Thanos Vlekas
Thanos Vlekas ( Greek Θάνος Βλέκας ) is a novel by Pavlos Kalligas , which was published in several episodes in the magazine Pandora from October 1855 to February 1856 and appeared in 1890 as a stand-alone novel.
Thanos Vlekas is regarded as a fundamental work of the Greek description of customs, the so-called “ ethography ” and is one of the few prose works from the period 1830–1880 that have not been forgotten. It illuminates the episodes of everyday life in the context of Greece's newly won state independence . But the value of the novel is less in the description of everyday life (which is treated with a distance from the administration's point of view anyway) than in the treatment of a new subject area: it is the first novel to deal with the organization or disorganization of modern Greek State deals.
At the center of the actions and embedded in the post-war period of the Greek struggle for independence are the brothers Thanos and Tassos Vlekas, who master their respective paths in life in a completely different way. Despite hard work as a farmer, Thanos only makes a meager living. In contrast, his brother Tassos, who previously worked as a lieutenant and deserted, leads a predatory life and always knows how to use the system in the new state to his advantage. As it were revolving around the topic of corruption and political influence, the Greek nation-state in the novel is confronted with a pre-state, Ottoman rule, which Thanos with his emigration to (still under Turkish rule) Thessaly , a free but lawless Greece under the Reign of King Otto I finally prefers. The mention and integration of the modern Greek folk song and especially the klephten song in the novel is particularly interesting . Barbara, the mother of Tassos, is overjoyed when her wounded son is now listening to a klephten song.
Characters
"Τους ήρωές του, τους ανθρώπους που στήνει μπροστά μας, τους βλέπει απέξω. Δεν ψάχνει στη σκέψη τους, δεν επιμένει στις αιτίες των γεγονότων, και θα λέγαμε όγτι σαηεδόν αποφτύν σοηο ύτγαφοην αποψφτ ...
- Thanos Vlekas:
- Thanos is the main character in the novel. He's a hard-working, law-abiding farmer who represents Kalliga's values, values that aren't socially established but that readers should share. His predilection for hard, honest, and socially meaningful work leads him into a series of misunderstandings and ultimately death. Thanos is a rather weak main character who is little outlined as a person and therefore leaves enough freedom so that the contemporary reader at the time could easily find himself in him.
- Tassos Vlekas:
- The older brother and antagonist of the main character. He represents the old values of " Robin Hood ", sung about in Kleftenlied and anchored in society . The firstborn is also preferred by his and Thanos' mother, "The enemies of Tassos were for her enemies of God and of men". He is a pallicar who comes to fortune by interacting with corrupt political leaders. He does not need to atone for his crimes, as he enjoys political immunity.
- Iapetos:
- The bad guy in the play. The son of a maker of shepherd's cloaks, who climbs up in society and changes his name from Καπóτας to the more Hellenic Iapetos to disguise his origins. He attends many social events and makes contacts that give him a place in a ministry. Tassos learns about the village of Trivae through him.
- Skias:
- A former bandit and comrade of Tassos.
- Haphaestidis:
- A schoolmaster and "learned fool". He is able to accurately analyze and predict social problems and attests the Greeks a lack of "common sense" (o κοινóς νους). However, his actions are not aligned, ineffective and naive.
- The American missionary:
- In cooperation with Hephaestidis, he analyzes the central weaknesses of Greek society in the 19th century. One recognizes in his person the American missionary Jonas King (1792–1869) who was active in Greece at the time.
- Ephrosyne:
- Thanos' beloved.
- Nikos Ayfandis:
- The father Ephrosynes, a wealthy landowner in a non-Greek province ( Thessaly ).
content
Chapter 1
The teacher Georgios Hephaistides and the priest Papa-Jonas are on their way to the young, hard-working farmer Thanos Vlekas and his mother Barbara, near the town of Lamia . The two hope to get up-to-date information about Tassos, Thanos' brother. Occasionally, due to his lack of success as a soldier, he joins wandering groups of robbers. At the same time, Thanos and his mother look forward to the long overdue arrival of the tax collectors in order to find out the actual remuneration for their harvest.
Chapter 2
While Barbara in the hut learns from Papa-Jonas that her favorite son Tassos has joined the Kleften and thus puts her and his brother in danger, Thanos Hephaistides reports of his worries about the rich grain harvest, which, however, as long as the tax collectors are still there would not have set the required tax rate, which is exposed to the dangers of predators and bad weather. Over coffee that follows, the teacher and the priest discuss the political situation in Greece. A shepherd tells Thanos and Barbara about the Tassos 'wounding of Tassos' in a battle with the gendarmes. With the help of the shepherd, mother and brother are supposed to take him from his hiding place to a safe place where Tassos can be looked after.
Chapter 3
When Thanos and Barbara hear of the cruel torture methods used by the new gendarmerie captain when questioning family and friends of robbers, Barbara and the shepherd immediately decide to flee to Turkish territory. But Thanos returns to the hut to send the two of them what they need. In the meantime, however, the captain has learned that Tassos has become a robber and so several gendarmes are already waiting for Thanos to "question" him. Warned by the glow of the fire that the gendarmes set in his hut, Thanos also decides to flee.
