Odysseus Elytis

Odysseas Elytis (1911-1996) was a Greek poet born on November 2, 1911, in Heraklion, Crete, and died on March 18, 1996, in Athens. Regarded as one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century and a key figure in romantic modernism, his notable works include the monumental poetry collection Axion Esti (1959), widely considered his masterpiece. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979 for his poetry depicting modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness against the background of Greek tradition.