A native of Izmir, George Galdies was for a while British Vice-consul in Izmir where he acquired a working knowledge of Smyrneika Greek. His interests in Ancient and Modern history of Izmir and of Asia Minor lasted for the rest of his near 50 years business activities around the world until his retirement; when he initiated the first Levantine Symposium in Izmir in 2010 and this Lexicon.