What is Ioannis Metaxas known for?

Ioannis Metaxas is known for leading the authoritarian 4th of August Regime in Greece from 1936 to 1941. He is also remembered for establishing the Metaxas Line and promoting the nationalist ideology of Metaxism.

What were his contributions to Greek military preparedness?

Metaxas oversaw the construction of the Metaxas Line, a series of fortifications along the Greek-Bulgarian border, and his military policies significantly strengthened Greece's early resistance to Axis forces during the onset of World War II.

What is the Metaxas Line?

The Metaxas Line was a set of defensive fortifications constructed in northeastern Greece between 1935 and 1940, primarily along the border with Bulgaria. These fortifications were later instrumental in the Greco-Italian War.

Metaxism is the political ideology associated with Ioannis Metaxas, characterized by authoritarian nationalism and cultural traditionalism. It was the official state ideology during Metaxas's rule and continued to influence Greek politics after his death.

What was his role in World War II?

Although Metaxas died before the full outbreak of World War II, his regime's military preparations, including the construction of the Metaxas Line and early resistance to Italy in 1940, significantly shaped the initial phase of Greece's involvement in the war.

What honors or awards are associated with Metaxas?

He was awarded the Order of the Redeemer, Greece's highest state decoration, for his contributions to national defense and leadership.

Ioannis Metaxas

Greek military officer and politician (1871–1941)

Person human Q189139

Facts

30 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[24]
Date of birth: April 12, 1871
Date of death: January 29, 1941
Place of birth: Vathy
Place of death: Kifisia
Country of citizenship: Greece^[12]
Ethnic group: Greeks^[13]
Occupation: politician, military officer, military personnel, diplomat
Position held: Prime Minister of Greece, Greek Minister of the Interior, Minister of Military Affairs of Greece, Transport Minister of Greece, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, member of the Hellenic Parliament, Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, ambassador^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21]
Religion or worldview: Eastern Orthodox Church^[23]
Member of political party: Freethinkers' Party^[26]
Award received: Order of the Redeemer^[22]
Spouse: Lela Chatziioannou^[9]
Child: Nana Metaxas, Loukia Metaxas^[10]^[11]
Official website: www.ioannismetaxas.gr^[34]
Cause of death: infectious disease^[29]
Languages spoken, written or signed: Modern Greek^[43]
Depicted by: Bust of Ioannis Metaxas, Kalpaki, Statue of Ioannis Metaxas, Argostoli, Statue of Ioannis Metaxas, Kifisia, Bust of Ioannis Metaxas, Nikaia^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]
Described by source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978), SourceWatch List of Dictators^[41]^[42]
Family: Metaxas^[25]
Family name: Metaxas^[32]
Given name: Ioannis^[33]
Manner of death: natural causes^[36]

Show all 30 facts +6

Military branch: Hellenic Army^[27]
Military, police or special rank: general^[28]
Name in native language: Ιωάννης Μεταξάς^[44]
P14536: 392576
Participated in conflict: World War I, World War II^[30]^[31]
Relative: Ioanna Fokas-Metaxas^[35]

🏷️ Also known as

en Ioannis Metaksas en Ioannis Metaxas en İoannis Metaksas ar ايوانيس متاكساس cs Joannis Metaxas de İoannis Metaksas el Ιωάννης Μεταξάς el Ιωάννη Μεταξά es Ioánnis Metaxás es Ioannis Metaksas es İoannis Metaksas es Ioannis Metaxas es Ioannis Metaxás fa ایوانیس متاکساس fr Ioannis Metaxas fr Métaxas he יואניס מטאקסס he יואניס מטקסס hi योआनिस मेताक्सास hu Joanisz Metaxasz

🔖 Identifiers · 64

ISNI: 0000000121405873
VIAF cluster ID: 77120509
Library of Congress authority ID: n83135081
GND ID: 119201399
1914-1918-Online ID: metaxas_ioannis
Academy of Athens authority ID: 70143
BHCL UUID: c7cde191-509d-4129-82fc-6aa3cf9b7332
BiblioNet author ID: 14852
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12652897d
BioLexSOE ID: 1336
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: metaxas-ioannis
Catalogue of the General State Archives ID: dnfq-m2xa-zsms

