Modern Greek literature
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Modern Greek literature is
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
written in
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
, starting in the late Byzantine era in the 11th century AD. It includes work not only from within the borders of the modern
Greek state Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, but also from other areas where Greek was widely spoken, including
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, and
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
. The first period of modern Greek literature includes texts concerned with philosophy and the allegory of daily life, as well as epic songs celebrating the
akritai The ''Akritai'' ( el, , singular: ''Akritēs'', ) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the Middle East. Their exploits, ...
(
Acritic songs The Acritic songs ( "frontiersmen songs") are the epic poems that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably around the ninth century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akritai, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzant ...
), the most famous of which is ''
Digenes Akritas ''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the Acritic songs and is often regarded as the only surviving epic ...
''. In the late 16th and early 17th century,
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
flourished under Venetian rule and produced two of the most important Greek texts; ''
Erofili ''Erofili'', also spelled as ''Erophile'' ( el, Ερωφίλη), is the most famous and often performed tragedy of the Cretan theater. It was written around 1600 in Rethymno in Crete (then a Venetian colony) by Georgios Chortatzis and first publi ...
'' (ca. 1595) by
Georgios Chortatzis Georgios Chortatzis or Chortatsis ( el, Γεώργιος Χορτάτζης/Χορτάτσης; c. 1545 – c. 1610) was a Greek dramatist in Cretan verse. He was, along with Vitsentzos Kornaros, one of the main representatives of a school of lite ...
and ''
Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' ( el, Ἐρωτόκριτος) is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses, the last twelve of which refer to the poet himself. It is written in th ...
'' (ca. 1600) by
Vitsentzos Kornaros Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros ( el, Βιτσέντζος or ) or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan poet, who wrote the romantic epic poem '' Erotokritos''. He wrote in vernacular Cretan dialect ( Cretan Greek), and w ...
.
European Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
had a profound effect on Greek scholars, most notably
Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( el, Ρήγας Φεραίος , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; rup, Riga Fereu) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis ( el ...
and
Adamantios Korais Adamantios Korais or Koraïs ( el, Ἀδαμάντιος Κοραῆς ; la, Adamantius Coraes; french: Adamance Coray; 27 April 17486 April 1833) was a Greek scholar credited with laying the foundations of modern Greek literature and a majo ...
, who paved the way for the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
in 1821. After the establishment of the
Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...
, intellectual output was centered in the Ionian Islands, and in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
. The Heptanese School was represented by poets such as
Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ ...
, who wrote the national anthem of Greece and Aristotelis Valaoritis, while the Athenian School included figures like
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He w ...
and
Panagiotis Soutsos Panagiotis Soutsos ( el, Παναγιώτης Σοῦτσος; 1806 – 25 October 1868), was a Greek poet, novelist and journalist born in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). He was the brother of the satirist Alexandros Soutsos and cousi ...
. In the 19th, the
Greek language question The Greek language question ( el, το γλωσσικό ζήτημα, ''to glossikó zítima'') was a dispute about whether the language of the Greek people ( Demotic Greek) or a cultivated imitation of Ancient Greek (''Katharevousa'') should be ...
arose, as there was an intense dispute between the users of
Demotic Greek Demotic Greek or Dimotiki ( el, Δημοτική Γλώσσα, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece. "Demotic Greek" (w ...
, i.e. the language of everyday life, and those who favoured
Katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...
, a cultivated imitation of
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
.
Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...
, Georgios Drossinis, and
Kostas Krystallis Kostas Krystallis ( el, Κώστας Κρυστάλλης; 1868–1894) was a Greek author and poet, representative of 19th century Greek pastoral literature. He was born an Ottoman subject in Epirus, but escaped to Greece after being denounced ...
, who belonged to the so-called 1880s Generation, revitalized Greek letters and helped cement Demotic Greek as the form most used in poetry. Prose also thrived, with writers like
Emmanuel Rhoides Emmanuel Rhoides ( gr, Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης; 28 June 1836 – 7 January 1904) was a Greek writer and journalist. Biography Born in Hermoupolis, the capital of the island of Syros, to a family of rich aristocrats from Chios — ...
,
Georgios Vizyinos Georgios Vizyinos (Greek: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός, March 8, 1849 - April 15, 1896) was a Greek short story writer and poet. He is considered highly influential in Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek l ...
,
Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiatho ...
, and Andreas Karkavitsas. The most celebrated poets of the verge of the 20th century are
Constantine P. Cavafy Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gree ...
,
Angelos Sikelianos Angelos Sikelianos ( el, Άγγελος Σικελιανός; 28 March 1884 – 19 June 1951) was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. His themes include Greek history, religious symbolism as well as universal harmony in poems such as ''The Moonstru ...
,
Kostas Varnalis Kostas Varnalis ( el, Κώστας Βάρναλης; 14 February 1884 – 16 December 1974) was a Greek poet. Life Varnalis was born in Burgas, Eastern Rumelia (now in Bulgaria), in 1884. As his name suggests, his family originated from Varna; ...
, and
Kostas Karyotakis Kostas Karyotakis ( el, Κώστας Καρυωτάκης, 11 November S October 30 1896 – 20 July 1928) is considered one of the most representative Greek poets of the 1920s and one of the first poets to use iconoclastic themes in Greece. Hi ...
. As of prose,
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
, is the best-known Greek novelist outside Greece. Other important writers of that period are Grigorios Xenopoulos, and Konstantinos Theotokis, while
Penelope Delta Penelope Delta (; 1874, Alexandria, Khedivate of Egypt – 2 May 1941, Athens, Greece) was a Greek author. She is widely celebrated for her contributions to the field of children's literature. Her historical novels have been widely read and hav ...
is noted for her children's stories and novels. The
Generation of the '30s The Generation of the '30s () was a group of Greek writers, poets, artists, intellectuals, critics, and scholars who made their debut in the 1930s and introduced modernism in Greek art and literature. The Generation of the '30s is also cited as a so ...
first introduced modernist trends in Greek literature. It included writers Stratis Myrivilis,
Elias Venezis Elias Venezis ( el, Ηλίας Βενέζης) (March 4, 1904 - August 3, 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos (), a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvalık (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in Athens in 1973. He wrote many boo ...
,
Yiorgos Theotokas Yiorgos Theotokas ( el, Γιώργος Θεοτοκάς), formally Georgios Theotokas (Γεώργιος Θεοτοκάς; 27 August 1905 – 30 October 1966), was a Greek novelist. Biography He was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) ...
, and
M. Karagatsis M. Karagatsis ( el, Μ. Καραγάτσης; 23 June 1908 – 14 September 1960) was the pen name of the important modern Greek novelist, journalist, critic and playwright Dimitrios Rodopoulos (Δημήτριος Ροδόπουλος). The pe ...
, and poets
Giorgos Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
,
Andreas Embirikos Andreas Embirikos ( el, Ανδρέας Εμπειρίκος; September 2, 1901 in Brăila – August 3, 1975 in Kifissia, Attica) was a Greek surrealist poet and one of the first Greek psychoanalysts. Life Embirikos was born in Brăila, R ...
,
Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( el, Γιάννης Ρίτσος; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has be ...
,
Nikos Engonopoulos Nikos Egonopoulos ( el, Νίκος Εγγονόπουλος; October 21, 1907 – October 31, 1985) was a Greek painter and poet. He is one of the most important members of "Generation of the '30s",Eleni Kefala''Peripheral (Post) Modernity'' ...
, and
Odysseas Elytis Odysseas Elytis ( el, Οδυσσέας Ελύτης , pen name of Odysseas Alepoudellis, el, Οδυσσέας Αλεπουδέλλης; 2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996) was a Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator, regarded as th ...
. Seferis and Elytis were awarded the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in 1963 and 1979 respectively. In post-war decades many significant poets were published, such as Tasos Leivaditis,
Manolis Anagnostakis Manolis Anagnostakis (10 March 1925 – 23 June 2005) was a Greek poet and critic at the forefront of the Marxist and existentialist poetry movements arising during and after the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s. Anagnostakis was a leader amongst ...
, Titos Patrikios,
Kiki Dimoula Vasiliki “Kiki” Dimoula (née Radou; el, Κική Δημουλά; 6 June 1931 – 22 February 2020) was a Greek poet. She was the first female poet ever to be included in the prestigious French publisher Gallimard’s poetry series. Work ...
and Dinos Christianopoulos. Dido Sotiriou, Stratis Tsirkas,
Alki Zei Alki Zei (Greek: Άλκη Ζέη) (December 15, 1925 – February 27, 2020) was a Greek novelist and children's writer. Biography Zei was born in Athens. She studied in the philosophy school of Athens University, the Drama School of the At ...
, Menis Koumandareas,
Costas Taktsis Costas Taktsis ( el, Κώστας Ταχτσής ; 8 October 1927 – 27 August 1988) was a Greek writer. Described as a 'landmark of post-war literature in Greece', Taktsis wrote ''The Third Wedding'' ( el, Το τρίτο στεφάνι, To trí ...
, and Thanassis Valtinos are routinely mentioned as some of the most important post-war prose writers, while Iakovos Kambanellis has been described as the "father of post–
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Greek theater". The 1980s saw the novel take over from poetry as the most prestigious genre in Greek literature, thanks to writers such as Eugenia Fakinou and Rhea Galanaki. Among more recent figures who have achieved critical acclaim and/or commercial success are
Dimitris Lyacos Dimitris Lyacos ( el, Δημήτρης Λυάκος; born 19 October 1966) is a contemporary Greek poet and playwright. He is the author of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. Lyacos's work is characterised by its genre-defying form and the avant-garde ...
,
Petros Markaris Petros Márkaris ( el, Πέτρος Μάρκαρης; born 1 January 1937 in Istanbul) is a Greek-Armenian writer of detective novels starring the grumpy Athenian police investigator Costas Haritos. Biography The son of an Armenian entrepreneu ...
, Chrysa Dimoulidou, Isidoros Zourgos,
Christos Chomenidis Christos Chomenidis ( el, Χρήστος Χωμενίδης) (born 3 August 1966, Athens, Greece) is a Greece, Greek novelist. He studied Law at the University of Athens and in Moscow and Communication Studies in Leeds. He worked as a lawyer befo ...
, and Giannis Palavos.


Periodization

There has been much discussion concerning the division of modern Greek literature into distinct eras. It has been suggested that it begins in 1453, the year of the
Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
, but most scholars now agree that its onset can be traced in the 11th century, with the epic song of ''
Digenes Akritas ''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the Acritic songs and is often regarded as the only surviving epic ...
''. The contemporary high-school syllabus places its beginnings ever earlier, in the 10th century, and divides the history of modern Greek literature as follows: * First period: from the 10th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 * Second period: the years until the
Ottoman Conquest of Crete Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
in 1669 * Third period: the years leading to the
independence of Greece The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
in 1830 * Fourth period: the period of the modern Greek state (1830–present) Another widely accepted periodization is the following: * 9th century - 1453 * 1453 - 1669 * 1669 - 1821 (start of the Greek War of Independence) * 1821 - 1880 (emergence of the New Athenian School) * 1880 - 1930 (emergence of the 1930s Generation) * 1930–present


11th century to 1453

The epic of ''
Digenes Akritas ''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the Acritic songs and is often regarded as the only surviving epic ...
'', the most famous of all
Acritic songs The Acritic songs ( "frontiersmen songs") are the epic poems that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably around the ninth century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akritai, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzant ...
, is often referred as the starting point of modern Greek literature. This notion is justified by the fact that it is written in a form of Greek that is more familiar to modern-day speakers. In fact, ''Digenes Akritas'' and other such epics, like the ''
Song of Armouris The ''Song of Armouris'' or ''Armoures'' ( el, ) is a heroic Byzantine ballad, and probably one of the oldest surviving acritic songs, dating from the 11th century. Its plot is based on the Byzantine-Arab conflict (7th–12th centuries) and descri ...
'', are the first attempts at a literary use of the spoken, common, i.e. modern Greek language. They are narrations of the heroic deeds of the
akritai The ''Akritai'' ( el, , singular: ''Akritēs'', ) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the Middle East. Their exploits, ...
, the guards along the Eastern edge of the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, and they use the
political verse Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, which was probably a major medium of expression for the illiterate and half-literate members of the Byzantine society. These songs come from all parts of the then Greek-speaking world, and is argued that the oldest ones are from
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and
Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
. During the 12th century, Byzantine writers reintroduced the
ancient Greek romance Five ancient Greek novels survive complete from antiquity: Chariton's '' Callirhoe'' (mid 1st century), Achilles Tatius' '' Leucippe and Clitophon'' (early 2nd century), Longus' ''Daphnis and Chloe'' (2nd century), Xenophon of Ephesus' '' Ephesian ...
literature and many such
novels A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
were composed in the following centuries. Perhaps the most popular was ''Livistros and Rodamni'', written by a demotic writer in Cyprus or
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
. Others are ''Hysimine and Hysimines'' by
Eustathios Makrembolites Eustathios Makrembolites ( el, ; ''fl. c.'' 1150–1200), Latinized as Eustathius Macrembolites, was a Byzantine revivalist of the Greek romance, flourished in the second half of the 12th century CE. He is sometimes conflated/equated with his co ...
, ''Rodanthe and Dosikles'' by
Theodore Prodromos Theodore Prodromos or Prodromus ( el, Θεόδωρος Πρόδρομος; c. 1100 – c. 1165/70), probably also the same person as the so-called Ptochoprodromos (Πτωχοπρόδρομος "Poor Prodromos"), was a Byzantine Greek writer, wel ...
, and ''Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe'' and '' Belthandros and Chrysantza'', both by unknown authors. Theodore Prodromos is sometimes identified as the author of the so-called ''Ptochoprodromic Poems'', a collection of four satiric poems, written in the vernacular.
Michael Glykas Michael Glykas or Glycas ( gr, Μιχαὴλ Γλυκᾶς) was a 12th-century Byzantine historian, theologian, mathematician, astronomer and poet. He was probably from Corfu and lived in Constantinople. He was a critic of Manuel I Komnenos, and was ...
, who was imprisoned due to his participation in a conspiracy against
Manuel I Komnenos Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...
, composed a petition in political verse, titled ''Poetic Lines by M. Glykas Which He Wrote during the Time He Was Detained because of Some Spiteful Informer'', using vernacular and classical vocabulary. Another group of early modern Greek texts is that of allegorical and didactic poems. ''Story of Ptocholeon'' is one of the earliest such poems, and has oriental origins, probably
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
. ''Spaneas'', a poem containing moral advice for a young man, was frequently copied. Amuzing tales about animals must have also been popular. Examples include the poems ''Tale about Quadrupeds'', dated to 1364, about a meeting of all the animals at the invitation of their king, the lion, the ''Poulologos'', a similar tale about birds, and ''The Synaxarion of the Estimable Donkey'', a 14th century fable of a donkey travelling to the
Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
with a wolf and a fox. There is also the ''Porikologos'' about fruits, written in prose as a parody of the official language of the Byzantine court. In the early 14th century, the vernacular became the accepted medium for fiction of any kind.


