Vienna, 1817, Ermilos i Dimocrithiraclitos, Michail Perdikaris, First Edition

Michael Perdikaris or Predikaris (1766 – 1828) was a Greek doctor and scholar from Kozani. He came from a family of doctors and became known for the intense criticism he exerted with his literary work on the society of his time.

About the book: The extensive heroic-comical poem is the best-known work of Perdikaris. It consists of twenty odes, divided into three chapters, and is written in thirteen-syllable rhyming verses interspersed with short-syllable verses. The subtitle of the work, “Dimocrithiraklitos”, is borrowed from Eugenios Voulgaris and refers to the two ancient philosophers, Democritus and Heraclitus.  In this innovative work for his time, the main event of the novel’s plot is the transformation of the hero into a donkey. In the last chapter the poet, a deep connoisseur of the Greek situation, attacks in a particularly caustic way the society of his time and especially the ruling classes, the privileged lords, the unworthy high priests, the malignant doctors, and the pedantic teachers, praising at the same time the worthy exceptions. He also articulates his opposition to the representatives of the Enlightenment and to the new ideas that were spreading in the Greek area.

Extremely Rare!