On fire, light, and volcanoes : tracing a 'Forgotten Ethics' in Elytis and Camus
Vol.16,(2016)
Abstract
Keywords:
Elytis; Camus; ethics; Empedocles; Émpedocle (periodical)
Pages:
9–30
My paper documents the textual dialogue between Elytis and Camus and analyses their common literary, philosophical, and ethical preoccupations. Although they shared a number of literary motifs and interests, including the space of the Mediterranean and the modernist attraction to ancient Hellenic philosophical traditions, I argue that they approached these interests from fundamentally different perspectives: while Camus' knowledge of ancient Greek thought was based on second-hand scholastic interpretations, Elytis' reading of ancient philosophical texts provided him with an original, intimate understanding of their literary and discursive qualities. I have also included original archival material which shows that Elytis was in an immediate literary dialogue with Camus during his writing of The Axion Esti.
Elytis; Camus; ethics; Empedocles; Émpedocle (periodical)
9–30