Seferis

Giorgos Seferis Greek poet-diplomat and a Nobel laureate.

  • He was born in Vourla.

    Vourla is near Smyrna in Asia Minor, Ottoman Empire (now İzmir, Turkey).
  • Seferis' family, fled from Asia Minor.

  • Period: to

    He was admitted as a Diplomat

    He was admitted to the Royal Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat.
  • Period: to

    Seferis accompanied the Free Greek Government in exile.

  • Period: to

    He continued his career as a diplomat

    He continued to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and held diplomatic posts.
  • He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature

    1963: Seferis was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture”.
  • He died in Athens.

    At his funeral, huge crowds followed his coffin through the streets of Athens, singing Mikis Theodorakis’ setting of Seferis’ poem 'Denial' (then banned). He had become a popular hero for his resistance to the regime (dictatorship). The sense of being an exile from his childhood home has greatly influenced Seferis’ poetry.