Chapter 4
Meanwhile, Barbara and Tassos seek refuge with Nikos Ayfandis and his daughter Ephrosyne. After a few days, Thanos joins them and they decide to stay until Tassos has recovered. During his stay, Thanos becomes friends with Ayfandis and a tender love develops between him and Ephrosyne. Tassos, who is known for his bravery, is entrusted with the supervision of the other robber gangs by the Turkish Derven Aga after his recovery . At the same time he builds his own band of robbers. However, when the Pasha of Larissa the Derven Aga settles, look forward to it has an uncertain future.
Chapter 5
After the new Albanian Derven Aga is installed, the predator mischief is awakening to new life everywhere. Meanwhile, Thanos makes his way to Volos without taking any great precautions and meets two soldiers who have served Tassos. Because of their similarity, they recognize the brother of Tassos in Thanos and hand him over to the caimakain. At the time, however, he had to do with the conviction of seafarers and had Thanos incarcerated in the meantime.
Chapter 6
Thanos eventually escapes beheading because he is accidentally taken with the convicted sailors on a Turkish warship that is supposed to take the prisoners to Constantinople . When the ship gets caught in a storm at night, the Turkish captain orders the sea-savvy Greeks to be brought on deck to help. On this occasion, the prisoners, under their captain Zarpas, manage to take over the ship and throw the Turks overboard. The next morning, they cut off another ship's path to replace the tattered sails. Zarpas also demands that he and Thanos be taken to the port of Skopelos to go ashore as survivors of a shipwreck. The rest of the crew would bring the Turkish ship to safety. On the deck of the second ship, Thanos discovers Ephrosyne and her mother. He tells of his fate and is taken in by the two of them in Skopelos. Ayfandis would arrive soon too.
Chapter 7
After several daring raids, Tassos is on the run with his gang from Thessaly and with a few incidents manages to reach Skiathos , where Barbara was already waiting for him.
Chapter 8
Since the Greek consul insists on extradition, Zarpas and his people, including Thanos, are brought to Chalkis and brought to justice. Although everyone is acquitted of shipping fraud, Thanos has to remain in prison for a further investigation into aiding and abetting robbery. There he is finally forgotten and over time he becomes more and more depressed.
Chapter 9
Ayfandis decides to travel to Athens with his family to save his daughter's soul . During their stay, they meet Tassos, who has just completed his habilitation as a former robber and has been appointed lieutenant. The injustice of this development causes Ayfandis to accuse Tassos of not advocating the release of his brother in his new position. Tassos then promises that his good friend Japetos will take care of Thanos' release and return to Ayfandi's homeland, as the influential friend is known to the Turkish ambassador who is responsible for Ayfandi's homeland of Thessaly. Convinced that he is an irresistible bachelor, Japetos tries again and again to make advances, despite Ephrosynes' clear rejections.
Chapter 10
Thanos is brought to justice and, thanks to Hephaistides' energetic support, acquitted. Thanos then decides to travel to Athens with him. When he arrives at his mother's house, however, Tassos is not there.
Chapter 11
Japetos tries to win Ephrosyne over, while Thanos is on trial, although he is also entitled to unfair methods, but fails.
Chapter 12
Hephaistides would like to publish a book, but he lacks the financial means. Japetos makes him an offer to supervise a technical machine in the civil service. Hephaistides refuses and finds a job with an American pastor, for whom he does theological work.
Chapter 13
Tassos travels to the village of Trivae in the Peloponnese to acquire land. Playing false facts, he wins the support of the villagers and he travels to Athens to legalize the land acquisition.
Chapter 14
Tassos disguises his new land holdings from Thanos as a late recognition of their inheritance, Thanos is supposed to travel to the village as administrator. Japetos continues to recreate Ephrosyne, but fails again, this time because of his affair with a married woman. Japetos is imprisoned for this, but leads a lavish life in custody.
Chapter 15
Tasso's envoy, Skias, reaches the village of Trivae and lets the residents sign the contract to take over the land. The villagers, unsuspecting, celebrate a festival in honor of the ambassador.
Chapter 16
Thanos leaves for Trivae. Ephrosyne and Thanos part without confessing their love. Ayfandis gives Thanos some advice on farming along the way.
Chapter 17
The villagers soon get to see Tasso's true nature under Skias' bad treatment. The village elders then seek the support of local elites. When Thanos arrives, the villagers don't trust him at first. However, he would like to help them, but he does not receive an answer to his letters to Tassos.
Chapter 18
Ayfandis returns to Thessaly with Ephrosyne. Ephrosyne is saddened because, contrary to his promise, you do not write to Thanos. Meanwhile, Ayfandis begins an exchange of letters with Tassos in order to get in contact with Thanos.
Chapter 19
Tassos is the adjutant at the choir, who is responsible for combating robbers. In this function, Tassos supports the robbers and shares in the profits from them. Thanos is meanwhile in Trivae and tries to contact Tassos, but he does not answer his letters and hopes that Thanos would give up his efforts to help the villagers and return to Ayfandis.
