Aganice Ainianos (; 1838–1892) was a Greek poet.

Biography

Ainianos was born in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in 1838. Her father was the Greek politician (1788–1848), a founder of the secret society

Filiki Eteria Filiki Eteria () or Society of Friends () was a secret political and revolutionary organization founded in 1814 in Odesa, Odessa, whose purpose was to overthrow Ottoman Empire, Ottoman rule in Ottoman Greece, Greece and establish an Independenc ...

. She was orphaned at an early age and was raised by her uncle, , who was involved in the uprising against King

Otto of Greece Otto (; ; 1 June 1815 – 26 July 1867) was King of Greece from the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece on 27 May 1832, under the Convention of London, until he was deposed in October 1862. The second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ott ...

. They were forced to flee to the mountains and lived in hiding. During her childhood, she studied French, painting, and the

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. She returned to live with her relatives in Athens, studying mathematics at the

Arsakeio Arsakeion (Greek: Αρσάκειον), or Arsakeio (Αρσάκειο), is the name of a group of co-educational independent schools in Greece, administered by the ''Philekpaideutikē Etaireía'' (Φιλεκπαιδευτική Εταιρεία, "S ...

and graduating at the age of 17. She then studied ancient Greek writers, French poets and prose writers. She married Ioannis Mazarakis in

Kythnos Kythnos (, ), commonly called Thermia (), is a Greek island and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in the Western Cyclades between Kea (island), Kea and Serifos. It is from the Athenian harbor of Piraeus. The municipality Kythn ...

in 1860. Her children were Konstantinos Mazarakis-Ainian (b. 1869),

Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian (, 1874–1943) was a Hellenic Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He served thrice as Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, occupied various important ministerial positions and became presiden ...

(b. 1874), and Philippos Mazarakis-Ainian. Ainianos composed poetry for herself. Her experience living in the countryside provided context for her poetry, especially her poems about impoverished working women, nature, and beauty. She wrote in the Greek vernacular rather than

Katharevousa Katharevousa (, , 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 contemporary vernacular, Demotic ...

and her style revealed a sense of realism, free of the age's pseudo-romanticism. Ainianos died in 1892. Her works were not published before her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainianos, Aganice 1838 births 1892 deaths 19th-century Greek poets Greek women poets Poets from Athens 19th-century Greek women writers People from Ypati