Kostas Krystallis ( el, Κώστας Κρυστάλλης; 1868–1894) 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 ...

author and poet, representative of 19th century Greek pastoral literature. He was born an Ottoman subject in

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 ...

, but escaped to

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 ...

after being denounced to the authorities for writing a patriotic collection of poetry. Krystallis initially wrote his works in archaic language, but after 1891 he adopted the vernacular (

Demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm, the demotic script for writing Vietnamese See also * * Demos (disa ...

) Greek language and became influenced by the New Athenian school. He was a

pictorial An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

writer, with a love of nature, while most of his work was based on traditional folk poetry.

Life

Kostas Krystallis, was born in the village of Syrrako,

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 ...

, then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He was an Aromanian. He was the son of a local merchant. When his mother died he moved together with his father to Ioannina, where he attended the Zosimaia High School. As a pupil he wrote his first poetry collection, named ''Σκιαί του Άδου'' ("Shadows of Hades"), which consisted of three short stories, and exhibited obvious borrowings from

Dante's Inferno ''Inferno'' (; Italian for "Hell") is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem ''Divine Comedy''. It is followed by ''Purgatorio'' and '' Paradiso''. The ''Inferno'' describes Dante's journey through Hell, gui ...

and

Homer's Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

. Because of this highly patriotic work he was denounced by the Ottoman authorities, and sentenced to 25 years in exile. Krystallis managed to escape to

at 1886. While living 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 ...

he changed several jobs: initially worked as a typographer, copy editor and author in an encyclopedia, secretary for the periodical '' Η Εβδομάς'' ("The Week") and then ticket inspector in the national railway. For a short period he became author in the newspaper ''Φωνή της Ηπείρου'' (Voice of Epirus) and supported the rights of the population of his home place Epirus, which was still under Ottoman control. At 1893, he lost his job; however, he won a lottery prize and could so afford the publication of a number of works he composed that time. Krystallis died of tuberculosis on April 22, 1894, aged 26.

Work

Krystallis wrote a relatively small quantity of poems and prose. His first collection ''Σκιαί του Άδου'' ("Shadows of Hades"), was finally published in 1894, the year of his death. In 1890 he composed a long narrative poem named ''Ο καλόγηρος της Κλεισούρας του Μεσσολογγίου'' ("The monk of Kleisoura of Missolonghi") and the next year his work ''Αγροτικά'' ("Pastorals") was awarded in a poetry contest. During this period, Krystallis' writing style was heavily influenced by Aristotelis Valaoritis. In 1893 he wrote his last collection ''Ο τραγουδιστής του χωριού και της στάνης'' ("The singer of the Village and the Fold") which was also praised at a poetry contest. Krystallis initially wrote his works in archaic language and belonged to the romantic poets of the

First Athenian school The term First Athenian School ( el, Α΄ Αθηναϊκή Σχολή) denotes the literary production in Athens between 1830 and 1880. After Greek Independence, the basic intellectual centres of the Greek world were the Ionian Islands (with ...

. However, after 1891 he adopted the vernacular (

) Greek language, while he became influenced by the New Athenian school, which was dominated by

Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) 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 Ne ...

, the composer of the

Olympic Hymn The Olympic Hymn ( el, Ολυμπιακός Ύμνος, ), also known as the Olympic Anthem, is a choral cantata by opera composer Spyridon Samaras (1861–1917), with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas. Both poet and composer were the choice of ...

. During this period many of his poems were mainly adaptations of oral folk poetry. Krystallis, as well as

Christos Christovasilis Christos Christovasilis ( el, Χρήστος Χρηστοβασίλης; c. 12 March 1861 – 26 August 1937) was a Greeks, Greek journalist and author, representative of Greek pastoral literature. He was a collector of rural and folk material and ...

, composed short

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

stories inspired by the bravery of the fighters of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830) and especially the

Souliotes The Souliotes were an Orthodox Christian Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of Independence came to identify with the ...

. He has been described as a pastoral, rural poet who extolled nature, while on the other hand it has been claimed that he was never acclimatized to the urban environment himself.

Legacy

Krystallis was one of several Greek poets and author of that era that died young. In present days, an annual festival takes place every summer at

, the ''Krystalleia'', named after Kostas Krystallis, which offers performances of contemporary Greek and classical music. His house is now a museum aimed to protect Aromanian cultural heritage in the region.

Bibliography: poetry collections and short stories

* ''Σκιαί του Άδου'' (Shadows of Hades) * ''Ο καλόγηρος της Κλεισούρας του Μεσσολογγίου'' (The monk of Kleisoura of Missolonghi) * ''Αγροτικά'' (Pastorals) * ''Τραγουδιστής του χωριού και της Στάνης'' (The singer of the Village and the Fold) * ''Πεζογραφήματα'' (Novels) * ''Γκόλφω'' (Golfo) * ''Ψωμοπάτης'' * ''Αρπαγή'' (Seizure) * ''Αθάνατο νερό'' (Immortal water) * ''Θάνατος της βοσκοπούλας'' (Death of the Shepherdess) * ''Αναμνήσεις'' (Memories) * ''Όνειρο'' (Dream)

References

External links

Κώστας Κρυστάλλης
openarhives.gr. Works of Kostas Krystallis.
Κώστας Κρυστάλλης
el.wikisource.org. Works of Kostas Krystallis. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krystallis, Kostas 1868 births 1894 deaths People from Janina vilayet Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Greek male poets Zosimaia School alumni New Athenian School Aromanians from the Ottoman Empire Greek people of Aromanian descent Aromanian writers 19th-century Greek poets 19th-century male writers People from Ioannina (regional unit) 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Greece