Today, on June 19, 1951, Greece was saying goodbye to one of the most important forms of its letters. Angel Sicilian, the poet who attempted to connect Greek tradition with a global vision of spiritual regeneration, left his last breath in Athens at the age of 67.
More than a poet, Sicilian was an iconic intellectual figure, who sought to give poetry a wider role. To become a force to awaken man and bridge communication among the peoples.
Angel Sicilian was born in Lefkada on 15 March 1884. He was the last of five children of a family with intense spiritual cultivation. From a young age he came into contact with the literature, music, folk traditions and the unique natural environment of the Ionian Sea, elements that will later be strongly reflected in his work.
In 1900 he settled in Athens to study law, but the attraction that art and poetry practiced on him proved stronger. He abandoned his studies and dedicated himself completely to literary creation, following a road that few could then predict would lead him to the top of Greek poetry.
The first recognition
The great recognition came with ‘Flaffroite’, a work that caused sense in the literary circles of the early 20th century. Through images of Greek nature, symbolism and deep lyricism, Sicilian shaped a separate poetic universe, which soon ranked him among the most important Greek poets of his generation.
THE ‘Flaffroist’; written in 1907 and published two years later, it is considered one of the works-stations of Modern Greek poetry. According to testimonies, the poetic composition was written in just one week, in an oasis of the western desert, during Sicilian travel to Egypt.
The inspiration he drew from the journey, combined with his deep connection with nature and the Greek world, gave birth to a work that definitively established his name in Greek letters.
The women who marked his life
Sicilian's personal life was as intense as his creative course. Two women left a deep imprint on his life and work, linking their name to different periods of his journey.
The first was the Eva Palmer., the wealthy American woman she met in 1906 and married a year later. Their relationship crossed the line of an ordinary marriage. Palmer became a companion to his artistic and spiritual visions, shared his concerns and financially supported the major initiatives she took.
Three decades later, his life took a different turn when he met Anna Karamani, his wife by George Karamanis. Their love was so strong that it led to his separation from Eve Palmer.
Their marriage was held in 1940 and Anna remained at his side until the end of his life, in the difficult years of Possession, poverty and worsening his health.
The Great Vision of Delphi
His collaboration with Eve Palmer gave birth to one of the 20th century's most ambitious cultural ventures.
The two believed that Delphi could regain their symbolic role in ancient times and function as a meeting place for the peoples.
Sicilian envisioned the creation of a World spiritual community, in which people would unite through culture, art and common values. The so - called ‘Dolphin Idea’ There was the greatest vision of his life.
For the poet, Delphi was not just an archaeological site. It was the spiritual center of mankind, a point where ancient Greek thought could meet the needs of the modern world. He believed that after the disasters and conflicts of the 20th century, peoples needed a new moral orientation.
From this idea were born the famous Delphian Feasts of 1927 and 1930. Events included performances of ancient drama, music, sports games and folk arts, attracting the interest of personalities from around the world. However, the cost was enormous and the couple spent much of their personal property for their realization.
The mystic poet and friendship with Kazantzakis
Sicilian was not only a great poet, but also a personality that impressed those who knew him. He was deeply interested in man’s mysticism, orphism, religious traditions, and spiritual evolution. He believed that poetry could be a way to a higher truth.
These searches brought him close to Nikos Kazantzakis, with whom developed a deep relationship of mutual appreciation. The two men shared common struggles for the fate of man, the role of the spirit and the position of Greece in the world.
According to Kazantzakis' account, Sicilian had once reached the point attempt the "resurrection" of a dead man, believing in the power of spiritual energy. The incident remains one of the strangest stories associated with his name and reveals the depth of the metaphysical quests that characterized the poet.
From Balkan Wars to National Resistance
Sicilian's course was not limited to the world of letters. He participated in the Balkan Wars and lived close to the major twists that marked Greece in the first half of the 20th century.
During the German Occupation, his poetry gained an intense patriotic and social character. Through his work he expressed the pain of a people who were under occupation, but also the belief that freedom will return.
The top moment of this period came on 28 February 1943, at the funeral of Kostis Palamas. Thousands of Athenians gathered to bid farewell to the great poet, turning the ceremony into a silent act of resistance to the conquerors.
When Sicilian recited the poem"Palamas" also known as "Sound the trumpets"The crowd was shocked. For many historians, that moment was one of the most important manifestations of spiritual resistance during the Occupation and one of the most intense public expressions of national dignity.
In front of the coffin Sicilian said that that was where all Greece was touching, expressing the common feeling of emotion of the crowd. And then he recited the poem of Palamas, who had written the dawn of February 28 in honor of the great poet.
"Get the trumpet... Bells thunder,
Vibrate the country beyond...
Vog war drums... The great
Signs, spread out in the air!
In this coffin, please! # A mountain #
With laurels, we bake the Pelion, and you bake the sea,
And when we have set it on fire in the seventh week,
What is my tongue?
By the people, how your poor speech,
He loved him, and he bought him the stars.
Now share the divine skylight
His perfect glory, raise him in his hands
Giant flute on top of me
How we remember him with heart,
Just breathe: ‘The Palamis!’,
To oppose his name!
You have the trumpet... Bells thunder,
Vibrate the country beyond...
Vog war drums... The great
Signs, spread out in the air!
In this coffin, please! A people,
By raising his eyes he sees them...
And wax is burning in the western temple,
And every tall cloud of glory thinks of him.
What about us, where the broken pulse
Impermanence is turned away from him.
‹ The template Infobox settlement is being considered for merging. ›
For they receive the soul of the tropulians,
Where did her work come from?
In his knowledge with one wise thought,
The trismakario now goes high on the boulder.
With the dying gods to dance.
You have the trumpet... Bells thunder,
Vibrate the country beyond...
Voga Pyana! The flags of the terrible
Spread out in the air!".
Nobel nominations
Sicilian's reputation had long gone beyond the Greek border. His work was translated abroad and important personalities of letters recognized his value.
Sicilian was nominated a total of five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Despite the international recognition he enjoyed and the support of important intellectual personalities of the time, he never managed to honor himself with the distinction, which many consider to be To date one of the greatest injustices against Greek literature 20th century.
The tragic ending and the difficult last few years
The last years of his life did not have the glow you would expect for a creator of his range. The economic difficulties, health problems, and the sense that the brotherly vision was not justified as much as he desired were more and more burdening his everyday life.
Despite being one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, In the last years of his life he spent it without financial comfort. Much of its resources had been devoted to the realization of the Delphin Idea, while the sacrifices required for the Delphian Holidays had exhausted significant financial reserves.
The end came tragically. In early June 1951, because of a fatal mistake, took disinfectant instead of his medicine, resulting in severe burns in the internal organs.
After days of nursing, he left his last breath on June 19, 1951.
Seventy-five years after his death, Angel Sicilian still holds a special position in the pantheon of Greek poets.