Medieval works suggest that

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), 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 language sometimes referred to ...

started shaping as early as the 10th century, with one of the first works being the

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

Digenis Acritas ''Digenes Akritas'' (Latinisation of names, Latinised as ''Acritas''; ) is a medieval Greek Romance novel, romantic Epic poetry, epic that emerged in the 12th-century Byzantine Empire. It is the lengthiest and most famous of the acritic songs, B ...

. However, the first literary activity which was important enough to be identified as "modern

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving wri ...

" was done in the Cretan dialect during the 16th century in the

Venetian Crete The Realm or Kingdom of Candia (; ; ) or Duchy of Candia (; ; ) was the official name of Crete during the island's period as an overseas colony of the Republic of Venice, from the initial Venetian conquest in 1205–1212 to its fall to the Ottom ...

. The

Cretan Renaissance Cretan school describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the fall of Constantinople, beco ...

poem ''

Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' () 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 the Cretan dialect of the G ...

'' is undoubtedly the masterpiece of the Cretan literature, and a supreme achievement of modern Greek literature. It is a romantic work written around 1600 by

Vitsentzos Kornaros Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros ( or ) or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan poet of Venetian origin, who wrote the romantic epic poem '' Erotokritos''. He wrote in vernacular Cretan dialect (Cretan Greek), and was a le ...

(1553-1613). In over 10,000 lines of rhyming fifteen-syllable couplets, the poet relates the trials and tribulations suffered by two young lovers, Erotokritos and Aretousa, daughter of Heracles, King of Athens. It was a tale that enjoyed enormous popularity among its Greek readership. The other major representative of the Cretan literature was

Georgios Chortatzis Georgios Chortatzis or Chortatsis (; 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 literature in the vernacular Cretan dialect that flourished ...

and his most notable work was ''

Erofili ''Erofili'', also spelled as ''Erophile'' (), 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 published in 1637 in Ve ...

'', which was characterized by

Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas (; ; – 27 February 1943) was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Athenian School (or Pala ...

as the first work of the

modern Greek theatre Modern Greek theatre refers to the theatrical production and theatrical plays written in the Modern Greek language, from the post-Byzantine times until today. Venetian Crete The renaissance which led to the modern Greek theatre took place in th ...

. Other plays include ''The Sacrifice of Abraham'' by Kornaros, ''Panoria'' and ''Katsourbos'' by Chortatzis, ''Fortounatos'' by Markos Antonios Foskolos, '' King Rodolinos'' by Andreas Troilos, ''Stathis (comedy)'' and ''Voskopoula'' by unknown artists. During this period, there was production of different theatrical genres, such as

tragedies A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsis, or a "pain ...

comedies Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

and religious plays. The flourishing Cretan school was all but terminated by the Ottoman capture of the island in the late 17th century. Many Greek authors have integrated Cretan literary elements in their respective works. Among these authors were

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis (; ; 2 March (Old Style and New Style dates, OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greeks, Greek writer, journalist, politician, poet and philosopher. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominate ...

who was known for his literary contributions mainly written in standard Greek. This paradigm, overall, has helped Kazantzakis to write significant works such as

Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' (, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek intellectual who ventures to escape his bookish life with the aid of the boisterous and m ...

and thus establish for himself recognition in various international circles. His '' Captain Michalis'' – set in 19th-century Crete – is notable for using many Cretan Greek words and idioms, the book's popularity making them widely known to other Greeks.

References

* D. Holton, ''Μελέτες για τον Ερωτόκριτο και άλλα νεοελληνικά κείμενα'' - ''Studies on Erotokritos and other Modern Greek texts'', ed. Kastaniotis, Athens 2000. {{in lang, el Crete Modern Greek literature

See also

References