Emmanuel Rhoides and Poe

Emmanuel Rhoides, the first translator of Poe in Greece

Emmanuel Rhoides, the first Greek translator who introduced Poe to the Greeks, has been widely praised for his work. Indeed, his translations inspired many, and several translators of Poe emerged soon after his 1872 translation of Poe's "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar". 

Rhoides was severely influenced by Baudelaire upon his task of translating Poe's stories, just like the majority of the European countries. Yet, over the past few years, relevant research has wondered why his translations were not similar to the French author's. In answer to this question, I may note that Rhoides has intentionally tried to avoid being influenced by Baudelaire. In fact, I argue that he had read the original works in English, and there are several clues that point to that conclusion. 

A page before his first translation in 1877 in the first ever issue of "Parnassus", readers encounter the first Greek critical text on Poe, a foreword written by Rhoides. Its title is "Εδγαρδος Ποου", Poe's name exactly as it is pronounced in English. Why didn't Rhoides adopt one of the foreign versions of pronunciations of Poe's name? Most likely, he was a fluent English speaker. Also, Rhoides makes no mention of Baudelaire in his work, and he never advertises Poe's lie of having travelled to Greece--Baudelaire frequently fell into Poe's trap. 

More on Rhoides, his passion for Poe's work, and his impact on other Greek authors and poets in future posts.

"A Predicament" and Chronos

Chronos, the Hellenic God 

Upon reexamining Poe's "A Predicament," a short story that has rightly been considered as a 'sequel' of "How to Write a Blackwood Article" I stumbled upon some images that reminded me of the Hellenic god of Time. 

Chronos, often confused by scholars as the ancient god Cronus, was Time in Hellenic thought. He is usually depicted by archaeologists bearing a scythe. His role was to dominate people's lives, taking them away when their time was due. It is interesting that Psyche Zenobia, the story's protagonist, passes away by being decapitated by a clock. Perhaps we might be witnesses of yet another Hellenic allusion here, one that I was not able to find in any relevant study. 

More on this on a future publication of mine which I will connect to this post in due time. 

Technical Difficulties

Dear visitors,
This is to apologize for the long period of being inactive. Due to technical difficulties I have not been able to have access to the blog; this ultimately prevents me from publishing posts. Be that as it may, I am soon going to resolve these issues and I will be return with several interesting posts on Poe and his reception in Europe.
Coming up, my focus will fall upon Maria Filippakopoulou's Transatlantic Poe which mainly focuses on the American author's reception in Europe while also dealing with Baudelaire and his engagement with Poe's works.
Once again, I apologize for the lack of posts over the past few weeks.
With best wishes,

D.T.

First Hellenic Translation of Poe: "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" by E. Rhoides (1877) [1]

As I have formerly noted in a previous post, Poe's first work to have been translated into Greek was "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar" in an 1877 issue of Παρνασσός. Emmanuel Rhoides was responsible for this exquisite introduction and he never hid his enthusiasm for Poe. 

Below, you may find the first pages from the original issue of the aforementioned literary journal. The issue, more than 140 years old, is priceless and it is still maintained by the literary association "Parnassus" in Athens. In future posts I will attempt to offer images from the entire issue, since the arrival of Poe's works in Greece is an insufficiently explored topic in the field of Poe studies. 

Rhoides' unknown translation of Poe's "The Black Cat"

Emmanuel Rhoides

Edgar Allan Poe was introduced rather belatedly to the Greeks. In fact, as I have already mentioned in a number of previous posts, the first Greek translation of his works appeared in 1877 in an issue of Παρνασσός. Poe was made known to the Greeks through the French translations of Baudelaire. Be that as it may, despite the fact that relevant criticism has downplayed the American author's impact on Hellenic letters, Poe did influence many translators and writers. 

One of these was Emmanuel Rhoides. Rhoides never hid his enthusiasm for Poe. Among his many translations, that of "The Black Cat" stands out. This short story belongs to Poe's tales of horror and mystery. As Christina Dounia rightly argues in her 2004 chapter, Rhoides' translation is more of an interpretation rather than a faithful version of the original. After reading the Hellenic version of the tale I quickly realized that Rhoides most certainly had access to the original text, and he possibly ignored Baudelaire's version.

Emmanuel Rhoides (Greek: Ἐμμανουὴλ Ῥοΐδης; 28 June 1836 – 7 January 1904) was a Greek writer and journalist. He is considered one of the most illustrious and reviving spirits of the Greek letters of his time. More on his perspective of Poe's tales, and his contribution to the latter's introduction to Greece, will be analyzed in my future publications.

Works Cited

Dounia, Christina. "Μια άγνωστη μετάφραση του Εμ. Ροίδη: 'Ο Μαύρος Γάτος' του Εμμανουήλ Έ. Ά. Πόε." In Μνήμη Άλκη Αγγέλου (Thessaloniki: University Studio Press, 2014), 493-502