He was married to the school teacher Olympia Kakoulidou and loved reading poetry, especially Kostis Palamas, Giorgos Seferis, and Odysseas Elytis.

He was the founder of a local cultural group named Art (Greek: Η τέχνη).

His greatest discovery occurred on November 8, 1977, when he found a tomb at Vergina which he identified as that of Philip II of Macedon.

[2] The finds from this tomb were later included in the travelling exhibit "The Search for Alexander" displayed at four cities in the United States from 1980 to 1982.

He lived permanently in Thessaloniki on Papafi Street and died on March 30, 1992, having suffered a stroke and been diagnosed with liver cancer.