He was born in Kouklouza, Smyrna, in 1888. His family originated from Karvounades, Kythira. His grandfather had emigrated to Smyrna in the first half of the 19th century. Athanasios Marsellos finished elementary school in Kouklouza and then completed his secondary education at the Evangelical School of Smyrna. Immediately afterwards, he served in the military and then studied at the Marasleio Pedagogical School in Athens. After graduating, he left for Alexandria in August 1915. There he met Aikaterini Ladikou, who was originally from Patmos, and married her in 1924. That same year, they had a son, Alexander.
Life in Egypt and educational work
In Egypt, Athanasios Marsellos worked as a teacher. An ardent supporter of teaching the vernacular, he was forced by pressure from supporters of the purist Greek language to resign from the Greek Community school. In 1918, he decided to establish the “Model School” in Karf El Zayat, which would be attended by students whose parents agreed with the reform of Greek education and the teaching of the vernacular. Marcel's bold initiative soon won the support of prominent Alexandrian Greeks such as S. Pargas, K. Deltas, Ant. Benakis, F. Philippidis, and others. This led to the joint establishment of the Egyptian Educational Association, which promoted educational reform and the use of the demotic language. It should be noted that a similar effort had been made previously by demoticists in Athens, but without success. Marcel's school is also mentioned in the notes of Constantine Cavafy, in which he refers to his visit in June 1919. The Model School closed after the 1920–1921 school year because financial reasons did not allow it to continue operating.
Model School in Smyrna
Meanwhile, Marcellos had been in Smyrna since 1920, attempting to implement his Model School experiment there. However, with the destruction of the city and the persecution of Greeks by Kemal Atatürk's army, Marcellos moved to Piraeus. In 1926, he was back in Alexandria, publishing the literary magazine Hermes. The magazine was published monthly for two years. Nikos Kazantzakis, among others, was a regular contributor to the magazine.
In Egypt, Athanasios Marsellos also worked as the director of a publishing house. He published a series of works by Ion Dragoumis, as well as the biography of Pavlos Melas. This man from Kythira, who devoted his life to education, was held in high esteem by most Greeks in Egypt. The poet Kostas Kavafis called him his friend. Athanasios Marsellos died in Alexandria in 1953.
