Article
Notes on ‘Bolivar’ by the translator, David Connolly
January 18, 2006
Le cuer . . . pais: “The heart of a man is worth all the gold of a nation”. (Gabriele D’Annunzio, Le dit de Sourd et Muet qui fut Miracule en l’An de Grace 1266). This phrase is in inverted commas in the text and there is some doubt as to whether it belongs to D’Annunzio, though no other source is cited.
Odysseus Androutsos: For Engonopoulos, one of the most splendid figures of the Greek War of Independence. “One of the greatest and most violent of the generals during the Greek War of independence. Because of his generosity and high-spirited character, he made many impetuous errors of policy and action. By order of the Revolutionary Council he was killed by being hurled down the rock of the Akropolis in Athens” (Friar).
they remained . . . alone always: See “Se tu sarai solo, sara tutto tuo” (Leonardo da Vinci).
on Hydra’s seven shores: Hydra, a stark symbol of freedom. The recollection of this heroic and unsubdued island was particularly welcome and comforting during the years of the Occupation.
they painted you . . . Attica’s shores: In many parts of Greece, it is customary at times of religious festivals to paint the exterior of the church or the churchyard wall with whitewash and bluing.
in the districts of Tatavla: A densely-populated district of Constantinople, first settled by Greeks from the Mani who worked in the Imperial Ottoman dockyards in the area known in Byzantine times as the Tabula. To the Greek visitor it aroused similar and even stronger emotions than the Rio dei Greci in Venice and the Griechengasse in Vienna. It was a living remnant of Turkish-occupied Greece with its dense Greek population, its Orthodox charm and the elegance and pride of Hellenism. The Turks ravaged the area during the inter-war years, renaming the district Kourtoulous, meaning ‘redemption’ or ‘deliverance’.
. . . deserted Macedonian town: The contrast is between the provincial quiet of the modern era and the fervent commercial activity these towns had known in the past.
Naxos, Chios: The joyous and luminous aspect of these Aegean islands is emphasized in contrast to the dark and drab towns of the North.
Monemvasia: Town built on a rock on the tip of the Southern Peloponnese. “Famous in medieval times and during the Turkish Occupation as an almost impregnable fortress” (Friar).
august Egypt: The Greek original has ‘Misiri’ for Egypt.
Panama . . . Ecuador: Apart from the charm and rhythm of these placenames, they are listed here as a form of backdrop for the poem’s fervent expression of love for all things Greek.
palikar: According to the Collins English Dictionary (1986), “A Greek soldier in the War of Independence against Turkey”. In fact, the word can be used of any fine, brave and upstanding young man.
. . . the icons creak in Kastoria: A picturesque lake-side town in Northern Greece. “According to folk tradition, the creaking of the holy icons, which adorn every Greek home, is the harbinger of evil” (Friar).
. . . the beauty of a Greek: According to the poet, “when one recalls the Socratic definition that ‘to be a Greek is not a question of origin but of education’, then one can understand what heights of beauty it is possible for a Greek to attain”.
Phanar: This area of Constantinople was for many years the cradle of modern Hellenism. It was inhabited by wealthy and educated Greeks, many of whom held important positions in the Ottoman Empire. As a centre of intellectual activity, it was instrumental in propagating ideas that sparked the Greek War of Independence.
Mouchlio: This was a district in the Phanar that took its name from the ‘Church of the Mongols’ situated there. ‘Mouchlio’ is a corruption of the Greek for ‘Mongolian’.
Constantine Palaeologus: There is a popular belief that Constantine Palaeologus, the last Byzantine Emperor, was not killed when Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, but is in hiding and will reappear when the time is right to re-take Constantinople.
Boyaca, Ayacucho: The same as for the other South-American placenames above. “Territories of Columbia and Peru respectively, where the decisive battles of the Emancipation were fought by Bolivar and his lieutenant de Sucre” (Friar).
I was there: The poet’s vivid memories of the Albanian Campaign of 1940-41, in which he had taken part.
