Dionysios and his brother his legitimate children. In 1808, young Solomos was sent to Italy to study. He finished high school in Cremona and in 1817 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of Pavia University.
Solomos started writing poetry in Italian, as he was a fluent speaker of the language and had great knowledge of Italian literature. Soon he was liberally welcomed in Italian literary circles as a brilliant poet in the Italian language.
When Solomos returned to Zakynthos, with his background in Italian literature, he found a flourishing literary culture. He made many friends among literature circles. They met frequently to compose poems and talk about literature evolutions.There Solomos took a big decision: to write his poems in Greek, not Italian. However, he didn’t want to write in the purist language, highly influenced by Ancient Greek. He wanted to write in the language and idiom of the common people of Zakynthos. He began to systematically study traditional songs and Cretan literature that were the best representations of the demotic dialect of Modern Greek literature.
The Greek Revolution of 1821 and the Exodus of Mesolongi were great inspirations for Solomos to write one of his best poems, the “Hymn to Liberty”. This poem was the flag bearer of the entire literary output of Solomos and established him as a mastery of his native idiom.
A financial dispute with his relatives forced Solomos to move to Corfu, where he found an atmosphere congenial to his poetic and lonesome nature. There he became a center of attraction for his admirers and noblemen. During his final years, Solomos again began to write poetry in Italian. He also became estranged to some of his friends and started drinking too much. He died of stroke in February 1857.His body was transferred to Zakynthos, his beloved island, in 1865. |
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