Introduction by Dr. Theofanis G. Stavrou

With the opening lines from his poem “Death of Alexander the Great,” Kyriakos Charalambides invites us to a veritable reading feast—a blend of history and poetry—in the grand tradition of the best of modern Greek poets, including Cavafy, Sikelianos, Seferis, and Elytis. The landscape of Myths and History is unmistakably Cyprus, the poet’s birthplace, and its tortuous history, but the context is universal, as are some of the issues he elegantly addresses.

Prolific and well-known, Charalambides crosses historical, physical, and psychological borders to comment meaningfully on challenges confronting modern humankind. At the same time, along with other notable Cypriot writers like G. Philippou Pierides and Costas Montis, Charalambides contributes substantially toward the creation of a foundation story of what euphemistically has come to be known as the Cyprus Question.

Imaginatively translated by David Connolly, Myths and History: Selected Poems by Kyriakos Charalambides is also an appropriate contribution to the various cultural activities in 2010 commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.