Leskovik: “The first town of Northern Epirus beyond the Greek frontier in Albania, many times in Greek hands, first in 1940 when the poet fought there and was among the first to enter after the Italians had set it on fire” (Friar).
. . . that Hormovo man: Kostas Lagoumtzis or Lagoumtzis Hormovitis, from Hormovo in Northern Epirus. He was an engineer at the time of the Revolution, renowned for his ‘lagoumia’, the tunnels he dug under enemy camps in order to blow them up. He died in the historic sortie from Mesolonghi in 1826.
Vrass! : Albanian for ‘fire!’. According to the poet, shouted by Admiral Koundouriotis in the naval battles of the War of Independence.
pineapple: Military slang for hand grenade. Greek has ‘koumbaras’, lit. ‘piggybank’.
One man . . . of Philippoupolis: No indication is given by the poet as to who he is referring to. Friar notes: “The man was a scoundrel against whom the poet here takes private revenge.”
Philippoupolis: “A Greek town of Romelia, Bulgaria, since destroyed and now named Plovdiv” (Friar).
Aconcagua: Volcano. Highest peak in the Andes.
Alabanda: Ancient town of Asia Minor. Famous for its marble.
Blachernae’s holy water: A famous Byzantine monastery, next to the Palace of the same name, with underground springs from which flowed miraculous waters.
“Hail, passer-by”: Inscription often found on statues in antiquity.
Cyril Loukaris: Renowned and learned Patriarch of Constantinople. Opponent of the Jesuits and the Uniate Church. “In order to help the Greek people, he asked for the aid and friendship of great Protestant leaders of Europe, and was then accused of turning Protestant by jealous Greeks, Turks, and especially Jesuits” (Friar).
Apollonius: “Famous Neo-Platonic philosopher from Tyana in Capadocia during the time of the Apostles. He was said to have disappeared into the Temple of Zeus Sarapis in Alexandria and to have mounted into the Heavens” (Friar).
Morea: Medieval name for the Peloponnese.
Rigas Ferraios: Real name, Antonios Kyriazis, from Velestinon in Thessaly, known in ancient times as Pherae. Poet, scholar and supporter of the Revolutionary cause. He was executed by the Turks.
Antonios Economou: “A revolutionary from Hydra who at the time of the Greek War of Independence, urged the hesitating people of Hydra to cast in their lot with the Revolution. He was killed by them, and is a symbol for the poet of impetuous youth” (Friar).
Pasvantzoglou: Semi-independent chief and later rebel in the area of Viddinio. A friend and admirer of Ferraios.
Maximilien de Robespierre: Engonopoulos notes that this great French democratic leader was very different from what he had been taught at school. Not only was he not a bloodthirsty tyrant, but, on the contrary, he was a sincere ideologist, a virtuous politician of high stature, who never managed to neutralise the clandestine intrigues of the enemies of law and morality.
that other . . . Montivideo: Isidore Ducasse, comte de Lautréamont. “. . . C’est le Montivideen qui passe!” (Comte de Lautréamont: Les Chants de Maldoror)
antistrophe: This is, in fact, a detailed description of the Liberian coat of arms.
the love of liberty brought us here: Motto on the same coat of arms.
epode: Influenced by the popular song of Antonio Vargas-Heredia.
Nauplion: A town in the Argolid in the Peloponnese and first capital of the modern Greek State. The poet notes that the scandal referred to in the Conclusion was caused by the town’s ‘peace-loving’ bourgeois inhabitants.
sardane: Catalonian song and dance rhythm particularly liked by the poet.
general . . . Hydra? : “General Engonopoulos – le grand-père du poete – aviez-vous donc abandonné votre natale Hydra pour sauter avec la poudrière de Larissa?” (Robert Levesque: Domaine Grec).
These notes are based on the explanatory notes provided by the poet in the standard edition of the work (see Nikos Engonopoulos, Poems I, II, Athens, Ikaros 1977, pp. 25-33). I have also made use of additional information provided by Kimon Friar in the notes to his translation and this is acknowledged as such (see Kimon Friar, Modern Greek Poetry, New York, Simon & Schuster 1973, pp. 703-6). ‘Bolivar’ was written in the winter of 1942-43. It originally circulated in manuscript form and was read at Resistance gatherings. It was first published by Ikaros in September 1944.
