''Hyperion'' is an

epistolary novel An epistolary novel () is a novel written as a series of letters between the fictional characters of a narrative. The term is often extended to cover novels that intersperse other kinds of fictional document with the letters, most commonly di ...

by German poet

Friedrich Hölderlin Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a Germans, German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticis ...

. Originally published in two volumes in

1797 Events January–March * January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (''see also'' 1796). * January 7 – The parliament of the Cisalpine Repu ...

(Volume 1) and

1799 Events January–March * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * January ...

(Volume 2), respectively, the full title is ''Hyperion; or, The Hermit in Greece'' (German: "''Hyperion; oder, Der Eremit in Griechenland''"). Each volume is divided into two books. The work is told in the form of letters from the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, Hyperion, to his German friend Bellarmin, alongside a few letters between Hyperion and his love Diotima in the second volume of the novel, and is noted for its

philosophical Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

and expressive imagery.

Origin

Hölderlin began working on ''Hyperion'' in 1792, as a 22-year-old student at the

Tübinger Stift The Tübinger Stift () is a hall of residence and teaching; it is owned and supported by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg, and located in the university city of Tübingen, in South West Germany. The Stift was founded as an Augu ...

. He further developed it while serving as a Hofmeister on the estate of Charlotte von Kalb, and put finishing touches to the novel while receiving lectures from

Johann Gottlieb Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

at the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

Plot

''Hyperion'' is set in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and deals with invisible forces, conflicts, beauty, and hope. It recounts Hyperion's attempts to overthrow the Turkish rule in Greece (in one of the footnotes Hölderlin specifically ties events in the novel with the Russians "bringing a fleet into the Archipelago" in 1770, framing the novel's events into the Orlov Revolt), his disillusionment with the rebellion, survival in the deadly

Battle of Chesma The naval Battle of Cheshme (also the Battle of Chesma, Chesme or Cesme Bay) took place on 5–7 July 1770 during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) near and in Çeşme (Cheshme, Chesma, or Chesme) Bay, in the area between the western tip of An ...

, his devastation when Diotima dies of a broken heart before they can be reunited and his subsequent life as a hermit in the Greek wilderness, where he embraces the beauty of nature and overcomes the tragedy of his solitude. In the same time Hyperion after all these losses understands the limits of his idealized concept of Greece. An impossibility to travel becomes the essence of his travel.

Legacy

The work contains ''Hyperions Schicksalslied'' ("Hyperion's Song of Fate"), an interpolated poem on which

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

composed the ''

Schicksalslied The ''Schicksalslied'' (''Song of Destiny''), Opus number, Op. 54, is an orchestrally accompanied choral setting of a poem written by Friedrich Hölderlin and is one of several major choral works written by Johannes Brahms. History Brahms ...

'', Op. 54 between 1869 and 1871. In Arnold Fanck's 1926 film

Der Heilige Berg ''The Holy Mountain'' () is a 1926 German mountain film directed by Arnold Fanck and starring Leni Riefenstahl, Luis Trenker and Frida Richard. It was future filmmaker Riefenstahl's first screen appearance as an actress. Written by Arnold Fanck ...

, Leni Riefenstahl's character Diotima is named after Hyperion's love. Between 1960 and 1969 the Italian composer and conductor

Bruno Maderna Bruno Maderna (born Bruno Grossato, 21 April 1920 – 13 November 1973) was an Italian composer, conductor and academic teacher. Life Maderna was born Bruno Grossato in Venice but later decided to take the name of his mother, Caterina Carolina M ...

composed the opera ''Hyperion'' after Hölderlin's novel. The Italian composer

Luigi Nono Luigi Nono (; 29 January 1924 – 8 May 1990) was an Italian avant-garde composer of classical music. Biography Early years Nono, born in Venice, was a member of a wealthy artistic family; his grandfather was a notable painter. Nono bega ...

included passages from ''Hyperion'' in his work ''Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima'' for string quartet as part of the score to be "sung" silently by the performers while playing the piece. In 1983, the German sculptor Angela Laich created a sculpture named Hyperion, after the main character of the Hölderlin novel. ''Hyperion'' is included in the 2006 literary reference book '' 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die''.

English translations of ''Hyperion''

* ''Hyperion or The Hermit in Greece'' translated by Willard R. Trask (Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1965) * ''Hyperion'' translated by Ross Benjamin (

Archipelago Books Archipelago Books is an American not-for-profit publisher dedicated to promoting "cross-cultural exchange through international literature in translation." Located in Brooklyn, New York, it publishes small to mid-size runs of international fictio ...

, 2008) * ''Hyperion or the Hermit in Greece'' translated by India Russell ( Melrose Books, 2016) * ''Hyperion or the Hermit in Greece'' translated by Howard Gaskill (

Open Book Publishers Open Book Publishers (OBP) is an open access academic book publisher based in the United Kingdom. It is a non-profit social enterprise and community interest company (CIC) that promotes open access for academic monographs, edited collections, c ...

, 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyperion (Holderlin novel) 1797 novels 1799 novels 18th-century German novels Fiction set in 1770 Novels set in the 1770s Epistolary novels German-language novels Novels set in Greece Works by Friedrich Hölderlin Orlov revolt