From a world in progress to an inclusive society : the case of Cavafy

Cavafy (1863-1933) has always been considered one of the most representative poetic voices of the Greek diaspora during a crucial period of European history and culture. By trying to overcome the patriotic romantic model of the 19th Century, in his oeuvre he built an increasingly inclusive model of society; this model is inclusive both from a chronological point of view (his characters, who are sometimes historical or mythological figures and sometimes invented by the poet himself, form a diachronic mosaic that embraces a vast period, spanning from antiquity until his times), and from a cultural (linguistic, social and ideological) point of view. The paper retraces Cavafy’s poetic course, with a particular focus on the famous poems Ithaka (1911) and Miris – Alexandria, A.D. 340 (1929) that represent two fundamental milestones of Cavafy’s path towards an inclusive society.