The Nationality of Sofia Kyrgiou is an interesting mix of Greek and Turkish, yet a little bit of everything else too. Born and raised in Athens, Sofia was a child of Greek parents that speak Greek but she was born in Yianna Greece, on the Ionian Sea coast, near Turkey. She was an obvious beneficiary of her parents background and it shows through in her spirit, interests and pursuits throughout her life. There is something undeniably Greek about her and yet not overly dependent on the old classical ideals of compromise and moderation. Her natural inclination to explore and pursue her passions has been matched by an admirable willingness to follow her own path and what may be best for her now lies in how far she can push it.
The Nationality of Sofia Kyrgiou is listed as Yiorgia Dimitriakouros (born 1923), Greek. She was registered at birth as Yiorgos Kallistratis, originally from Yianna, Greece. At the age of eighteen, Sofia was forcibly sent to the United States as a bargaining chip in order to secure passage across the Atlantic. It was here that she met and fell in love with George Papadopulos, who was working as a translator and cultural attaches in the navy.
After George’s death, Sofia wed Archidase Papadopulos, a US navy captain, and they were married in June, 1924. They had three daughters, Yana, Katarina and Yekaterina, who are still living. After a marriage of thirty-eight years, the couple retired to Thrace, a region of ancient Greek land and they built a large home there. They named their home the Skiathourion, after their native mountain, which lies in the foothills of the Skiathour Peninsula.