – international boxing judge and referee
• Ivan Gazidis – Chief Executive of AC Milan
• George Koumantarakis – former football player
• Nic Pothas – former professional cricketer
• Anastasia Tsichlas – football executive
• Dimitri Tsafendas – assassin of South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, who is commonly regarded as the architect of apartheid
• John Costa (b. 1868 – d. 1932) also known as Ioannis Papakostas was a Greek revolutionary and veteran of the Second Boer War
• Xen Balaskas (b. 1910 – d. 1994) - cricketer
• Stelio Savante – actor, producer and screenwriter
• Penny Siopis – artist
• Angelique Rockas – actress and theatre practitioner, pioneer of multi-racial theatre in London
• Panagiotis Retsos – footballer
• John Kongos – musician

See also

• Greek diaspora
• Greece–South Africa relations
• White South Africans

Further reading

• Mantaris, E.A. (1999). "The Greeks in South Africa" (PDF). In Clogg, Richard (ed.). The Greek Diaspora in the Twentieth Century. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 120–136. ISBN 9780333600474. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 September 2015.

External links

• Greeks in South Africa on AusGreekNet.com
• Hellenic Community of Cape Town