Aimilios Veakis (Greek: Αιμίλιος Βεάκης; December 13, 1884 – June 29, 1951) was one of the greatest Greek actors. An active member of the National Liberation Front during the Axis occupation of Greece, he was persecuted for his leftist beliefs during the White Terror.

Biography

Aimilios Veakis was the grandson of the scholar and theatrical author Ioannis Venakis, but was orphaned at a very early age, and was raised by childless relatives. Over the objections of his guardians, in 1900, at the age of 16, he enrolled in the Royal Drama School. The school abruptly stopped functioning though, and Veakis enrolled in the School of Fine Arts, where he studied painting. Eventually, however, he broke off his studies and began working as an actor in Volos in the company of Evangelia Nika. His career was interrupted due to his drafting into the army during the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, where he received a field promotion to sergeant for valour.

Returning from the war, Veakis went on to cooperate with the most famous companies of the time (Lepeniotis, Kalogerikou, Kotopouli, Kyveli, Oikonomou) and distinguished himself in all theatrical genres, especially in classic tragedy and drama. His performance of the title role in Oedipus Rex under the direction of Fotos Politis with the Greek Theatre Society was considered a landmark in is career. From 1932 he reached the apogee of his career in the National Theatre of Greece, serving both as company director and as a professor of acting in the National Theatre's drama school.

During the Axis occupation of Greece in World War II he became a member of the National Liberation Front, fleeing to the mountains with other actors, where they gave theatrical performances for the Resistance. Following the Varkiza Agreement and the White Terror that followed, he was persecuted for his leftist beliefs, with his health suffering as a result. He retired in 1947 but performed sporadically thereafter, including his final farewell performances in the National Theatre in April and May 1951. He died lonely and poor and he was buried at the Athens First Cemetery.