Chapter 20
Tassos writes to Ayfandis and asks him to travel to Tassos to obtain powers of attorney for Thanos in order to be able to help the villagers. Japetos, released from prison, arrives at Tassos at the same time as Ayfandis and Ephrosyne. Forced by Ayfandis, Tassos sets up the power of attorney, but plans to have it stolen again. Meanwhile, Japetos wants to have Ephrosyne kidnapped. Ayfandis is warned and can safely leave with proxy and Ephrosyne.
Chapter 21
The villagers in Trivae revolt against Skias and Thanos, and murder both of them. The murderers face the authorities, but later flee. When Ephrosyne learns of Thanos death, she falls from her horse and dies. Ayfandis arranges for the two to be buried together.
reception
The novel '' Thanos Vlekas' 'did not provoke any immediate reactions from Kalligas' contemporaries. Only in the '' Spectateur de l'Orient '' of August 26th / 7th September 1856 he is referred to as the "robber novel". Nicolas Dragoumis praised the novel as such in Pandora magazine - '' Thanos Vlekas '' is mentioned as one who very well denounces the licentiousness of society and institutions. Barely a year later, in 1856, the robber novel Le Roi des Montagnes (The Prince of the Mountains) by Edmond About appeared, which has many parallels to Thanos Vlekas. The topic alone - the focus is on the robber being in liberated Greece - and also individual episodes suggest a common role model. 1866 appeared in the '' Ἑθνικὸν Ἡμερολόγιον '' Pavlos Kalligas' biography. However, his novel is hardly mentioned any more.
In Alexandros Rangavis' work '' Histoire litteraire de la Grèce modern '', Kalligas and his opus are described as follows: “Le savant avocat et ancien ministre Paul Calligas est le premier qui ait écrit un roman de quelque étendue; il est intitulé Thanos Vlécas et s'attache à décrire les moeurs de la population montagnarde de la Grèce. Il est pétillant d'esprit dans un style qui peut servir de modèle. ” Rangavis hereby testifies to the role model character of the work for the (at that time relatively new) genre of the novel.
In 1883, a competition for authors to write a national novel was advertised in the magazine Néa Hestia. Thanos Vlekas is no longer mentioned among the exemplary novels. In 1887 Wilhelm Barth published the second edition of Thanos Vlekas in the Bibliothèque grecque series, which, however, received little response. However, inclusion in this series shows that Thanos Vlekas was already considered a classic.
The main drawback of the novel was and is its language. It is written in a sparse, dry and archaic high-level language ( Katharevousa ), which was not well received by his contemporaries and did not match that of the time.
References
- Doulis, Thomas 1999. Pavlos Kalligas and Thanos Vlekas: The Lack of Common Sense among the Greeks. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 17.1: 85-106.
- Kalligas, Pavlos 1991. Θάνος Βλέκας, with an introduction by EN Horafas.
- Kalligas, Pavlos. Θάνος Βλέκας. Athina, 1989: 35.
- Marie-Paule Masson-Vincourt 1997. Paul Calligas (1814-1896) et la fondation de l'état grec. Montpellier.
- Kalligas, Pavlos 2014. Thanos Vlekas - a novel from the time of the young Greek state. With a foreword by Thomas Plaul and Dieter Motzkus . Translated from the Greek by Dieter Motzkus, Athens, Aiora Verlag
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Tonnet Henri, Istoria tou ellinikou mythistorimatos, translated by Marina Karamanou, Athina 1999, Patakis. Pp. 125-130 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ “His [Kalligas, note] heroes, the people he introduces to us, he looks at from the outside. He does not look into her thoughts, he does not persist on the causes of the events, one could almost say that he avoids drifting into a psychographic way of description ... ”See Kalligas, Pavlos. Θάνος Βλέκας. Athina, 1989: 35
- ↑ See Doulis, Thomas 1999. Pavlos Kalligas and Thanos Vlekas: The Lack of Common Sense among the Greeks. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 17.1: 91
- ↑ See Doulis, Thomas 1999. Pavlos Kalligas and Thanos Vlekas: The Lack of Common Sense among the Greeks. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 17.1: 89
- ↑ See Doulis, Thomas 1999. Pavlos Kalligas and Thanos Vlekas: The Lack of Common Sense among the Greeks. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 17.1: 95
- ↑ See Doulis, Thomas 1999. Pavlos Kalligas and Thanos Vlekas: The Lack of Common Sense among the Greeks. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 17.1: 88
- ↑ See Life of Jonas King by FEHH (New York, 1879).
- ↑ See Marie-Paule Masson-Vincourt: Paul Calligas (1814–1896) et la fondation de l'état grec. Montpellier 1997, 309f.
- ↑ See AR Rangabé: '' Histoire litteraire de la Grèce modern '', 1877, Paris, p. 269.
- ↑ See Marie-Paule Masson-Vincourt: Paul Calligas (1814–1896) et la fondation de l'état grec. Montpellier 1997, 306-311.