Sotiris Spatharis was the first Greek shadow artist who introduced in Karagiozis performances the “advertisement”, a special kind of naive painting which was later adopted by many other players.
He has also been considered as the creator of “apotheosis in whole body”.
That was a kind of theatrical epilogue used especially in heroic plays and performed by the shadow players themselves and their assistants in front of the Karagiozis stage.
Sotiris Spatharis was one of the first founders and members of the Pan-Hellenic Association of Greek Shadow Players established in 1924.
He died in 1974 keeping tightly in his arms one of his most favourite leather shadow figures, the pasha.