1933
The death of a Greek poet
It was widely believed in the ancient world that great men were born and died on the same day of the year. Such was the case with Constantine Cavafy, born April 29, 1863 and died on his 70th birthday in 1933. Though he was scarcely heard of in his lifetime, his talent is now recognized to the extent that he is considered the greatest Greek poet of the 20th century. Strangely though, Cavafy had scarcely any experience of living in Greece.
Cavafy was born in Alexandria, Egypt, son of a prosperous Greek merchant, and he spent most of his life there, with short stints in Liverpool and Constantinople. He was employed for most of his life as a bureaucrat in the department of irrigation writing poetry only for the amusement of himself and his friends. Recognition from Greek literary circles came late in his life, and only after his death was he more widely known in translation. Some of his poetry was homoerotic; some was historical in inspiration. My favourite is “Ithaka”, the home island long sought by Ulysses:
When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon – do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon – you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you.
Ask that your way be long.
At many a Summer dawn to enter
with what gratitude, what joy –
ports seen for the first time;
to stop at Phoenician trading centres,
and to buy good merchandise,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can;
to visit many Egyptian cities,
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.
Have Ithaka always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But don’t in the least hurry the journey.
Better it last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.
Ithaka gave you a splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She hasn’t anything else to give you.
And if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn’t deceived you.
So wise you have become, of such experience,
that already you’ll have understood what these Ithakas mean.
Here is a reading of it by Sean Connery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n3n2Ox4Yfk