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ALEXANDROS PAPADIAMANTIS: EASTER CHANTER Title: Λαμπριάτικος Ψάλτης (Easter chanter) Originally published: newspaper EÁκρόπολις, 1893 Language: Greek The excerpt used is from Panayotis Moullas, Α.Παπαδιαμάντης Αυτοβιο- γραφούμενος (Athens: Εστία 1999), pp. 100–103. About the author Alexandros Papadiamantis: [Skiathos (central Greece) 1851 – Skiathos 1911]: short story writer and translator. He was the third son of the priest Adamantios, hence the family name (papa-Diamantis). His mother was the offspring of a well-off family from the Peloponnese. His father was very much influenced by the teaching of Kolyvades, a very conservative version of Orthodoxy. Alexandros accompanied his father to religious ceremonies, an experience which marked his life. He received his primary education in his hometown, at the Aegean island of Skiathos. Later, he left for Athens, where he graduated from the Varvakion school. In 1874, he enrolled at the School of Philosophy at the University of Athens but he never graduated. From a very young age, he learned English and French on his own, to such a perfection that his later translations of foreign novels were of the highest quality. In 1876, he used his studies as a pretext not to return to Skiathos. From 1882 to 1898, he worked as a translator for the first Athenian daily EÅφημερίς (Newspaper) edited by the wellknown playwright Dimitrios Koromilas (1850–1898). In 1884, he started working for the most popular newspaper of the time, EÁκρόπολις (Akropolis), edited by the most prominent journalist of the period Vlassis Gavriilidis (1848–1920). Papadiamantis enjoyed great success: every time he published a short story, it was considered a literary event. In 1895, however, his father died and Alexandros began visiting his hometown Skiathos more often. In 1902, he finally retired there and wrote his most famous novel FÇ φόνισσα (The murder woman). His religious sentiments made him abstain from social gatherings, hence his nickname Κοσμοκαλόγερος (A monk within society). A figure of a stoic and humble outlook, Papadiamantis always preferred to make friends with poor people, among whom he felt more at ease than within the literary circles. It was his religious spirituality that also moved him towards short story writing. He argued that this genre was much closer to his personality as an introvert and self-sufficient man, attached to religious worship and Byzantine liturgy. A few years before his death, Papadiamantis had already gained the reputation he deserved. His contribution is appreciated by diverse audiences , ranging from religious circles to leftist intellectuals. During the last two ALEXANDROS PAPADIAMANTIS: EASTER CHANTER 185 decades, a series of studies have focused on the psychoanalytic dimension of his work. At the same time, his name has been turned into an instrument of touristic propaganda by the inhabitants of Skiathos, whose island is now publicized as ‘the island of Papadiamantis’. Main works: FÇ Μετανάστις [The immigrant] (1882) Οj EΕμποροι τ§ν EΕθν§ν [The Merchants of Nations] (1883); FÇ γυφτοπούλα [The gypsy girl] (1884); GÏνειρο στü κ™μα [Dream on the waves] (1900) FÇ φόνισσα [The woman killer], (1904); he also translated IÅγκλημα καί Τιμωρία [Crime and Punishment] by Dostoyevski (in installments 1888–1891). Context The 1880s was a period of political stability and economic growth. Harilaos Trikoupis (1832–1896), the prime minister for many years, had set out an ambitious program of social and financial modernization. However, after the world economic recession of the 1870s, which had also affected Greek society, thousands of people had gradually abandoned their hometowns and villages and had been squeezed into the miserable neighborhoods of the capital where they sought for a better future. In order to deal with the problem, Trikoupis’ fiscal policy aimed at reinforcing agricultural production through protectionist measures. Yet, these measures did not hamper the wave of immigration to Athens and other cities of the Hellenic Kingdom. Moreover, the initiation of numerous construction projects (railways, channels, schools) offered new jobs to the unemployed, and, thus, accelerated urban population growth. This movement was also sustained by the first significant development of food manufacturing, especially of grape products, and also by the exploitation of mines. For the first time, Greece ceased to be an exclusively agricultural country and offered to its population new means of employment. In intellectual terms, the press was a new and important factor in determining the novel trends in intellectual life. The increasingly literate Athenian public supported the publication of many newspapers, which publicized not only political issues but also intellectual debate. This public was eager to learn and follow new trends, especially those that originated from the West. The newspapers responded to this need, by attracting writers, sometimes on a fully professional basis, and using their...

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