Medieval works suggest that

Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...

started shaping as early as the 10th century, with one of the first works being the

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

Digenis Acritas ''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the Acritic songs and is often regarded as the only surviving epic ...

. However, the first literary activity which was important enough to be identified as "modern

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

" was done in the Cretan dialect during the 16th century in the

Venetian Crete The Realm or Kingdom of Candia ( Venetian: ''Regno de Càndia'') or Duchy of Candia ( Venetian: ''Dogado de Càndia'' ) was the official name of Crete during the island's period as an overseas colony of the Republic of Venice, from the initial V ...

. The

Cretan Renaissance Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becomi ...

poem ''

Erotokritos ''Erotokritos'' ( el, Ἐρωτόκριτος) is a romance composed by Vikentios Kornaros in early 17th century Crete. It consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses, the last twelve of which refer to the poet himself. It is written in th ...

'' is undoubtedly the masterpiece of the Cretan literature, and a supreme achievement of modern Greek literature. It is a romantic work written around 1600 by

Vitsentzos Kornaros Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros ( el, Βιτσέντζος or ) or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan poet, who wrote the romantic epic poem ''Erotokritos''. He wrote in vernacular Cretan dialect (Cretan Greek), and was ...

(1553-1613). In over 10,000 lines of rhyming fifteen-syllable couplets, the poet relates the trials and tribulations suffered by two young lovers, Erotokritos and Aretousa, daughter of Heracles, King of Athens. It was a tale that enjoyed enormous popularity among its Greek readership. The other major representative of the Cretan literature was

Georgios Chortatzis Georgios Chortatzis or Chortatsis ( el, Γεώργιος Χορτάτζης/Χορτάτσης; c. 1545 – c. 1610) was a Greek dramatist in Cretan verse. He was, along with Vitsentzos Kornaros, one of the main representatives of a school of liter ...

and his most notable work was ''

Erofili ''Erofili'', also spelled as ''Erophile'' ( el, Ερωφίλη), is the most famous and often performed tragedy of the Cretan theater. It was written around 1600 in Rethymno in Crete (then a Venetian colony) by Georgios Chortatzis and first publi ...

'', which was characterized by

Kostis Palamas Kostis Palamas ( el, Κωστής Παλαμάς; – 27 February 1943) was a Greeks, Greek poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn. He was a central figure of the Greek Literature, Greek literary generation of the 1880s and one of the cofou ...

as the first work of the

modern Greek theatre Modern Greek theatre refers to the theatrical production and theatrical plays written in the Modern Greek language, from the post-Byzantine times until today. Venetian Crete The renaissance which led to the modern Greek theatre took place in the ...

. Other plays include ''The Sacrifice of Abraham'' by Kornaros, ''Panoria'' and ''Katsourbos'' by Chortatzis, ''Fortounatos'' by Markos Antonios Foskolos, ''

King Rodolinos King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

'' by

Andreas Troilos Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...

, ''Stathis (comedy)'' and ''Voskopoula'' by unknown artists. During this period, there was production of different theatrical genres, such as

tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

and religious plays. The flourishing Cretan school was all but terminated by the Ottoman capture of the island in the late 17th century. Many Greek authors have integrated Cretan literary elements in their respective works. Among these authors were

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March ( OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years. Kazantzakis's no ...

who was known for his literary contributions mainly written in standard Greek. This paradigm, overall, has helped Kazantzakis to write significant works such as

Zorba the Greek ''Zorba the Greek'' ( el, Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά, , Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) is a novel written by the Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis, first published in 1946. It is the tale of a young Greek int ...

and thus establish for himself recognition in various international circles. His ''

Captain Michalis ''Captain Michalis'' ( el, Ο Καπετάν Μιχάλης) is a 1953 novel by the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis. In the English, German, and French translations (as well as many others) it is known as ''Freedom or Death''. The writer was influ ...

'' – set in 19th-century Crete – is notable for using many Cretan Greek words and idioms, the book's popularity making them widely known to other Greeks.

References

* D. Holton, ''Μελέτες για τον Ερωτόκριτο και άλλα νεοελληνικά κείμενα'' - ''Studies on Erotokritos and other Modern Greek texts'', ed. Kastaniotis, Athens 2000. {{in lang, el Crete Modern Greek literature

See also

References