La grécité dans l’oeuvre d’Odysseas Elytis

Abstract

The subject of the present thesis deals with the concept of Greekness in Odysseas Elytis’oeuvre , a comlex topic, the crux of the poet’s aesthetics. The thesis begins with an approach to the evolution of the notion of Greekness throughout time. The author pinpoints the subject of Greekness as it appears in the work of Elytis’ predecessors studying the reasons that led to its hatching up in his work. The second part is devoted to an analysis of the work itself, both poems and essays regarded from the angle of their Greekness. It underlines the fact that the concept of Greekness correlates with the geophysical characteristics of Greece, above all with the quality of its light. Thanks to the mysterious influence of light the humble element is elevated and encapsulated in a divine dimension where the divine descends to the level of the tangible and the day to day life. The study also demonstrates how Elytis, without betraying tradition, attempts to revive it through unbridled means of expression. In the third part the writer establishes how recurrent metaphorical images in Elytis’ work transcend the visible rendering Greekness a contemporary spirit. Finally the research proves that the tradition of Greek humanism touches the aspiration of the universal man and that the constituent elements of the peculiarities of the Greece and the values they emanate can enhance the spirit and render it universal.