THE ITALY OF GEORGIOS THEOTOKAS

Abstract

The aim of this research is to highlight the presence of Italy as a country and as a concept in the work of the multifaceted Greek writer Georgios Theotokas, and to observe how the author interprets the presence of italianness in Greek identity. The approach of Theotokas, the theorist of the Generation of the 1930s, is of particular interest for two reasons. First, his work is rich in references in which he recognizes diachronic interactions between the
170 | Maria Chatzikyriakidou
two cultures, Italian and Greek. Second, Theotokas stands out as a reference author for the historical context of World War II, since he was its direct witness, when the two countries (Greece and Italy) faced each other. To this end, has been studied the author's entire production, with particular attention to his novels and articles, also conducting a research in his archives preserved at the Gennadios Library in Athens. The archive contains, among others, his diaries, in which are recorded in detail the historical events and his personal thoughts. The texts and archives studied show that Theotokas, through his references to the Italian context, supports that italianness represents the western European part of the Greek identity. This idea is fundamental to the author, who believes that Greece's future is closely related to Europe, not through a sterile copying of western European models, but as a fundamental element of them.