Show all 64 identifiers +52

Central Library of Volos authority ID: 18683
Cyprus University of Technology ID: 18528
DDB person (GND) ID: 119201399
De Agostini ID: Metaxàs,+Ioánnis
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 119201399
Enciclopedia Galega Universal ID: 152305
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Ioannis-Metaxas
FAST ID: 114770
FranceArchives agent ID: 896913455
Freebase ID: /m/01j9g6
GTAA ID: 132233
Generals of World War II ID: Metaxas/Ioannis/Greece
Geni.com profile ID: 6000000001818397324
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID: ioannis-metaxas
Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana ID (former scheme): 0042252
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Ioannis_Metaxas
Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID (2017): 2207326
Great Russian Encyclopedia portal ID: metaksas-ioannis-bad113
Hrvatska enciklopedija ID: 40352
IMDb ID: nm1330926
IdRef ID: 050611313
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 119201399
Lex ID: Ioannis_Metaxas
Libraries Australia ID: 35440521
Libris-URI: nl023t8621j77b6, gdsw2p4052hzb3z
NE.se ID: ioannis-metaxas
NL CR AUT ID: js20020811002
NLA Trove people ID: 953649
NUKAT ID: n2004049102
National Library of Greece ID: 24172
National Library of Israel ID (old): 001725729
National Library of Israel J9U ID: 987007522733405171
National Virtual Library of India ID: 326508
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 074808702
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3939990
Open Library ID: OL1099373A
Our Campaigns candidate ID: 571222
Oxford Reference overview ID: 20110803100153311
PM20 folder ID: pe/022095
Prabook ID: 1721150
RERO ID (legacy): A000113439
RILM ID: 7396
Rodovid ID: 1019820
SBN author ID: USMV989744
SELIBR ID: 343020, 206166
SearchCulture.gr ID: persons/-945640061
Treccani ID: ioannis-metaxas
Treccani's Dizionario di Storia ID: ioannis-metaxas
Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija ID: joanis-metaksas
WikiTree person ID: Μεταξάς-3
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJxcXhHrmDXQYmVQMcPxXd
Yale LUX ID: person/ce5d4f03-1e89-41cf-9955-c0588cf19374

🔗 Connections

Occupation 4

politician, diplomat, military officer, military personnel

Position held 3

ambassador, Prime Minister of Greece, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece

Named after 2

Metaxas Line, Metaxism

Participated in conflict 2

World War II, World War I

Award received 1

Order of the Redeemer

Cause of death 1

infectious disease

Chaired by 1

National Youth Organisation

Country of citizenship 1

Greece

Founded entities 1

Freethinkers' Party

Instance of 1

human

Languages spoken, written or signed 1

Modern Greek

Manner of death 1

natural causes

Member of political party 1

Freethinkers' Party

Military branch 1

Hellenic Army

Military, police or special rank 1

general

Place of birth 1

Ithaca

Place of death 1

Athens

Religion or worldview 1

Eastern Orthodox Church

Sex or gender 1

male

← FactGrid item ID 1

Sjömarken

← Signatory 1

Salonika Agreement

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Summary

Ioannis Metaxas was born on April 12, 1871^[1], in Vathy^[2]. He died on January 29, 1941^[3], in Kifisia^[4]. He worked as a politician^[5], military officer^[6], military personnel^[7], and diplomat^[8].

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Ioannis Metaxas include Metaxism^[45], a political ideology^[46], in Greece^[47] and Metaxas Line^[48], a defense line^[49], in Greece^[50], founded in 1936^[51].

Why It Matters

Entities named for Ioannis Metaxas include Metaxism^[45], a political ideology^[46], in Greece^[47] and Metaxas Line^[48], a defense line^[49], in Greece^[50], founded in 1936^[51].

FAQs

Where was Ioannis Metaxas born?

Ioannis Metaxas's place of birth was Vathy^[2].

Where did Ioannis Metaxas die?

Ioannis Metaxas died in Kifisia^[4].

Who was Ioannis Metaxas married to?

Ioannis Metaxas's spouses include Lela Chatziioannou^[9].

What did Ioannis Metaxas do for work?

Ioannis Metaxas worked as a politician^[5], military officer^[6], military personnel^[7], and diplomat^[8].

What awards did Ioannis Metaxas receive?