From 1453 to 1669

There are very few signs of intellectual activity during the first two centuries of
Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
, as the Byzantine scholars fled to the West. Their migration during the decline of the Byzantine Empire and mainly after its dissolution greatly contributed to the transmission and dissemination of
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
letters in the West, and thus in the development of the
Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
. Such émigrés included
Gemistos Plethon Georgios Gemistos Plethon ( el, Γεώργιος Γεμιστός Πλήθων; la, Georgius Gemistus Pletho /1360 – 1452/1454), commonly known as Gemistos Plethon, was a Greek scholar and one of the most renowned philosophers of the late Byza ...
,
Manuel Chrysoloras Manuel (or Emmanuel) Chrysoloras ( el, Μανουὴλ Χρυσολωρᾶς; c. 1350 – 15 April 1415) was a Byzantine Greek classical scholar, humanist, philosopher, professor, and translator of ancient Greek texts during the Renaissance. Se ...
,
Theodorus Gaza Theodorus Gaza ( el, Θεόδωρος Γαζῆς, ''Theodoros Gazis''; it, Teodoro Gaza; la, Theodorus Gazes), also called Theodore Gazis or by the epithet Thessalonicensis (in Latin) and Thessalonikeus (in Greek) (c. 1398 – c. 1475), wa ...
,
Cardinal Bessarion Bessarion ( el, Βησσαρίων; 2 January 1403 – 18 November 1472) was a Byzantine Greek Renaissance humanist, theologian, Catholic cardinal and one of the famed Greek scholars who contributed to the so-called great revival of letters ...
,
John Argyropoulos John Argyropoulos (/ˈd͡ʒɑn ˌɑɹd͡ʒɪˈɹɑ.pə.ləs/ el, Ἰωάννης Ἀργυρόπουλος ''Ioannis Argyropoulos''; it, Giovanni Argiropulo; surname also spelt ''Argyropulus'', or ''Argyropulos'', or ''Argyropulo''; c. 1415 – 2 ...
, and
Demetrios Chalkokondyles Demetrios Chalkokondyles ( el, Δημήτριος Χαλκοκονδύλης ), Latinized as Demetrius Chalcocondyles and found variously as Demetricocondyles, Chalcocondylas or Chalcondyles (14239 January 1511) was one of the most eminent Gree ...
. Therefore, from the middle 15th century to the 17th century, the most notable literary texts come from areas under Francocracy, such as
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
, the Ionian Islands, and
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, as well as from Greeks who were active in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Western literature was highly influential, both in content and in form. It is believed by many scholars that the use of
rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...
in Greek poetry, despite being sporadically present in works of previous centuries, was a result of that influence.


Cretan Renaissance

Crete was a
Stato da Màr The ''Stato da Màr'' or ''Domini da Mar'' () was the name given to the Republic of Venice's maritime and overseas possessions from around 1000 to 1797, including at various times parts of what are now Istria, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greec ...
from 1205 until 1669. Venetian rule proved troubled from the beginning, but after the mid-16th century the change of policy towards natives and the improvement in welfare of both communities, led to a long period of peaceful coexistence and cultural crossfertilization. Some scholars even talk about a shared Veneto-Cretan cultural consciousness. Italian influence is apparent in these works, but there is a distinctive "Greekness" nonetheless. As
David Holton David Holton (born 1946) is a British professor of Modern Greek at the University of Cambridge. He specialises in medieval and modern Greek language and literature, with special reference to the romance genre, early printing, Crete and Cyprus under ...
has put it: "Crete is the place ''par excellence'' where the meeting of the West with the Greek East took place." The first important works of Cretan literature appear in the 14th and early 15th centuries.
Stephanos Sahlikis Stephanos Sahlikis or Sachlikis (Στέφανος Σαχλίκης), (1330 - after 1391) was a Cretan from Handax (Heraklion) lawyer and poet who wrote satirical poems in vernacular Greek. His poems are written in political verse, and are the fir ...
, the first known Greek poet to use the couplet form consistently, wrote humorous poems with autobiographical elements, such as ''Praise of Pothotsoutsounia'', ''Council of the Whores'' and ''The Remarkable Story of the Humble Sachlikis''. Janus Plousiadenos' ''Lamentation of the Mother of God on the Passion of Christ'', a religious poem, was arguably quite popular. Nevertheless, perhaps the most important of these early texts, is '' Apokopos'' by Bergadis. It was probably written around 1400, and is the earliest known vernacular text to have passed into printed form, in 1509. Composed in rhyming couplets in political verses, it is a tale of a trip to
Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
which pokes fun at religion and popular beliefs of that time. Other known poets are Marinos Falieros, and Leonardos Dellaportas. The heyday of Cretan Renaissance literature is placed between 1590 and the
Ottoman conquest of Crete Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
in 1669. The principal characteristic of this period is that almost all the works are dramas. The two most prominent figures are
Georgios Chortatzis Georgios Chortatzis or Chortatsis ( el, Γεώργιος Χορτάτζης/Χορτάτσης; c. 1545 – c. 1610) was a Greek dramatist in Cretan verse. He was, along with Vitsentzos Kornaros, one of the main representatives of a school of lite ...
and
Vitsentzos Kornaros Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros ( el, Βιτσέντζος or ) or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan poet, who wrote the romantic epic poem '' Erotokritos''. He wrote in vernacular Cretan dialect ( Cretan Greek), and w ...
. Georgios Chortatzis' ''
Erofili ''Erofili'', also spelled as ''Erophile'' ( el, Ερωφίλη), is the most famous and often performed tragedy of the Cretan theater. It was written around 1600 in Rethymno in Crete (then a Venetian colony) by Georgios Chortatzis and first publi ...
'' (ca. 1595) is deemed as the finest play of Cretan theatre. Written in the local idiom, it is a violent
tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
narrating the condemned love between Erofili, daughter of the Egyptian king Philogonos, and the youth Panaretos. Before ''Erofili'', Chortatzis also wrote ''Katzourbos'', a comedy, and ''Panoria'', an influential pastoral drama. Vitsentzos Kornaros is best-known for ''
Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' ( el, Ἐρωτόκριτος) is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses, the last twelve of which refer to the poet himself. It is written in th ...
'' (ca. 1600), which is regarded as the undoubted masterpiece of this period, and one of the greatest achievements of modern Greek literature. It is a poem of over 10,000 rhyming 15-syllable iambic verses in the Cretan dialect, narrating the chivalrous love of Erotokritos for the princess Aretousa and their union after long and arduous adventures of deception and intrigue. Kornaros is also believed by some to be the author of ''The Sacrifice of Abraham'' (1635), a religious drama inspired by the famous episode of the Old Testament, considered a landmark of Cretan theatre. Other surviving plays are the comedies ''Fortounatos'' (ca. 1662) by Markos Antonios Foskolos, and anonymous ''Stathis'', and the dramatic ''King Rodolinos'' (1647) by Andreas Troilos. ''Voskopoula'' (ca. 1600), a short narrative poem of unknown author, is the only non-drama text of this period, apart from ''Erotokritos''.


Ionian islands, Aegean Archipelago and Cyprus

In the 16th and 17th centuries Ionian islands, some lyric poetry existed alongside a didactic or hagiographical prose tradition, much of which was printed in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400  ...
.
Corfiot Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek islands, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of G ...
Iakovos Trivolis wrote ''The Story of Tagapiera'', a panegyric of a Venetian admiral, and ''The History of the King of Scotland and the Queen of England'', a tale taken from
Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so we ...
's ''
Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...
'', or, more possibly, from one of its imitations. Alexios Rartouros, also from Corfu, devised a prototype of popular preaching in his ''Sermons'' (1560). In 1526,
Nikolaos Loukanis Nikolaos Loukanis was a 16th-century Greek Renaissance humanist. He worked in Venice where in 1526 he produced a translation of Homer's Iliad into modern Greek which is credited as one of the first literary texts published in Modern Greek (as most ...
, who lived in Venice, printed a paraphrase translation of
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
's ''
Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'', noted for being the most lavishly illustrated edition of any vernacular Greek work. Teodoro Montseleze's religious drama ''Eugena'' (''editio princeps'' in 1646) is the only extant play from that period. Other known authors are Markos Defanaras from
Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...
, and Ioannikios Kartanos from Corfu. Even though lyric poetry was popular in Rhodes, a territorial entity of the Knights Hospitaller between 1310 and 1522, only a few texts have survived. ''Erotopaignia'', the most prominent of them, was written in the mid-15th century. Emmanuel Georgillas or Limenitis, wrote ''The Plague of Rhodes'', a narrative poem about the plague that hit the
city of Rhodes Rhodes ( el, Ρόδος, ''Ródos'' ) is the principal city and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is the seat and a mu ...
in 1498. To him is also attributed one of the surviving versions of ''The Tale of Belisarius'', a poem relating the exploits and unjust punishment of general
Belisarius Belisarius (; el, Βελισάριος; The exact date of his birth is unknown. – 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under the emperor Justinian I. He was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the Mediterranean terri ...
.
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
was also an important intellectual center, evidenced mainly by the '' Cypriot Canzoniere'', a 16th century athology of 156 poems. They are translations and imitations of poems by
Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
,
Jacopo Sannazaro Jacopo Sannazaro (; 28 July 1458 – 6 August 1530) was an Italian poet, humanist and epigrammist from Naples. He wrote easily in Latin, in Italian and in Neapolitan, but is best remembered for his humanist classic '' Arcadia'', a masterwork ...
,
Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, ( la, Petrus Bembus; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was an Italian scholar, poet, and literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller, and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the It ...
, and others. Unlike other contemporary texts, they are written in the Italian hendecasyllable and in a variety of forms familiar to the Renaissance (
sonnet A sonnet is a poetic form that originated in the poetry composed at the Court of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the Sicilian city of Palermo. The 13th-century poet and notary Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the sonnet's invention, ...
s, octaves, terzinas,
sestina A sestina (, from ''sesto'', sixth; Old Occitan: ''cledisat'' ; also known as ''sestine'', ''sextine'', ''sextain'') is a fixed verse, fixed verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, normally followed by a three-line envoi. The wor ...
s, barzelettas, etc). In fact, this collection contains the first true sonnets in Greek language, and is widely considered one of the highest points of Renaissance literature in Greek language. Cyprus also had a significant tradition of prose chronicles, which together with all literary output declined after the subjugation by the Ottomans. 17th century
Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...
, saw significant theatrical activity, in the form of religious plays, which in the best cases show facets of the high
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, and
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
. Examples include ''Eleazar and the Seven Maccabee Boys'' by Michael Vestarchis, ''Three Boys in the Furnace'' by Grigorios Kontaratos and ''Drama of the Man Who Was Born Blind'' by Gabriel Prosopsas.


From 1669 to 1830

After 1669, many Cretans fled to the Ionian islands, thus transplanting the rich Cretan theatrical tradition there. Tragedy ''Zenon'', played in 1683, was written by an anonymous Cretan playwright. Petros Katsaitis' tragedies ''Ifigenia'' (1720) and ''Thyestes'' (1721), and Savoyas Soumerlis' satirical ''Comedy of the Pseudo-Doctors'' (1745) are evidently modelled after Cretan plays, alongside the influence from late Renaissance tragedy, commedia dell' arte, and Italian theatre in general. Theatrical activity of the Aegean islands was continued in the first decades of the 18th century. Examples include the anonymus ''David'', written in frankochiotika, and ''Tragedy of St. Demetrius'', performed in 1723 on
Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...
. The most important poem of the early 18th century is ''Flowers of Piety'' (1708), a miscellany edited by boarding students at the Flanginian College in Venice. Ecclesiastical rhetoric makes up a significant part of the intellectual output of the time, with the likes of Ilias Miniatis, and Frangiskos Skoufos.


