Napoleon Lapathiotis ( el, Ναπολέων Λαπαθιώτης; 31 October 1888 – 7 January 1944) 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 writte ...

. A native of

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 began writing and publishing poetry when he was eleven. In 1907, along with others, he established the ''Igiso'' (''Ἡγησώ'', from the

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...

name ''Hēgēso'') magazine, in which he published his works. In 1909, he graduated from the

law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

of the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...

. His first book of poems was published in 1939.

Personal life

Lapathiotis was openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and had

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

beliefs. Poor in later life and an

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

addict, he committed suicide with a

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

on 7 January 1944. ''Cornucopia, etc.'' by Alex Moskios
/ref> The 1985 film ''Meteor and Shadow'' was based on his life.

Poems

Famous poems by Lapathiotis include: * Τὰ καημένα τὰ πουλάκια * Τὰ χλωμά τὰ κοριτσάκια * Ἔχω ἕνα ἀηδόνι... * Ποιητής * Μυστικό... * Ἐπεισόδιο * Ἡ χαρά * Συντριβή * Ἀναμνήσεις * ''Our old song'' (Τὸ παλιό μας τραγοῦδι) * ''Small song'' (Μικρὸ τραγοῦδι) * Παραμύθι * Πόθος * Στὴ νυχτερινὸ κέντρο * Χειμωνιάτικο τοπίο * Ἐκ βαθέων * Στὴ φυλακή... * Κούραση * Κλείσε τὰ παράθυρα * Φαντάσματα * Βαθύ κι ἐξαίσιο βράδυ * Μοναξιά * Ἑκάτης πάθη * Νυχτερινό * Οἱ μπερντέδες * Ἐρωτικό * Οἱ κύκνοι τὸ φθινόπωρο * Λυπήσου * Προσμένω πάλι * Σπαρασμός * ''Untitled'' (Ἄτιτλο) * 1939 * Φάντασμα * Προσμονή * Εἶμαι μόνος... * Ἐρινύες * (Βαο, γαο, δαο) * Τ᾿ ἁπλὸ παιδί πού ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ... * ''Song'' (Τραγούδι) * Ὅταν βραδιάζει * Ἕνας χαμένος κύκλος * Ἀποχαιρετισμοί στη μουσική * Ἀποχαιρετισμός * Ἀποχαιρετιστήριο * Κραυγή

Other works

* ''My Life'' (''Ἡ Ζωή μου''), unfinished autobiography * ''Nero the tyrant'' (''Νέρων ὁ Τύραννος''), 1901, theatrical play for children

References

External links

* 1888 births 1944 suicides Gay writers Modern Greek poets Writers from Athens Suicides by firearm in Greece National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni 20th-century Greek poets Greek male poets 20th-century Greek male writers Greek LGBT poets 1944 deaths {{Greece-poet-stub