Editing Dionysios Solomos (section)

==Life==

===Early life and education===
[[File:Solomos young.jpg|thumb|180px|Solomos when young]]

Born in [[Zakynthos]] in 1798,<ref>At the time of Solomos' birth Zakynthos was part of the French department [[Mer-Égée]].</ref> Dionysios Solomos was the illegitimate child of a wealthy [[count]], Nikolaos Solomos, and his housekeeper, Angeliki Nikli. Nikolaos Solomos was of Cretan origin; his family were Cretan refugees who settled on Zakynthos in 1670 after [[Crete]]'s conquest by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1669, and was connected with the Venetian patrician family of [[Salamon family|Salamon]], who had settled on the island of Crete in the 15th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ν. B. Τωμαδάκης |title=Οικογένειαι Salamon-Σολωμού εν Κρήτη |year=1938 |series=Epeteris Hetaireias Byzantinon Spoudon |pages=163–181}}</ref> It is possible that his mother Angeliki Nikli came from the region of [[Mani Peninsula|Mani]].<ref>Kriaras 1969, 13</ref> The Italian version of the family name is recorded as: Salamon, Salomon, Solomon, and Salomone.<ref>Jenkins 1981, 6</ref>Venetian

Count Nikolaos Solomos was legally married to Marnetta Kakni, who died in 1802.  From that marriage, he had two children: Roberto and Elena.  Since 1796, Nikolaos Solomos had a parallel relationship with his housekeeper Angeliki Nikli, who gave birth to one more son apart from Dionysios, Dimitrios (born in 1801).  His brother Dimitros Solomos was in 1852 elected President of the [[United States of the Ionian Islands]] under the British Regime and was awarded the British [[Order of St Michael and St George|Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mondogreco.net/politica/antichi_stati.htm | title=Leader politici dal 1821 }}{{dead link|date=December 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Count Dimitrios Solomos GCMG was married to Elena, daughter of Dr Demetrio [[Arvanitaki|Arvanitachi]], the Senator of Zakynthos, who inspired his later work ''The Woman from Zakynthos.''<ref>{{cite web | url=https://zakynthos-museumsolomos.gr/i-ginaika-tis-zakythos.html | title=Η Γυναίκα της Ζάκυθος / Μουσείο Σολωμού & Επιφανών Ζακυνθίων }}</ref>

His father married Dionysios' mother a day before he died on 27 February 1807, making the young Dionysios legitimate and a co-heir to the count's estate, along with his half-brother.  The poet spent his childhood years on Zakynthos until 1808, under the supervision of his Italian tutor, abbot Santo Rossi.  After his father's death, count Dionysios Messalas gained Solomos' custody, whereas his mother married Manolis Leontarakis on 15 August 1807.  In 1808, Messalas sent Solomos to Italy in order to study law, as was customary with Ionian nobility, but possibly also because of Dionysios' mother's new marriage.

===Studies in Italy===
Solomos went to Italy with his tutor, who returned to his home town, [[Cremona]].  Initially he was enrolled at the Lyceum of St. Catherine in [[Venice]], but he had adjustment difficulties because of the school's strict discipline.  For that reason, Rossi took Solomos with him to [[Cremona]], where he finished his high-school studies in 1815.  In November 1815, Solomos was enrolled at [[Pavia University]]'s Faculty of Law, from which he graduated in 1817.  Given the interest the young poet showed in the flourishing [[Italian literature]] and being a perfect speaker of Italian, he started writing poems in Italian. One of the most important first poems written in Italian during that period of time was the ''Ode per la prima messa'' (Ode to the first mass) and ''La distruzione di Gerusalemme'' (The destruction of Jerusalem).  In the meantime, he acquainted himself with famous Italian poets and novelists (possibly [[Alessandro Manzoni|Manzoni]], [[Vincenzo Monti]] etc.); [[Ugo Foscolo]] from Zakynthos was among his friends.  As a result, he was easily accepted in the Italian literary circles and evolved into a revered poet of the Italian language.

