Maria Farantouri was born in Athens at the time when Greece was recovering from the devastation of World War II and the German Occupation and was still engaged in a devastating civil war. It was then that one of Greece's major poets, Angelos Sikelianos, wrote his "March of Spirit", a poem of exaltation and heroic vision. Twenty-two years later, exiled in a small village in the mountains of Arcadia by the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967-1974, the composer Mikis Theodorakis set Sikelianos's poem to music in a score especially designed for Maria's voice.

As soon as the dictators had taken over the power, Maria had left Greece and joined the struggle against the dictatorship by giving thousands of concerts all over the world, performing in some of world's major concert halls such as John F.Kennedy Center in Washington, London's Royal Albert Hall and Royal Fesdtival Hall, the Salle Tchaikovsky in Moscow, the Berlin Opera House and the Paris Olympia. During the dictatorship and the years following it, Maria became the Greek people's symbol of resistance and hope. She participated in many festivals for disarmament and peace, and protested any form of political oppression, performing with other famous singers such as Myriam Makeba, Juliette Greco, Maria del Mar Bonet and the Chilean group Inti Illimani.

Maria Farantouri kept Theodorakis's music alive during the seven years of the military dictatorship when it was banned in Greece, playing an important role in the movement for the revival of Greek music. She is universally recognized as the ideal interpreter of Theodorakis's music. Her rich contralto voice, with its broad range and melodic quality, combined with a fine musical intelligence make her a superb exponent of the composer's wide range of musical styles.

Farantouri's expressive voice as well as the high quality of her repertoire have drawn high praise from critics and music lovers everywhere. The Guardian wrote: "Her voice is a controlled passion, a battle cry waiting for a top G to let itself go. She is unique; her voice is a gift from the Gods of Olympus". The music critic of Le Monde described her as "The Joan Baez of the Mediterranean". In his book, The Bee and the Architect, the late President of the French Republic, Francois Mitterand, wrote: "For me Greece is Maria Farantouri. This is how I imagined Goddess Hera to be: strong, pure and vigilant. I have never encountered any other artist able to give me such a strong sense of the divine".

Among Maria's most important interpretations of Mikis Theodorakis are Canto General, asetting of the poetry of Pablo Neruda, who watched the rehearsals himself, Romancero Gitano, a setting of poems by Federico Garcia Lorca, adapted in Greek by the Nobelist poet Odysseas Elytis, for which Farantouri collaborated with classical guitarist John Williams, and the Ballad of Mauthausen, a settings of poems by Iakovos Kambanellis, which she performed togther with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta at the Herodus Atticus Theater of Athens in August 1991.

Although she is best known as an interpreter of Theodoraki's music, Maria has collaborated with a number of other Greek composers as the leading one Manos Hadjidakis. Her most recent interpretations of Greek composers are those of Eleni Karaindrou, Nikos Papazoglou, Pericles Koukos and Lena Platonos.

Maria's international repertoire includes Songs of Protest, songs by the Turkish composer Zulfu Livaneli and songs by Lucio Dalla. In the 17 Songs arranged for her by the Cuban composer Leo Brouwer with guest appearance of Mercedes Sosa, she interpreted C. Veloso, M. Nascimento, M. Legrand, N. Piovani and Kurt Weill. In the same double LP she also performed songs by Vangelis, especially composed for her. By special invitation, Maria appeared at the Berliner Ensemble of Bertold Brecht, singing Brecht in her native language. As a result of this success, Maria had the privilege of presenting Ekerhardt Schall of the Berliner Ensmble to the Greek people in a joint concert.

Apart from her artistic activities, Maria Farantouri has always been very much involved in the cultural and political life of Greece. She was a member of the Greek Parliament from 1989-1993 representing the Panhellenic Socialistic Movement (PASOK).