The earthly crowns and futile splendours, take away.

I need no granite forts, just let me have while I may

The smile of pain, the tear of bliss and I will build

A “myriad palaces” in me as I live from day to day.

Stavros Melissinos
(Athenian Rubaiyat)

English translation by Pantelis Melissinos

BERTOLD BRECHT & CHASTITY BELT

(BERTOLD BRECHT & ZONE AGNOTETAS)

Athens 1961 and 1976

THE LADY AND THE GAME KEEPER

Athens 1969

CHILDREN’S GALAXY

(PAIDIKOS GALAXIAS)

Athens 1966

AESOP’S FABLES

(OI MYTHOI TOU AESOPOU)

Athens 2003

RUBAIYAT

(ATHENIAN RUBAIYAT)

Athens 1959

PARALLEL POEMS

(POIEMATA PAR’ ALLELA)

Athens 1984

LE CALENDRIER D’ ABSTINENCE

AGENCE CULTURELLE D’ ALSACE

(French translation of “Chastity Belt” by Louis Perin)

1. POETRY

PSIPHIDHOTA
(MOSAICS)
Athens 1954
An early collection of erotic verses written in a philosophical mood.

KYKNEION ASMA
(SWAN SONG)
Athens 1958
Elegiac poetry comparable to the poetry of the great French Symbolists

RUBAIYAT
(ATHENIAN RUBAIYAT)

Athens1959
A collection of original stanzas. It has been translated into many foreign languages

LAMPROS
Athens 1960
A poetic addendum to the homonymous poetic work by Dionyssios Solomos –the national poet of Greece. The critics consider it a must for those studying the poetry of Dionyssios Solomos.

PAIDIKOS GALAXIAS
(CHILDREN’S GALAXY)
Athens 1966
Poetry for children. The late Yiannes Ritsos, one of Greece’s greatest poets admired the artistic quality of these stanzas.

KAVAFES O LYRODOS ME TEN MIA HORDE
(KAVAFES, THE ONE STRING LYRICIST)
Athens 1967
A treatise on Kavafes, plus sixteen of his poems rewritten by Stavros Melissinos, who believes that the great Alexandrian poet did not meet the metrical specifications of poetry.

E SOPHIA TOY ASSOPHOU
(THE WISDOM OF THE UNWISE)
Athens 1974
Lyrical stanzas inspired by Aesop’s Myths.

HYMNOS STEN NEA ELEUTHERIA
(THE HYMN TO NEW FREEDOM)
Athens 1974
A long poetic composition on freedom and the values of Democracy and Humanity.

KAVAFIKA
Athens 1974
A rewriting of Kavafes’ verses, which remains faithful to the original wisdom of the Great Alexandrian Poet and which -by contrast with Kavafes’ poetry- lacks the homosexual elements and has a pleasant-sounding rhythm. This book has created great controversy among Greek and foreign scholars, who either hate it or love it.

ANTIPHASSISTIKO LEXIKO (LIMERICS)
(ANTIFASCIST LEXICON -LIMERICS)
Athens 1975
An anti-fascist book of poetry. Lycourgos Kallerghes, one of Greece’s greatest actors, said about this book: “The future generations will know what our era was like by just studying Melissinos’ work, like we do today when we explore our past by studying the plays of Aristophanes”

BERTOLD BRECHT & ZONE AGNOTETAS (CHASTITY BELT)
A volume containing Bertold Brecht’s poetry translated into Greek by Stavros Melissinos, as well as Melissinos’ political comedy: ZONE AGNOTETAS (Chastity Belt). First edition: 1961 and second edition 1976.

E NEA BIBLOS
(THE NEW BIBLE)
Athens 1975
According to literature reviewer Agne Sotyrakopoulos: “This is a satirical poetic composition that makes every established value stand on its head”!

POIEMATA PAR’ ALLELA
(PARALLEL POEMS)
Athens 1984
Kavafes’ (newly found) poems next to their new version by Melissinos

OI MYTHOI TOU AESOPOU
(AESOP’S FABLES)
Athens 2003
Aesop’s Fables written in the form of poetry according to the Socratic method

2. POETIC TRANSLATIONS

TA TRAGOUDIA TES MANAS KOURAGIO
(THE SONGS OF MOTHER COURAGE)
Athens 1964
“This is one of Bertold Brecht’s best Greek translations”, raved the critic, Markos Avgeres, while the great Greek poet and writer Ghiannes Skaribas wrote in a letter to Melissinos: “You mastered the foreign language and turned its difficulty into a piece of cake”!

