Odysseas (Alepoudellis) Elytis (1911 - 1996)

Born 2 Nov 1911 in Heraklion, Republic of Crete

Died 18 Mar 1996 at age 84 in Athens, Attica, Greece

Biography

Odysseas (Alepoudellis) Elytis is Notable.

Odysseas Elytis was one of the most praised poets of the second half of the twentieth century, with his Axion Esti is regarded as a monument of contemporary poetry. In 1979, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature^[1]

Οδυσσέας Αλεπουδέλλης [Odysseas Alepoudellis] was born on 2 Nov 1911 in Heraklion, Crete [now in Greece]. His parents were Panayiotis Alepoudelis and Maria E Vrana.^[1]

His parents owned a soap manufacturing and olive oil production industry in Heraklion, Crete. The family later moved to Athens, Greece.^[1]

In 1927, Odysseas was diagnosed with tuberculosis. While recovering, he became interested in Greek poetry. He started out in studies to become a lawyer, but ultimately became a notable poet. He adopted the pen name of Odysseas Elytis, Οδυσσέας Ελύτης. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979.^[1]

From 1948-1952, and again from 1969 to 1972, he lived in Paris, France.^[1]

It appears that he did not marry nor have children. While in Paris in 1969-1972, he was living with the English philologist Marianina Kriezi (1947-2022]. It has been speculated that they married in France, but she did not return with him to Greece. In his last 10 years, he was living with Ioulita [Sofia] Iliopoulou [1965- ], who was 53 years younger than him. She inherited his property.^[1]

Odysseas Elytis died from heart failure on 18 March 1996 in Athens, Greece, at age 84.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Wikipedia:Odysseas Elytis