Diafotismos

Greek Enlightenment, also known as Diafotismos, was influenced primarily by the French and German variations, but it was also based on the rich heritage of Byzantine culture. Its chronological limits can be loosely placed between 1750 and 1830, with the years 1774 to 1821 marking the zenith. In essence, the historical cycle of the Enlightenment for the Greeks ends with the outbreak of the
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...
, some time after the end of the European Enlightenment. Essentially, Diafotismos was a string of educational initiatives, such as translation of classics, compilation of dictionaries, and establishment of schools. The literary production of this era points to clear intellectual trends: a turn towards the classics and the sciences, the formation of a new moral order, and, above all, emancipation from Church authority.
Phanar Fener (; Greek: Φανάρι, ''Phanári''; in English also: Phanar) is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. Its name is a Turkish transliteration of the word "phanarion" (Medieval Greek: Φανάρι ...
in Istanbul became an intellectual centre of high importance, due to the
Phanariots Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...
, members of the Greek elite of the Ottoman Empire, who had acquired great wealth and influence during the 17th century. Phanariots were also active in the Danubian Principalities, where many of them were appointed
Hospodar Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master". Etymology and Slavic usage In the Slavonic language, ''hospodar'' is usually applied to the master/owner of a house or other properties and also the head of a family. ...
s, and the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. So pivotal was their role, that the 18th century has been named "the century of the Phanariots." Paschalis Kitromilides identifies scholars
Methodios Anthrakites Methodios Anthrakites ( el, Μεθόδιος Ανθρακίτης; 1660–1736) was a Greek Orthodox cleric, author, educator, mathematician, astronomer, physicist, and philosopher. He directed the Gioumeios and Epiphaneios Schools in Ioannina. ...
, Antonios Katiphoros, Vikentios Damodos, and Nikolaos Mavrocordatos as the precursors of Diafotismos. Mavrocordatos's novel ''Parerga of Philotheos'' (1718) did not have any effect on the development of Greek letters, but today it can be viewed as a forerunner of the new era of Greek literature. Kaisarios Dapontes lived a turbulent life and, after becoming a monk, he wrote numerous poems, such as ''Mirror of Women'', ''Garden of Graces'', and ''Concise Canon of Many Amazing Things to be Found in Many Cities, Islands, Nations and Animals''. His works were very popular among all walks of life, and he is today regarded as the most important poet of his age. Clergyman Evgenios Voulgaris was the first great figure of Diafotismos. His oeuvre, consisting of translations of
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, pamphlets, treatises, essays and poems, had a decisive impact on the course of the movement.
Iosipos Moisiodax Iosipos Moisiodax or Moesiodax (; el, Ιώσηπος Μοισιόδαξ; 1725–1800) was a Greek philosopher, an Eastern Orthodox deacon, and one of the greatest exponents of the modern Greek Enlightenment. He was also director of the Princely ...
, Christodoulos Pablekis, and Dimitrios Katartzis were also significant representatives of modern Greek Enlightenment, although they did not contribute to literature ''per se''.
Adamantios Korais Adamantios Korais or Koraïs ( el, Ἀδαμάντιος Κοραῆς ; la, Adamantius Coraes; french: Adamance Coray; 27 April 17486 April 1833) was a Greek scholar credited with laying the foundations of modern Greek literature and a majo ...
worked on political writings and translations of ancient and contemporary texts, but his central position in the history of Greek literature is due to his conception of
Katharevousa Katharevousa ( el, Καθαρεύουσα, , literally "purifying anguage) is a conservative form of the Modern Greek language conceived in the late 18th century as both a literary language and a compromise between Ancient Greek and the contempor ...
, a purified form of the Greek language. He also was instrumental in the founding of ''
Hermes o Logios ''Hermes o Logios'', also known as ''Logios Ermis'' ( el, , "Hermes the Scholar") was a Greek periodical printed in Vienna, Austria, from 1811 to 1821. It is regarded as the most significant and longest running periodical of the period prior to ...
'', the most important periodical prior to the War of Independence. His prefaces to the first four books of Homer's ''Iliad'' (known as ''The Running Reverend'') mark a launching pad for modern prose narrative. The ferment created by the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
in Greek politics and social thought in the last decade of the eighteenth century found its most dramatic expression in the intellectual and political activities of
Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( el, Ρήγας Φεραίος , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; rup, Riga Fereu) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis ( el ...
. Feraios translated foreign authors and wrote revolutionary texts and poems, of which '' Thourios'' is the most famous. Although his plans for an armed revolt against the Ottomans failed, he served as an inspiration for future generations and has been named the "National Bard". Cultivation of literature is detected mostly in the last quarter of the 18th century, and intensified in the years preceding the War of Independence. In 1785, Georgios N. Soutsos wrote ''The Unscrupulous Voevod Alexandros'', a three-act comedy in prose, with which the genre of Phanariot satire begins. The 1789 untitled libel by an unknown author (
notname In art history, a ''Notname'' (, "necessity-name" or "contingency-name") is an invented name given to an artist whose identity has been lost. The practice arose from the need to give such artists and their typically untitled, or generically title ...
d "Anonymus of 1789") is considered the first manifestation of creative prose in modern Greek. Another important text of this genre is ''Anglofrancorussian'' (1805), a satire written in verse that became a kind of manifesto for the new ideology of the Enlightenment in its most extreme version. Other examples include ''The Character of Valachia'' (ca. 1800), ''The Return, or The Lantern of Diogenes'' (1809), and ''The Comedy of the Apple of Discord'' (before 1820), all by unknown authors. Poetry was centered around two poles: Phanariots and those affected by the phanariot spirit; and the Heptanesians. Alexander Mavrocordatos Firaris, Dionisie Fotino, Michael Perdikaris,
Georgios Sakellarios Georgios Sakellarios ( el, Γεώργιος Σακελλάριος; 1765–1838) was a chief physician at the court of Ali Pasha. He was born in Kozani and studied German and French and also Philosophy in Hungary. In addition to his post at the ...
, and
Athanasios Christopoulos Athanasios Christopoulos ( el, Αθανάσιος Χριστόπουλος; 2 May 177219 January 1847) was a celebrated Greek poet, playwright, a distinguished scholar and jurist. He has been proclaimed a champion of the modern Greek demotic and th ...
belong to the first group, with Sakellarios and Christopoulos considered the most important. Phanariot poetry of the time covered many different themes, including romantic love, allegory and satire. On the other hand, Ionians mostly wrote patriotic and satirical poems.
Antonios Martelaos Antonios or Antónios is a Greek masculine given name that is a variant of Antonis, as well as a surname. Notable people with this name include the following: Given name *Antonios Antoniadis (born 20th-century), Greek physician * Antonios Antonopo ...
, Thomas Danelakis, and
Nikolaos Koutouzis Nikolaos Koutouzis, or Koutousis (Greek: Νικόλαος Κουτούζης; 17411813) was a Greek painter, poet and priest. He was part of the Heptanese School (painting), Heptanese School, but also a member of the Modern Greek Enlightenment in ...
are called pre-Solomians (i.e. those preceding
Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ ...
), and are the precursors of the flourishing of Heptanese poetry in the following years.
Ioannis Vilaras Ioannis "Yianis" Vilaras ( el, Ἰωάννης (Γιάνης) Βηλαράς; 1771–1823) was a Greek doctor, lyricist and writer who often discussed linguistic matters (see Greek language question) and maintained ties with many figures of the M ...
, an important intellectual figure, is a distinct case, not only because his poems were published posthumously, during the War of Independence, but also because he cannot be categorized in any of the aforementioned literary groups. In the Ionian islands treatrical performances were quite frequent, usually in the form of sketches, isolated scenes from the Cretan dramas, and adaptations of foreign plays. From the indigenous output, Dimitrios Gouzelis's comedy ''Chasis'' (1790 or 1795) is by far the most notable.


War of Independence

The War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire broke out in early 1821 and had an immediate and profound effect on Greek literature. In mainland Greece, literature was sidelined but not nullified, as men of letters tried to inject enthusiasm into the population. Folk poetry, essentially songs inspired by events of the times, also proliferated. Literature proper was nourished mainly in the Ionian islands, now a British protectorate, but maintaining strong cultural ties with Italy.
Andreas Kalvos Andreas Kalvos ( el, Ἀνδρέας Κάλβος, also spelled Andreas Calvos; commonly in Italian: Andrea Calbo; 1 April 1792 – 3 November 1869) was a Greek poet of the Romantic school. He published five volumes of poetry and drama - ''Canzone. ...
was born in Zakynthos, but lived most of his early years in Europe, many of which accompanying
Ugo Foscolo Ugo Foscolo (; 6 February 177810 September 1827), born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and a poet. He is especially remembered for his 1807 long poem ''Dei Sepolcri''. Early life Foscolo was born in Zakynthos in the Io ...
as his secretary. His work in Greek consists of two collections published while living in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, ''The Lyre'' (1824) and ''Lyric Poems'' (1826). These twenty odes are celebrations of the Greek revolution, and combine
Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
with
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. Kalvos also wrote a few poems and three tragedies in Italian, and prose texts in English. His poetry was met with indifference by his contemporaries, but was rediscovered and reassessed in the late 19th century.
Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ ...
hailed from Zakynthos, too, and studied in Italy, where he was introduced to the ideas of the Enlightenment, Classicism and emerging Romanticism. His first poems were written in Italian, but his appearance in Greek letters coincides with the commencement of the War. In 1823, Solomos composed '' Hymn to Liberty'', a poem of 158
quatrains A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
, the first two stanzas of which constitute the national anthem of Greece. During that period he also wrote ''The Destruction of Psara'', ''
The Free Besieged '' "The Free Besieged" ( el, Οι Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, ''Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi'') is an epic, unfinished work, composed by Dionysios Solomos and inspired by the third siege of Missolonghi (1825–1826), a crucial ...
'', and ''The Woman of Zakynthos''. Solomos is characterized by experimentalism in both language and form, having introduced into Greek a number of Western metrics (e.g.
ottava rima Ottava rima is a rhyming stanza form of Italian origin. Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, it later came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works. Its earliest known use is in the writings of Giovanni Boccaccio. The otta ...
,
terza rima ''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: The last word of the second line in one tercet provides the rh ...
) that freed Greek poetry from the compulsion toward the decapentasyllabic verse. His poems were written in the demotic language, showcasing that it can be used in poetry of high aesthetic quality. Literary activity in Ionian islands was not limited to poetry. Ioannis Zambelios from
Lefkada Lefkada ( el, Λευκάδα, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas ( Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of G ...
was a prolific writer, recognised for his attempts to revive Greek theatre. He also wrote short stories, poems, and essays. Zakynthian noblewoman Elizabeth Moutzan-Martinegou is considered the first female writer of modern Greece. She translated works of
ancient literature Ancient literature comprises religious and scientific documents, tales, poetry and plays, royal edicts and declarations, and other forms of writing that were recorded on a variety of media, including stone, stone tablets, papyri, palm leaves, and ...
and wrote poems and plays, most of which are now lost. Today, she is best remembered for her autobiography, and has been described as the "progenitor of Greek feminist thought".


From 1830 to 1930


First decades after the liberation

Between 1830 and 1880, Romanticism was the dominant movement in Greek literature. As the first Greek state consisted only of a small section of the present-day Greek mainland and a few islands, nationalism was ever-present in literature of the first decades, but gradually other themes emerged. The Ionian islands reunited with Greece in 1864 and continued being a major intellectual centre. Simultaneously, several men of letters from unredeemed lands had congregated in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, spurring the formation of the so-called
First Athenian School The term First Athenian School ( el, Α΄ Αθηναϊκή Σχολή) denotes the literary production in Athens between 1830 and 1880. After Greek Independence, the basic intellectual centres of the Greek world were the Ionian Islands (with ...
. Moreover, many participants of the War of Independence, including
Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis ( el, Θεόδωρος Κολοκοτρώνης; 3 April 1770 – 4 February 1843) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. Kolokotronis's g ...
,
Christoforos Perraivos Christoforos Perraivos ( el, Χριστόφορος Περραιβός) was a Greek officer of the Greek War of Independence, member of the Filiki Eteria and author. In non-Greek sources his name is usually found as ''Per(r)evo(s).'' Biography Pe ...
,
Emmanuil Xanthos Emmanuil Xanthos ( el, Εμμανουήλ Ξάνθος; 1772 – November 28, 1852) was a Greek merchant. He was one of the founders of the Filiki Eteria ("Society of Friends"), a Greek conspiratorial organization which opposed the Ottoman Empir ...
, and Nikolaos Kasomoulis, wrote memoirs. The importance of these testimonial texts lies not only on historiographical grounds, but on their literary value as well, since they are written in a lively demotic language. Especially Ioannis Makriyannis's memoir, written between 1829 and 1850, is indeed considered a landmark of Greek literature. Heptanese literature was marked by Solomos reaching his poetical maturity, as well as by the appearance of many other authors. Poet and politician Aristotelis Valaoritis was a central figure of this new generation. He developed an epic manner with romantic contrasts, deriving his themes from the War of Independence and the acts of the
klepht Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...
s.
Georgios Tertsetis Georgios Tertsetis ( el, Γεώργιος Τερτσέτης 1800, Zakynthos – 15 April 1874, Athens) was a Greek independence fighter, historian, politician, poet, writer, judge and philosopher. He is best known, along with Anastasios Polyzo ...
published a wide array of texts (eulogies, essays, journalism, plays, and lyric verse) and assisted Revolution veterans write their memoirs. Other writers include Iakovos Polylas, disciple of Solomos with important work on philology and translation,
Andreas Laskaratos Andreas Laskaratos ( el, Ανδρέας Λασκαράτος; 1 May 1811 – 23/24 July 1901) was a satirical poet and writer from the Ionian island of Cefalonia (or Kefallinia), representative of the Heptanese School (literature). He was excom ...
, noted for his satirical texts, and Gerasimos Markoras, best known for the heroic poem ''The Oath''.
Alexandros Soutsos Alexandros Soutsos ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Σοῦτσος) (1803–1863) was a Greek poet from a prominent Phanariote family. Soutzos family He founded the Greek Romantic school of poetry. Soutsos was born in Istanbul in 1803 from Chia ...
, who published his first poems during the War of Independence, is considered the initiator of the First Athenian School. It is generally accepted that he and his brother
Panagiotis Panagiotis or Panayiotis ( el, Παναγιώτης, ), "Παν" (all) "άγιος" (holy or saint) suffix "-της" (which can mean "of the"), is a common male Greek name. It derives from the Greek epithet Panagia or ''Panayia'' ("All-Holy") for ...
introduced Romantic movement into liberated Greece. Panagiotis Soutsos is known for his work on both poetry and prose, as well as for being the first to envisage and propose the revival of the ancient Olympic Games.
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He w ...
was a multifarious author of great significance. He produced poetry, plays, dictionaries, books of philological and archaeological interest, and wrote Greece's first historical novel, ''The Lord of Morea'' (1850).
Demetrios Bernardakis Demetrios Bernardakis ( el, Δημήτριος Βερναρδάκης, ''Dimitrios Vernardakis'', also transliterated ''Dimitrios Bernardakis''), (3 December 1833—25 January 1907) was a polymath writer and Professor of History at the National and ...
(''Maria Doxapatri'' - 1858, ''Fausta'' - 1893) was a major playwright of the time. However, as Katharevousa is an "un-theatrical" language, his work is largely forgotten. Initially, representatives of the Athenian School accepted the coexistence of the two languages, i.e. Demotic Greek and Katharevousa, but as time went on they championed the latter. Its representatives took
French Romanticism 19th-century French literature concerns the developments in French literature during a dynamic period in French history that saw the rise of Democracy and the fitful end of Monarchy and Empire. The period covered spans the following political re ...
as a model, in contrast to the Ionian writers who were influenced by the Italian counterpart. Even though prose fiction was mostly cultivated in Athens, the foremost examples of this period were far from the spirit of the Athenian School. Iakovos Pitsipios' satire ''Xouth the Ape'' (1849) makes up Greece's first sociological novel. ''The Papess Joanne'' (1866) is the best-known book of
Emmanuel Rhoides Emmanuel Rhoides ( gr, Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης; 28 June 1836 – 7 January 1904) was a Greek writer and journalist. Biography Born in Hermoupolis, the capital of the island of Syros, to a family of rich aristocrats from Chios — ...
, a fierce and indefatigable satirist. Inspired by the famous legend, it is today considered a classic of Greek literature. Historical novel ''Loukis Laras'' (1879) by
Demetrios Vikelas Demetrios Vikelas (also Demetrius Bikelas; el, Δημήτριος Βικέλας; 15 February 1835 – 20 July 1908) was a Greek businessman and writer; he was the first President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), from 1894 to 18 ...
, a prolific author and translator, stands out for its naturalistic style and marked the beginning of a new era for Greek prose.


