Alexandros Papadiamantis is a classic Greek writer of the 19th Century.
Born in 1851 on the island of Skiathos he
was the son of a local priest and belonged to a big family with seven children. As a child he followed his father and helped him with his duties. He was educated to be a teacher but never finished his studies.
He and his family were very poor and this was a great obstacle for his choices during his life. He moved to Athens for his studies and managed to make some money by teaching and selling his writings to newspapers. His main heroes are the poor inhabitants of Skiathos fishermen, farmers’ e.t.c.
He describes the natural beauties of his island and the struggle of people to survive.
A short extract of one of his novels:
“DREAM ON THE WAVE” “I should not hesitate then. This boat was over twenty feet away from the spot where the girl was in danger, I was only five or six feet away. Nevertheless I dived into the sea from the rock. The depth of the water was over four meters. I reached the sandy bottom, free from rocks or stoned where there was no fear of injury for me.
I swam up to the surface. I was less than five feet from the side of the open sea, full of currents, being as a fatal, wet grave for the unfortunate child, the only remnants a drowning human being leaves at sea.
Swimming powerfully as I teach her. I saw the beautiful body struggling to swim to be saved, close to the bottom than to the surface, closer to death than to life.
I took her into my arms and came up to the surface. As I had my left arm around her body I thought I felt her faint breathing on my cheeks. I had been there on time. Thank God. But it was not sure she was alive. I helped her breath, made her lean on my back and kept swimming with my tight hand and two feet to the coast.
My physical strength seemed to multiply in a miraculous way. I felt she had stuck on me. She wanted to live. Oh let her live and be happy. No selfish thought crossed my mind. My heart was full of the sentiment of self sacrifice.
I would never ask for anything in return.”
The writer narrates through a young shepherd the story of the rescue of a young girl who is in danger to be drowned. She is naked. The place is deserted. The young boy saves the girl without hesitation. He asks nothing for himself.
Through the girl’s father is very rich. He shall remember this moment during his whole life as the sweetest and most romantic incident of his life. He will never meet the girl again.
This novel shows the writer’s humanitarian attitudes derived from his deep divine belief and presents the prospect of every human dream to be real for just a few minutes and he will never forget this marvelous moment.