Aristotelis Valaoritis ( el, Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης; 1824–1879) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, representative of the Heptanese School, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was also the great-grandfather of

Nanos Valaoritis Ioannis (Nanos) Valaoritis ( el, Ιωάννης (Νάνος) Βαλαωρίτης; 5 July 1921 – 12 September 2019) was a Greek writer, widely published as a poet, novelist and playwright since 1939; his correspondence with George Seferis (''Al ...

, one of the most distinguished writers of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Biography

Aristotelis Valaoritis bust National Garden Athens, Greece

He was born in

Lefkada Lefkada ( el, Λευκάδα, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas ( Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of G ...

in 1824 and was of Aromanian descent. His father was a rich merchant from the region of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

. Valaoritis completed his school education in

and Corfu. Afterwards he went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to study law. He never worked as a lawyer though, but completely devoted himself to poetry. He spent an important part of his life in the small island of

Madouri Madouri ( el, Μαδουρή) is a small uninhabited island in the Ionian Sea, near Lefkada, Greece. It is part of the municipal unit Ellomenos.Venetian scholar Emilio De Tipaldo, Eloisa. Using simple language he wrote many poems regarding the Greek War of Independence. He was credited as a

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

. Some of his most important works are: ''Stichourgimata'', ''Mnemosina'', ''Kira Frosini'', ''Athanasios Diakos'', ''O Fotinos'', ''Astrapogiannos''. ''O Fotinos'' (or ''Der Helle'' in German), is a very famous unfinished poem relating the so-called Voukentra revolution of 1357 in Lefkada against the Venetian (Italian) occupation. Valaoritis composed this poem on the privately owned isle of Madouri. Meanwhile, he got into politics. As a member of the Parliament of the

United States of the Ionian Islands The United States of the Ionian Islands ( el, Ἡνωμένον Κράτος τῶν Ἰονίων Νήσων, Inoménon-Krátos ton Ioníon Níson, United State of the Ionian Islands; it, Stati Uniti delle Isole Ionie) was a Greek state and a ...

he fought for the rights of the Ionian islands, such as the union with the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label= Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, wh ...

. Once the Ionian islands were united with Greece he moved to

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 ...

, as a member of the

Greek Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the He ...

. His speeches were heavily influenced by his poetic language, making his

rhetorical Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

skills uniquely remarkable. The last years of his life, he developed action towards the integration of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

to Greece, a goal not fully achieved until the Balkan Wars. He died in Lefkada in 1879 due to heart failure.

Work

Poems * Ι Kira Frosini, ''Η Κυρά Φροσύνη'' (1859) * Athanasios Diakos, ''Αθανάσιος Διάκος'' (1867) * Thanasis Bagias, ''Θανάσης Βάγιας'' (1867) * Astrapogiannos, ''Αστραπόγιαννος'' (1867) * O andrias tou aidimou Grigoriou tou E, ''Ο ανδριάς του αοιδίμου Γρηγορίου του Ε'' (1872) * O Fotinos, ''Ο Φωτεινός'' (incomplete, published posthumously in 1891) Collections * Stichourgimata, ''Στιχουργήματα'' (1847) * Mnemosina, ''Μνημόσυνα'' (1857) Others * Poiemata, ''Ποιήματα'' (1891) * Erga, ''Εργα'' (1893) * Vios kai erga, ''Βίος και έργα'' (1907) * Poiemata anekdota, ''Ποιήματα ανέκδοτα'' (1937) * Ta Apanta, ''Τα Άπαντα'' (1968)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valaoritis, Aristotelis Modern Greek poets 1824 births 1879 deaths 19th-century Greek people People from Lefkada Greek people of Aromanian descent Aromanian poets Heptanese School (literature) 19th-century Greek poets