TA TRAGOUDIA APO TON MATOMENO GAMO 
(THE SONGS OF THE BLOODY MARRIAGE -FREDERICO GARCIA LORCA)
Athens 1966
The poetry critic Angelos Phouriotes wrote: “It is not often that we find such great translations humorously”

E BALADA TES PHILAKES TOU READING
(THE BALLAD OF THE READING PRISON- OSCAR WILDE)
Athens 1970
Translated in 1961. «Verses that could be envied by our best New-Hellenic poets”, wrote the reviewer Stathes Protaios.

EKATO POIEMATA TES PHYLAKES
(ONE HUNDRED PRISON SONGS)
HO CHI MINH
Athens 1970
IOLKOS PUBLICATIONS
The late great Greek poet, Yiannes Ritsos, when he read Melissinos’ translation, refused to publish his version of the same poems, which were about to be published by KEDROS PUBLICATIONS

KOKKOI TES ETHNIKOSSOSSIALISTIKES THRIALIDOS
(SPECKS OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM)
Athens 1974
A humorously pompous anti-nazi satire on Adolph Hitler –Butcher of Humanity.

AMMOS KAI APHROS
(SAND AND FOAM)
CHALÍL GIBRÁN
Athens 1975
BOUKOUMANES PUBLICATIONS
All the critics agree that Melissinos’ poetic translation of Chalíl Gibrán’s writings has the feeling of an original work of art

O TRELOS
(THE MADMAN)
CHALÍL GIBRÁN
Athens 1975
BOUKOUMANES PUBLICATIONS
This Melissinos’ translation of Chalíl Gibrán’s writings was also regarded as an original work of art in its own right

ASMA ASMATON
(SONG OF SONGS)
KING SOLOMON
Athens 1979
BOUKOUMANES PUBLICATIONS

TA POIEMATA TOU EDGAR ALAN POE
(POEMS BY EDGAR ALAN POE)
This translation of Edgar Alan Poe’s poetry has not been printed, as yet, in a book but has appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout Greece.

3. THEATRICAL PLAYS

E PERIKAUKALEA TOU ODYSSEA
(ODYSSEUS’ HELMET)
Athens 1961
A thee-act comedy, which has been praised by the critics as a play of Aristophanic quality and atmosphere. The theatre reviewer of ‘ANEXARTETOS TYPOS’ wrote: “Let the new Greek playwrights stop mimicking their dubious-quality foreign counterparts and let them follow in Melissinos’ dynamic footsteps”

ZONE AGNOTETAS
(CHASTITY BELT)
Athens 1961
An one-act comedy, written for the great stage director, Carolos Koun, who was going to have a ‘Melissinos Weekly Evening’ in his THEATRON TECHNES” (Art’s Theatre). The Melissinos plays of that special weekly evening were going to be: ZONE AGNOTETAS and E PERIKAUKALEA TOU ODYSSEA. The staging of the plays was called off after Koun’s persecution for his production of Aristophanes’ THE BIRDS by the Greek government, which took offence by some of the production’s political remarks. And thus Melissinos’ play, which dealt with corruption, politics etc. became all of a sudden a risky business. Few years later, the military junta also stopped the actress-director Marietta Rialde who made some efforts to put it on stage.

AH…AUTOS O BOKKAKIOS!
(HERE GOES BOCCACIO AGAIN!)
Athens 1962
A groundbreaking three-act comedy, reminiscent of Molier, Goldoni, Machiavelli and Commedia Dell Arte. Everybody raved about this play’s artistic quality and writing style and two attempts were made to put it on stage at the theatres of ORVO and KENTRIKO” but did not work out because of lack of funds. The play was finally staged, in Greece, at the THEATRO SETTAS-NIKOS PAPAKONSTANTINOU by the theatrical company of “KASTALIA” and by director-producer Louis Perin and the: AGENCE CUKTURELLE D’ ALSACE, in France.

LAURA
Athens 1969
A three-act play. The great Greek actress, Katerina, was so impressed when she saw the play performed on the stage of THEATRO FLORIDA that she asked Melissinos to write a play for her. The play Melissinos wrote was: TO AGORI, TO KORITSI KI O EUTYHIOS, which she finally did not accept for it was not “tailored to a protagonist’s needs”.

THE LADY AND THE GAME KEEPER
Athens 1969
A three-act play, based on D.H.Lawrence’s story: LADY CHATTERLEY’S LOVER.