Poe's First Introduction to the Hellenes (1877)

Poe's introduction to the Hellenes was rather belated. In fact, the first translation of his works was that of Emmanuel Rhoides in the 1877 issue of Parnassus. Despite the fact that Romantic ideas spread widely in the Kingdom of Greece ever since the Hellenic Revolution against the Turks, Poe's arrival in Greece took more than 28 years after his death. In my upcoming article in The Edgar Allan Poe Review (Fall 2017) I explain the reasons why this interval occured, and I also indicate that Poe has indeed had a major influence in Hellenic Letters. The following image is the first page of Rhoides 1877 translation ("The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar"), a rather historic document that has been preserved by the literary association Parnassus. More on that in my future posts.