The Ionian School

Late 18th -19th c.

Prose Writers

• The Ionian authors were primarily poets.

• Elizabeth Mutzan-Martinengou: Autobiography (Important for Women’s Studies)

• Polylas: Essay, Translation, Literary Criticism

Prosolomic Poets

• Fondness of boucolic poetry (Theokritos, Virgil), and the ideas of the Enlightenment

• Martelaos:• Mainly patriotic poetry• Danelakis: • A liberal follower of the

Enlightenment• Prepared the intellectual

background of the Ionian School Zakynthos

Solomos

• Born in Zakynthos, died in Corfu

• Lyric poet• Patriotic poetry• Use of Ionian dialect• Influences from Italian

literature • He wrote in both Greek

and Italian

Contemporaries of Solomos and later Ionian poets

• Kalvos (inspired by the war of independence)

• Maviles (Sonett writer)

• Valaorites (bridges the Ionian school with Romantic mainland literature)

• Laskaratos (pioneer of modern Greek humorous literature)