New Athenian School and beyond

In the late 19th century, an influx of new literary movements (
Parnassianism Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a French literary style that began during the positivist period of the 19th century, occurring after romanticism and prior to symbolism. The style was influenced by the author Théophile Gautier as well as by th ...
, Naturalism,
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...
,
Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
) rejuvenated Greek literature. 1880 is considered a watershed, due to the publication of two poetic collections that reflect this process: ''Spider Webs'' by Georgios Drossinis and ''Verses'' by Nikos Kambas. It is in fact the debut of a new poetical generation, known as the 1880s Generation or the New Athenian School. Poets associated with it, stood for a rejection of Katharevousa and distanced themselves from Romantic form and content, which was now greatly based on rural life, village sketches, folk material, and everyday events.
Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...
, who dominated the Greek literary scene for almost fifty years, is regarded as the chief proponent of the New Athenian School. He produced some prose writings and a play, but he is best known as a poet and literary critic. Palamas promoted, perhaps more than any of his contemporaries, the use of the colloquial language in literature, establishing its eventual dominance. Among his numerous poetic collections, perhaps the most important are ''Iambs and Anapests'' (1897), ''Life Immovable'' (1904), ''The Dodecalogue of the Gypsy'' (1907), and ''The King's Flute'' (1910).
Georgios Souris Georgios (, , ) is a Greek name derived from the word ''georgos'' (, , "farmer" lit. "earth-worker"). The word ''georgos'' (, ) is a compound of ''ge'' (, , "earth", "soil") and ''ergon'' (, , "task", "undertaking", "work"). It is one of the most ...
, frequently called "the modern
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
", was immensely popular at the time. He contributed satirical poems to '' Asmodaios'' and held a high-esteemed literary salon at his home, which was frequented by the likes of Palamas,
Zacharias Papantoniou Zacharias Papantoniou ( el, Ζαχαρίας Παπαντωνίου, ''Zacharias Papandoniou'') was a Greek writer. He was born in Karpenissi of Evrytania in February 1877 and died in Athens in 1940. He spent the first years of his life in Granit ...
, and Babis Anninos. Apart from those aforementioned, Aristomenis Provelengios, Georgios Stratigis, Ioannis Polemis,
Kostas Krystallis Kostas Krystallis ( el, Κώστας Κρυστάλλης; 1868–1894) was a Greek author and poet, representative of 19th century Greek pastoral literature. He was born an Ottoman subject in Epirus, but escaped to Greece after being denounced ...
, and Ioannis Gryparis are also considered members of the New Athenian School. Perhaps the most prominent among them are Krystallis, famous for his bucolic poems, and Gryparis who wrote some of the finest sonnets of Greek literature.
Constantine P. Cavafy Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gree ...
, an adherent of Symbolism,
Decadence The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
, and
Aestheticism Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be pro ...
, wrote both historical and lyric poetry with equally erotic sensibility, in a subtle mixture of demotic and purist Greek. He denied or even ridiculed traditional values of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
,
patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
, and
heterosexuality Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
. Cavafy was underestimated by his contemporaries, but his influence on subsequent generations to this day is unsurpassed. He is one of the greatest poets of modern Greece, and probably the most famous abroad. Among his best-known poems are ''
Waiting for the Barbarians ''Waiting for the Barbarians'' is a novel by the South African writer J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980, it was chosen by Penguin for its series '' Great Books of the 20th Century'' and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geo ...
'', ''Walls'', ''Thermopylae'', and ''Ithaca''.
Kostas Varnalis Kostas Varnalis ( el, Κώστας Βάρναλης; 14 February 1884 – 16 December 1974) was a Greek poet. Life Varnalis was born in Burgas, Eastern Rumelia (now in Bulgaria), in 1884. As his name suggests, his family originated from Varna; ...
produced a variety of writings, including prose and criticism, but he is principally revered for his poems reflecting his
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
ideology. Particularly his compositions ''The Burning Light'' (1922) and ''Besieged Slaves'' (1927), characterized by effective satire and daring language, secured him a unique place in the history of modern Greek literature. Varnalis was highly influential and is seen as the inaugural figure in the long tradition of 20th-century leftish Greek poetics. Other major poets who can be described as distinct cases are
Lorentzos Mavilis Lorentzos Mavilis ( el, Λορέντζος Μαβίλης, Spanish: Lorenzo Mabili; 6 September 1860 – 28 November 1912) was a Greek sonneteer, war poet, and chess problems composer. He is best known for his sonnets. He was born in Ithaca an ...
and
Angelos Sikelianos Angelos Sikelianos ( el, Άγγελος Σικελιανός; 28 March 1884 – 19 June 1951) was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. His themes include Greek history, religious symbolism as well as universal harmony in poems such as ''The Moonstru ...
. Mavilis, an eminent sonneteer, saw his first poems published in the 1890s, but followed the Heptanese tradition, in which he incorporated symbolistic elements. Sikelianos is renowned for his powerful lyricism and his use of
free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French ''vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Definit ...
, the first Greek to do so. He caught the readership's eyes with the collection ''The Light-Shadowed'' (1909) and by his death in 1951, he had left an extensive literary oeuvre that contains great richness of expression. Around the 1880s, a boom in short story publication reshaped prose writing. A new type of narrative, ethography, was formed on the bases of Realism and Naturalism. Its principal characteristic is the detailed depiction of a small, more or less contemporary, traditional community in its physical setting. The heyday of ethography is roughly placed between 1880 and 1900.
Georgios Vizyinos Georgios Vizyinos (Greek: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός, March 8, 1849 - April 15, 1896) was a Greek short story writer and poet. He is considered highly influential in Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek l ...
, mainly a short-story writer, is thought of as the pioneer of modern Greek prose He published most of his tales, including the iconic ''My Mother's Sin'', ''Who Was the Killer of My Brother?'', and ''The Only Journey of His Life'', between 1883 and 1884. Vizyinos was the first to deal with important issues of modern Greek literature, such as the concepts of ‘structure’ and ‘difference’, and the effectiveness of the literary text.
Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiatho ...
stands among the most popular Greek prose writers. A prolific author, he wrote over 200 novels, novellas and short stories, of which ''The Merchants of the Nations'' (1883), ''The Gypsy Girl'' (1884), ''Dream on the Wave'' (1900), and ''The Murdereress'' (1903) stand out. Papadiamantis used techniques unknown to Greek readers at the time, and created an aesthetic mould that was closer to Greek reality. Another important exponent of ethography was Andreas Karkavitsas. He mostly wrote short stories, but his undoubted masterpiece is the novella ''The Beggar'' (1896). Like the other major prose writers of the time, he wrote in Katharevousa. However, he later became a strong supporter of Demotic. Grigorios Xenopoulos had an abundant output of short stories, novels, plays, and literary criticism. While his prose work is by no means of negligible significance, Xenopoulos is mostly revered for his contributions to theater; plays like ''The Secret of Countess Valeraina'' (1904), ''Fotini Santri'' (1908), and ''Stella Violanti'' (1909) have earned him the characterization of a "stunning figure" of modern Greek theatre. He was also the co-founder of ''
Nea Estia ''Nea Estia'' ( el, Νέα Εστία) is a Greek literary magazine which has been circulating since 1927. It was founded by Konstantinos Sarandopoulos (d. 1972) with the international writer and publisher Gregorios Xenopoulos and is the longes ...
'', the most prestigious literary periodical in Greece.
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
cannot be easily subsumed to any particular period; while his career began in 1906, his most successful works were published during the decade of 1940 and afterwards. These include the novels ''
Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...
'' (1946), '' Christ Recrucified'' (1951), ''
Captain Michalis ''Captain Michalis'' ( el, Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης) is a 1953 novel by the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis. In the English, German, and French translations (as well as many others) it is known as ''Freedom or Death''. The writer was influ ...
'' (1953), and '' The Last Temptation'' (1955). The author himself however, considered the long poem ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...
'' (1938) as his
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
. He also wrote theatrical plays, travel books, memoirs and essays. Kazantzakis is extensively revered and is the most famous Greek novelist outside Greece. Konstantinos Theotokis wrote both prose and poetry. His best known works (''Honor and Money'' - 1912, ''The Convict'' - 1919, ''Slaves in their Chains'' - 1922) lie in the realm of
social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
. Other authors of note from this period are Konstantinos Chatzopoulos and Dimosthenis Voutyras.
Penelope Delta Penelope Delta (; 1874, Alexandria, Khedivate of Egypt – 2 May 1941, Athens, Greece) was a Greek author. She is widely celebrated for her contributions to the field of children's literature. Her historical novels have been widely read and hav ...
has earned a special reputation with her books for young readers, and is recognized as the first great writer of children literature in Greece. Some of her most widely read novels are ''Fairy Tale without Name'' (1910), ''In the Years of the Bulgar-Slayer'' (1911), and ''The Secrets of the Marshes'' (1937). Delta was also an avid supporter of the movement to universalize the use of the demotic language in school. The disastrous ending of the Greco-Turkish War in 1922 signalled a period of manifold crises. In poetry, the lofty style of Palamas and Sikelianos was replaced by gentle lyricism that sprang from the convergence of Symbolism and Aestheticism. It was manifested by a distinct group of poets, sometimes called "the generation of 1920," whose main common characteristic was a feeling of decadence and pessimism. In this group belong Napoleon Lapathiotis, Kostas Ouranis,
Kostas Karyotakis Kostas Karyotakis ( el, Κώστας Καρυωτάκης, 11 November S October 30 1896 – 20 July 1928) is considered one of the most representative Greek poets of the 1920s and one of the first poets to use iconoclastic themes in Greece. Hi ...
,
Tellos Agras Tellos Agras ( el, Τέλλος Άγρας, c. 1880 – 7 June 1907) was the ''nom de guerre'' of Sarantis-Tellos Agapinos ( el, Σαράντης-Τέλλος Αγαπηνός), a Greek officer of the Hellenic Army who played a prominent role duri ...
, and
Maria Polydouri Maria Polydouri (; 1 April 1902 – 29 April 1930) was a Greek poet who belonged to the school of Neo-romanticism. Life Polydouri was born in Kalamata. She was the daughter of the philologist Eugene Polydouris and Kyriaki Markatou, ...
. Karyotakis is generally regarded as the finest of them. His poetry excellently renders the atmosphere of the time and has been very influential to future generations. His suicide in 1928, at the age of 31, had a profound effect and set a fashion for melancholy and sardonic verse that became known as Karyotakism.


From 1930 to World War II

The decade of the 1930 was pivotal in the development of Greek literature. The
Generation of the '30s The Generation of the '30s () was a group of Greek writers, poets, artists, intellectuals, critics, and scholars who made their debut in the 1930s and introduced modernism in Greek art and literature. The Generation of the '30s is also cited as a so ...
refers to a diverse group of illustrious writers and poets who introduced
Modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
into Greek literature. This innovation was more apparent in poetry than in prose though, as many fiction writers continued employing older techniques and models. The literary magazine ''Nea Grammata'', which commenced circulation in 1935, constituted a hub for the major representatives of this group.


