Διγενής Ακρίτας

by Andreas Karkavitsas, Ανδρέας Καρκαβίτσας

Παίρνοντας αφορμή από το μεσαιωνικό έπος του Διγενή Ακρίτα, της προσωποποίησης της αντρειάς και της λεβεντοσύνης, ο Καρκαβίτσας διηγείται την ιστορία του θρύλου της Βυζαντινής αυτοκρατορίας, που πάλεψε το Χάρο στα μαρμαρένια αλώνια.

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1920

About the author

Andreas Karkavitsas (Greek: Ανδρέας Καρκαβίτσας) was a Greek writer. He was born in the town of Lechaina in the modern Ilia Prefecture. He studied medicine and, as an army doctor, travelled across a great range of villages and settlements, from which he recorded traditions and legends. He died on October 22, 1922 of laryngeal cancer.
Karkavitsas belongs to the literary movement of naturalism (exemplified by Émile Zola), depicts the everyday reality and life of people and society, as opposed to Romanticism and Surrealism. He was known as a talented folklorist, able to spin tales with common people's lives with strong psychological insights about them. In addition, he depicted the local customs, dialects and folktales of the settings in his stories.
He was more successful as a short-story and novella writer.