Erotokritos
The poet narrates the trials and tribulations suffered by two young lovers, Erotokritos and Aretousa, daughter of Heracles, King of Athens.
The romance takes place in ancient Athens, but the world displayed is a complex construct which does not correspond to any particular historical period.
During his absence, his father falls ill and when Aretousa visits him, she finds in the room of Erotokritos a painting of hers and the lyrics he sang.
Realizing that his identity was revealed and that he may be at risk, he stays at home pretending to be ill. Aretousa sends him a basket of apples to wish him well and as an indication she shares his feelings.
The manuscript of the work does not show the pentameric division, which appears only in printed publications, but it is considered by the scholars to be organic and related to the conception of the work by the poet[1] The epic-heroic and erotic element referred to as thematic cores already in the first verses ("and even the riots, the conceited and the weights / of Eros the baptism and kissing the grace"), coexist in the work divided symmetrically, with erotic superior to the first, the third and the fifth, while the heroic in the second and the fourth, while being interrelated, with one feeding the other: Erotokritos' love for Aretousa is motivated for his participation in the storm, while the man and a bid to the country's king is the fact that allows the success of the relationship.
Submissive voweling, when preceding a continuous allegorical consonant, that is to say, the sui, ξi, ψi, ζi (anipsos, axos) complexes.
[5] The language of Erotokritos is based on the spoken Cretan dialect (mainly in the idiom of Sitia), but it differs from it, if compared to comedies or various documents, since it has few words derived from Italian, while on the contrary it often has more lexical features.
And lyrics, like the language, differ in some features from the folk song: Shifting to the position of the syllables in the verse (even in single syllables, although the yambus is emphasized by the weights), the frequent presence of strikes and punctuation within the verse, elements that contribute to the rhythmic variety and the avoidance of monotony[5] There are numerous adaptations and reworks of this romance that there is speculation that other works may be earlier versions of Erotokritos, such as an earlier play known as Thysia.
[10] On the Italian model on which Kornaros was based, the various adaptations of the French work stand out from the study of two, one of 1543, and one of Angelo Albani's diameters, entitled Innamoramento de due fidelissimi amanti Paris en Vienna, 1626.
An examination of all Italian adaptations in relation to Erotokritus[5] has led to the conclusion that the earlier version was the one used by Kornaros, a point accepted by several philologists.
[5] This view agrees with the poet's proposed identification The direct model of the work is the French popular medieval romance Paris et Vienne composed by Pierre de la Cépède, which was printed in 1487 and was widely circulated, having been translated to many European languages.
The end of both romances is similar with the strange benefactor offering to marry the princess and her accepting only after his true identity is revealed.
Apart from the French romance, the influence of Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto is evident, particularly in the epic elements of the work.
The work was also influenced by the Greek literary tradition and specifically demotic songs and proverbs as well as other texts such as Erofili, Apokopos and Penthos Thanatou.
It is decorated with elegant miniatures, but is less valid than the Venetian version in its delivery of the text, because it alters the character of the vernacular language at places.
Erotokritos sets great store by true love, friendship, courage, and patriotism, and this is the reason for its later popularity all over Greece.
It was a source of inspiration for Dionysios Solomos and influenced Greek poets as diverse as Kostis Palamas, Kostas Krystallis, and George Seferis.
