More than eight decades after the death of a woman who had her own role in the history of Crete, the tomb of Adelina Guitar, the legendary Madame Hortense, has been found.
Her grave is in the Municipal Cemetery of Ierapetra (see the photo in the link), lawyer Efthymis Lekakis, who had set targets to locate it, wrote in a post.
After all, Guitar lived the last decades of her life in Ierapetra and was honored by the authorities with a street named after her.
Her life inspired writers such as Nikos Kazantzakis who immortalized her in “Zorba”. In the film version of the movie, the performance of Lila Katerova was memorable, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
But who was this woman?
Adelina Guitar was born in 1863 in France, but it is not known exactly where: Paris, Toulon and Marseille are mentioned.
She became a prostitute from the age of 16 and in 1898, when the occupation of Crete began she and about 500 women settled in Chania, near the Great Powers men serving in the fleets.
After the 1905 Theriso Revolution, Madame Hortense left and wandered around Heraklion, Sitia and Agios Nikolaos. Finally, in early 1910 she settled permanently in Ierapetra, where she opened a casino and restaurant in Mesokastelia.
Later, she operated a hotel, called “France” at the location where the “Hotel Creta” is today.
Hortense went on even to become vice-consul of France, but many suspected her of being a spy.
After World War I, she developed a strong social activity and became a socialite in Ierapetra, where she died in 1938.