“They saw an apparition of Theseus in arms, rushing on at the head of them against the barbarians” (Plutarch, Theseus). Le cuer . . . pais: “The heart of a man is worth all the gold of a nation”. (Gabriele D’Annunzio, Le dit de Sourd et Muet qui fut Miracule en l’An de Grace 1266). This phrase is in inverted commas in the text and there is some doubt as to whether it belongs to D’Annunzio, though no other source is cited.
Odysseus Androutsos: For Engonopoulos, one of the most splendid figures of the Greek War of Independence. “One of the greatest and most violent of the generals during the Greek War of independence. Because of his generosity and high-spirited character, he made many impetuous errors of policy and action. By order of the Revolutionary Council he was killed by being hurled down the rock of the Akropolis in Athens” (Friar).
they remained . . . alone always: See “Se tu sarai solo, sara tutto tuo” (Leonardo da Vinci).
on Hydra’s seven shores: Hydra, a stark symbol of freedom. The recollection of this heroic and unsubdued island was particularly welcome and comforting during the years of the Occupation.
they painted you . . . Attica’s shores: In many parts of Greece, it is customary at times of religious festivals to paint the exterior of the church or the churchyard wall with whitewash and bluing.
in the districts of Tatavla: A densely-populated district of Constantinople, first settled by Greeks from the Mani who worked in the Imperial Ottoman dockyards in the area known in Byzantine times as the Tabula. To the Greek visitor it aroused similar and even stronger emotions than the Rio dei Greci in Venice and the Griechengasse in Vienna. It was a living remnant of Turkish-occupied Greece with its dense Greek population, its Orthodox charm and the elegance and pride of Hellenism. The Turks ravaged the area during the inter-war years, renaming the district Kourtoulous, meaning ‘redemption’ or ‘deliverance’.
. . . deserted Macedonian town: The contrast is between the provincial quiet of the modern era and the fervent commercial activity these towns had known in the past.
Naxos, Chios: The joyous and luminous aspect of these Aegean islands is emphasized in contrast to the dark and drab towns of the North.
Monemvasia: Town built on a rock on the tip of the Southern Peloponnese. “Famous in medieval times and during the Turkish Occupation as an almost impregnable fortress” (Friar).
august Egypt: The Greek original has ‘Misiri’ for Egypt.
Panama . . . Ecuador: Apart from the charm and rhythm of these placenames, they are listed here as a form of backdrop for the poem’s fervent expression of love for all things Greek.
palikar: According to the Collins English Dictionary (1986), “A Greek soldier in the War of Independence against Turkey”. In fact, the word can be used of any fine, brave and upstanding young man.
. . . the icons creak in Kastoria: A picturesque lake-side town in Northern Greece. “According to folk tradition, the creaking of the holy icons, which adorn every Greek home, is the harbinger of evil” (Friar).
. . . the beauty of a Greek: According to the poet, “when one recalls the Socratic definition that ‘to be a Greek is not a question of origin but of education’, then one can understand what heights of beauty it is possible for a Greek to attain”.
Phanar: This area of Constantinople was for many years the cradle of modern Hellenism. It was inhabited by wealthy and educated Greeks, many of whom held important positions in the Ottoman Empire. As a centre of intellectual activity, it was instrumental in propagating ideas that sparked the Greek War of Independence.
Mouchlio: This was a district in the Phanar that took its name from the ‘Church of the Mongols’ situated there. ‘Mouchlio’ is a corruption of the Greek for ‘Mongolian’.
Constantine Palaeologus: There is a popular belief that Constantine Palaeologus, the last Byzantine Emperor, was not killed when Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, but is in hiding and will reappear when the time is right to re-take Constantinople.
