Cavafy Archive

What I can see

The literary and personal archive of the poet Constantine Cavafy, the 966 books of his personal library, his personal objects and works of art related to him are housed inside this eclectic building with the intense decoration, renaissance elements, garlands and arched openings. Among his personal belongings are original furniture, picture frames and vases. Moreover, the “Athens of Cavafy” room includes his travel diaries and letters with poets and writers. The reading room is decorated with portraits of him and works by Greek painters from Egypt, as he was also a Greek from Egypt.

What I can't see

The recently digitized documents are accessible to all via cavafy.onassis.org and are located in the archives room, which is accessible to researchers. The museum’s goal is to highlight Cavafy’s timelessness, there has been, however, some criticism regarding the very careful and remarkable design of the space, which deprives of the element of Cavafy’s simplicity. Cavafy was a poet of simplicity, the individual’s inner world and Hellenism. His anthropocentric view is rich in emotion, irony, eroticism and his works are considered “slow-burners”. He is world-renowned and has been particularly popular with the English audience. He broke the poetic form of the time, developed a peculiar lyricism, and used a combination of archaic and popular idioms that fascinated the young of the time, but disappointed the older ones.

Info

• Address: 16B Frynichou St.
• Postal Code : 10558
• Phone: +30 2103713000
• Website: https://www.onassis.org/el/initiatives/cavafy-archive

Bibliography