25/02/2008
Georgios M. Viziinos (1849 – 1896)

E. Dimitriadou - Efraimidou
Source: C.E.T.I.
© Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

His life

G.M. Viziinos, a poet, story writer, essay writer, was a peculiar and pioneering personality of the Greek literature and poetry. He belongs to the introducers and establishers of the ethnographic and psychographic narratives of Modern Greek language with a special reference to the simple Thracian everyday life and language.


He was born in the 8th of March, 1849, in Vizii or Vizo, a small picturesque town in Eastern Thrace, on the road leading to Tsataltza from Saranta Eklisies and connecting the city of Adrianoupolis with Constantinople. It was a town full of popular traditions and historical memories which inspired the work of G. Viziinos who introduced through his work this town in public.

His literary pseudonym is deriving from his homeland’s name, while his real name was Georgios Sirmas.

The death of his father in the age of five was determinant for his further development. He immigrated to Constantinople (1862 or 1863) in order to learn sewing from his uncle. After his boss’s death he left to Cyprus with the help of his patron, Yagos Tselepis (Georgiadis). In Cyprus he was under the protection of the archbishop Sofronios the second, at the monastery dependency Agios Prokopios of Kikos monastery in order to be a priest. He studied at the School of Lefkosia and got back as a clergyman at Chalki where he met the blind poet Ilias Trantadlidis, his educator and spiritual father at the seminary. Eventually he went to Constantinople abandoning the life of a clergyman and published his first poetic collection in 1973 named “Piitika protolia-Tipis Vizantiou” [Early poems – of Byzantine type].

In 1973 met a wealthy sultan’s banker, Georgios Zarifis, went under his protection and went to Athens in order to finish (in the age of 24) his studies at a gymnasium in Plaka. A year after (1874) entered the School of Philosophy in the University of Athens, but he was disappointed with the school’s formalism. Eventually, he went to Germany (Göttingen Berlin, Leipzig) in order to continue his studies just after being awarded a prize in the Voutsineos competition for his poem “Kordos”.

In 1881 he wrote his dissertation theses titled “Playing from a psychological and pedagogical aspect” and got his doctoral degree.

His going to Paris and meeting Vikelas moved him to story writing and in the years 1883-4 he published most of his stories. The death of Zarifis in 1884 made him to go back to Athens. With another dissertation thesis, “The philosophy of good according to Plotinus” in 1885, he was elected professor of History and Philosophy at the University of Athens.

Viziinos was not touched by his academic career. He wrote other psychological studies, tutorial textbooks, he published poetry, stories and articles in newspapers and journals of his time, became a collaborator of “Hestia” and G. Drosinis and entered literature groups till 1892, when he developed a mental disorder.

His life was adventurous and turbulent. His psychology, his sad family adventures, his misfortunes, unfulfilled love affairs, his poverty contributed to his nervous break down. In 1892 he was put away in Dromokaition (a mental Hospital), where he died in 1896, in the last stages of marasmus, leaving a great work which put him in a special place in Modern Greek literature.







His work


His first poetic collection, “Early poems”, was printed in 1873 in Constantinople with Ilias Trantalidis’ promt. In 1874 he was awarded a prize in the Voutsineos competition for his poem “Kordos” which was printed in the same year. In 1876 he was awarded a prize in the same competition for his work “Ares mares koukounares” [Blah blah] which he later renamed along with adding some more poems, the “Vosporides Avre” [The breeze from Vosporus]. In 1883 he published he collection “Atthides Avre” [The breeze from Atthides] in London.


In 1885, besides his papers, he wrote the books “Stihia logikis” [Logical elements], “Pshichologike melete epi tou kalou” [Psychological studies on good] (volumes A, B). In 1988 he wrote the “Monks and worshiping Dionysus in Thrace”, “Components in Psychology” and “Fine arts during the first 25 years of George the first”. In 1882 he wrote “Eric Ipsen” and in 1884 “Ana ton elikona – Valismata”, that was a new genre of poetry for Greece. G. Veloudis mentions it as ‘ballads’ and Viziinos points out that it comes from the ancient Greek verb ‘valizo’=dance. His poems were written during his put away at in Dromokaitio.

His prose work was written during the 1884-1886 period and consists of five lengthy stories where life of Thrace is reflected on. Viziinos is proved to be the most important writer of psychological drama that Papadiamanits and Karkavitsas evolved. “To amartima tis mitros mou” [The sin of my mother] was published in Hestia journal in 1883 along with “Metaxi Pireos ke Neapoleos” [Between Pireos and Neapoleos street] and “Pios skotose ton eafto mou” [Who killed my brother]. He also published in Hestia the stories “I sinepies mias palias istorias” [The consequences of an old story] and “To monon tis zois mou taxidion” [The only journey of my life]. In 1884 he published the short story “Protomagia” [The first of May] in Acropolis newspaper, the story “Giati I milia den egine milea” [Why apple tree was not an apple tree] in Evdomas newspaper in 1885. After his death Hestia published “Moskof Selim” in 1895. He also published in “I diaplasis ton pedon” [Shaping children] children’s poems and stories. Two of his children stories are “Araps ke kamilos aftos”[colored man and a camel] in 1879 and “Tromaras” [the scary man] in 1884.