Honors received include Order of the Redeemer^[22].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — place of birth (P19): Vathy. ioannismetaxas.gr. ioannismetaxas.gr. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — place of death (P20): Kifisia. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2014-12-31. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — sex or gender (P21): male. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — spouse (P26): Lela Chatziioannou. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — country of citizenship (P27): Greece. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): Prime Minister of Greece. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): Greek Minister of the Interior. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): Minister of Military Affairs of Greece. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): Transport Minister of Greece. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): Deputy Prime Minister of Greece. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): member of the Hellenic Parliament. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — position held (P39): ambassador. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — child (P40): Nana Metaxas. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — child (P40): Loukia Metaxas. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — family (P53): Metaxas. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — member of political party (P102): Freethinkers' Party. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — occupation (P106): politician. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — occupation (P106): military officer. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — occupation (P106): military personnel. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — occupation (P106): diplomat. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — religion or worldview (P140): Eastern Orthodox Church. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — award received (P166): Order of the Redeemer. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — ethnic group (P172): Greeks. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — military branch (P241): Hellenic Army. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — military, police or special rank (P410): general. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — cause of death (P509): infectious disease. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — date of birth (P569): April 12, 1871. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 2017-10-09. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — date of death (P570): January 29, 1941. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved 2015-09-27. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — participated in conflict (P607): World War I. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — participated in conflict (P607): World War II. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — family name (P734): Metaxas. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — given name (P735): Ioannis. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — official website (P856): http://www.ioannismetaxas.gr/. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — relative (P1038): Ioanna Fokas-Metaxas. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — manner of death (P1196): natural causes. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — depicted by (P1299): Bust of Ioannis Metaxas, Kalpaki. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — depicted by (P1299): Statue of Ioannis Metaxas, Argostoli. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — depicted by (P1299): Statue of Ioannis Metaxas, Kifisia. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — depicted by (P1299): Bust of Ioannis Metaxas, Nikaia. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — described by source (P1343): Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). wikidata.org.
[42] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — described by source (P1343): SourceWatch List of Dictators. wikidata.org.
[43] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — languages spoken, written or signed (P1412): Modern Greek. BnF authorities. Retrieved 2015-10-10. wikidata.org.
[44] ↑ Ioannis Metaxas — name in native language (P1559): Ιωάννης Μεταξάς. wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

[46] ↑ Metaxism — P31: political ideology. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[47] ↑ Metaxism — P17: Greece. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[49] ↑ Metaxas Line — P31: defense line. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[50] ↑ Metaxas Line — P17: Greece. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[51] ↑ Metaxas Line — P571: 1936. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

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APA

4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Ioannis Metaxas. Retrieved October 30, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/ioannis-metaxas

MLA “Ioannis Metaxas.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 30 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/ioannis-metaxas.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_ioannis-metaxas_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Ioannis Metaxas}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/ioannis-metaxas}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-30}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Ioannis Metaxas — https://4ort.xyz/entity/ioannis-metaxas (retrieved 2026-10-30)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/ioannis-metaxas · Last refreshed: October 30, 2026

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

5d ago · ~2026-51011-33 · 2026-10-28 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Place of death → Kifisia

Place of birth → Vathy

Claims rich → —

"/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Place of birth: Vathy"
17d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Place of birth → Vathy

Wikipedia languages → ['ar', 'arz', 'be', 'bg', 'br', 'ca', 'commons', 'cs', 'da', 'de', 'el', 'en', '

Claims rich → —

"/* wbeditentity-statements-multiple-properties-update:0||3 */ source for place of death, source for date of birth, source for date of death from Store norske leksikon ([[Wikidata:Requests for permissi"
9w ago · NSD30511 · 2026-08-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Place of birth → Vathy

"/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1 */ Place of birth: Vathy"
18w ago · Daieuxetdailleurs · 2026-06-28 view diff on Wikidata ↗

FranceArchives agent ID → 896913455

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ FranceArchives agent ID: 896913455, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782644922236"
18w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗

P14536 → 392576

"/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 392576, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
23w ago · KrBot bot · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → politician, military officer, military personnel +1

"/* wbsetreference-add:2| */ Military, police or special rank: general"
24w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Occupation → politician, military officer, military personnel +1

"/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/32074|batch #32074]]: import P21 and P106 from GND (21)"
24w ago · MarisDreshmanisBot bot · 2026-05-14 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Family → Metaxas

Relative → Ioanna Fokas-Metaxas

Sex or gender → male

Languages spoken, written or signed → Modern Greek

+ 31 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)

"/* wbeditentity-update-languages-short:0||fi, lt, lv, sk, hy, ka, hr, bs, mk, mt, cy, eu, ast, an, oc, br, fy, lb, nds, sco */ Add multilingual descriptions (20 languages) — multilingual descriptions "

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