Voula Damianakou (1914–2016)[1] was a Greek author, translator and a member of the Greek resistance against Nazi Germany.[2]
Voula Damianakou was born in Panitsa, Laconia in 1914. She was a supporter of women's political rights[3] and collaborated with Vassilis Rotas in the translations of Shakespeare plays[4] and with whom she published the magazine Laikos Logos between 1965 and 1967.[5] In January 1999, she received Abdullah Öcalan in her house upon the request of the retired Greek Admiral Antoni Naxakis.[2] The visit of Öcalan inspired her to write a book.[6] She died on the 19 September 2016 in Athens[1] and was buried in Myrsini.[7]
She was married to Vassili Rotas the Minister of Culture of the Political Committee of National Liberation (PEEA), the political movement against the Axis powers during World War II.[3] Her daughter is the painter Eleni Vassilopoulou.[1]
She published several books and was involved heavily in the translation of William Shakespeare plays.[1] She became known for portraying the classic comic playwright Aristophanes as a sympathizer of leftwing politics dubbing him Aristerophanes in her play Avgi.[8]