Andreas Embirikos (1901–1975) stands as one of the most emblematic figures of 20th-century Greek literature. A poet, prose writer, pioneer of psychoanalysis in Greece, and the primary introducer of surrealism, he left an indelible mark on domestic literature through his uncompromising, lyrical, and deeply erotic style.
Newsroom
Born in Brăila, Romania, on September 2, 1901, into a prosperous upper-class family, Embirikos was the son of Leonidas Embirikos (1869–1948), a prominent shipowner and politician from Andros, and Stephania Kydonies, of Russian descent. In 1902, his family moved to Ermoupoli on the island of Syros, and in 1908 they settled permanently in Athens, where his father founded the National Steam Navigation Company of Greece.
Embirikos completed his secondary education at the Makris School in Athens and fulfilled his military service in the Hellenic Navy (1917–1919). In 1919, he enrolled in the School of Philosophy at the University of Athens, but interrupted his studies the following year to move to Lausanne, where his mother had settled following her separation from his father. In Lausanne, he attended economics courses and began writing his first poems.
European Period and Encounter with Surrealism
-
London (1921): He studied philosophy and literature at King’s College while working in his father's shipping business.
-
Paris (1926): Following a conflict with his father, Embirikos relocated to Paris. There, he was introduced to psychoanalysis by René Laforgue and familiarized himself with the theories of Hegel, Marx, and Engels.
-
The Surrealist Circle: Around 1929, he joined the circle of French surrealists and adopted the technique of automatic writing, which defines surrealist poetry.
Return to Greece and "Ypsikaminos"
In 1931, he returned to Greece and worked as an executive at the Vassiliadis Shipyards, which belonged to his family. In 1935, he resigned for ideological reasons, choosing to dedicate himself exclusively to literature and psychoanalysis. In Athens, he formed close relationships with fellow surrealist-oriented poets such as Odysseas Elytis, Nikos Engonopoulos, and Nicolas Calas.
-
The Historic Lecture: On January 25, 1935, he delivered the first lecture on surrealism in Greece at the "Atelier" hall of the Artists' Club.
-
"Ypsikaminos" (Blast Furnace, 1935): He published his first poetry collection, marking a watershed moment for surrealism in Greece.
From 1935 to 1951, Embirikos practiced psychoanalysis professionally and became a founding member of the first Greek psychoanalytical group. In 1940, he married poet Matsi Chatzilazarou (divorcing in 1946).
During the Axis Occupation, his home served as a intellectual haven for regular gatherings and readings of avant-garde works (such as Nikos Gatsos's Amorgos). Amidst the dramatic events of the Dekemvriana in December 1944, he was arrested by OPLA (the leftist militia), brought before a People's Court, and held hostage in Boeotia, from where he managed to escape and return to Athens on foot.
In 1945, he published his second poetry collection, Endochora (Inland), and in 1947 he married Vivika Zisi, with whom he had a son, Leonidas (1957).
Alongside literature, Embirikos was a passionate photographer. He held his first photography exhibition in 1955, viewing the camera lens not merely as a tool for preserving memory, but as a creative recreation and extension of reality.
During the period 1951–1957, isolated on his beloved island of Andros—his ancestral home and a source of spiritual rebirth—he completed his monumental opus:
"The Great Eastern": An epic, erotic river-novel, the most daring and voluminous work in modern Greek literature, which he began writing in 1946 and finally published in 1990 by Agra Publications in eight volumes.
His final years were marked by broader recognition of his literary output, culminating in an enthusiastic reception by a youthful audience during an event at the Hellenic-American Union in 1965.
Andreas Embirikos passed away on August 3, 1975, in Kifissia, from lung cancer. A large portion of his literary and artistic archive remained unpublished during his lifetime and was subsequently released posthumously through the care of his son Leonidas and Agra Publications, preserving the invaluable legacy of a pioneer who forever transformed the course of Greek poetry.
