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Dionysios SolomosGreek poet
Date of Birth: 08.04.1798
Country:  Greece |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Literary Career in Italy
- Writing in Greek and the National Anthem
- Move to Corfu and Later Works
- Many of his works explored themes of national struggle and freedom.
- Legacy
Early Life and Education
Dionysios Solomos was born in 1798 on Zakynthos, an Ionian island that is now part of Greece. His father, Nikolaos Solomos, was a native of Crete who had moved to Zakynthos in 1670 after the Ottoman conquest of Crete in 1669. Dionysios was an illegitimate child, born to Nikolaos's housekeeper, Angeliki Nikli. However, after the death of his first wife, Nikolaos Solomos married Angeliki, making Dionysios a legitimate heir to the family fortune and an equal to his half-brother.
After his father's death and his mother's remarriage, Dionysios was sent to Italy to study. He first attended the Lyceum of St. Catherine in Venice but left due to the strict discipline. His Italian tutor, Santo Rossi, then moved him to a school in Cremona, which he successfully completed in 1815. In November of the same year, Solomos began studying law at Pavia's University, receiving his degree in 1817.
Literary Career in Italy
During his time as a student, Solomos, who had always been drawn to literature, developed a deep love for the flourishing Italian literature of the time and began writing poetry of his own. Notable early works include "Ode per la prima messa" and "La distruzione di Gerusalemme."
He was quickly accepted into Italian literary circles, writing in Italian and becoming a well-respected poet. After 10 years in Italy, Solomos returned home with a significant literary repertoire. Zakynthos, at the time, was renowned for its literature and culture, and Solomos found a kindred spirit in a group of intellectuals and literary figures.
Writing in Greek and the National Anthem
In 1823, Solomos wrote his first major work in Greek, "Hymn to Liberty," which would later become the national anthem of Greece. A year prior, he had published a collection of his Italian poems, "Rime Improvisate," in his homeland. Remarkably, writing in his native Greek proved to be a challenge for the young poet, who had to relearn the culture, epic poetry, and folksongs of his homeland.
As a result, his style was simple and accessible, influenced by the vernacular and the desire to make his work relatable to all people. Solomos was an advocate for the use of vernacular Greek, or dimotiki.
Move to Corfu and Later Works
After a bitter inheritance dispute with his half-brother, Solomos moved to Corfu, then a cultural center in the Ionian Islands. There, he flourished, writing a substantial body of poetry and other literary works. He found himself amidst an intellectually stimulating group of writers and progressive thinkers, including Nikolaos Mantzaros, Andreas Laskaratos, and Gerasimos Markoras.
Among his most mature and renowned works from this period are "O Kritikos" ("The Cretan," 1833), "Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi" ("The Free Besieged," 1826–1844), "Porfyras" ("The Whale," 1849), "I Farmakomeni" ("The Poisoned," 1826), "I Farmakomeni ston Adi" ("The Poisoned in Hades," 1829), and "Lampros" (1829).
Many of his works explored themes of national struggle and freedom.
Later Life and DeathAfter 1847, Solomos began writing in Italian again, but by this time, his health had been severely compromised. His temperament, according to those who knew him, "grew even more irascible" with illness. He alienated friends and spent his later years as an invalid following a third stroke.
Dionysios Solomos died on February 9, 1857, after suffering another stroke. His fame had reached such heights that the island mourned his passing. The theater in Corfu was closed, the parliament of the Ionian Islands was adjourned, and public mourning was declared. His remains were transferred to Zakynthos in 1865.
Legacy
Solomos was a central figure in the Heptanese School of poetry and is considered Greece's national poet, not only for authoring the national anthem but also for helping to preserve national poetic traditions. Notably, his most famous work, "Hymn to Liberty," which became the national anthem, was largely ignored and barely published during his lifetime.
