Supervisors info:
Καθηγητής Γεράσιμος Ζώρας, τμήμα Ιταλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Αναπληρώτρια καθηγήτρια Άννα Θέμου, τμήμα Ιταλικής Γλώσσας και Φιλολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Sirens are figments of human imagination appearing in ancient times. Since then they have constituted an integral part of the oral and written tradition which we come across in dozens of literature and legendary texts around the globe in various time periods. The present postgraduate project examines their presence in Greek and Italian poetry written in the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th. More specifically our research includes poetry of Seferis, Egonopoulos, Uranis, Stergiopoulos, Kasolas, Ritsos, Pascoli, Ungaretti, Palazzeschi, D'Annunzio, Sbarbaro and Montale. The «Journey» begins in ancient times, continues in Medieval times and the Renaissance and finishes in the 20th century (novecento according to the italian chronological order). Our initial goal has been the collection of these poems and in turn the way Sirens are presented in these. Taking into consideration the symbolism of these mythological creatures in each poem separately, we have collected their special characteristics and then categorised them, distinguishing similarities and differences in the way they appear in the works. We have detected Sirens beautiful and pure, Sirens conceived by their creators as symbols of life or an escape from the ordinary etc. A point of special interest is the fact that symbolism reflects beliefs, concerns, quests of the creators in conjunction with the social - political framework of their era, within their art and the unresolved mysteries of life. The knowledge that we get by studying the usage of the mythological element in 20th century poetry is versatile, given the fact that we draw information concerning the poetic of the creators, their connection with the symbols of the past and their worldview. Finally we maintain that Sirens consist a valuable tool of showing interaction between the neighbouring civilizations, Greek and Italian since the ancient times and on.
Keywords:
Sirens, Mythology, Greek poetry, Italian poetry, Novecento
