Ερμηνευτικά Σχόλια για το Ποίημα «Αμμόχωση XXIV»
Introduction and the Identity of the Signaller
The unit ̑Simatoroȋ (Signallers) from the eponymous collection is dedicated to ̑the Youngest heir of Solomos, EVAGORAS, the godfather of the poets of my placȇ or ̑poet heir.̑ This specific poem is the final piece of the second poetic unit of the collection, titled Ammochostos. The term ̑signalleȓ (σηματωρός: simatorós) is a nautical term referring to a non-commissioned officer or sailor in the navy responsible for receiving and transmitting signals. Its etymology stems from the word ̑sign̑ (σηματ(o)-) and the ancient Greek ̑-oros̑ (ωρός, derived from ωρα meaning ̑carȇ), consistent with terms like πυλωρός (gatekeeper). It is a loan translation of the French ̑homme des signaux.̑ Evagoras is depicted as one who inherently carries ̑good̑ (the prefix ευ-) and has decisively influenced the poet through his struggle. He is a Signaller, a worker of Liberty charged with transmitting signals—through his personal struggle and poetry—to those who cannot independently receive universal messages of solidarity, self-sacrifice, and the internal struggle for freedom.
The Relationship Between Evagoras Pallikaridis and Dionysios Solomos
In verses , the poetic subject addresses the hero and poet Evagoras Pallikaridis using a collective ̑ouȓ (̑our hymn̑), situating the figure within collective memory. The poem includes the name ̑Solomos,̑ referring to the Greek national poet Dionysios Solomos, the author of the ̑Hymn to Liberty,̑ with whom Evagoras is professional peer or ̑omotechnos.̑ In the poem Ammochostos , the relationship is governed by the adjective ̑littlȇ (μικρέ), which refers to Pallikaridis. This adjective is placed before Solomos's name (̑little Solomos̑) to indicate the hero’s very young age and his more recent presence in history as a hero of EOKA, successor to his predecessor Solomos. Crucially, this is not a value-based comparative judgment; by calling him ̑little Solomos,̑ the poet establishes an absolute equality in the weight of their stature. Both are connected by their devotion to freedom and their personal struggle to conquer it. While Solomos defined freedom in his wise text ̑The Free Besieged,̑ Evagoras ̑writes our hymn̑ with both his pen and his sword. Both names are engraved in the ̑golden pages of History.̑ Against Solomos, whose homeland (the ̑small threshing flooȓ) revolted against the Ottoman Empire to shake off years of slavery, stands his successor, who through his sacrifice declared the desire for his specific homeland to be freed from the British Empire and united with mother Greece. This kinship and succession are evident from the first verse.
The Strangled Hymn and the Symbolism of the Border
In verses , the address ̑Little Solomos̑ is repeated, which adds theatrical intensity. Just as Solomos has a hymn, so does Evagoras, but his hymn (a metonymy for freedom) has been ̑strangled.̑ The value or idea for which he voluntarily sacrificed himself is presented as dead; he has been ̑resurrected̑ in the poet's era only to face its corpse. The passive participle ̑strangled̑ identifies the cause of death as a crime of oxygen deprivation, carrying a latent accusatory tone toward the current state of affairs. Structurally, the poem uses paratactic connection (̑they call you – and you writȇ) to define Evagoras's name and work. The prepositional phrases ̑with the strangled hymn and the condensed teaȓ act as pieces of a mosaic intended to reconstruct and resurrect the poet. The ̑condensed teaȓ at the ̑bordeȓ has dual significance. First, it can refer to the border of the eye, capturing the tear in a frozen, photographic moment. Second, it refers to the ̑Green Linȇ on the island, dividing it into free and Turkish-occupied areas. Before this line, the condensed tear stops in protest; this division was not the condition for which Evagoras sacrificed his life, nor was it what he envisioned in his poetry.
The Demolition of Ideals by the Vehicle-Users
Unit B, covering verses , describes the crime committed against the hero's achievements. The poet Galazi uses a personal language to express the horror of the times, acting as an apologist for a ̑slaughtered era.̑ The metaphors of ̑paths̑ and ̑steps̑ refer to the stages of liberation for the self, the homeland, and the world—the internal journey of Pallikaridis leading to the gallows. Everything the hero built, the ̑epochoumenoȋ (εποχούμενοι) have demolished. The use of active syntax (̑they demolished̑) emphasizes the perpetrators. ̑Epochoumenoȋ refers to those riding in vehicles. The poetic subject is angry and bitter because the work of the hero, placed on a pedestal by History, has been dissolved by unworthy successors. Unlike the Hero who wandered on foot to find Liberty, these individuals occupied positions of power and used mechanical means. The specific paratonism of the verb ̑κατεδαφίσαν̑ (instead of the standard ̑κατεδάφισαν̑) conveys the poet’s rage and contempt for the perpetrators.
Artificial Elevation and Disconnection from the Soil
Verses continue the critique of the anonymous, faceless collective of the ̑epochoumenoi.̑ While the hero's paths were demolished, these individuals employ ̑ascending-lifts, elevators, and lifts̑ to maintain a superficial feeling of the ̑Sublime.̑ This elevation is not achieved naturally but through technical support. These people ̑do not touch̑ or ̑palpatȇ (ψηλαφίζουν), meaning they lack the intimate relationship with the land and its soil that the hero-warriors had. They move away from the ̑soil̑ (χώμα) that Evagoras sanctified with his steps and his burial. Through this contrast, the poetic subject exalts Pallikaridis's offering to the Homeland. No matter how much the vehicle-users rely on mechanical lifts to rise in historical consciousness, they only achieve temporary and false validation.
The Poet as Metic and Refugee
Unit Γ (Unit C), spanning verses , shifts to the first-person singular. The poetic subject, in an apologetic and saddened tone, conducts a personal account for Evagoras. The speaker lists what they have offered to the earth to distinguish themselves from the vehicle-users and to appease the hero. The soil becomes ̑earth̑ and earth becomes ̑fatherland.̑ The subject has given ̑loves and many dreams̑ to achieve ̑Enosis̑ (union), yet the fulfillment of this struggle was frustrated. Verse is the most polysyllabic in the poem, acting as a reminder of the extensive efforts made by young people during the struggle of . The verb ̑delivered̑ (παράδωσα) indicates the deep respect with which these dreams were committed to higher ideals. In verses , the subject identifies as a ̑metic poet of dreams̑ and a ̑refugee.̑ In Ancient Athens, a ̑metic̑ (μέτοικος) was a resident from another city without full rights; here, it signifies the status of being homeless due to the failed Enosis and the literal refugee status following the Turkish invasion. The loss of the world of dreams is portrayed as more painful than physical death.
Historical Analogies and the Final Erasure
In verses , the poet evokes Constantine XI Palaeologus, the last liturgy, and the Fall of Constantinople to provide the poem’s conclusion with tragic, dramatic intensity. The resurrected Evagoras, the unholy vehicle-users, and the refugee poetic subject all witness the absolute cancellation of their efforts and the loss of everything as the enemy advances. The final verse (), ̑deleting the beginning̑ (την αρχή διαγράφοντας), has two meanings: first, the subject, ashamed of the successors, erases their glorious origins to separate them from the heroes; second, it indicates a new, dark, and anti-heroic beginning stripped of hope. This verse remains suspended, and the general absence of punctuation throughout the poem reflects a fragmented voice, no longer able to construct steps or dream of a fatherland that would be worthy of those who died for it.