In 1897, during the war between Greeks and Turks, a Legion of Italian Garibaldians fought for Greece. Also the Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) sided with Greeks, writing two hymns, dedicated respectively to Prince George (the Hellenic navarch) and to Antonio Fratti (the hero of Domokós). This paper expounds and annotates Pascoli’s two philhellenic hymns. In the former (to Prince George), the poet echoes Herodotus and Plutarch, comparing the Hellenic navarch with Themistocles, the defeater of Persians. In the latter hymn (to Antonio Fratti), Pascoli celebrates Garibaldian ideals, re-echoing Herodotus and Walt Whitman as well. So Fratti is compared with Leonidas, the hero of Thermopylae, and with Davy Crockett, the hero of Alamo, too. Both hymns are a fine specimen of Pascoli’s poetics, being classical and modern at the same time.
Giovanni Pascoli’s Philhellenic Hymns
PAGANELLI, LEONARDO
2013-01-01
Abstract
In 1897, during the war between Greeks and Turks, a Legion of Italian Garibaldians fought for Greece. Also the Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) sided with Greeks, writing two hymns, dedicated respectively to Prince George (the Hellenic navarch) and to Antonio Fratti (the hero of Domokós). This paper expounds and annotates Pascoli’s two philhellenic hymns. In the former (to Prince George), the poet echoes Herodotus and Plutarch, comparing the Hellenic navarch with Themistocles, the defeater of Persians. In the latter hymn (to Antonio Fratti), Pascoli celebrates Garibaldian ideals, re-echoing Herodotus and Walt Whitman as well. So Fratti is compared with Leonidas, the hero of Thermopylae, and with Davy Crockett, the hero of Alamo, too. Both hymns are a fine specimen of Pascoli’s poetics, being classical and modern at the same time.
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