Ο Tassos Arniakos He is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive and beloved figures in television, and in weather forecasting in particular. We all think of him as the sweetest grandpa with his familiar, distinctive hand gestures and the sweet «good evening» and «good night» he says at the end of every weather report.
The Life of Tassos Arniakos in His Own Words
The beloved meteorologist had stated:
«My grandfather would take me up to the rooftop of our ground-floor apartment in Agios Sostis, show me the signs of the weather, and have me explain the signs in the clouds. Back then, there were no high-rises, and from there you could see Mount Hymettus, the sea, Piraeus, and Kastella. He used to tell me that when Koulouri—that is, Salamina—turns dark, bad weather is coming to Athens. And later, when I got involved with scouting on the side—I became a scout leader—the weather was always a factor that affected our outings, so I delved quite deeply into it.
When a job opening for meteorologists at the National Meteorological Service (EMY), I was hired as a permanent employee, and in 1979 I found myself in Kythira as an observer at the Kythira Meteorological Station. During the seven years I spent there, I experienced some remarkable weather phenomena: tornadoes, north winds of 10 and 12 Beaufort that shattered the station’s windows, anemometers flying away that we had to chase after, and rough seas.
Upon returning to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service headquarters, I continued my career as a flight information officer for aircraft pilots at the old Elliniko Airport, at the West Airport and later at the East Airport. I briefed pilots on domestic and international flights about the weather conditions they would encounter while flying at various altitudes.
After that, I worked in climatology and weather forecasting at the National Meteorological Center of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY) as a weather forecaster. As a result, I have a comprehensive understanding of the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, from observation to forecasting, and I consider myself fortunate to have served in all of these positions.».
How Tasos Arniakos Began His Career
When Tassos Arniakos completed his studies in 1979, he found himself taking exams for a series of competitive exams announced by the National Meteorological Service. He managed to get hired, and thus began a long journey that suddenly brought him onto television on Clean Monday in 2007. How? He was the first name on the list of meteorologists (since he’s from Arniakos); an ANT1 reporter urgently needed a meteorologist, so he called him, and what followed left the station’s news team—and others—in Marousi deeply moved.
Tassos Arniakos's Hobbies
Tassos Arniakos grew up listening to the musical caresses of Hatzidakis, Theodorakis’s rousing jabs, and the then-marginal lament of Tsitsanis’s bouzouki.
I learned about global issues from the Beatles’ and the Rolling Stones’ 45s, and about Greek issues from Savvopoulos’ LPs and Nikola Asimos’ bootleg cassettes. I grew up listening to Dylan’s harmonica, Joan Baez’s guitar, the Animals’ sound, and Louis Armstrong’s trumpet.
He then praised Mozart’s genius, Papathanassiou’s deafening grandeur, Xenakis’s astonishingly eclectic soundscapes, and the unforgettable postdoctoral live performances by Theodorakis, Xarchakos, and others. He enjoys reading books, loves traveling, movies, and scouting. He doesn’t have his own Facebook account since he doesn’t have time for chats, photos, videos, trolling, “likes,” and the like. He also doesn’t watch much TV.
He plays table tennis very well, swims a lot in the summer, and when he was younger, he played a lot of soccer and basketball. Also, his two sons are swimming champions—in open water, no less.
Tassos Arniakos: Origins and Sheep in Michalakopoulou
«Their distant origins lie in distant Phocis. These people came down as warriors and were essentially left behind, and what did they do… they became shepherds. Since they stayed in Athens, the only things they knew how to do were tend sheep and fight. So when the war ended, they started herding sheep, and the interesting thing is that… they did it on Michalakopoulou Street. Because Michalakopoulou Street is the Ilissos River.
The interesting thing is that their sheepfolds were located where the U.S. Embassy and the Athens Concert Hall stand today. It’s on Evrou Street, where the sheepfolds used to be. They used to graze their flocks where Badminton and Goudi are now. The actual name is Varsos, but it became Arnakos, obviously because of the lambs.», he himself has stated.
His two handsome sons
