The term First Athenian School () denotes the literary production 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 ...

between 1830 and 1880. After

Greek 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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, the basic intellectual centres of the Greek world were 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 ...

(with the Heptanese School) and

, the capital of the new

Greek Kingdom The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

. Many of the leading members of the First Athenian School were of

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

origin, whence it is sometimes referred to as the Phanariotic School (Φαναριωτική Σχολή). The main element of the school was

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. The

New Athenian School The term New Athenian School (), also known as the 1880s Generation (Γενιά του 1880) or the Palamian School (Παλαμική Σχολή) after its leading member Kostis Palamas, denotes the literary production in Athens after 1880. It ...

developed as a reaction against the First Athenian School from the 1880s on.

General traits

Some general traits of the school were: *Extensive use of

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 ...

, the purest form of the modern Greek *Influence by the French

*Influence by the

Phanariot Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greeks, Greek families in Fener, Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Ecume ...

poetry *

Rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

al style *Patriotic tone, themes from 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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

Notable representatives

Theodoros G. Orphanides Theodoros Orphanides or Orphanidis (; 1817 – 5 August 1886) was a poet, professor, politician, author, and botanist. He was a pioneer in 19th-century Greek botany. He helped organize the botanical garden in Greece. The genus Orphanidesia is name ...

Dimitrios Paparrigopoulos Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, Dhimi ...

Alexandros Rizos Rangavis Alexandros Rizos Rangavis or Alexander Rizos Rakgabis" (; ; 27 December 180928 June 1892), was a Greek man of letters, poet and statesman. Early life He was born in Constantinople to a Greek Phanariot family. He was educated at Odessa and the ...

Panagiotis Soutsos Panagiotis Soutsos (; 1806 – 25 October 1868) was a Greeks, Greek poet, novelist and journalist born in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). He was the brother of the satirist Alexandros Soutsos and cousin of writer and diplomat Alexandro ...

Alexandros Soutsos Alexandros Soutsos () (1803–1863) was a Greek poet from a prominent Phanariote family. He founded the Greek Romantic school of poetry. Soutsos was born in Istanbul in 1803 from Chian parentage. At the time of the Greek Revolution, he wa ...

Spyridon Vassiliadis Spyridon Vasileiadis (; 6 December 1845 – 30 August 1874) was a Greek Greek may refer to: 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 ...

Demetrios Bernardakis Demetrios Bernardakis (, ''Dimitrios Vernardakis'', also transliterated ''Dimitrios Bernardakis''), (3 December 1833—25 January 1907) was a polymath writer and Professor of History at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Biograph ...

Dimosthenis Valavanis Dimosthenis Valavanis (Greek: Δημοσθένης Βαλαβάνης; 1829–1854) was a Greek poet of the First Athenian School. He was born in 1829 in Karytaina. As a child he was orphaned and moved to live with relatives in Nauplio where he ...

Notable works

*''Demos and Heleni'' (1831) by

*''Leander'' (1834), novel by

*''The Wedding of Koutroulis'' (1845), comedy by Alexandros Rizos Rangavis *''Maria Doxapatri'' (1857), play by

*''History of Modern Greek Literature'' (1877), historic review by Alexandros Rizos Rangavis

References

*R. Beaton, ''An Introduction to Modern Greek Literature'', Oxford University Press, 1999. *M. Vitti, ''Ιστορία της Νεοελληνικής Λογοτεχνίας'' 'History of Modern Greek Literature'' ed. Οδυσσέας, Athens, 2003. Phanariotes {{lit-mov-stub