Dimitrios Dimitriou ( gr, Δημήτριος Δημητρίου, sometimes spelled Dimitrija Demeter or Dimitrije Demeter; 21 July 1811 – 24 June 1872) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n poet,

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, short story writer and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

. One of the most learned people of his time, he played a major role in the movement for the national awakening of the Croatian nation (then under Austro-Hungarian rule) as part of what he and his close friend and colleague

Ljudevit Gaj Ljudevit Gaj (; born Ludwig Gay; hu, Gáj Lajos; 8 August 1809 – 20 April 1872) was a Croatian linguist, politician, journalist and writer. He was one of the central figures of the pan-Slavist Illyrian movement. Biography Origin He was bo ...

called the Illyrian people by imposing the Croatian language in the local literacy and with the creation of the

Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb ( hr, Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu), commonly referred to as HNK Zagreb, is a theatre, opera and ballet house located in Zagreb. Overview The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre opened ...

. His political activism for a

Croatian national revival The Illyrian movement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Ilirski pokret, Илирски покрет; sl, Ilirsko gibanje) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian inte ...

dealt through his participation in many patriotic pamphlets, most notably the

Narodne novine ''Narodne novine'' () is the official gazette (or newspaper of public record) of the Republic of Croatia which publishes laws, regulations, appointments and official decisions and releases them in the public domain. It is published by the epon ...

and Hrvatski Sokol among many others.

Biography

He was born in a wealthy merchant family of

origin. His parents Theodoros (') and Afrati (') came to Austria-Hungary at 1790 from the city of

Siatista Siatista ( el, Σιάτιστα) is a town and a former municipality in Kozani regional unit, Western Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Voio, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. I ...

, then under Ottoman rule.Siatistian Memories, Λεύκωμα Συλλόγου Σιατιστέων Θεσσαλονίκης, Salonika 1972 (in Greek) He studied philosophy in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

and medicine in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

. He earned his doctoral degree in Padua with thesis under the title ''De Meningitide''. During his studies he practiced his literary work and after his return to Croatia he joined the

Illyrian movement The Illyrian movement ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Ilirski pokret, Илирски покрет; sl, Ilirsko gibanje) was a pan-South-Slavic cultural and political campaign with roots in the early modern period, and revived by a group of young Croatian inte ...

. At first he worked as a physician and from 1841 his main preoccupation was

literary work 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 includ ...

. Demeter began his literary career writing Greek poetry from a very early age. He wrote his first drama "''Βιργινία''" (Virginia) at the age of 16 (also in the Greek language). In his most known drama ''Teuta'', which functioned as the first national drama of the Croats, he advocates the idea about Illyrian origin of all

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

. He also wrote short stories,

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticis ...

literary critics Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

librettos A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

for

Vatroslav Lisinski Vatroslav Lisinski (, 8 July 1819 – 31 May 1854) was a Croatian composer. Lisinski was born Ignatius Fuchs to a German Jewish family. He would later change his name to Vatroslav Lisinski, which is a Croatian calque of his original name. For a ...

opera's ''Ljubav i zloba'' and '' Porin'' and for his dramas ''Dramatička pokušenja I.'' (1834) and ''Dramatička pokušenja II.'' (1844). In his texts he tried to join the tradition of the old Croatian literature with tendentions in European drama. He mostly used historical subjects to express his patriotic aspirations and to speak out about the current social situation in society. His role in organizing the cultural life in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Sl ...

and Croatia was of extreme significance. He was also editor or various

almanacs An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...

of patriotic orientation: ''Iskra'', ''Südslavische Zeitung'', ''

Danica ilirska Danica ilirska was the first Croatian literary magazine launched on 10 January 1835 as a weekly supplement to ''Novine horvatske'' newspaper in Zagreb, the Kingdom of Croatia. It was initially published under the title of ''Danicza horvatzka, slav ...

'', ''Narodne novine'' and ''Hrvatski Sokol''. One of his most known works is his early Romantic poem ''Grobnik field'' (near

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

) written in 1842 for the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grobnik field where according to legend

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

defeated the invading

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

. This works shows it was written by an extremely talented writer, although it was only his literary debut. In it two main motives interweave: the motive of

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

and the motive of

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 ...

. Also inspired by

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

the concept of ''worldwide pain'' appears. Demeter used 10-syllable verse and 12-syllable verse to avoid monotonous routine of traditional folk songs while emphasizing characterization and strong characters of the main heroes and their passion. Instead of narrative epic tendency he gives to his poems a strong dramatic characteristics which reminds us Byron's literary work. Demeter's main spiritual vision emphasizes on the general problems of

humanity Humanity most commonly refers to: * Humankind the total population of humans * Humanity (virtue) Humanity may also refer to: Literature * ''Humanity'' (journal), an academic journal that focuses on human rights * ''Humanity: A Moral History of t ...

styling on the battle between good and evil where at the end the good always prevails. This type of Demeter's poems in many of his works, both by verse and rhyme, announces the most important literary work in Croatian literature of the time: the epic poem '' The Death of Smail-aga Čengić'' written by

Ivan Mažuranić Ivan Mažuranić (; 11 August 1814 – 4 August 1890) was a Croatian poet, linguist, lawyer and politician who is considered to be one of the most important figures in Croatia's political and cultural life in the mid-19th century. Mažuranić se ...

in 1845. Among Demeter's poems a special place also takes his ''Pjesma Hrvata'' (''Song of the Croats'') which is an 8-syllable verse most known by its starting verse "Prosto zrakom ptica leti". Dimitrija Demeter was also one of the founders of the Croatian National Theatre (Hrvatsko Narodno Kazalište - HNK). When the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sab ...

founded the permanent theatre, Demeter was appointed as both its manager and its

. 35 years after his death, in 1907, ''Demeter's award for drama'' was established which stood until nowadays. Demeter died in Zagreb on 24 June 1872 and since he was a

Greek-Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

he was originally buried at the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canoni ...

cemetery in

Pantovčak Pantovčak () is a neighborhood in Zagreb, Croatia. Its formal location is the Gornji Grad - Medveščak city district. The Pantovčak street runs from the Britanski trg (British Square) near Ilica towards Medvednica, ending at ''Šestinski vije ...

neighborhood. Upon the closure of most old cemeteries in Zagreb in the 1870s and the designation of

Mirogoj Cemetery The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, hr, Gradsko groblje Mirogoj), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery ( hr, Groblje Mirogoj), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members ...

as the primary municipal cemetery, his remains were moved to Mirogoj several years later, where they are still kept today. His bust decorates the yard of Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demeter, Dimitrija 1811 births 1872 deaths Writers from Zagreb Croatian people of Greek descent Croatian dramatists and playwrights Croatian male poets People of the Illyrian movement Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Opera librettists 19th-century Croatian poets 19th-century dramatists and playwrights 19th-century male writers

Biography

See also

References