Vitsentzos Kornaros (Βιτσέντζος Κορνάρος)

kornaros,-vintzenzos

Vitsentzos or Vikentios Kornaros (Greek: Βιτσέντζος or Βικέντιος Κορνάρος) or Vincenzo Cornaro March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan poet, who wrote the romantic epic poem Erotokritos. He wrote in vernacular Greek, and was a leading figure of the Cretan Renaissance.

Vitsentzos Kornaros is considered to be the greatest of all the Cretan poets and one of the most significant and influential figures in the entire course of Greek poetry. The son of a Venetian-Cretan aristocrat and a scion of the noble Venetian family of Cornaro, he was born near Sitia, Crete in 1553. Later, when he married, he came to live in Candia (now Heraklion) where he joined the Accademia dei Stravaganti. Kornaros died in 1613 (or 1614), just before his contemporaries, William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes.