Napoleon Lapathiotis (; 31 October 1888 – 7 January 1944) 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 family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Biography

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 ...

, he began writing and publishing poetry when he was eleven. In 1907, along with others, he established the ''Igiso'' (''Ἡγησώ'') magazine, in which he published his works. In 1909, he graduated from the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

of the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

. His only book of poems while alive was published in 1939; in 1964, Aris Diktaios published his poems posthumously. Lapathiotis was openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and had

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

beliefs. Poor in later life and an

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

addict, he committed suicide with a

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

on 7 January 1944. He died in Athens.

Legacy

The 1985 film ''Meteor and Shadow'' was based on his life.

Poems

Famous poems by Lapathiotis include: * Τὰ καημένα τὰ πουλάκια * Τὰ χλωμά τὰ κοριτσάκια * Ἔχω ἕνα ἀηδόνι... * Ποιητής * Μυστικό... * Ἐπεισόδιο * Ἡ χαρά * Συντριβή * Ἀναμνήσεις * ''Our old song'' (Τὸ παλιό μας τραγοῦδι) * ''Small song'' (Μικρὸ τραγοῦδι) * Παραμύθι * Πόθος * Στὴ νυχτερινὸ κέντρο * Χειμωνιάτικο τοπίο * Ἐκ βαθέων * Στὴ φυλακή... * Κούραση * Κλείσε τὰ παράθυρα * Φαντάσματα * Βαθύ κι ἐξαίσιο βράδυ * Μοναξιά * Ἑκάτης πάθη * Νυχτερινό * Οἱ μπερντέδες * Ἐρωτικό * Οἱ κύκνοι τὸ φθινόπωρο * Λυπήσου * Προσμένω πάλι * Σπαρασμός * ''Untitled'' (Ἄτιτλο) * 1939 * Φάντασμα * Προσμονή * Εἶμαι μόνος... * Ἐρινύες * (Βαο, γαο, δαο) * Τ᾿ ἁπλὸ παιδί πού ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ... * ''Song'' (Τραγούδι) * Ὅταν βραδιάζει * Ἕνας χαμένος κύκλος * Ἀποχαιρετισμοί στη μουσική * Ἀποχαιρετισμός * Ἀποχαιρετιστήριο * Κραυγή

Other works

* ''My Life'' (''Ἡ Ζωή μου''), unfinished autobiography * ''Nero the tyrant'' (''Νέρων ὁ Τύραννος''), 1901, theatrical play for children

References

External links

* 1888 births 1944 suicides Gay poets Modern Greek poets Poets from Athens Suicides by firearm in Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni 20th-century Greek poets Greek male poets Greek gay writers 20th-century Greek male writers Greek LGBTQ poets 1944 deaths 20th-century Greek LGBTQ people {{Greece-poet-stub