THE Kostis Palamas It was one of the leading figures of Greek letters in the 19th and 20th centuries. He was born on January 13, 1859 in Patras. At an early age, he lost both of his parents and his relatives took over in Mesolongi, where he spent most of his childhood.
In 1875 he settled in Athens to study law. Soon, however, he abandoned the Law School, being determined to deal with the literature. He immediately began collaborating with newspapers and magazines, publishing poems, literary content articles and chronographs. Gradually, his works began to attract the interest of poetry friends in the Greek capital.
King George I commissioned him to write the anthem of the Olympic Games.
Palamas starred in her literary stream New Athenian schoola stream that emphasized familiar, daily issues, often inspired by the life of the countryside. It did not take long to establish himself in Greece as a great poet, which is shown by the assignment to him by King George I of the Writing of the Hymn Olympic Games of 1896, which remains the official anthem of the games to this day.
Palamas’ poetry is characterized by a deep love for Greek tradition and attempt to associate the ancient, Byzantine and modern Greek culture. One of his most important works is’The Dodecanese of the Gypsy“, Released in 1907. It is a poem that deals with the concept of freedom, progress and spiritual rebirth of man and reflects Palamas’ faith in the rebirth of Hellenism through struggle and creation. Another iconic work is’The king’s flute“, Which was released three years later, in 1910.
During his life, he received high prices from the Greek state, which recognized his enormous work.
Palamas spent most of his life in Athens, and his last years in Kifissia. He received high prices during his lifetime from the Greek state, which recognized his enormous work, as well as various bodies of the country. In 1930, he was elected President of the Academy of Athens.
He died on February 27, 1943, almost a month after his wife, in the midst of the German occupation of Athens. In recent years, his state of health has worsened and his associations with humans had been limited. Palamas’ funeral on February 28th became the occasion for the gathering of thousands of citizens at the 1st Cemetery of Athens, who expressed their republican feelings in this way.
As the writer George Theotokas, one of the close friends of the Palamas family, gave in his diary: Sikelianos did not breathe and said his poem with a thunderous voice, in tears that came out of the crowd. […] As the burial ended, the multitude of spontaneously sang the National Anthem and checked many times for Greece and Freedom ”(George Theotokas, Notebooks 1939-1953, curated by Dimitris Tziovas, Bookstore of Estia, 2005, 2005).
Column: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poumenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
