Constantinos Papagika

Constantinos Papagikas was born on 5th September 1882 in Martino, Phthiotis (Central Greece). His father was Ioannis Papagikas, land owner, and his mother was Aikaterini Dimaki. Constantinos was the fifth of the six children in the family: Nikolaos (1873), Fragko (1875), Panagiotis (1879), Maria (1880), Kostas (1882) and Leonidas (1889). His grandfather, Nikolaos Gikas, was a priest, hence the surname became "Papagikas" (Papa-Gikas = Father Gikas). His family had a great musical background, since many family members were cantors. Constantinos' music career is interwoven with the career of his wife, Marika Papagika. He participated in at least 127 recordings of Marika, playing cymbal or santoor. Additionally, he was involved in 22 instrumental songs, along with Markos Sifnios (cello), Νίκος Ρέλλιας (clarinet) & Athanasiou Makedonas (violin). Constantinos died on 12th October 1947.