Athens, Sept 2. -Reuters - Composer Mikis Theodorakis, whose music crossed international boundaries in his captivating score for the film "Zorba the Greek", died on Thursday, plunging Greece into three days of mourning.
A towering man with a brooding presence and a shock of wavy hair, Theodorakis's work evoked a progressive, democratic vision of the world, though his political struggles reflected a darker side of Greece rarely seen by visitors.
As news of his death at home in Athens at the age of 96 swept across the country of 11 million, authorities declared three days of mourning and tributes poured in from across the political spectrum.
"Today we lost a part of Greece's soul. Mikis Theodorakis, Mikis the teacher, the intellectual, the radical, our Mikis has gone," said Culture Minister Lina Mendoni.