Poetry

The poets of the '30s Generation were largely influenced by Anglo-American modernism and French
Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
. Particularly the latter exerted wide influence on them. They examined themes such as tradition, memory and history. The most important poets of the Generation of the '30s are
Giorgos Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
,
Odysseas Elytis Odysseas Elytis ( el, Οδυσσέας Ελύτης , pen name of Odysseas Alepoudellis, el, Οδυσσέας Αλεπουδέλλης; 2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996) was a Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator, regarded as th ...
,
Andreas Embirikos Andreas Embirikos ( el, Ανδρέας Εμπειρίκος; September 2, 1901 in Brăila – August 3, 1975 in Kifissia, Attica) was a Greek surrealist poet and one of the first Greek psychoanalysts. Life Embirikos was born in Brăila, R ...
,
Nikos Engonopoulos Nikos Egonopoulos ( el, Νίκος Εγγονόπουλος; October 21, 1907 – October 31, 1985) was a Greek painter and poet. He is one of the most important members of "Generation of the '30s",Eleni Kefala''Peripheral (Post) Modernity'' ...
, Yannis Ritsos, and
Nikiforos Vrettakos Nikiforos Vrettakos ( el, Νικηφόρος Βρεττάκος; Krokees, 1 January 1912 – Athens, 4 August 1991) was a Greek writer and poet. Biography Nikephoros Vrettakos was born in the village of Krokees (Κροκεές), near Sparta, Laco ...
. Giorgos Seferis is regarded by some as the leading figure of the Generation of the '30s. His debut, the collection ''Strophe'' (1931), represented innovation and an exercise in renewing the versified stanza. However, his most definitive work and the most truly representative text of Greek Modernism is the compound poem ''Mythistorema'' (1935), which contains the basic concepts and recurring themes of the poetry to follow: common, almost unpoetic speech and a continued intermingling of history and mythology. In 1963, Seferis became the first Greek to be awarded the
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
. Odysseas Elytis published his first poems in 1935. His experience in the
Greco-Italian War The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...
marked him deeply and was later recast in one of his most famous compositions, ''Lay Heroic and Funeral for the Fallen Second Lieutenant in Albania'' (1946). Other works of his are ''It is Worthy'' (1959), widely referred as his masterpiece, ''The Sovereign Sun'' (1971), and ''The Monogram'' (1972). In his compositions, modernist European poetics and Greek literary tradition are fused in a highly original lyrical voice. In 1979, Elytis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Andreas Embirikos is the initiator of Greek Surrealism. His 1935 debut, ''Blast Furnace'', written with the automatic method, contains the first surrealist poems in Greek. It holds a unique place in modern Greek poetry, largely due to its groundbreaking structure and absence of logical coherence. Other works by Embirikos include the poetic collection ''Hinterland'' (1945) and ''The Great Eastern'' (1991), the longest, most sexually explicit of all Greek novels. Alongside Embirikos, Nikos Engonopoulos is the foremost figure of Greek Surrealism. Many of his volumes, including ''Don't talk to the Driver'' (1938), and ''The Pianos of Silence'' (1939), irritated or even shocked the readers. The peak achievement of his poetry, however, is considered ''Bolivar'' (1944), which goes beyond Surrealism. Yiannis Ritsos was inordinately prolific and excelled in several poetic forms. More than 100 volumes were published in his lifetime, but his best-known are '' Epitaphios'' (1936), ''Romiosini'' (1954), and ''Moonlight Sonata'' (1956). Regularly persecuted for his political beliefs, Ritsos is seen as an ideal combination of the qualities of the engaged citizen committed to his public duty, and the expression of the naturally restless and "libertarian" artist. His figure has been extremely influential, permeating the post-
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
generation of leftist poets. Nikiforos Vrettakos started under the strong influence of Karyotakism. Later on, he introduced Surrealistic elements in his poetry, thus standing next to the other members of the '30s Generation. Love for mankind, nature and lyricism with a happy disposition are the main characteristics of his most mature work. He left an extended oeuvre of poems, prose, and essays. Melissanthi,
Nikos Kavvadias Nikos Kavvadias ( el, Νίκος Καββαδίας; 11 January 1910 in Nikolsk-Ussuriysky – 10 February 1975 in Athens) was a Greek poet, writer and a sailor by profession. He used his travels around the world, the life at sea and its adventures ...
and
Nikos Gatsos Nikos Gatsos ( el, Νίκος Γκάτσος; 8 December 1911 – 12 May 1992) was a Greek poet, translator and lyricist. Biography Nikos Gatsos was born in 1911 in Asea in Arcadia, a district of the Peloponnese, where he finished primary school ...
are another three notable poets of that era. They co-existed with the Generation of the '30s but are seldom considered part of it. Melissanthi, frequently numbered among the most significant women Greek poets, is known for the poetic collections ''Insect Voices'' (1930), ''Prophecies'' (1931), and ''The Barrier of Silence'' (1965). Her work has been described as an affirmation of death, rife with metaphysical agony and empathic humanism. Kavvadias is one of the most beloved poets in Greece. A sailor by profession, he took the readership by surprise with his first collection, ''Marabu'' (1933). He reappeared in 1947 with ''Fog'', but the rest of his poetic work was published posthumously. His poems about life at sea combine modernist techniques with traditional elements, such as rhyme. Gatsos published only one collection, ''Amorgos'' (1943), which however established him as one of the most prominent Greek surrealists.


Prose

In contrast to poetry, most fiction writers of the '30s Generation were not so much concerned with discovering new literary modes. Nonetheless, they revitalized prose by turning their eyes to broader horizons, trying to trace more complicated psychological conditions, and facing more serious social and human problems. Furthermore, they went beyond the limits of the short form and expressed themselves in the contemporary form ''par excellence'', the novel. Some writers belonging in the Generation of '30s, had actually made their debut earlier. Such an example is Photis Kontoglou, a vigorous intellectual, who worked as a novelist, critic, art professor, restorer, and icon painter. His work is difficult to place within any literary group, school or movement, yet he is habitually considered part of the Generation of the '30s. Kontoglou brought considerable change at the time, due to his evocative language and enchanting fable-like stories (''Pedro Cazas'' - 1920, ''Vasanta'' - 1923, etc). Stratis Myrivilis was a veteran of the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
, the Greco-Turkish War, and
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, thus war is the dominant theme in his books. He is best known for ''Life in the Tomb'' (1930), a novel recounting the experiences of a sergeant on the
Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...
. Its great significance lies on its anti-war message, as well as the author's attempt to depict local idioms. His other books include ''The Schoolmistress with the Golden Eyes'' (1933), ''
Vasilis Arvanitis ''Vasilis Arvanitis'' ( el, Ο Βασίλης ο Αρβανίτης) is a novella by the Greek writer Stratis Myrivilis set on the island of Lesbos (Mytilene) in the 1910s. Setting The novella is set in Myrivilis' home village of Sykamnia on ...
'' (1943), and '' The Mermaid Madonna'' (1949). Ilias Venezis is the author of the ''
Number 31328 ''Number 31328'' ( el, Το Νούμερο 31328) is an autobiographical novel by Elias Venezis. It tells of his experiences as a captive of the Turkish Army on a death march into the Anatolian interior. Background During the Greek genocide, ...
'' (1931), one of the most powerful accounts in Greek of the horror of imprisonment and enslavement, which drew heavily on his ordeal as a prisoner in the Turkish labour battalions during the Greco-Turkish War. Venezis also wrote ''Tranquility'' (1939) and ''Aeolian Earth'' (1943), classics of modern Greek literature as well.
Yiorgos Theotokas Yiorgos Theotokas ( el, Γιώργος Θεοτοκάς), formally Georgios Theotokas (Γεώργιος Θεοτοκάς; 27 August 1905 – 30 October 1966), was a Greek novelist. Biography He was born in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) ...
was a diverse personality, having worked on many forms, most notably prose, drama, and essay. His novels, of which ''Argo'' (1936) and ''Patients and Travellers'' (1964) stand out, cover a wide spectrum of political, societal and psychological themes. His 1929 essay ''Free Spirit'' is seen by many as the intellectual manifesto of the '30s Generation. Unlike many of his contemporaries,
M. Karagatsis M. Karagatsis ( el, Μ. Καραγάτσης; 23 June 1908 – 14 September 1960) was the pen name of the important modern Greek novelist, journalist, critic and playwright Dimitrios Rodopoulos (Δημήτριος Ροδόπουλος). The pe ...
didn't rely on personal experience for his books. He handled a vast array of narrative forms, ranging from the historical to the social, to fantasy literature and exotic adventure, using a charming language and displaying highly original plots. His best novels are ''Colonel Lyapkin'' (1933), ''Chimaera'' (1936), ''Jungermann (1938) and '' The 10'' (1960). Karagatsis is probably the most avidly read fiction writer of this generation. Kosmas Politis (''Lemon Grove'' - 1930, ''Eroica'' - 1937, ''At Hadjifrangou's'' - 1962),
Angelos Terzakis Angelos Terzakis ( el, Άγγελος Τερζάκης; 16 February 1907 – 3 August 1979) was a Greek writer of the "Generation of the '30s". He wrote short stories, novels and plays. Life He was born in Nafplion in 1907 and lived there until 19 ...
(''The Violet City'' - 1937, ''Princess Isabeau'' - 1945), and
Pandelis Prevelakis Pandelis Prevelakis ( el, Παντελής Πρεβελάκης, sometimes transliterated Panteles Prevelakes; 18 February 1909 – 15 March 1986) was a Greek novelist, poet, dramatist and essayist—one of the leading Greek prose writers of the " ...
(''Chronicle of a Town'' - 1938, ''The Sun of Death'' - 1959) are also major prose writers of the Generation of the '30s. Compared to the abovementioned authors, Giannis Skarimbas and Melpo Axioti displayed more obvious modern preoccupations. Skarimbas left a diverse body of work, including poetry and drama, but he is best remembered for his novels and novellas, where he employs an iconoclastic, avant-garde style. These include ''The Divine Goat'' (1933), ''Mariambas'' (1935), ''Figaro's Solo'' (1939), and ''The Waterloo of Two Fools'' (1959). Axioti is one of the most important women writers in modern Greek letters. Her books, such as ''Difficult Nights'' (1938) and ''Shall we dance, Maria?'' (1940), are noted for their style and originality. She is also known for the poetic collections ''Coincidence'' (1939) and ''Contraband'' (1959). In the same modernist vein are Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis, and Stelios Xefloudas.


Post-war literature

After the liberation from the Triple Occupation, the
Greek Civil War The Greek Civil War ( el, ο Eμφύλιος όλεμος ''o Emfýlios'' 'Pólemos'' "the Civil War") took place from 1946 to 1949. It was mainly fought against the established Kingdom of Greece, which was supported by the United Kingdom ...
broke out. Life did not return to normality before 1950, but the great trials of the War have been reflected in creative literature. An unprecedented number of new poets emerged, while already established writers continued dominating the literary scene.


Poetry

Poets who began writing poetry in the first two decades after the end of World War II dealt with the bleakness of the Occupation and the Civil War and the belying of the widespread hope for a better future following the collapse of
Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
. At the same time, others adopted an existential approach in order to focus on themes such as the meaning of life and of death or the painful daily routine of the body. Stylistically, despite trying to break away from the Generation of the '30s, they followed their paradigm of low-key voice and abstract or elliptic forms of expression. The poetry of the so-called first post-war generation is exemplified by
Manolis Anagnostakis Manolis Anagnostakis (10 March 1925 – 23 June 2005) was a Greek poet and critic at the forefront of the Marxist and existentialist poetry movements arising during and after the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s. Anagnostakis was a leader amongst ...
,
Aris Alexandrou Aris Alexandrou ( el, Άρης Αλεξάνδρου; real name: Αριστοτέλης Βασιλειάδης, ''Aristotelis Vasiliadis''; 24 November 1922 – 2 July 1979) was a Greek novelist, poet and translator. Always on the Left and always ...
,
Tassos Livaditis Tasos Leivaditis ( el, Τάσος Λειβαδίτης; 1922–1988) was a Greek poet, short story writer and literary critic who belonged to the postwar generation that was deeply marked by the struggles and failures of the communist movement. Hi ...
, and Titos Patrikios.
Takis Sinopoulos Takis Sinopoulos ( el, Τάκης Σινόπουλος; Pyrgos, Elis, March 17, 1917 – Athens, April 25, 1981) was a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic gro ...
, Miltos Sachtouris,
Eleni Vakalo Eleni Vakalo ( el, Ελένη Βακαλό; 1921 – 2001) was a Greek poet, art critic and art historian. Biography Eleni Vakalo, née Stavrinou, was born in 1921, in Constantinople, and in 1922 her parents moved to Athens. She studied archaeol ...
,
Nanos Valaoritis Ioannis (Nanos) Valaoritis ( el, Ιωάννης (Νάνος) Βαλαωρίτης; 5 July 1921 – 12 September 2019) was a Greek writer, widely published as a poet, novelist and playwright since 1939; his correspondence with George Seferis (''Al ...
, and
Nikos Karouzos Nikos Karouzos ( el, Νίκος Καρούζος) was a Greek modernist poet. He was born in Nafplion on 17 July 1926 and died in Athens on 28 September 1990. He published his first poems in 1949. He also wrote literary criticism and essays on the ...
are major representatives of this cluster as well. Manolis Anagnostakis' grim experiences during World War II and the Civil War are given expression in his poetry, which is characterized by coexistence of lyricism and satire. His poetic output is rather brief, but it has had a disproportionate influence on contemporary Greek literature. ''Epochs I'', his debut collection, was published in 1945, but his personal pinnacle is ''The Target'' (1971). Aris Alexandrou wrote poems characterised by strangely lyrical verses. His poetic body of work, out of which ''Still this Spring'' (1946) and ''Bankrupt Line'' (1952) stand out, is limited but significant nevertheless. However, it is often overshadowed by the success of his only novel, ''The Mission Box'' (1975). Tassos Livaditis combined lyricism and sensitivity with rage. His involvement into left-wing politics formed the basis for his first poems, but he later turned to pure
existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
, in which his childhood memories combine with discreet, rather obscure religious references. Some of his best known works are ''Battle at the Edge of the Night'' (1952), ''It's Windy at the World's Crossroads'' (1953), and ''Violin for One-armed Man'' (1976). Titos Patrikios is a poet whose main preoccupations are politics, love and everyday existence. His verses are defined by clarity of thought, mild pessimism and scepticism. Some of his collections are ''Dirt Road'' (1954), ''Apprenticeship'' (1963), and ''Disputes'' (1981). Takis Sinopoulos, influenced by existentialism, made big impression with his first collections, such as ''Verge'' (1951) and ''The Meeting with Max'' (1956). ''Deathfeast'' (1970) is another famed work of his. Sinopoulos' verse depicts desolate individual and collective landscapes which reflect the painful and far-reaching consequences of World War II and the Civil War. Miltos Sachtouris and Nanos Valaoritis belong to the second wave of Greek Surrealism. Sachtouris, known for ''The Forgotten'' (1945), ''The Walk'' (1960), and ''Vessel'' (1971), wrote poetry that is simultaneously compassionate and macabre. Valaoritis (''The Punishment of the Magi'' - 1947, ''Breeding Ground for Germs'' - 1977) frequently restored older forms and made use of surrealistic modes to achieve poetic self-transcendence. Poet and art historian Eleni Vakalo, who has been described as "one of the most respectable figures of post-war intellectual life", also incorporated elements of Surrealism. She is known for ''Theme and Variations'' (1945), ''Recollections from a Nightmarish City'' (1948), and ''Genealogy'' (1972). Nikos Karouzos has been labeled by some as a philosophical poet, while others consider him more of a religious one. Indeed, he began his poetic career with strongly Christian verse, which he gradually abandoned. His collections include ''The Return of Christ'' (1953) and ''Neolithic Nocturne in Kronstadt'' (1987). During the '50s and '60s, poetry began to diversify. Many poets focused upon the social pathology and economic recession of the post-war period, reflecting the massive urbanization that took place during the '60s, while others turned to erotic poetry. This new group, also known as the second post-war generation, is comprised by poets born after 1929; their distinction with the previous generation is based solely on the fact that, due to their young age, they weren't active participants of the Resistance or the Civil War.
Kiki Dimoula Vasiliki “Kiki” Dimoula (née Radou; el, Κική Δημουλά; 6 June 1931 – 22 February 2020) was a Greek poet. She was the first female poet ever to be included in the prestigious French publisher Gallimard’s poetry series. Work ...
is recognised as one of the greatest female poets of modern Greece. Her work drew thematically on the endless trials of everyday life, and was characterised by an immediate and intense confessional language. Her best known collactions are ''Darkness of Hell'' (1956), ''In Absentia'' (1958), ''The Bit of the World'' (1971), and ''The Last Body'' (1981). Dinos Christianopoulos was a daring poet, not deterred by prudery of his time. He is best known for his erotic poetry of homosexual tones, found in collections such as ''Defenceless Sorrow'' (1960) and ''The Body and the Woodworm'' (1964). However, he also wrote scathing poems dealing with societal themes (''The Cross-Eyed Man'' - 1967). Other poets belonging to the second post-war generation are Nikos-Alexis Aslanoglou, Vyron Leontaris, Tassos Porfyris, Thomas Gorpas, Zefi Daraki, Markos Meskos, and Anestis Evangelou.


