Thanks to the Internet, I recently discovered a long poem published almost two centuries ago, and written by an avid French Philhellene called Pierre-Antoine Lebrun who visited Greece in 1820, when the country was still under Turkish occupation.
\nI’d like to translate here a few verses, although I’m sure there are older and better translations of his work. As the poet approached the coasts of Greece aboard the ship “Themistocles”, he felt a great enthusiasm and wrote in praise of this country: <\/p>\n
Sparta was there, hidden.
\nAnd I, high up on the mast<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thanks to the Internet, I recently discovered a long poem published almost two centuries ago, and written by an avid French Philhellene called Pierre-Antoine Lebrun who visited Greece in 1820, when the country was still under Turkish occupation.
\nI’d like to translate here a few verses, although I’m sure there are older and better translations of his work. As the poet approached the coasts of Greece aboard the ship “Themistocles”, he felt a great enthusiasm and wrote in praise of this country:<\/p>\n
Sparta was there, hidden.
\nAnd I, high up on the mast
\nTowards her, towards her mountains, my eyes brought in haste
\nAnd stared focused, with tension and with thirst
\nI looked for her all over, her name I whispered
\nI laughed and I cried. Freedom, glory
\nLeonidas, Helena, legend and history
\nGreece with her arts, her wise men, her heroes
\nWas rising in front of me on the horizon of the waves
\nI was facing Greece and could not believe it!
\nThe more I felt her approaching\u2026
\nAt a moment like this someone else would have lost his memory!
\nO my heart, how you beat with this remembrance alone!<\/p>\n
As he\u2019s about to set foot on the land, he\u2019s thinking:<\/p>\n
I\u2019m Greek just like them
\nYes, this is my country
\nAnd yes, like them, I\u2019m returning to the beloved coast
\nI know all the streets, I\u2019m familiar with all the names.
\n(From Le Voyage de Grece by Pierre-Antoine Lebrun. The extract of the poem above translated by Lito Seizani in 2013).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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