Career
Professionally, he was also a prominent critic, journalist, and essayist. A passionate admirer of ancient Greece and its mythology, his essay L"été grec (Greek Summer) was an immense popular success, as were his following classical works Maria of Egypt and Dictionnaire amoureux de la Grèce (Dictionary for one who loves Greece). Of interest to ethnographers and ecologists is his Chemin faisant: Mille kilomètres à pied à travers la France.
He died in Paris on 17 September 2005, following complications from orthopedic surgery.
His body was cremated and his ashes scattered in Greece, off the island of Spetses.