The Cretan poet of Erotokritos
.
It
is not known as to when exactly the Cretan poet, Vitsentzos
Kornaros, was born, but the researchers of his major work:
namely the "Erotokritos", conclude that Vitsentzos Kornaros was
born in Sitia, Crete and died after 1677.
There are some arguments about his origins because of his name,
Vitsentzos. Some claim that he was Venetian but this view is not
proven. It may be the case that his name developed due to the
prevalence of various Venetian names caused by the length of the
period of the Venetian rule. A second and perhaps more serious
argument is that the work of Vitsentzos Kornaros, particularly "Erotokritos",
includes many elements from the Cretan main genre that only a
writer deeply infused with the tradition and sources of the
Cretan grandeur, (so only one that was born and bred in Crete,)
could have created such a great work.
The epic drama "Erotokritos", is considered as one of the
masterpieces of world literature. It consists of 10,010 verses
with Cretan idiomatic phrases. Parts of this work became
traditional songs and poetry of the Cretan people and is recited
at celebrations. The works have also been adapted to the stage
and the fact that the drama "Erotokritos" lends itself to
different genres of performing arts is testament to the value of
the work that even today, where and when played, it touches the
public. The story tells of true love, friendship, courage and
patriotism and for this reason is still popular throughout
Greece. There is not however, any evidence that the second work
that is attributed to Vitsentzos Kornaros is really his. It is
the religious drama "The Sacrifice of Abraham," with subjects
taken from the Old Testament, which describes the sacrifice of
Isaac by his father Abraham..