On October 1, 1873, Athens welcomed Η Εφημερίς, the first daily newspaper of the newly established Greek state, launching a new era in Greek journalism.
Before its arrival, Athens had only a handful of weekly newspapers. When publishers announced that Η Εφημερίς would appear every day, their competitors reportedly laughed at the idea.
They questioned whether Greece had enough news to fill a newspaper every day.
Dimitris Koromilas, a writer and journalist, proved them wrong.
Η Εφημερίς quickly won over readers. The newspaper sold almost 7,000 copies a day in Athens, a city with a population of around 50,000 at the time — a success that even Koromilas had not expected.
A newspaper that captured everyday Athens
The four-page newspaper, with its single large sheet folded in two, quickly became popular in cafés and other gathering places across the capital.
Readers consumed its content eagerly, including people who could not read. They would gather around someone who could read and listen as the person read the newspaper aloud.
Η Εφημερίς succeeded because it moved beyond the heavily political coverage that dominated other publications.
It reported on everyday life in Athens, including serious and humorous incidents, police cases, arguments, gambling disputes, disputes between customers and scandals involving prominent couples.
It also published romantic stories and novels, giving readers another reason to buy the newspaper.
When major domestic or international events generated an unusually large amount of news, Koromilas sometimes published an additional afternoon edition.
Η Εφημερίς introduces reportage
The newspaper also helped establish reporting as a central part of Greek journalism.
Reporters went into the streets, observed events and brought their accounts back to the newsroom. Their stories offered readers an intimate view of life in Athens, including incidents that other newspapers largely ignored.
The newspaper’s fiction also attracted a significant female readership.
Η Εφημερίς published early works by major Greek writers including Kostis Palamas, Andreas Karkavitsas and Ioannis Kondylakis.
Alexandros Papadiamantis also became a regular contributor. The newspaper published his novels The Merchants of Nations and The Gypsy Girl in serial form, before they later appeared as books.
Papadiamantis worked quietly from the newspaper’s premises on Ermou Street, writing for hours with his favourite pen before handing over his manuscripts and leaving almost unnoticed.
Fluent in English and French, he also translated foreign works for the newspaper. At the time, Η Εφημερίς published both a Greek and a foreign work each day, with Papadiamantis translating Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
The end of an era
The printing press of Η Εφημερίς fell silent in 1922, before the newspaper completed half a century of publication.
By then, several other daily newspapers had emerged with broader content and larger operations.
Yet Η Εφημερίς retained its place in Greek journalism history.
Its launch on October 1, 1873, marked the beginning of Greece’s long journey towards daily news coverage and helped establish a newspaper culture that would continue to evolve for generations.
