The Children of Niobe

The children of Niobe

First book Cover
Author	Tasos Athanasiadis
Original title	Τα παιδιά της Νιόβης - The children of Niobe'
Country	Greece
Language	Greek
Genre	Novel
Publisher	The Estia Bookstore
Pages	1.694 pp (total of 4 books)
ISBN	978-960-05-0588-7 (1st Book) ISBN 978-960-05-0589-4 (2nd Book) ISBN 978-960-05-0668-6 (3rd Book) ISBN 978-960-05-0669-3 (4th Book)
OCLC	36559754

The children of Niobe is a novel written by Tasos Athanasiadis. In this novel Athanasiadis describes the way Greeks lived in Anatolia by the example of the small community of Salihli. Probably the title is inspired by the myth of Niobe. In 2003 the novel was serialized on Greek television.

Plot summary

So we are in Salihli and watching life before the advent of the Greek Army. Central role played by the family of Michael Anastasiadis or Sarris, a notable banker of Salihli, madly in love with the Tarsi, a teenage girl who refuses to marry the son of wealthy Turkish businessman, for whom she worked. In the meantime, we are watching the raids of the Turkish gendarmerie and terror they caused to the Greeks, the close relationship of Turks and Greeks, hidden hopes for better days.

Then the novel described the pleasant (initially) life during the Greek occupation to get up to the Destruction of Smyrna. In the presence of the Greek army, dreams of the Greeks for freedom seem to come true. But follows the error handling, leading to the collapse of the front and the devastating consequences for Asia Minor. We will follow Asia Minor refugees and their efforts initially to save and then to find their feet in the new homeland.

In the twelve chapters of the first book, the life just before the Greek occupation in Anatolia is being described.

In the twelve chapters of the second book, the life up to the destruction of İzmir is described.

In the eight chapters of the third book (1st to 8th) and in the seven chapters of the fourth book (9th to 15th) of the novel, the displacement in Greece is being described.