Erotokritos
Encyclopedia
Erotokritos is a romance
composed by Vikentios (Vitsentzos, "Vincenzo", Vincent) Kornaros in early 17th century Crete
. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verse
s.
Its themes are love, honour, friendship and courage. It is written in the Cretan dialect of the Greek language. A particular type of rhyming used in the traditional mantinades
was also the one used in Erotokritos.
It is considered a masterpiece of Cretan literature, and with claim to be the supreme achievement of modern Greek literature in general. The poet relates the trials and tribulations suffered by two young lovers, Erotokritos
and Aretousa, daughter of Heracles
, King of Athens
. It was a tale that enjoyed enormous popularity among its Greek readership.
The direct model of the work is the French popular medieval romance
Paris et Vienne composed by Pierre de la Cypède, which was printed in 1487 and was widely diffused, being translated to many European languages.
Erotokritos and Erophile by Georgios Hortatzis constitute the classic examples of Greek Renaissance
literature.
It remains a popular work until today, largely due to the music that accompanies it when it is publicly recited.
Several groups of renowned Cretan musicians have added selected parts of the poem to their music, often exploring the boundaries of their local musical tradition.
Vitsentzos Kornaros is considered to be the greatest of all the Cretan poets and one of the most significant and influential figures in the entire course of Greek poetry. The son of a Venetian-Cretan aristocrat and a scion of the noble Venetian family of Cornaro
, he was born near Sitia
, Crete in 1553. Later, when he married, he came to live in Candia (now Heraklion
) where he joined the Accademia dei Stravaganti. Kornaros died in 1617, thus he is an exact contemporary of William Shakespeare.
Erotokritos sets great store by true love, friendship, courage, and patriotism, and this is the reason for its later popularity all over Greece. It was a source of inspiration for Dionysios Solomos
and influenced Greek poets as diverse as Kostis Palamas
, Kostas Krystallis
, and George Seferis. A complete translation to English was made by Theodore Stephanides
in verse, and by Betts, Gauntlett and Spilias in prose.
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
composed by Vikentios (Vitsentzos, "Vincenzo", Vincent) Kornaros in early 17th century Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verse
Verse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
s.
Its themes are love, honour, friendship and courage. It is written in the Cretan dialect of the Greek language. A particular type of rhyming used in the traditional mantinades
Mantinada
A mantinada, — are Cretan rhyming couplets, typically improvised during dance music. Rhymed Cretan poetry of the Renaissance, especially verse epic Erotokritos, are reminiscent of the mantinada, and couplets from Erotokritos have become used as mantinades. Mantinades have either love or...
was also the one used in Erotokritos.
It is considered a masterpiece of Cretan literature, and with claim to be the supreme achievement of modern Greek literature in general. The poet relates the trials and tribulations suffered by two young lovers, Erotokritos
Erotokritos
Erotokritos is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses....
and Aretousa, daughter of Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
, King of Athens
King of Athens
Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the Archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical...
. It was a tale that enjoyed enormous popularity among its Greek readership.
The direct model of the work is the French popular medieval romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
Paris et Vienne composed by Pierre de la Cypède, which was printed in 1487 and was widely diffused, being translated to many European languages.
Erotokritos and Erophile by Georgios Hortatzis constitute the classic examples of Greek Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
literature.
It remains a popular work until today, largely due to the music that accompanies it when it is publicly recited.
Several groups of renowned Cretan musicians have added selected parts of the poem to their music, often exploring the boundaries of their local musical tradition.
Vitsentzos Kornaros is considered to be the greatest of all the Cretan poets and one of the most significant and influential figures in the entire course of Greek poetry. The son of a Venetian-Cretan aristocrat and a scion of the noble Venetian family of Cornaro
Cornaro
The Cornaro, also known as Corner, are an illustrious patrician family in Venice, from which for centuries senior office-holders and Doges sprung...
, he was born near Sitia
Sitia
Sitia refers both to the port town, with 8,900 inhabitants and to the municipality with 19,209 inhabitants in Lasithi, Crete . It lies to the east of Agios Nikolaos and to the northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the Sea of Crete, which is a part of the Aegean Sea and is one of the economic...
, Crete in 1553. Later, when he married, he came to live in Candia (now Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
) where he joined the Accademia dei Stravaganti. Kornaros died in 1617, thus he is an exact contemporary of William Shakespeare.
Erotokritos sets great store by true love, friendship, courage, and patriotism, and this is the reason for its later popularity all over Greece. It was a source of inspiration for Dionysios Solomos
Dionysios Solomos
Dionysios Solomos was a Greek poet from Zakynthos. He is best known for writing the Hymn to Liberty , of which the first two stanzas, set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros, became the Greek national anthem in 1865...
and influenced Greek poets as diverse as Kostis Palamas
Kostis Palamas
Kostis Palamas was a Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofounders of the so-called New Athenian School along with Georgios Drosinis, Nikos Kampas, Ioanis Polemis.-Biography:Born in Patras, he...
, Kostas Krystallis
Kostas Krystallis
Kostas Krystallis was a Greek author and poet, representative of 19th century Greek pastoral literature. He was born an Ottoman subject in Epirus, but escaped to Greece after being denounced to the authorities for writing a patriotic collection of poetry...
, and George Seferis. A complete translation to English was made by Theodore Stephanides
Theodore Stephanides
Theodore Stephanides was a Greek poet, author, doctor and naturalist. He is best remembered as the friend and mentor of the famous naturalist Gerald Durrell, featuring in Durrell's My Family and Other Animals and Fillets of Plaice, Durrell's brother Lawrence's Prospero's Cell, and Henry Miller's...
in verse, and by Betts, Gauntlett and Spilias in prose.