Prose

Post-war prose is perhaps of greater diversity than the verse of the period. Writers were markedly different from their predecessors; having grown up during the Occupation, the Resistance and the Civil War they clashed with the establishment and were intensely critical of every kind of authority. Moreover, they revived short story and tried out grafting modernist techniques, including the
internal monologue Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech. Intr ...
,
stream-of-consciousness In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a narrative mode or method that attempts "to depict the multitudinous thoughts and feelings which pass through the mind" of a narrator. The term was coined by Daniel Oliver in 1840 in ''First Li ...
, self-referentiality and
intertextuality Intertextuality is the shaping of a text's meaning by another text, either through deliberate compositional strategies such as quotation, allusion, calque, plagiarism, translation, pastiche or parody,Gerard Genette (1997) ''Paratexts'p.18/ref>H ...
, upon more traditional forms of narrative. In the immediate post-war period, some of the most noteworthy literary personalities are women, such as Margarita Liberaki and Tatiana Gritsi-Milliex. Liberaki is chiefly known for her novel ''
Three Summers ''Three Summers'' is an Australian romantic comedy film, written and directed by Ben Elton. It was filmed and is set in Western Australia, at a fictional summer music festival called 'Westival' (based on the real-life Fairbridge Festival). Over ...
'' (1946). It is considered one of the most important post-war prose texts and has been described as being "ahead of its time." Her work in theatre is also of considerable merit. Gritsi-Milliex (''Theseon Square'' - 1947, ''On Street of the Angels'' - 1949, ''In the First Person'' - 1958) had a long career with strong inclination to experimentation.
Lili Zografou Lili Zografou (Help:IPA/English, /zɒˈɣrɑːfʊ/; Greek: Λιλή Ζωγράφου; June 17, 1922 – October 2, 1998) was a Greek journalist, novelist, dramatist, essayist, and political activist, best known for ''Nikos Kazantzakis: enas traghik ...
appeared in that period too, but her better-known books (''Occupation: Prostitute'' - 1978, ''Love was one day late'' - 1994) were published much later. Overall, her work is noted for its non-conformist and feminist content. A later example is Dido Sotiriou, one of the greatest female prose writers of modern Greece. She lived a turmoiled life, much of which is reflected on fer writings. Her novels have received wide acclaim and particularly ''Farewell Anatolia'' (1962), about the Smyrna Catastrophe, is regarded as a landmark of modern Greek literature. She also wrote ''The Dead are Waiting'' (1959) and ''Commandment'' (1976). In 1946, ''The Broad River'', a book on the Greco-Italian War, by Giannis Beratis was published. Written in a journal-like way, it signalled a trend of similar novels, such as ''Pyramid 67'' (1950) by Renos Apostolidis, ''The Siege'' (1953) by Alexandros Kotzias and ''The Grooves of the Millstone'' (1955) by Nikos Kasdaglis. Dimitris Chatzis made his debut with the novel ''The Fire'' (1946), and later on he focused mainly on short stories, as in ''The End of our Small Town'' (1960). His overall work is limited, but is praised for its simplicity and its "poetic" realism. Although he was not the first to be engaged with
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
,
Yannis Maris Yannis Tsirimokos (1916–1979) was a Greek left-wing journalist, better known under the name Yannis Maris (Γιάννης Μαρής) as a writer of detective fiction. From 1953, Maris wrote over forty short and well plotted novels that at the ...
is acknowledged as the father of the genre in Greek. He wrote a large number of novels, of which the best-known are ''Crime in Kolonaki'' (1953), ''Crime at the Backstage'' (1954), ''The Death of Timotheos Konstas'' (1961), and ''Vertigo'' (1968). Spyros Plaskovitis established himself both at home and abroad with ''The Dam'' (1960), an allegorical novel about the fears and insecurities of the post-war individual. His short stories collections, such as ''The Storm and the Lamp'' (1955) and ''Barbed Wire'' (1974), are also notable. Antonis Samarakis is one of the most widely translated of contemporary Greek authors. He quickly established himself with his first books, ''Wanted: Hope'' (1954) and ''Danger Signal'' (1959). However, his most famous work is ''The Flaw'' (1966), one of the most important Greek books about totalitarianism. His works touch on a range of current issues in Greek political and social life, exposing the violence and tyranny of the modern state.
Vassilis Vassilikos Vassilis Vassilikos ( el, Βασίλης Βασιλικός, born 18 November 1934) is a Greek writer and diplomat. Biography He was born in Kavala to parents native to the island of Thasos. His father was an MP with the Liberal Party. He grew u ...
caused a sensation with his novella ''The Narration of Jason'' (1953). Since then, he has embraced practically every type of literary genre, establishing himself as one of the most productive, popular and widely translated Greek writers. His most famous work is the political thriller ''Z'' (1966), followed by ''The Plant, the Well, the Angel'' (1961), ''The Photographs'' (1964), and ''The Monarch'' (1970). During the 60's appeared a crop of writers of great impact. While the events of the Occupation, the Resistance and the Civil War remained one of the basic elements of their writing, they expansed their thematology to various societal subjects of the time. Their eagerness to experiment in style was one of their main traits. Stratis Tsirkas is perhaps the most outstanding prose writer of post-war Greece. He owns his fame to the trilogy ''Drifting Cities'' (''The Club'' - 1961, ''Ariagni'' - 1962, ''The Bat'' - 1965), which has been said that it propelled modern Greek novel to a "more advanced level." It is exalted not only for its monumental length, but also for introducing the Greek readership to entirely new techniques of narration. His other books include ''Noureddine Bomba'' (1957) and ''The Lost Spring'' (1976).
Giorgos Ioannou Giorgos (also mentioned as Yorgos or Georges) Ioannou (1926 – 2017) was a Greek artist born in Athens. He is considered to have been one of the main representatives of the Pop Art movement in Greece. In his work by adopting the main aspe ...
began his career as a poet, but he is better-known as a short story writer. His collections, most notably ''Out of Self-Respect'' (1964), ''The Sarcophagus'' (1971) and ''Our Blood'' (1978), are known for their unusual mixture of self-analysis and intimate realism and have earned him a comparison with
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
. Despite his very small body of work,
Costas Taktsis Costas Taktsis ( el, Κώστας Ταχτσής ; 8 October 1927 – 27 August 1988) was a Greek writer. Described as a 'landmark of post-war literature in Greece', Taktsis wrote ''The Third Wedding'' ( el, Το τρίτο στεφάνι, To trí ...
is a prominent figure, due to ''The Third Wedding'' (1962), a novel about the Greek petit bourgeoisie, widely considered a masterpiece of modern Greek literature. He also published ''Small Change'' (1972), a collection of short stories. Menis Koumantareas was one of the most versatile and productive writers of his generation. He wrote novels and short stories with equal success. His main literary concern was to depict the claustrophobic influence of social environment upon individuals. Koumandareas' best-known works include ''The Pin-ball Machines'' (1962), ''The Glass Factory'' (1975), ''Mrs Koula'' (1978), and ''The Handsome Captain'' (1982). Thanassis Valtinos is one of the most influential writers of his generation. He dealt with the atrocities of the Civil War and explored the issue of post-war immigration, setting new standards for prose writing with his innovative style. ''The Book of the Days of Andreas Kordopatis'' (1972), ''Descent of the Nine'' (1978), and ''Data from the Decade of the Sixties'' (1989) are some of his best known books. The 60's was also a time when children's and adolescents' literature began to flourish. Especially ''Wildcat under Glass'' (1963) by
Alki Zei Alki Zei (Greek: Άλκη Ζέη) (December 15, 1925 – February 27, 2020) was a Greek novelist and children's writer. Biography Zei was born in Athens. She studied in the philosophy school of Athens University, the Drama School of the At ...
is considered a classic work of the field. Zei's other books include ''Petros' War'' (1971) and ''Achilles’ Fiancée'' (1987). Another inlfuential children's author is
Georges Sari Georges Sari ( el, Ζωρζ Σαρή) or Zorz Sari (born Georgia Sarivaxevani; 22 August 1925 – 9 June 2012), a Greek author and actress, was born in Athens. Her mother was French and her father was Greek from Ayvalik, Turkey. She grew up in Gre ...
, best known for '' The Treasure of Vaghia'' (1969) and ''Ninette'' (1993).


Theatre

The years following World War II were a period of prosperity for theatre. Dramatic plays often depicted the sad aspects of a cheerless life, the suffering and passions of simple, poor folk within a suffocating routine, or presented their own poetic idioms, creating extraordinary and unrealistic worlds. At the same time, comic plays proved extremely popular and many of them were adapted to equally successful films. Iakovos Kampanellis was a central personality of this renewal. The success of his early plays, especially ''The Courtyard of Miracles'' (1957), blazed new trails for Greek playwrights of the time. He became involved in various theatrical styles and his plays display significant divergences between various periods. Kampanellis is also known for the play ''Our Great Circus'' (1972) and the novel ''Mauthausen'' (1963).
Dimitris Psathas Dimitris Psathas ( el, Δημήτρης Ψαθάς; 1907 – 13 November 1979) was a modern Greek satirist and playwright. He was born in Trabzon of Pontos, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1907. He went to Athens in 1923 and finished his s ...
was one of the leading humorists of post-war Greece. He initially gained fame with his novel ''Madam Shoushou'' (1941), but he is best remembered for his large quantity of plays, that aptly commented on various issues of his day. These include ''Von Dimitrakis'' (1947), ''Looking for a Liar'' (1953), and ''Wake up Vasilis'' (1965) Loula Anagnostaki is one of the most powerful dramatist of this era, known for developing socialist and feminist themes in an alienated way. Perhaps her best-known work is the ''Trilogy of the City'' (1965), comprised by ''Overnight Stay'', ''The City'', and ''The Parade''. Other important playwrights of this period are Kostas Mourselas (''Men and Horses'' - 1959, ''Oh, what a World, Dad!'' - 1972), who adopted elements from the
theatre of the absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post–World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style of ...
, Dimitris Kechaidis (''The Fair'' - 1964, ''Laurels and Oleanders'' - 1979), known for combining realism with humour, and Vassilis Ziogas (''Antigone's Matchmaking'' - 1958, ''The Comedy of the Fly'' - 1967), known for his surrealist imagery.


