Demetrios Bikelas (1835-1908) was born in Hermoupolis on the island of Syros on February 15, 1835. At the age of 17, he began working in his uncle's business in London where he also attended courses at the University College. Bikelas lived in London for 20 years. In 1872, he moved to Paris where he became very active in literary circles and other social and political causes. In 1894, Bikelas represented the Panhellenic Athletic Society of Athens in Paris. At the Paris International Athletics Convention, he was elected President of the first International Olympic Committee. It was at this time that he proposed that the first Olympic Games be held in Athens in 1896. His proposal was accepted unanimously. In 1900, Bikelas moved to Athens where he established the Society for the Promotion of Useful Books, the School Museum, the School Library, and other institutions. Throughout his life, Bikelas was known for his optimism, his faith in humanity, and his love for Greek history and culture. He often spoke and wrote about his concern for the future of Greece.
Bikelas as a poet, prose writer, essayist, and translator is one of the most significant figures in modern Greek literature. Some of his best known works are: Verses, 1862; Loukis Laras, 1879; On Modern Greek Literature, 1871; On the Byzantines, 1874; From Nikopolis to Olympia, Letters To A Friend, 1886; Byzantinism and Hellenism - Seven Essays on Christian Greece, 1890; Lectures and Recollections, 1893; Tales from the Aegean, 1894; My Life, 1908.
His translations into modern Greek include: Anderson's Danish Fairy Tales, 1873; Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Othello, 1876; Hamlet and Macbeth, 1882; The Merchant of Venice, 1884.
Bikelas wrote hundreds of essays on various themes in Greek, English, and French, and lectures widely on literary and historical topics in England, France, and Greece.