Aristotelis Valaoritis

Poet, Statesman (1824 – 1879)

A poet and statesman, Aristotelis Valaoritis was one of the chief representatives of the Heptanese School with profound influence on the modern Greek literature. His works are themed after the heroic struggles of the Greek War of Independence, hence the title “Poet of the Klephts”. He is regarded as one of the most significant poets of the post-Greek War of Independence era, together with Dionysios Solomos and Andreas Kalvos. Aristotelis Valaoritis is the great-grandfather of internationally acclaimed writer Nanos Valaoritis.

He descended from a wealthy family from Leucas, which allowed him to study to the most prestigious universities in Europe, including Geneva, Pisa and Paris. He was imbued by the liberal movements of Europe, which further boosted his patriot esteem. He pursued a career in politics, being elected member of the Parliament of the Ionian Islands as well as member of the Parliament of Athens. He declined the position of president of the Ethnosyneleusis and Minister of Exterior since his statesmanship was there to serve the people and not his ego.

Valaoritis was a patriot-poet, whose works clearly commemorate the acts of valor of the Greeks. As the bard of the harmatoles, he glorified and immortalized all the heroes of the Greek War of Independence with his poems, as did Homer with Achilles, Agamemnon and all of the heroes of the Iliad. Valaoritis’ lines are an ode to Greece’s struggle for freedom. He expressed a strong opposition against any foreign or domestic form of imposition to Greece, from the Ottomans to the Bavarians and lamented the state Greece was in at the time, which was very similar to today’s. He became the strongest voice against Greece’s xenomania. Through his poems and his public speeches, Valaoritis called for a renaissance of the democratic values of freedom.

Aristotelis Valaoritis was an ideologist both in literature and in politics, in theory and in practice. He stood out as the poet who stimulated the nation’s pride and raised its esteem. Together with other important representatives of patriotic poetry, Valaoritis nourished what would later become a national patriotic uprising. He was a very strong proponent of the unification of the Heptanese with Greece, something which he struggled for as a statesman, earning him the title Bridge maker.

Bibliography:

1. Σαν σήμερα «φεύγει» ο Μεγαλοϊδεάτης, Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης. Εθνικισμός.net. ethnikismos.net. July 2018. Web.
2. Γιώτη, Αγγέλα. Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης. Ψηφίδες. Greek-language.gr. Web.