The uses of Greek Orthodoxy in the early poetry of Yannis Ritsos

Abstract

The influence of Greek Orthodoxy on Ritsos' poetry, previously neglected because of the poet's political commitments, is examined. Against the backdrop of the poet's Orthodox upbringing and his early conversion to communism, Ritsos' uses of Orthodoxy in certain poems written before 1948 are considered. The diversity is demonstrated during this period of Ritsos' conception and treatment of the tensions and oppositions between Orthodoxy and Marxism. The ideological influence of Varnalis on the earliest collection, Trakte ar, can be contrasted with the more nuanced use of Orthodox material in Epita aQioz and the sympathetic depiction of childhood religion in Mia pucolampi ada Qvti afei tg nu axta. Only in the particular conditions of wartime Greece does Ritsos manage a bridge between Orthodoxy and Marxism: G Kura a tvn Ampeliv a n synthesizes Ritsos' liberation message with images rooted in popular religion.