===Return to Zakynthos===
After 10 years of studies Solomos returned to Zakynthos in 1818 with a solid background in literature.  On Zakynthos, which at that time was well known for its flourishing literary culture, the poet acquainted himself with people interested in literature. [[Antonios Matesis]] (the author of ''Vasilikos''), [[Georgios Tertsetis]], [[Dionysios Tagiapieras]] (a physician and supporter of the ''[[dimotiki]]'', and also a friend of [[Ioannis Vilaras]]) and [[Nikolaos Lountzis]] were some of Solomos' most well-known friends.  They used to gather in each other's homes and amused themselves by making up poems. They frequently satirized a Zakynthian doctor, Roidis (Solomos' satirical poems referring to the doctor are ''The doctors' council'', the ''New Year's Day'' and ''The Gallows'').  They also liked to improvise poems on a given rhyme and topic.
His improvised Italian poems during that period of time were published in 1822, under the title ''Rime Improvvisate''.

===First works in Greek and encounter with Spyridon Trikoupis===
Along with the Italian poems, Solomos made his first attempts to write in Greek.  This was a difficult task for the young poet, since his education was classical and in Italian, but also because there did not exist any poetic works written in the [[Modern Greek|demotic dialect]] that could have served as models.  However, the fact that his education in Greek was minimal kept him free of any scholarly influences, that might have led him to write in [[katharevousa]], a "purist" language formulated as a simpler form of ancient Greek. Instead he wrote in the language of the common people of his native island.  In order to ameliorate his language skills, he started studying methodically [[Dimotiká|demotic songs]], the works of [[Heptanese School (literature)|pre-solomian poets]] (προσολωμικοί ποιητές) and popular and [[Cretan literature]] that at that time constituted the best samples of the use of the [[Demotic Greek|demotic]] dialect in [[modern Greek literature]].The result was the first extensive body of literature written in the demotic dialect, a move whose influence on subsequent writers cannot be overstated.  Poems dating to that period of time are ''I Xanthoula'' — ''The little blond girl'', ''I Agnoristi'' — ''The Unrecognizable'', ''Ta dyo aderfia'' — ''The two brothers'' and ''I trelli mana'' — ''The mad mother''.

Solomos' encounter with [[Spyridon Trikoupis]] in 1822 was a turning-point in his writing.  When Trikoupis visited Zakynthos in 1822, invited by [[Lord Guilford]], Solomos' fame on the island was already widespread and Trikoupis wished to meet him.  During their second meeting, Solomos read to him the ''Ode to the first mass''. Impressed by Solomos' poetic skills, Trikoupis stated:

<blockquote>Your poetic aptitude reserves for you a select place on the Italian Parnassus.  But the first places there are already taken.  The Greek Parnassus does not yet have its [[Dante]].</blockquote>

Solomos explained to Trikoupis that his Greek was not fluent, and Trikoupis helped him in his studies of [[Athanasios Christopoulos|Christopoulos]]' poems.

===''Hymn to Liberty'' and the poet's establishment===
[[File:Ymnos Eis Tin Eleftherian.Book cover.1825.jpg|thumb|180px|Cover of the "Hymn to Liberty" (Ύμνος εις την ελευθερίαν), published on 1825 (second Greek edition)]]

The first important turning point in the Greek works of Solomos was the [[Hymn to Liberty]] that was completed in May 1823-a poem inspired by the [[Greek War of Independence|Greek revolution 1821]].  The poem was at first published in 1824 in occupied [[Mesolongi]] and afterwards in Paris in 1825 translated into French and later on in other languages too.  This resulted in the poet's fame proliferation outside the Greek borders.  Thanks to this poem, Solomos was revered until his death, since the rest of his work was only known to his small circle of admirers and his "students".  The [[Hymn to Liberty]] inaugurated a new phase in the poet's literary work: this is the time when the poet has finally managed to master the language and is experimenting himself with more complex forms, opening up to new kinds of inspirations and easily leaving aside improvisation.  This period resulted in the ''Odi eis to thanato tou Lordou Byron'' — ''Ode to the death of Lord Byron'', a poem having many things in common with the Hymn but also many weaknesses, ''I Katastrofi ton Psaron'' — ''Psara's Destruction'', ''O Dialogos'' — ''The Dialogue'' (referring to the language) and ''I Gynaika tis Zakynthos'' — ''The Woman from Zakynthos''.
It is alleged that Solomos could hear the cannon firing from Zakynthos during the Greek War of Independence, which inspired him to write his most famous works.