Boyaca, Ayacucho: The same as for the other South-American placenames above. “Territories of Columbia and Peru respectively, where the decisive battles of the Emancipation were fought by Bolivar and his lieutenant de Sucre” (Friar).
I was there: The poet’s vivid memories of the Albanian Campaign of 1940-41, in which he had taken part.
Leskovik: “The first town of Northern Epirus beyond the Greek frontier in Albania, many times in Greek hands, first in 1940 when the poet fought there and was among the first to enter after the Italians had set it on fire” (Friar).
. . . that Hormovo man: Kostas Lagoumtzis or Lagoumtzis Hormovitis, from Hormovo in Northern Epirus. He was an engineer at the time of the Revolution, renowned for his ‘lagoumia’, the tunnels he dug under enemy camps in order to blow them up. He died in the historic sortie from Mesolonghi in 1826.
Vrass! : Albanian for ‘fire!’. According to the poet, shouted by Admiral Koundouriotis in the naval battles of the War of Independence.
pineapple: Military slang for hand grenade. Greek has ‘koumbaras’, lit. ‘piggybank’.
One man . . . of Philippoupolis: No indication is given by the poet as to who he is referring to. Friar notes: “The man was a scoundrel against whom the poet here takes private revenge.”
Philippoupolis: “A Greek town of Romelia, Bulgaria, since destroyed and now named Plovdiv” (Friar).
Aconcagua: Volcano. Highest peak in the Andes.
Alabanda: Ancient town of Asia Minor. Famous for its marble.
Blachernae’s holy water: A famous Byzantine monastery, next to the Palace of the same name, with underground springs from which flowed miraculous waters.
“Hail, passer-by”: Inscription often found on statues in antiquity.
Cyril Loukaris: Renowned and learned Patriarch of Constantinople. Opponent of the Jesuits and the Uniate Church. “In order to help the Greek people, he asked for the aid and friendship of great Protestant leaders of Europe, and was then accused of turning Protestant by jealous Greeks, Turks, and especially Jesuits” (Friar).
Apollonius: “Famous Neo-Platonic philosopher from Tyana in Capadocia during the time of the Apostles. He was said to have disappeared into the Temple of Zeus Sarapis in Alexandria and to have mounted into the Heavens” (Friar).
Morea: Medieval name for the Peloponnese.
Rigas Ferraios: Real name, Antonios Kyriazis, from Velestinon in Thessaly, known in ancient times as Pherae. Poet, scholar and supporter of the Revolutionary cause. He was executed by the Turks.
Antonios Economou: “A revolutionary from Hydra who at the time of the Greek War of Independence, urged the hesitating people of Hydra to cast in their lot with the Revolution. He was killed by them, and is a symbol for the poet of impetuous youth” (Friar).
Pasvantzoglou: Semi-independent chief and later rebel in the area of Viddinio. A friend and admirer of Ferraios.
Maximilien de Robespierre: Engonopoulos notes that this great French democratic leader was very different from what he had been taught at school. Not only was he not a bloodthirsty tyrant, but, on the contrary, he was a sincere ideologist, a virtuous politician of high stature, who never managed to neutralise the clandestine intrigues of the enemies of law and morality.
that other . . . Montivideo: Isidore Ducasse, comte de Lautréamont. “. . . C’est le Montivideen qui passe!” (Comte de Lautréamont: Les Chants de Maldoror)
antistrophe: This is, in fact, a detailed description of the Liberian coat of arms.
the love of liberty brought us here: Motto on the same coat of arms.
epode: Influenced by the popular song of Antonio Vargas-Heredia.
Nauplion: A town in the Argolid in the Peloponnese and first capital of the modern Greek State. The poet notes that the scandal referred to in the Conclusion was caused by the town’s ‘peace-loving’ bourgeois inhabitants.
sardane: Catalonian song and dance rhythm particularly liked by the poet.
general . . . Hydra? : “General Engonopoulos – le grand-père du poete – aviez-vous donc abandonné votre natale Hydra pour sauter avec la poudrière de Larissa?” (Robert Levesque: Domaine Grec).
© David Connolly
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