Andreas Laskaratos (; 1 May 1811 – 23/24 July 1901) was a satirical poet and writer from the Ionian island of

Cefalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

(or Kefallinia), representative of the Heptanese school. He was excommunicated by the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

because his satire targeted many of the church's prominent members.

Biography

Andreas Laskaratos was born in

Lixouri Lixouri () is a town and a municipality in the island of Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands of western Greece. It is the main town on the peninsula of Paliki, and the second largest town in Kefalonia after Argostoli and before Sami. It is ...

in 1811, at the time when the

Ionian islands The Ionian Islands (Modern Greek: , ; Ancient Greek, Katharevousa: , ) are a archipelago, group of islands in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese ("Seven Islands"; , ''Heptanēsa'' or , ''Heptanē ...

were moving from the French to the British as a

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

. He was considered to be highly spirited by nature, intelligent and glib. He was intensely satirical and constant in his views, publishing works which contrasted the views of his time. The fact that he did not hesitate to freely express his views by criticizing hypocrisy became the main reason behind his arrest and imprisonment, persecutions, and excommunication by the church. He lived through the entire process of unification of the

with mainland

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

but he distanced himself from the opinions of most leaders of the pro-unification movement. During his persecution he lived at times in

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; ; ) or Zante (, , ; ; from the Venetian language, Venetian form, traditionally Latinized as Zacynthus) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands, with an are ...

, London and

Argostoli Argostoli (, Katharevousa: ) is a town and a municipality on the island of Kefalonia, Ionian Islands (region), Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is one of the three municipalities on the island. It has been the capi ...

, where he died in 1901. Being brought up in a wealthy aristocratic family of land-owners, he studied law in Paris, but only practised law when he was in financial need. He was the student of the great poet

Andreas Kalvos Andreas Kalvos (; ; 1 April 1792 – 3 November 1869) was a Greek poet of the Romantic school. He published five volumes of poetry and drama: ''Canzone...'' (1811), ''Le Danaidi'' (1818), (1818), ''Lyra'' (1824) and ''New odes'' (1826). He was ...

and also met Greece's 'national poet'

Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greeks, Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' (, ''Ýmnos eis tīn Eleutherían''), whic ...

, both of whom influenced his later course. He worked as a journalist and published poetry but is more well known as a writer of satire. He married Penelope Korgialeniou (Πηνελόπη Κοργιαλένιου), also from a wealthy family, who bore him two sons and seven daughters. His niece Eleni Lambiri was a conductor, librettist and composer. He published several satirical newspapers such as Lychnos (Λύχνος) that criticized immorality, injustice and hypocrisy. On many occasions he turned against politicians and their incompetence while he also fought against religious prejudices and the corruption of religious authority. His main works include: * (Τα μυστήρια της Κεφαλονιάς) "The mysteries of Cephalonia" * (Ιδού ο άνθρωπος ή ανθρώπινοι χαρακτήρες) "Ecce homo or human characters" * (Ποιήματα και ανέκδοτα) "Poems and anecdotes" * (Οι καταδρομές μου εξαιτίας του «Λύχνου») "The troubles Lychnos caused me" * (Απόκριση στον αφορισμό) "Response to aphorism" *Aftoviografia (Αυτοβιογραφία) "Autobiography"

Anecdotal Incidents

* On his birthday, a neighbour in order to make fun of him sent him a basket full of goat's horns (implying his wife's adultery) with the inscription "For your birthday". Laskaratos replied by sending him a basket full of flowers: "One can only give away what one has in plenty".

Published works

*Poiimata (Ποιήματα) "Poems", ed. Φέξης, Athens, 1916 *Stochasmoi (Στοχασμοί) "Ponderings", ed. Γανιάρης και Σία (Ganiaris et co.), 1921 * (Ήθη, έθιμα και δοξασίες της Κεφαλλονιάς) "Ways, mores and beliefs of Cephalonia", ed. Ελευθερουδάκης, Athens, 1924 *Aftoviogrfafia (Αυτοβιογραφία) "Autobiography", ed. Δημητράκος, Athens, 1927 * (Τα παθήματά μου και οι παρατηρήσεις μου στις φυλακές της Κεφαλλονιάς) "My misfortunes and observations in the jail of Cephalonia", ed. Κοντομάρης και Σία, Athens, 1930 *Techni tou dimigorein kai singrafein (Τέχνη του δημηγορείν και συγγράφειν) "Art of declaiming and writing", ed. Κολιατσάδα, Athens, 1954 *Poiimata (Ποιήματα), ed. Μαρής, Athens, 1958 *Apanta (3 volumes) (Άπαντα) "Omnibus", Athens, 1959 *Viografika mou enthimimata (Βιογραφικά μου ενθυμήματα) "My biographical rememberings", Athens, 1966 *Idou o anthropos (Ιδού ο άνθρωπος), ed. Πάπυρος, Athens, 1969 *Idou o anthropos (Ιδού ο άνθρωπος), ed. Ερμής, 1970 * (Ένα ανέκδοτο ποίημα) "An unpublished poem", ed. Κείμενα, 1976 *Poiimata (Ποιήματα), ed. Μαρής, Athens, 1976 *Aftoviografia (Αυτοβιογραφία), ed. Γνώση, Athens, 1983 *Idou o anthropos (Ιδού ο άνθρωπος), ed. Νέος σταθμός, Athens, 2001 *Reflections, tr. Simon Darragh, Aiora Press, Athens, 2015

References

*''Parts of the article were based on the content of the website http://www.kefalonitis.com (and are published under permission).''

External links

;In Greek
Biographical note''The mysteries of Cephalonia'' on Scribd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laskaratos, Andreas Greek male poets People from Paliki Heptanese school (literature) Criticism of Eastern Orthodox Church People excommunicated by Eastern Orthodox Church bodies 1811 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Greek poets 19th-century Greek male writers