Andreas Embirikos
A Greek surrealist poet and pioneering psychoanalyst who unleashed the unconscious into modern Greek literature with volcanic force.
1901–1975 (age 74)·Greek surrealist poet and psychoanalyst·Birthday: September 2·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Andreas Embirikos arrived like a seismic event in the cautious literary landscape of early 20th-century Greece. Born to a wealthy shipping family in 1901, he broke from commercial expectations, moving to Paris to study psychoanalysis under René Laforgue. Returning to Athens, he became the country's first practicing psychoanalyst, a profession as radical as his poetry. In 1935, he published 'Ypsikaminos' (Blast Furnace), a collection that detonated the conventions of Greek verse. Its unrestrained, automatic writing and erotic energy marked the true birth of Greek surrealism. His monumental, explicitly erotic novel 'The Great Eastern,' written over decades and published posthumously, further cemented his reputation as a fearless explorer of desire. Embirikos lived a double life: the respectable businessman managing the family fortune and the revolutionary artist who believed liberation began in the depths of the mind.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Andreas was born in 1901, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andreas Was Born
The biggest hits of 1901
Andreas's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1901Born
Queen Victoria dies, ending the Victorian era
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1906Started school
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1914Became a teenager
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1917Could drive
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Could vote
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1922Turned 21
King Tut's tomb discovered in Egypt
President: Warren G. Harding"April Showers" — Al Jolson
1931Turned 30
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1941Turned 40
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1951Turned 50
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1961Turned 60
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1971Turned 70
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1975Died at 74
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Key Achievements
- Published 'Ypsikaminos' in 1935, the first purely surrealist poetic work in Greek literature.
- Was the first person to practice psychoanalysis professionally in Greece, from 1935 to 1951.
- His epic novel 'The Great Eastern' is a landmark of erotic and surrealist prose in Greece.
- He was a central figure of the Generation of the '30s, radically modernizing Greek letters.
Did You Know?
He was an accomplished amateur photographer, leaving behind a significant body of photographic work.
His father was a successful shipowner, providing the wealth that allowed Embirikos to pursue his intellectual interests.
He studied philosophy at King's College London before turning to psychoanalysis in Paris.
The publication of parts of 'The Great Eastern' in a magazine in the 1960s led to a lawsuit for obscenity.
“I am the master of the great eastern and I sail in the seas of the unconscious.”
