Page 435 - Beholding Liberty!

HALL OF THE ADJUTANTS
ΙΙΙ.10.4
Dionysios Solomos from Zakynthos
Hymn to liberty. Dithyrambe sur la liberté
Translated from modern Greek by Stanislas Julien.
Paris: Imprimerie de Firmin Didot, Imprimeur du Roi, Rue Jacob, No 24. 1825. Library of the Hellenic Parliament Paris: Firmin Didot, 1825
ΙΙΙ.10.5
Hymn to Liberty wrote Dionysios Solomos from Zakynthos On May 1823. Inno alla liberrtà
Translated in Italian by G. Grassetti, Prof. of Italian and Latin Letters in Zante 3rd edition Missolonghi: by the Printing House of D. Mestheneos, 1825
Library of the Hellenic Parliament
DIONYSIOS SOLOMOS (1798-1857) com- posed his Hymn to Liberty in Zante in May 1823; it comprises 632 verses and 158 quatrains of trochaic eight-syllable lines. Combining romantic and classical elements, it is informed by a strong epic and lyric mood. The entire poem is inspired by and reflects the developments on the battle- fields of the Greek Revolution, as it contains ref- erences to the Fall of Tripolitsa, the destruction of Dramalis at Dervenakia, the first (1822) siege of Missolonghi, naval successes, as well as the hanging of the Patriarch Gregory V. The poet ad- dresses the personified Liberty, which is identified with Greece. The poem is a patriotic call to arms, informed by revolutionary passion. At the same time, the poet offers advice to the fighting Greeks and urges the great European powers for support. Since 1865, the Hymn to Liberty has been the na- tional anthem of Greece – and of Cyprus, since 1966 – establishing Dionysios Solomos as the country’s poet laureate.
The Paris edition by Firmin Didot [cat. no III.10.4] provides on opposite pages the Greek text and a French translation in prose by Stanislas Julien, who had also translated Kalvos’ Odes one year earlier [cat. no III.10.3]. This is regarded as the second edition of the Hymn, as it was preceded by a publication in the second volume of Claude Fauriel’s collection of Greek folk songs [cat. no ΙΙ.7.C.20] (Chants Populaires de la Grèce Moderne, Paris: Firmin Didot Père et Fils & Dondey-Dupré Père et Fils, 1825), which also includes various historical songs, including the Thourios of Ri-
gas. The Hymn to Liberty was appended to the end of the publication probably by the publisher, Firmin-Didot, himself, a famous French writer, publisher and philhellene who made a significant contribution, as did his family publishing house, to the promotion of Greek letters and the Greek cause.
The Missolonghi edition [cat. no III.10.5], consid- ered to be the third – as stated on the Italian title page of the book itself – has the Greek text and an Italian translation in prose on opposite pages. In his notes, the Italian translator, G. Grassetti, amends certain errors by the French one, S. Julien. However, the verses against England and Austria have been omitted. It was printed by Dimitrios Mestheneus, the printer of the Hellenic Chronicles, the newspaper published by the Swiss philhellene Johann Jacob Meyer in the besieged Missolonghi, who also printed in 1824 at his own expense The Provisional Government of Greece [cat. no ΙΙ.2.6]; the Thessaloniki patriot Mestheneus (Dimitrios Gouta Mestane) was killed during the heroic sor- tie from Missolonghi in 1826. According to the contemporary press of the time (General Gazette of Greece, Nafplio, November 4, 1825), Solomos intended to distribute free of charge all copies of the Hymn from the Missolonghi edition; it was finally decided to distribute them free of charge to the needy only; the proceeds from the sale of other copies would benefit the Nafplio hospital. In 1837 the Hymn was re-released in a standalone edition, along with an Italian translation in verse by D. di Nobili (Corfu, Stamperia del Governo).
HEROON OF THE STRUGGLE Heroes of the stylus 435