August 8

Events

• 626: The Akathist Hymn is created, an extensive lyric poem of unparalleled beauty, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, first chanted in the thanksgiving services following the victory of the Byzantine people of Constantinople over the Persians and Avars.
• 1896: Greek volunteers land in Crete to support the Cretan revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
• 1964: Turkish jets bombard Greek positions in Tylliria, Cyprus. 55 Greeks are killed and 125 are wounded. Half of that number are civilians.

Sports

• 1997: Christos Meletoglou breaks the 16-year old Greek record in the triple jump with 17.12m.
• 2002: Mirela Maniani wins gold in the javelin throw at the European Championship in Munich. Her throw of 67.47m breaks the record for European Championship Games.

Births

• 1898: Alexis Minotis, actor
• 1926: George Livanos, shipowner
• 1983: Nikos Zisis, basketball player

Deaths

• 1973: Nikolaos Zachariadis, communist leader
• 2003: Antonis Samarakis, writer
• 2004: Dimitris Papamichail, actor