Alexandros Soutsos ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Σοῦτσος) (1803–1863) was a Greek poet from a prominent

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumeni ...

family.

Soutzos family The House of Drakos Family, Drakos-Soutzos or Soutsos ( el, Σούτσου, ro, Suțu or ) is a Greeks, Greek Phanariotes, Phanariote family originally from Chios, which grew into prominence and power in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) duri ...

He founded the Greek

Romantic school of poetry Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

. Soutsos was born in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

in 1803 from Chian parentage. At the time of the Greek Revolution, he was a young, liberal partisan. He wrote poems to encourage the insurgents. Soutsos studied in Chios, where he spent his formative years. Later he moved to Paris, where he was influenced by the liberal philosophies of the French intellectuals. His major work of

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

was the ''Exóristos'' (''The Exile''). His works were instrumental in developing liberal thought in the young Greek monarchy. He was an admirer of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

. Whose inspiration prompted Soutsos to try to emulate him. The resultant work, was his longest poem ''Periplanómenos'' (''The Wanderer''), in spite of some positive reviews, it never achieved international success. In spite of his lack of artistic respect, he was admired by many of his contemporaries the Greek people admired him for his dedication to freedom, and for his liberal philosophies. He died in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1863, and his works were published in 1916.

Evangelis Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas ( el, Ευάγγελος or ; ro, Evanghelie Zappa; 23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek patriot, philanthropist and businessman who spent most of his life in Romania. He is recognized today as one of the ...

explicitly requested that Alexandros Soutsos and his brother

Panagiotis Soutsos Panagiotis Soutsos ( el, Παναγιώτης Σοῦτσος; 1806 – 25 October 1868), was a Greek poet, novelist and journalist born in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). He was the brother of the satirist Alexandros Soutsos and cousi ...

be made members of the organizing committee of the Olympic Games. It was Panagiotis Soutsos who first made mention of a revival of the Olympic Games in his poetry ''Dialogue of the Dead'' in 1833.David C. Young, The Modern Olympics - A Struggle for Revival, published by the

Johns Hopkins University Press The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publi ...

in 1996, p15,

References

1803 births 1863 deaths Modern Greek poets First Athenian School Romantic poets Alexandros Writers from Istanbul 19th-century Greek poets Constantinopolitan Greeks {{Greece-poet-stub