Greek Junta and afterwards

Mid-20th century was marked by the
Regime of the Colonels In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...
, which governed the country from 1967 to 1974. Cultural life was severely affected: books were subject to censorship or prohibition and many writers (e.g. Yannis Ritsos,
Elli Alexiou Elli Alexiou (sometimes Ellē; – 1986) was a Greek author, playwright and journalist. The daughter of a printer and publisher, Alexiou was born in Heraklion, Crete. She taught French in a high school, and was politically active, joining the ...
) were exiled or placed in detention. Despite persecutions, numerous writers opposed the regime through their art. One of the most apparent examples is ''Eighteen Texts'' (1970), an anti-dictatorship statement signed by 18 well-known authors, including Giorgos Seferis, Takis Sinopoulos, Stratis Tsirkas, Menis Koumandareas,
Rodis Kanakaris-Roufos Rodis Kanakaris-Roufos (Greek: Ρόδης Κανακάρης-Ρούφος, 1924–1972) was a Greek diplomat and writer. Biography He was the son of Loukas Kanakaris-Roufos and a member of the Rouphos family that descended from Sicily and th ...
, and Manolis Anagnostakis. The term "Generation of the '70s" is generally used to describe poets who published their first book during the dictatorship, although there are many exceptions. They were also dubbed the "third post-war generation" and "generation of contention", since they tried to impeach the political and societal alienation of the dictatorship and, later on, of the early
Metapolitefsi The Metapolitefsi ( el, Μεταπολίτευση, , " regime change") was a period in modern Greek history from the fall of the Ioaniddes military junta of 1973–74 to the transition period shortly after the 1974 legislative elections. The m ...
. Integrating influences from various foreign sources, such as the radical political climate of
May 1968 in France Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which ...
or the artistic experiments of
Gruppo 63 The Neoavanguardia ("New Vanguard") was an avant-garde literature of Italy, Italian literary movement oriented towards radical forms of experimentation with language. Some of its most prominent members include Nanni Balestrini, Edoardo Sanguineti, ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, they acted as importers of trends from Europe and America. Frivolous language, irony and humour were prominent components of their poetry. Lefteris Poulios is considered a leading figure of this generation. His poetry, furious and obscene, echoes the Beat movement and inveighs against
consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
and
commercialization Commercialization or commercialisation is the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market. The term often connotes especially entry into the mass market (as opposed to entry into ear ...
. Some of his most powerful poems are found in his early collections, such as ''Poetry'' (1969) and ''Poetry 2'' (1973). Nasos Vagenas writes predominantly about love, death, history/politics, and poetry itself, in verses that are noted for their aphoristic language, subtle innuendos and irony. His collections include ''Pedion Areos'' (1974), ''Biography'' (1978), and ''Roxana's Knees'' (1981).
Jenny Mastoraki Jenny Mastoraki (; born 1949) is a Greek poet and translator. She read Philology at the University of Athens. She belongs to the Genia tou 70, a group of Greek authors who began publishing their work during the 1970s, especially towards the end ...
(''Tolls'' - 1972, ''Kin'' - 1978, ''Tales of the Deep'' - 1983) wrote poetry full of irony and bitterness, standing out for its musicality and rich syntax. Thematically, she deals with subjects such as feminism, censorship and authority.
Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke ( el, Κατερίνα Αγγελάκη-Ρουκ; 22 February 1939 – 21 January 2020) was a Greek poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as ...
is one of the most prominent poets of this generation and the only one that ventured into longer compositions. She excelled in erotic poetry that spoke frankly about passion and its pain. Perhaps her most notable collections are ''Wolves and Clouds'' (1963), ''Magdalene, the Great Mammal'' (1974), ''The Suitors'' (1984), and ''The Anorexia of Existence'' (2011).
Katerina Gogou Katerina Gogou ( el, Κατερίνα Γώγου; 1940–1993) was a Greece, Greek poet, author and actress. Early life From the age of 5 years she started playing in children's plays. However she did not spend pleasant childhood years due to ...
(''Three Clicks Left'' - 1978, ''Idionymo'' - 1980), Manolis Pratikakis (''Libido'' - 1978, ''The Water'' - 2003),
Argyris Chionis Argyris Chionis ( el, Αργύρης Χιόνης; 22 April 1943 - 25 December 2011) was a Greek poet. In 1967, shortly after the military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' mean ...
(''Attempts of Light'' - 1966, ''Shapes of Abscence'' - 1973), Yannis Kondos (''Circular Route'' - 1970, ''The Chronometre'' - 1972), Michalis Ganas (''Unseated Dinner'' - 1978, ''Glass Ioannina'' - 1989),
Maria Laina Maria Laina ( el, Μαρία Λαϊνά; 1947 – 27 December 2023) was a Greek poet. She studied Law at the University of Athens, but she did not practice it, and worked instead as a translator, critic, screenwriter, copy editor, professor of G ...
(''Coming of Age'' - 1968, ''Hers'' - 1985), Vassilis Steriadis (''Mr. Ivo'' - 1970, ''The Private Airplane'' - 1971), and Antonis Fostieris (''The Great Trip'' - 1971, ''Precious Oblivion'' - 2003) are also notable members of the '70s Generation. Contrastingly to poetry, prose was rather scarce during the years of the dictatorship, even though many already established writers saw their books published. By extension, most of the leading writers of the '70s appeared in 1974 or afterwards. Their works use a variety of older and new means of expression and provide apt notion of the present and the past time. Naturally, they had not yet cut themselves off from politics, but for most of them politics was now simply a starting point to deal with more modern themes such as the struggle between the personal and the collective within a constantly changing social universe. Ilias Papadimitrakopoulos, Dimitris Nollas, Antonis Sourounis, Margarita Karapanou, and Maro Douka stand as some of the most significant prose writers that established themselves during the '70s. Papadimitrakopoulos is primarily known for his short stories, especially those in ''Toothpaste with Chlorophyll'' (1973). Nollas (''The Fairy of Athens'' - 1974, ''Our Best Years'' - 1984, ''The Tomb near the Sea'' - 1992) is known for his perceptive portrayal of the Greek society over the years. Sourounis (''The Teammates'' - 1977, ''The Dance of the Roses'' - 1994, ''Gus the Gangster'' - 2000) delved into the world of the
gastarbeiter (; both singular and plural; ) are foreign worker, foreign or migrant workers, particularly those who had moved to West Germany between 1955 and 1973, seeking work as part of a formal guest worker program (). As a result, guestworkers are ge ...
by combining humour with bitterness. Margarita Karapanou is best-known for ''Kassandra and the Wolf'' (1976), a
bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...
that deals with authoritarianism and feminism. Maro Douka (''Fool's Gold'' - 1979, ''The Floating City'' - 1983) is applauded for her prose clarity and the insightful depiction of the changes of Greek society during the past decades.


From 1980 to 1999

The '80s saw a remarkable rise of prose. Readers and publishers massively turned to it and by the end of the decade it had taken over from poetry, traditionally the most prestigious literary form in Greece. Writers left behind politics and chose private life as the core of their books, while embarking on an intensive pursuit of new forms and genres. Progressively, this trend intensified and by the '90s, Greek prose was a colorful mosaic, in both thematology and means of expression. Minimalism, debunkment, parody, and mixing of different storytelling genres are common elements. Giannis Xanthoulis is one of the most popular writers that debuted in the '80s, having sold more than 1,5 million copies. His books, including ''The Great Death'' (1981), ''The Dead Liqueur'' (1987), and ''The Christmas Tango'' (2003), are known for the use of everyday language and a feeling of sexual emancipation. Eugenia Fakinou, with ''Astradeni'' (1982) and ''The Seventh Garment'' (1983), contributed to the modern Greek novel as a sophisticated reinspection of history. Her other books include ''Who Killed Moby Dick?'' (2001) and ''Garden Ambitions'' (2007). Zyranna Zateli is widely considered one of the most exciting Greek authors writing today. She won critics and readers alike with the short-story collection ''Last Year's Fiancée'' (1984), but her most famous work is the novel ''At Twilight they Return'' (1993), which falls under the genre of
magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) Magical (foaled 18 May 2015) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who excelled over middle distances and was rated in the top twenty racehorses in the world in 2018 and ...
. Andreas Mitsou appeared in early '80s and today stands as a productive and much-awarded writer of short stories and novels. He is perhaps best-known for ''The Feeble Lies of Orestes Halkiopoulos'' (1995), ''Wasps'' (2001), and ''Mister Episkopakis'' (2007).
Ersi Sotiropoulou Ersi Sotiropoulos is a Greek writer. She was born in Patras and now lives in Athens. She has published more than a dozen books of fiction and poetry. Her work has been translated into many languages, and has won numerous domestic and international ...
is regarded as one of the pioneers of this generation, mostly thanks to her novel ''The Prank'' (1982). Today, she is probably best-known for ''Zigzag through the Bitter Orange Trees'' (1999), which was successful both at home and abroad. Her other books include ''Eva'' (2009) and ''What's left of the Night'' (2015). Rhea Galanaki, who had already made her debut as a poet under the dictatorship, is one of contemporary Greece's most discussed novelists. Her books, particularly ''The Life of Ismail Ferik Pasha'' (1989) and ''Eleni, or, Nobody'' (1998), transformed the genre of historical novel, by emphasizing the psychology of the characters. Her work has been widely translated.
Christos Chomenidis Christos Chomenidis ( el, Χρήστος Χωμενίδης) (born 3 August 1966, Athens, Greece) is a Greece, Greek novelist. He studied Law at the University of Athens and in Moscow and Communication Studies in Leeds. He worked as a lawyer befo ...
debuted with ''The Wise Child'' (1993) and quickly established himself thanks to his subversive style of writing and wide array of settings and themes. His novel ''Niki'' (2014), awarded with
European Book Prize The European Book Prize (french: Le Prix du Livre Européen) is a European Union literary award established in 2007. It is organized by the association Esprit d'Europe in Paris. It seeks to promote European values, and to contribute to European ci ...
, is already recognized as a high achievement of contemporary Greek literature.
Petros Markaris Petros Márkaris ( el, Πέτρος Μάρκαρης; born 1 January 1937 in Istanbul) is a Greek-Armenian writer of detective novels starring the grumpy Athenian police investigator Costas Haritos. Biography The son of an Armenian entrepreneu ...
made his literary debut in 1995 with ''Late-Night News'', and has since become a leading writer of detective novels. Many of his books, including ''Zone Defense'' (1998) and ''Che committed Suicide'' (2003), have been translated in numerous foreign languages. Ioanna Karystiani is one of the most notable writers that appeared during the '90s, establishing herself with the novels ''Little England'' (1997) and ''Suit on Soil'' (2000). Her work is defined by rare consistency; her books ''Sacks'' (2010) and ''Time Pensive'' (2011) are considered among the best of the decade of 2010. Chrysa Dimoulidou is one of the best-selling Greek writers, since her books have sold around 2 million copies. However, they are panned by the critics and have been called "light literature". Dimoulidou made her debut in 1997 with ''Roses do not always smell'' and has since led a trend of various successful female writers of similar style. Among her other books are ''God's Tears'' (2005), ''The Crossroad of Souls'' (2009), and ''The Cellar of Shame'' (2014). Other critically acclaimed and/or commercially successful books from the '80s and '90s are ''History'' (1982) by Giorgis Giatromanolakis, ''Fantastic Adventure'' (1985) by Alexandros Kotzias, ''The Crowd'' (1985-1986) by Andreas Franghias, ''The Great Square'' (1987) and ''The Endless Writing of Blood'' (1997) by Nikos Bakolas, ''Red Dyed Hair'' by Kostas Mourselas (1989), '' The Daughter'' (1990) by
Pavlos Matesis Pavlos Matesis (12 January 1933 – 20 January 2013) was a Greek novelist, playwright and translator. He was born in Divri, a village in the Peloponnese and had a peripatetic youth. He studied acting, music and languages, and taught drama at the ...
, ''Saturday Night at the Edge of the City'' (1996) by Soti Triantafyllou, ''The Slapfish'' (1997) by Lenos Christidis, and ''The Search'' (1998) by Nikos Themelis. The poets that appeared in the '80s have been collectively named the "generation of the private vision", as their poetry is characterized by heavy introversion. These include Charis Vlavianos,
Giorgos Blanas Giorgos, Yiorgos or Yorgos ( el, Γιώργος) is a common abbreviation of the given name Georgios. Notable people with the name include: Persons Giorgos * Giorgos Agorogiannis, Greek footballer * Giorgos Alkaios, pop musician and singer * G ...
, Nikos Davvetas, Ilias Lagios, Sotiris Trivizas,
Thanasis Chatzopoulos Thanasis (Θανάσης) is a Greek given name, short for Athanasios (Αθανάσιος), which can mean "eternal life" or "immortal". Notable people with the name Thanasis or Thanassis include: *Thanasis Antetokounmpo (born 1992), Greek bask ...
, and Maria Koursi. They detached themselves from their immediate predecessors and developed poetics closer to older generations. Free verse was dominant, leading to a new kind of formalism. Moreover, they did not share interest in the same themes, apart from classic topics such as death and love. Politics was underepresented, partly due to the complacency born after the 1981 parliamentary elections, when
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
formed Greece's first progressive government. This generation as a whole has been unfavourably compared to previous generations, but many of its members have nevertheless been praised for achieving early maturity. The "decline" of poetry continued in the '90s. Only a few poets appeared during that decade and most of them are unknown to the wide readership. Publishing companies mainly preferred either prose books, which were more profitable, or, in some cases, works from already famous poets. In general, poets of this generation display a wide variety of styles and carried on trends that appeared in the '80s. In the new millennium,
Dimitris Lyacos Dimitris Lyacos ( el, Δημήτρης Λυάκος; born 19 October 1966) is a contemporary Greek poet and playwright. He is the author of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. Lyacos's work is characterised by its genre-defying form and the avant-garde ...
's Poena Damni trilogy ( Z213: Exit,
With the People from the Bridge ''With the People from the Bridge'' (Greek: ''Με τους ανθρώπους από τη γέφυρα'') is the second part of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy by Greek author Dimitris Lyacos. The book deals with the theme of loss and the return of ...
, The First Death) has been established as one of the best-selling and most translated works of European poetry.