===Establishment on Corfu: first years===
After frictions and economic disputes with his brother Dimitrios concerning legacy matters, Solomos move to [[Corfu]], the most important intellectual center of the [[Ionian islands]] in those years.  However, Dionysios did not leave Zakynthos solely because of his family problems; Solomos had been planning to visit the island since 1825.  Corfu would offer him not only a more stimulating environment but also the vital isolation for his solitary and bizarre character.  Corfu was the perfect place for contemplation and writing poetry, in line with Solomos' noble ideas about Art.  That explains the fact that his happiest years were the first years he spent on Corfu.  It was during this period of time that he took up studying German [[romanticism|romantic]] philosophy and poetry (Hegel, Schlegel, Schiller, Goethe).  Since he did not know German, he read Italian translations by his friend [[Nikolaos Lountzis]].  In the meantime, he continued to work on ''The Woman of Zakynthos'' and ''Lambros'' that he had started in 1826. The ''Woman of Zakynthos'' was said to be inspired by the infidelities of his sister-in-law Elena [[Arvanitaki|Arvanitachi]], the daughter of Dr Demetrio [[Arvanitaki|Arvanitachi]], the Senator of Zante.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Museum of Solomos and Famous men of Zakynthos |title=The Woman of Zante |url=https://zakynthos-museumsolomos.gr/i-ginaika-tis-zakythos.html}}</ref>

===1833: trial and great works of maturity===
Between 1833 and 1838, having restored the relations with his brother, Solomos' life was perturbed by a series of trials where his half-brother (from his mother's side) Ioannis Leontarakis was claiming part of their father's legacy, arguing that he was also the legal child of count Nikolaos Solomos, since his mother was pregnant before the father's death.  Even though the outcome of the trial was favorable to both the poet and his brother, the dispute led to Solomos' alienation from his mother (his feelings were badly hurt because of his adoration towards his mother) and his withdrawal from publicity.

Even though the trial influenced the poet to such a point, it was not able to seize his poetical work.  1833 signifies the mature period of his poetical work, that resulted in the unfinished poems of ''O Kritikos'' — ''The Cretan'' (1833), ''Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi'' — ''[[The Free Besieged]]'' (until 1845) and ''O Porfyras''(1847), that are considered to be the best of his works.  In the meantime, he was planning other works that either remained at the preparation stage or remained as fragments, such as ''Nikoforos Vryennios'', ''Eis to thanato Aimilias Rodostamo'' — ''To the death of Emilia Rodostamo'', ''To Francisca Fraser'' and ''Carmen Seculare''.

===Circle of Corfu===
On [[Corfu]], Solomos soon found himself at the admirers' and poets' center of attention, a group of well educated intellectuals with liberal and progressive ideas, a deep knowledge of art and with austere artistic pretensions.  The most important people Solomos was acquainted to were [[Nikolaos Mantzaros]], [[:el:Ιωάννης Ζαμπέλιος|Ioannis]] and [[:el:Σπυρίδων Ζαμπέλιος|Spyridon Zampelios]], [[Ermannos Lountzis]], [[Niccolò Tommaseo]], [[Andreas Mustoxydis]], [[:el:Πέτρος Βράιλας Αρμένης|Petros Vrailas Armenis]], [[:el:Ιάκωβος Πολυλάς|Iakovos Polylas]], [[:el:Ιούλιος Τυπάλδος|Ioulios Typaldos]], [[Andreas Laskaratos]] and [[:el:Γεράσιμος Μαρκοράς|Gerasimos Markoras]].
Polylas, Typaldos and Markoras were Solomos' students, constituting the circle referred to as the "[[Heptanese School (literature)|solomian poets]]" (σολωμικοί ποιητές), which signifies Greek's poetry flourishing, several decades before the appearance of the [[New Athenian School]], a second poetical renaissance inspired by [[Kostis Palamas]].

===Last years===
[[File:Dionysios Solomos tomb in his mausoleum, Zakynthos City, Greece 01.jpg|thumb|The tomb of Dionysios Solomos, located in the Museum of Dionysios Solomos; [[Zakynthos (city)]]]]

After 1847, Solomos started writing in Italian once more.  Most works from this period are half-finished poems and prose drafts that maybe the poet was planning to translate into [[Greek language|Greek]].  Serious health problems made their appearance in 1851 and Solomos' character became even more temperamental.  He alienated himself from friends such as [[Polylas]] (they came on terms with each other in 1854) and after his third stroke the poet did not leave his house.  Solomos died in February 1857 from [[apoplexy]].  His fame had reached such heights so when the news about his death became known, everyone mourned. [[Corfu]]'s theater closed down, the [[Ionian Parliament]]'s sessions were suspended and mourning was declared. His remains were transferred to Zakynthos in 1865.