The term Heptanese School of literature denotes the literary production of the Ionian Island's literature figures from the late 18th century till the end of the 19th century. The epicenter of this production is considered to be the poet 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...

, so its periods are conventionally divided as follows: Pre-Solomian poets (Προσολωμικοί ποιητές), Solomian poets, Post-Solomian poets, Minors and Descendants.

General traits

Some general traits of the Ionian style were:

• the use of Dimotiki
  Dimotiki
  Demotic Greek or dimotiki is the modern vernacular form of the Greek language. The term has been in use since 1818. Demotic refers particularly to the form of the language that evolved naturally from ancient Greek, in opposition to the artificially archaic Katharevousa, which was the official...
  
   instead of Katharevousa
  Katharevousa
  Katharevousa , is a form of the Greek language conceived in the early 19th century as a compromise between Ancient Greek and the Modern Greek of the time, with a vocabulary largely based on ancient forms, but a much-simplified grammar. Originally, it was widely used both for literary and official...
  
  ,
• the manifest influence that the contemporary Italian poets had in its thematology, that is regarding the depiction of real-life scenes,
• the worship of homeland,
• the worship of nature,
• a "romantic impulse" (also described as folkloric idealism),
• an emphasis on the importance of love and freedon,
• an appreciation of religion's role in man's life.