Notable works

* ''
Erofili ''Erofili'', also spelled as ''Erophile'' ( el, Ερωφίλη), is the most famous and often performed tragedy of the Cretan theater. It was written around 1600 in Rethymno in Crete (then a Venetian colony) by Georgios Chortatzis and first publi ...
'' (c.1600), drama by
Georgios Chortatzis Georgios Chortatzis or Chortatsis ( el, Γεώργιος Χορτάτζης/Χορτάτσης; c. 1545 – c. 1610) was a Greek dramatist in Cretan verse. He was, along with Vitsentzos Kornaros, one of the main representatives of a school of lite ...
(noted by
Palamas Palamas (Greek: Παλαμάς) is a town and a municipality in the Karditsa regional unit, Greece. Population 16,726 (2011). Palamas is located south-southwest of Larissa, the capital of Thessaly, northwest of Lamia, north of Sofades, east-nort ...
as the first work of modern Greek theatre) * ''
Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' ( el, Ἐρωτόκριτος) is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses, the last twelve of which refer to the poet himself. It is written in th ...
'' (c.1600), romance by
Vitsentzos Kornaros Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros ( el, Βιτσέντζος or ) or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan poet, who wrote the romantic epic poem '' Erotokritos''. He wrote in vernacular Cretan dialect ( Cretan Greek), and w ...
* ''Thourios or Patriotic hymn'' (1797) by
Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( el, Ρήγας Φεραίος , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; rup, Riga Fereu) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis ( el ...
* '' Hymn to Liberty'' (1823) by
Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ ...
* ''Lyrika/Lyrics'' (1826) by
Andreas Kalvos Andreas Kalvos ( el, Ἀνδρέας Κάλβος, also spelled Andreas Calvos; commonly in Italian: Andrea Calbo; 1 April 1792 – 3 November 1869) was a Greek poet of the Romantic school. He published five volumes of poetry and drama - ''Canzone. ...
* ''
The Free Besieged '' "The Free Besieged" ( el, Οι Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, ''Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi'') is an epic, unfinished work, composed by Dionysios Solomos and inspired by the third siege of Missolonghi (1825–1826), a crucial ...
'' (1826–1844) by
Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ ...
* ''History of the Hellenic nation'' (1860-1877) by
Constantine Paparrigopoulos Constantine Paparrigopoulos ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Παπαρρηγόπουλος; 1815 – 14 April 1891) was a Greek historian, who is considered the founder of modern Greek historiography. He is the founder of the concept of historica ...
* '' The Only Journey of His Life'' (1864), novel by
Georgios Vizyinos Georgios Vizyinos (Greek: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός, March 8, 1849 - April 15, 1896) was a Greek short story writer and poet. He is considered highly influential in Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek l ...
* ''The Papess Joanne'' (1866), novel by
Emmanuel Rhoides Emmanuel Rhoides ( gr, Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης; 28 June 1836 – 7 January 1904) was a Greek writer and journalist. Biography Born in Hermoupolis, the capital of the island of Syros, to a family of rich aristocrats from Chios — ...
* ''History of Modern Greek Literature'' (1877) by
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He w ...
* '' Loukis Laras'' (1879), novel by
Demetrius Vikelas Demetrios Vikelas (also Demetrius Bikelas; el, Δημήτριος Βικέλας; 15 February 1835 – 20 July 1908) was a Greek businessman and writer; he was the first President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), from 1894 to 189 ...
* ''Idou o anthropos'' (1886), by
Andreas Laskaratos Andreas Laskaratos ( el, Ανδρέας Λασκαράτος; 1 May 1811 – 23/24 July 1901) was a satirical poet and writer from the Ionian island of Cefalonia (or Kefallinia), representative of the Heptanese School (literature). He was excom ...
* ''My Journey'' (1888) by Ioannis Psycharis, about the
Greek language question The Greek language question ( el, το γλωσσικό ζήτημα, ''to glossikó zítima'') was a dispute about whether the language of the Greek people ( Demotic Greek) or a cultivated imitation of Ancient Greek (''Katharevousa'') should be ...
* ''The Murderess'' (1903), novel by
Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiatho ...
* ''Twelve Lays of the Gypsy'' (1907) by
Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...
* ''The Light-Shadowed'' (1909), poetry collection by
Angelos Sikelianos Angelos Sikelianos ( el, Άγγελος Σικελιανός; 28 March 1884 – 19 June 1951) was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. His themes include Greek history, religious symbolism as well as universal harmony in poems such as ''The Moonstru ...
* ''The King's flute'' (1910) by
Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...
* ''Life in the Tomb'' (1923) by Stratis Myrivilis * ''
Number 31328 ''Number 31328'' ( el, Το Νούμερο 31328) is an autobiographical novel by Elias Venezis. It tells of his experiences as a captive of the Turkish Army on a death march into the Anatolian interior. Background During the Greek genocide, ...
'' (1926), novel by
Elias Venezis Elias Venezis ( el, Ηλίας Βενέζης) (March 4, 1904 - August 3, 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos (), a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvalık (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in Athens in 1973. He wrote many boo ...
* ''Elegies and Satires'' (1927), poetry collection by
Kostas Karyotakis Kostas Karyotakis ( el, Κώστας Καρυωτάκης, 11 November S October 30 1896 – 20 July 1928) is considered one of the most representative Greek poets of the 1920s and one of the first poets to use iconoclastic themes in Greece. Hi ...
* ''Strophe'' (1931), poetry collection by
Giorgos Seferis Giorgos or George Seferis (; gr, Γιώργος Σεφέρης ), the pen name of Georgios Seferiades (Γεώργιος Σεφεριάδης; March 13 – September 20, 1971), was a Greek poet and diplomat. He was one of the most important G ...
* ''Ipsikaminos'' (1935), surrealist collection by Andreas Embeirikos * ''Epitafios'' (1936) by
Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( el, Γιάννης Ρίτσος; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has be ...
(melodized by Mikis Theodorakis) * ''Aeoliki Gi'' (Aeolian land) (1943), novel by
Elias Venezis Elias Venezis ( el, Ηλίας Βενέζης) (March 4, 1904 - August 3, 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos (), a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvalık (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in Athens in 1973. He wrote many boo ...
* ''
Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...
'' (1946), novel by
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
* ''God's Pauper: Saint Francis of Assisi'' (1953), by
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
* ''The Last Temptation of Christ (novel), The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1953), novel by
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
* ''
Captain Michalis ''Captain Michalis'' ( el, Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης) is a 1953 novel by the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis. In the English, German, and French translations (as well as many others) it is known as ''Freedom or Death''. The writer was influ ...
'' (1953), novel by
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
* ''Romiosini'' (1954), by
Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( el, Γιάννης Ρίτσος; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has be ...
(melodized by Mikis Theodorakis) * '' Christ Recrucified'' (1954), novel by Nikos Kazantzakis * ''To Axion Esti'' (1959), poetry collection by
Odysseas Elytis Odysseas Elytis ( el, Οδυσσέας Ελύτης , pen name of Odysseas Alepoudellis, el, Οδυσσέας Αλεπουδέλλης; 2 November 1911 – 18 March 1996) was a Greek poet, man of letters, essayist and translator, regarded as th ...
(melodized by Mikis Theodorakis) * ''Bloody Earth'' (1962), novel by Dido Sotiriou * ''History of the European spirit'' (1966) by Panagiotis Kanellopoulos * ''Z'' (1966) by
Vassilis Vassilikos Vassilis Vassilikos ( el, Βασίλης Βασιλικός, born 18 November 1934) is a Greek writer and diplomat. Biography He was born in Kavala to parents native to the island of Thasos. His father was an MP with the Liberal Party. He grew u ...
* ''Eighteen Short Songs of the Bitter Motherland'' (1973), poetry collection by
Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( el, Γιάννης Ρίτσος; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has be ...
(melodized by Mikis Theodorakis) * '' Z213: Exit'' (2009), by
Dimitris Lyacos Dimitris Lyacos ( el, Δημήτρης Λυάκος; born 19 October 1966) is a contemporary Greek poet and playwright. He is the author of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. Lyacos's work is characterised by its genre-defying form and the avant-garde ...


Theatrical plays

* ''Achilleus or Death of Patroclus'' (1805) by
Athanasios Christopoulos Athanasios Christopoulos ( el, Αθανάσιος Χριστόπουλος; 2 May 177219 January 1847) was a celebrated Greek poet, playwright, a distinguished scholar and jurist. He has been proclaimed a champion of the modern Greek demotic and th ...
* ''Babylonia'' (1836), comedy by Dimitris Vyzantios * ''The Wedding of Koutroulis'' (1845), comedy by
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He w ...
* ''Maria Doxapatri'' (1853) by
Demetrios Bernardakis Demetrios Bernardakis ( el, Δημήτριος Βερναρδάκης, ''Dimitrios Vernardakis'', also transliterated ''Dimitrios Bernardakis''), (3 December 1833—25 January 1907) was a polymath writer and Professor of History at the National and ...
* ''Vasilikos'' (1859) by Antonios Matesis * ''The secret of countess Valerena'' (1904) by Gregorios Xenopoulos * ''Stella Violanti'' (1909) by Gregorios Xenopoulos * ''Protomastoras'' (1910) by
Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in ni ...
(performed also as opera by Manolis Kalomoiris) * ''Long Live Messolonghi'' (1927) by Vasilis Rotas * ''Madam Sousou'' (1942), comedy by
Dimitris Psathas Dimitris Psathas ( el, Δημήτρης Ψαθάς; 1907 – 13 November 1979) was a modern Greek satirist and playwright. He was born in Trabzon of Pontos, then part of the Ottoman Empire, in 1907. He went to Athens in 1923 and finished his s ...
* ''Our Great Circus'' (1972) by Iakovos Kambanellis * ''
With the People from the Bridge ''With the People from the Bridge'' (Greek: ''Με τους ανθρώπους από τη γέφυρα'') is the second part of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy by Greek author Dimitris Lyacos. The book deals with the theme of loss and the return of ...
'' (2014) by
Dimitris Lyacos Dimitris Lyacos ( el, Δημήτρης Λυάκος; born 19 October 1966) is a contemporary Greek poet and playwright. He is the author of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy. Lyacos's work is characterised by its genre-defying form and the avant-garde ...


Gallery

File:Konstantinos Kaisarios Dapontes.jpg, Kaisarios Dapontes File:Athanasios Christopoulos (Imerologion Skokou 1888).jpg,
Athanasios Christopoulos Athanasios Christopoulos ( el, Αθανάσιος Χριστόπουλος; 2 May 177219 January 1847) was a celebrated Greek poet, playwright, a distinguished scholar and jurist. He has been proclaimed a champion of the modern Greek demotic and th ...
File:Martinengo Elisavet.jpg, Elizabeth Moutzan-Martinegou File:Alexandros Rizos Rangavis 1869.JPG,
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Ῥίζος Ῥαγκαβής; french: Alexandre Rizos Rangabé; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He w ...
File:Aristotelis Valaoritis (1886).jpg, Aristotelis Valaoritis File:Demetrius Vikelas.jpg,
Demetrios Vikelas Demetrios Vikelas (also Demetrius Bikelas; el, Δημήτριος Βικέλας; 15 February 1835 – 20 July 1908) was a Greek businessman and writer; he was the first President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), from 1894 to 18 ...
File:Georgios Viziinos (1889).jpg,
Georgios Vizyinos Georgios Vizyinos (Greek: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός, March 8, 1849 - April 15, 1896) was a Greek short story writer and poet. He is considered highly influential in Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek l ...
File:Alexandros Papadiamantis.jpg,
Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiatho ...
File:Georgios Drosinis.JPG, Georgios Drossinis File:Kostis Palamas.JPG,
Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...
File:Andreas Karkavitsas (1910).jpg, Andreas Karkavitsas File:Painting of Kontsantinos Theotokis by Andreas Vranas.jpg, Konstantinos Theotokis File:Ζαχαρίας Παπαντωνίου - Zaharias Papantoniou.jpg,
Zacharias Papantoniou Zacharias Papantoniou ( el, Ζαχαρίας Παπαντωνίου, ''Zacharias Papandoniou'') was a Greek writer. He was born in Karpenissi of Evrytania in February 1877 and died in Athens in 1940. He spent the first years of his life in Granit ...
File:Sikelianos.jpg,
Angelos Sikelianos Angelos Sikelianos ( el, Άγγελος Σικελιανός; 28 March 1884 – 19 June 1951) was a Greek lyric poet and playwright. His themes include Greek history, religious symbolism as well as universal harmony in poems such as ''The Moonstru ...
File:Kostas I Varnalis Alexandria circa 1914.jpg,
Kostas Varnalis Kostas Varnalis ( el, Κώστας Βάρναλης; 14 February 1884 – 16 December 1974) was a Greek poet. Life Varnalis was born in Burgas, Eastern Rumelia (now in Bulgaria), in 1884. As his name suggests, his family originated from Varna; ...
File:Andreas Empiricos 1920.jpg, Andreas Embeirikos File:POLYDOURIMARIA gr.jpg,
Maria Polydouri Maria Polydouri (; 1 April 1902 – 29 April 1930) was a Greek poet who belonged to the school of Neo-romanticism. Life Polydouri was born in Kalamata. She was the daughter of the philologist Eugene Polydouris and Kyriaki Markatou, ...
File:Elias Venezis.jpg,
Elias Venezis Elias Venezis ( el, Ηλίας Βενέζης) (March 4, 1904 - August 3, 1973) is the pseudonym of Elias Mellos (), a major Greek novelist. He was born in 1904 in Ayvalık (Kydonies) in Asia Minor and died in Athens in 1973. He wrote many boo ...
File:Yannis Ritsos - Monemvasia (2).JPG,
Yiannis Ritsos Yiannis Ritsos ( el, Γιάννης Ρίτσος; 1 May 1909 – 11 November 1990) was a Greek poet and communist and an active member of the Greek Resistance during World War II. While he disliked being regarded as a political poet, he has be ...
File:20140408 argostoli258.JPG,
Nikos Kavvadias Nikos Kavvadias ( el, Νίκος Καββαδίας; 11 January 1910 in Nikolsk-Ussuriysky – 10 February 1975 in Athens) was a Greek poet, writer and a sailor by profession. He used his travels around the world, the life at sea and its adventures ...
File:Ο συγγραφέας Γιάννης Μαρής.jpg,
Yannis Maris Yannis Tsirimokos (1916–1979) was a Greek left-wing journalist, better known under the name Yannis Maris (Γιάννης Μαρής) as a writer of detective fiction. From 1953, Maris wrote over forty short and well plotted novels that at the ...
File:Ελένη Βακαλό.jpg,
Eleni Vakalo Eleni Vakalo ( el, Ελένη Βακαλό; 1921 – 2001) was a Greek poet, art critic and art historian. Biography Eleni Vakalo, née Stavrinou, was born in 1921, in Constantinople, and in 1922 her parents moved to Athens. She studied archaeol ...
File:Lili Zografou in her youth2.jpg,
Lili Zografou Lili Zografou (Help:IPA/English, /zɒˈɣrɑːfʊ/; Greek: Λιλή Ζωγράφου; June 17, 1922 – October 2, 1998) was a Greek journalist, novelist, dramatist, essayist, and political activist, best known for ''Nikos Kazantzakis: enas traghik ...
File:Nikos Bakolas November 1987.jpg, Nikos Bakolas File:Soti Triantafyllou.jpg, Soti Triantafyllou


See also

* Greek literature * Cretan literature *
First Athenian School The term First Athenian School ( el, Α΄ Αθηναϊκή Σχολή) denotes the literary production in Athens between 1830 and 1880. After Greek Independence, the basic intellectual centres of the Greek world were the Ionian Islands (with ...
* Heptanese School (literature) * New Athenian School * List of Greek writers * List of Greek poets


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Greece topics Modern Greek literature, Greek literature