Βιβλιογραφία

Από τη μεγάλη βιβλιογραφία τη σχετική με το Βιζυηνό σημειώνουμε τα ακόλουθα έργα:
1. Βαλέτας Γ.: Η πανεπιστημιακή κριτική και η επίδρασή της στη νεοελληνική ποίηση. Ποιτικοί διαγωνισμοί «Νέα Εστία» τομ. Κ.Β. Αθήνα 1937.
2. Βάρναλης Κ.: Ένα λησμονημένο ποιητικό αριστούργημα « Αισθητικά – Κριτικά». Τομ. Β εκδ. Κέδρος, Αθήνα 1958.
3. Βέης Ν.: « Η διδακτορική αυτοβιογραφία του Γ. Βιζυηνού»,Πρωία,29-3-1942.
4. Βιζυηνός Γ.: «Τα Διηγήματα» επιμέλεια Βαγγ. Παπαθανασόπουλος, έκδοση Ιδρύματος Κώστα και Ελένης Ουράνη, Αθήνα 1991.
5. Βιζυηνός Γ.: Τα άπαντα «Βίβλος». Αθήνα 1955.
6. Vitti M.: Ιδεολογική λειτουργία της Ελληνικής ηθογραφίας «Κείμενα» 1974.
7. Δόξας Τ.: Βιζυηνός μια παιδική πληγωμένη ψυχή. «Θρακικά Χρονικά» τ. 17-18,Ξάνθη 1965.
8. «Ενδοχώρα» περ. ειδικό τεύχος 3, 1996 Αφιέρωμα στο Γ. Βιζυηνό.
9. Εφραιμίδου-Δημητριάδου Ε. : Γ. Βιζυηνός «Μοσκώβ Σελήμ». Θεατρική απόδοση. Προλεγόμενα. Εκδ «Ηλιοτρόπιο» Ξάνθη 1991.
10. Θρύλος Άλκης: « Μορφές της Ελληνικής πεζογραφίας» τομ 2 Αθήνα 1963.
11. Θρακιώτης Κ.: Ο Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός 1849-1896. Η ζωή και το έργο του. ‘Θρακικά Χρονικά’ τ. 17-18, Ξάνθη 1965.
12. Ιντιάνος Α.Κ.: Ο Βιζυηνός στην Κύπρο. «Θρακικά Χρονικά» τ. 17-18, Ξάνθη 1965.
13. Ιωαννίδης Στεφ.: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός. Σε μια άλλη διάσταση. Ξάνθη 1996 (εκδ Νομαρχία Ξάνθης).
14. Καμαριανάκης Ευαγγ.: ο Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός. «Εταιρία Θρακικών Μελετών» αρ. 100. Αθήνα 1961.
15. Κορδάτος Γ.: Ιστορία της Νεώτερης Ελλάδας, 1860-1890. «20ος αιώνας» τόμ Α. Αθήνα 1985.
16. Μαμώνη Κυ.: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός. «Ελληνική δημιουργία» τόμος Δ, Αθήνα 1949.
17. Μαμώνη Κ.: Βιβλιογραφία του Γ. Βιζυηνού, Αθήνα 1963.
18. Μαμώνη Κ.: Η ακαδημαϊκή σταδιοδρομία του Βιζυηνού. «Θρακικά Χρονικά» τ. 30, Ξάνθη 1973.
19. Μαμώνη Κ.: Νέα στοιχεία για τη ζωή και το έργο του Βιζυηνού. Περ «Διαβάζω» τ. 278 (8-1-1992).
20. Μουλλάς Π.: Γ. Μ. Βιζυηνός. «Νεοελληνικά διηγήματα» Αθήνα 1994.
21. Μουσόπουλος Θ.: «Ο Γ. Βιζυηνός τον 21ο αιώνα». Φοροτεχνική και Θρακική προσέγγιση» ένθετο τεύχους 116/2003.
22. Μουσόπουλος Θ.: «Ο Γ. Βιζυηνός, το θέατρο και ο Ερρίκος Ίψεν» περ. Θρακικά τ. 12, 1999-2000.
23. Μουσόπουλος Θ.: «Ο Γ. Βιζυηνός σήμερα» Ξάνθη 2002.
24. Παλαμάς Κ.: « Τα πρώτα κριτικά» Άπαντα, τομ. 2 & 8. Αθήνα.
25. Παναγιωτόπουλος Ι.Μ.: «.: Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός, η ζωή και το έργο». Βασική Βιβλιοθήκη. Έκδοση ‘Αετός’ τομ 18 , Αθήνα 1954.
26. Παράνθη Μιχ.: «Ανθολόγια Ελληνικής Ποίησης» τομ.2. εκδ Χιωτέλλη. Αθήνα.
27. Παπαχριστοδούλου Πολύδ.: «Ο Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός ως ποιητής και διηγηματογράφος» ‘Εταιρία Θρακικών Μελετών’αρ. 89. Αθήνα 1960.
28. Πολίτης Λινός.: «Ιστορία της νέας Ελληνικής Λογοτεχνίας», Αθήνα 2001.
29. Σαχίνης Απ.: «Το νεοελληνικό μυθιστόρημα» Θεσ/νίκη 1958.
30. Σπεράντζας Σ.Γ. «Βιζυηνός Γ.» άρθρο στη ‘Μεγάλλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδια’.
31. Χάρης Π.: «Γεώργιος Βιζυηνός», Έλληνες πεζογράφοι τομ Γ, Αθήνα 1968.
32. Peri Massimo: « Το πρόβλημα της αφηγηματικής προοπτικής στα διηγήματα του Βιζυηνού » Ελληνικά. Τομ 36.τευχ 2.
33. Ράλλη Μαρία-Ιδράκου: « Γ. Βιζυηνός, ο ζωντανός φορέας της Θρακιώτικης παράδοσης ». Θρακικά, τομ 11 Αθήνα 1996-97. ( Φιλολογικό αφιέρωμα στον Γ. Βιζυηνό).
34. Χαϊδεμένου Καίτη-Λειβάδα: « Η καθολική αναγνώριση του Γ. Βιζυηνού ». ‘Ανθολόγια ποίησης – Διηγήματα’ Αφιέρωμα «Θράκη» εκδ. «Πολιτιστική Συνεργασία» Αθήνα 2006.


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