Constantine P. Cavafy
Greek poet from Alexandria, known for historical and sensual verse.
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Constantine P. Cavafy was a Greek poet, journalist, and civil servant from Alexandria, widely regarded as a central figure in modern Greek literature and often considered the most distinguished Greek poet of the 20th century. His consciously individual style secured him a place among the most important contributors to both Greek and Western poetry. Born in 1863 to Greek parents who had settled in Alexandria in 1855, he was baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church and had six older brothers. His father, a prosperous merchant from the Phanariot Greek community of Constantinople, had lived in England and held both Greek and British citizenship. After his father’s sudden death in 1870, Cavafy’s family moved to England for a time, living in Liverpool and London. Financial troubles caused by the Long Depression of 1873 forced them back to Alexandria in 1877. He attended the Greek college “Hermes,” where he began drafting a historical dictionary at eighteen. In 1882, disturbances in Alexandria led the family to Constantinople, where he researched his ancestry and started writing poetry. He returned to Alexandria in 1885, reacquired Greek citizenship, and worked as a news correspondent and later at the stock exchange before securing a thirty-year temporary clerkship in the British-run Egyptian Ministry of Public Works. He published his poetry from 1891 to 1904 only on broadsheets for close friends, refusing book publication. His most important poems were written after his fortieth birthday and published two years after his death. His friend E. M. Forster first introduced his work to the English-speaking world in 1923, famously describing him as “a Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe.” Cavafy died of laryngeal cancer on his seventieth birthday in 1933.
- born
- 29 April (OS 17 April) 1863
- died
- 29 April 1933
- field
- Poetry, journalism, civil service
- nationality
- Greek
- known_for
- Modern Greek poetry, historical and erotic themes, poems 'Waiting for the Barbar
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Cavafy was born in 1863 in Alexandria (then Ottoman Egypt) where his Greek parents had settled in 1855. Originating from the Phanariot Greek community of Constantinople, his father was a prosperous merchant who had lived in England and held both Greek and British citizenship. Two years after his father's sudden death in 1870, Cavafy and his family settled for a while in England, moving between Liverpool and London. In 1876, the family faced financial problems due to the Long Depression of 1873 and moved back to Alexandria in 1877. In 1882, disturbances in Alexandria caused the family to move temporarily to Constantinople, where the nineteen-year-old Cavafy first came in contact with his many relatives and started researching his ancestry. There he began his first systematic attempts to write poetry. In 1885, Cavafy returned to Alexandria, where he lived for the rest of his life. He reacquired his Greek citizenship and abandoned the British citizenship his father had acquired. He started working as a news correspondent at the journal Telegraphos (1886) and later worked at the stock exchange. He was eventually hired as a temporary clerk in the British-run Egyptian Ministry of Public Works, holding this position by renewing it annually for thirty years. In 1922, Cavafy quit his high-ranking position, an act he characterized as liberation, and devoted himself to the completion of his poetic work. He died of cancer of the larynx on 29 April 1933, his 70th birthday.
Reader's Guide
Cavafy's complete literary corpus includes the 154 poems that constitute his poetic canon; his 75 unpublished or 'hidden' poems; his 37 rejected poems; his 30 incomplete poems; as well as numerous other prose poems, essays, and letters. According to the poet's instructions, his poems are classified into three categories: historical, philosophical, and hedonistic or sensual. Cavafy was instrumental in the revival and recognition of Greek poetry both at home and abroad. His poems are typically concise but intimate evocations of real or literary figures and milieux that have played roles in Greek culture. Some defining themes are uncertainty about the future, sensual pleasures, the moral character and psychology of individuals, homosexuality, and a fatalistic existential nostalgia. His mature style was a free iambic form, free in the sense that verses rarely rhyme and are usually from 10 to 17 syllables. In his poems, the presence of rhyme usually implies irony. One of his most important works is his 1904 poem 'Waiting for the Barbarians', which influenced literary works such as 'The Tartar Steppe' by Dino Buzzati (1940), 'The Opposing Shore' (1951) by Julien Gracq, and 'Waiting for the Barbarians' (1980) by J. M. Coetzee. In 1911, Cavafy wrote 'Ithaca', often considered his best-known poem, inspired by the Homeric return journey of Odysseus. His friend E. M. Forster first introduced his poems to the English-speaking world in 1923, describing him as 'a Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe'. Almost all of Cavafy's work was in Greek; his poetry remained unrecognized and underestimated in Greece until after the publication of the first anthology in 1935 by Heracles Apostolidis. In 1926, the Greek state honoured Cavafy by awarding him the silver medal of the Order of Phoenix. Since his death, Cavafy's reputation has grown; his poetry is taught in school in Greece and Cyprus, and in universities around the world.
Did You Know?
- Cavafy's father held both Greek and British citizenship, and Cavafy himself abandoned his British citizenship in 1885 to reacquire Greek citizenship.
- He worked as a temporary clerk in the British-run Egyptian Ministry of Public Works for thirty years, renewing his position annually.
- Cavafy consistently refused to publish his work in books, preferring to print his poems on broadsheets and give them away.
- His poem 'Waiting for the Barbarians' (1904) ends with the line: 'What is to become of us without barbarians? Those people were a solution of a sort.'
- E. M. Forster first introduced Cavafy's poems to the English-speaking world in 1923, famously describing him as 'a Greek gentleman in a straw hat, standing absolutely motionless at a slight angle to the universe.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Constantine P. Cavafy?
He was a Greek poet, journalist, and civil servant who spent his adult life in Alexandria, Egypt. Born in 1863 and dying in 1933, he is widely regarded as the most significant Greek poet of the twentieth century.
What poems is Cavafy most known for?
His best-known works include 'Waiting for the Barbarians' and 'Ithaca,' both of which have become touchstones of modern poetry. His broader body of verse is celebrated for its spare, unsentimental treatment of history and desire.
What themes define Cavafy's poetry?
His work consistently weaves together historical episodes from the Byzantine and classical worlds with deeply personal, often erotic, reflections. He fuses public history and private longing into short, declarative lines that avoid ornamental language.
Why is Cavafy considered important in Western literature?
He is credited with reshaping the trajectory of modern Greek poetry and earning a place among the most influential contributors to Western verse in the twentieth century. His influence extends well beyond the Greek-speaking world, inspiring poets across many languages.
What did Cavafy do for a living besides writing?
He worked as a civil servant and journalist in Alexandria for most of his adult life, treating poetry as a private vocation. He published very little during his lifetime, and his reputation was largely cemented only after his death in 1933.
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