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Aristotelis Valaoritis | |
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 Portrait of Aristotelis Valaoritis bySpyridon Prosalentis. | |
| Born | 1824 (1824) |
| Died | 1879 (aged 54–55) |
| Occupation | Poet,Politician,civil servant |
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Aristotelis Valaoritis (Greek:Αριστοτέλης Βαλαωρίτης; 1824–1879)[1] was aGreekpoet, representative of theHeptanese School, andpolitician. He was also the great-grandfather ofNanos Valaoritis, one of the most distinguished writers ofGreece.
He was born inLefkada in 1824[2] and was anAromanian.[3][4] His father was a rich merchant from the region ofEpirus. Valaoritis completed his school education inLefkada andCorfu.[2] Afterwards he went toFrance andItaly to study law. He never worked as a lawyer though, but completely devoted himself to poetry. He spent an important part of his life in the small island ofMadouri.
At the age of 25 he married the daughter of theVenetian scholarEmilio De Tipaldo, Eloisa. Using simple language he wrote many poems regarding theGreek War of Independence. He was credited as anational poet. Some of his most important works are:Stichourgimata,Mnemosina,Kira Frosini,Athanasios Diakos,O Fotinos,Astrapogiannos.
OFotinos (orDer Helle in German), is a very famous unfinished poem relating the so-called Voukentra revolution of 1357 in Lefkada against the Venetian (Italian) occupation. Valaoritis composed this poem on the privately owned isle of Madouri.
Meanwhile, he got into politics. As a member of the Parliament of theUnited States of the Ionian Islands he fought for the rights of theIonian islands, such as the union with theKingdom of Greece. Once the Ionian islands were united with Greece he moved toAthens, as a member of theGreek Parliament. His speeches were heavily influenced by his poetic language, making hisrhetorical skills uniquely remarkable. The last years of his life, he developed action towards the integration ofEpirus to Greece, a goal not fully achieved until theBalkan Wars.
He died in Lefkada in 1879 due toheart failure.
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And last but not least was Aromanian Aristotle Valaoritis (1824–1879), a kind of national poet of Modern Greece, whose inspiration is to be found in the battles of the 1821 Revolution.
The same renowned academic highlights that "One truth that needs to be heard is that the modern Greek elite was composed mainly of Aromanians." Michalopoulos gives examples, such as Iannis Kolletis (1780-1847) - Prime Minister, Michail Tossitza (1787-1856), A. Valaoritis (1824-1879), Spyridon Trikoupis (1788-1873) - statesman, diplomat and historian, his son Harilaos Trikoupis (1832-1896), Prime Minister of Greece, both of them having their origins in Moscopole, etc.
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