The poet/scholar George Thaniel was born on 22 February 1938 in Trahila, Messinia, Greece. After WWII and the Civil War in Greece his family moved to Piraeus where George attended Ionidhios High School (1950-1956) where he also began learning English. During this time he also studied French and Latin at St. Paul's Roman Catholic School. His natural aptitude for languages was awarded with a trip to France from the Alliance Française in 1955. This trip and his love for the French Romanticism inspired him to pursue his calling as a poet in that style.

In 1956, Thaniel enrolled in the School of Philosophy of the University of Athens, graduating in 1962. His education was briefly interrupted (1960-1961) as he performed his required military service with the Greek Navy, where he served as a translator and teacher of English. After graduation, Thaniel taught briefly English at Greek high schools until he emigrated to Canada in 1964. There he taught French and Latin in various Canadian high schools in remote places in Ontario such as Sioux Lookout and Chapeau.

In 1967, Thaniel enrolled in the Classics graduate program at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The title of his PhD dissertation was "Themes of Death in Roman Religion and Poetry." After completing his PhD in 1971, Thaniel was hired by the University of Toronto as a part-time instructor of Modern Greek in the Department of Classics. In 1972 he advanced to become the University's first full-time instructor of Modern Greek. In 1977 he received tenure and went on to become the University of Toronto's first and only professor of Modern Greek in 1987.

While on a trip to Greece, Thaniel died suddenly and unexpectedly in Athens' General hospital on 22 June 1991.