75.00€
A rare and collectible first edition of Τα Ετεροθαλή (Ta Eterothali) / Step Poems by Odysseas Elytis, one of the most distinguished figures of modern Greek literature and recipient of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Published in Athens in 1974 by the prestigious IKAROS publishing house, this Greek-language poetry volume is an appealing example of Elytis’s literary work during a particularly important period of his career.
The book features a frontispiece by the celebrated Greek painter and sculptor Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, adding significant artistic interest to this edition.
The cover is decorated with an ornamental initial letter Epsilon (Ε), taken from an old manuscript from Mount Athos, lending the book a distinctive connection to Greek manuscript and Byzantine artistic traditions.
Odysseas Elytis (1911–1996), born Odysseas Alepoudellis, was a poet, essayist, literary figure and translator. Widely regarded as the leading representative of romantic modernism in Greece, his poetry is distinguished by its lyrical intensity, metaphysical sensibility and profound connection with the Greek landscape, the Aegean islands, the sea, light and nature.
His celebrated poetic universe combines the tangible beauty of Greece with symbolic and almost mystical imagery, creating a distinctive vision of Greek identity and the sublime.
Elytis received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979, becoming one of the most internationally acclaimed Greek poets of the twentieth century.
A desirable edition for collectors of modern Greek literature, Nobel Prize-winning authors, illustrated poetry and twentieth-century Greek publishing.
Bibliographical Details
Very Good vintage condition. The binding is firm, the pages are clean and crisp, and the cover shows only minimal edge wear consistent with age. Notable Imperfections: There is a small area on the title page where a previous owner’s name/inscription in blue pen has been erased. This has left a faint blue ink trail and caused a slightly rough, abraded texture to the paper surface in that specific spot (see photos for detail).
Literary Appreciation
Lawrence Durrell praised Elytis’s poetry for its romantic and lyrical imagination, its evocation of the Greek landscape and its ability to transform the natural world into something magical and timeless. His poetry, he observed, reaches directly towards the sublime.
A noteworthy collectible edition representing the richness of twentieth-century Greek poetry.
