ODYSSEUS ELYTIS

Odysseas Elytis was born in Iraklion, Crete, on 2 November 1911, and lived most of his life in Athens, to where his family moved in 1914. His island of origin –Lesbos–, his birthplace –Crete–, and his childhood summers spent in Spetses and the Cyclades created in him a deep consciousness of the Aegean islands, which later, on coming into contact with contemporary artistic trends, particularly with surrealism, gave birth to a poetry which was original, full of lyrical images, revolutionary forces and universal values. His poetry, with the light as its focal point and through the transcendent dimension of nature and the spirituality of the senses, sought to uncover the mystery of existence. 

On finishing High-School in Athens, he went on to study Law and also served as a Lieutenant in the Albanian Campaign. He twice went to live in Paris (1948 – 1951 and 1969 – 1971), where he attended courses in literature at the Sorbonne and came into contact with major 20th-century poets and painters (Picasso, Matisse, Breton, Chagall). He was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of The Sorbonne, Oxford, Rome, Athens, Thessaloniki, and was made a Grand Commander of the Legion d’ Honneur by the French Republic. In 1979, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He devoted himself to poetry until his death on 18 March 1996.