Mastrodimitris Panagiotis

P. D. Mastrodimitris was born in Mantoudi, Evia in 1934, graduated and received his doctorate in Philosophy from Athens (1957 and 1970, respectively), carried out research in Greece and abroad (in the period 1965-1971, in particular, as a scholar of I.K. T. and the Academy of Athens) and, alongside his many years of teaching work, initially in Secondary Education (1961-1968) and then at the University (1966 ff.: 1972-1975 professor of Modern Greek Philology in Thessaloniki, from 1975 eks. in Athens, emeritus professor since 2001), deposited a rich authorial harvest (1958 eks.). During these years, he was a member of prominent scientific societies (Society for the Study of Greek Enlightenment, The Athens Scientific Society, Society of Byzantine Studies, Society of Euboic Studies, Society of Writers of Thessaloniki, Society of Macedonian Studies, F.S. "Parnassos", National Society of Greek Writers, Board of Directors of the “Costis Palamas Foundation”, Society of Writers [honorary member], Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici “Bruno Lavagnini” in Palermo, Accademia del Mediterraneo in Rome, Societe des Etudes Neo-helleniques in Paris ), chaired critical committees of the Ministry of Culture for the state literary awards (1994, 1997 and 2005 etc.), occupied key positions in institutions and organizations (I.K.G., "A.S. Onassis" Foundation, etc. .a.), served as director of the Department of Modern Greek Philology and chairman of the Department of Philology (1983-2001, with short breaks) and directed the "Scientific Yearbook" of the School (1979-2003), while he also supervised received the approval of 28 doctoral theses. For his contribution, he was honored with the essay prize of the Kostas and Eleni Ourani Foundation (1989 and 2002), with the state prize for Essay-Criticism (1992) and with the bronze medal of the Society of Euboean Studies (2004). The scientific work of P. D. Mastrodimitris, as reflected in his publications, which fully cover the content of his teaching at the University, combines four areas of interest: methodology of philological studies (theoretical issues, research techniques, bibliography, bibliography, etc. .), grammar (complex historical-interpretive approach to phenomena and works, comparative considerations, typological distinctions, etc.), philological criticism (restoration and editing of texts, de-editing, interpretation, etc.) and literary criticism (aesthetic analysis and evaluation). All these four areas were served systematically and in combination with studies that saw the light of day in conference proceedings, tributes, periodicals and newspapers, as well as in numerous independent publications (see the relevant inscription in the honorary volume "Efkarpias Epainos: Tribute to Professor Panagiotis D. Mastrodimitri", edited by Giorgos Andriomenos, Athens: Poreia, 2007, pp. 55-117). Nevertheless, representative of each of them could be considered: [1] For the methodology of philological studies: primarily or monumental ("in progress" from 1974 et seq.) "Introduction to Modern Greek Literature" (2005), where and grammatical chart, other texts about the life and work of eminent philologists, such as Emmanuel Kriaras, Apostolos Sachinis, Nikolaos V. Tomadakis, George G. Alisandratos, etc. [2] For grammar in particular: the researches on persons and written documents from the late Byzantine period until today, starting with the books "Nikolaos Sekundinos" (1970) and "Greek Scholars" (vol. A', H979, 1988) as the most recent "Notarial documents from Evia" (2004), without overlooking the constant and permanent concern of the author to include each object of his study in its grammatical context. [3] For philological criticism: the editions of texts (“The Oath” by Markoras 1978, new edition 1996, and then the “Poems” by Markoras, 1988; “The Beggar” by Karkavitsa, 1980, new edition 1996; Andrea Karkavitsa , "I Lygeri", 1994; quotations inside other studies, etc.), the anthologies ("Prologues of New Greek Novels", 1974, 1992; "The Poetry of Neo Hellenism", 3 volumes, 1991, 2007), the works on the language and antiquities of Modern Greek writers (see e.g. Reference to the Ancients, 1994), as well as the book reviews of philological publications. [4] Finally, for literary criticism (always interconnected with the philological framework and with the most consistent interpretation): the monographs on authors and achievements of modern Greek poetry and prose, from the three-volume Neohellinika (1975-1988) to the other collections essays, including the strictly thematic Palamika (2003), Papadiamantika (2006), Heptanisiaka (2006) etc. What stands out in the entire activity of P. D. Mastrodimitris -research, teaching and writing- is his constant interest in the consolidation of Modern Greek Philology as a primary field of university specializations, his decisive contribution to the recognition of Modern Greek Studies at an academic level, the prestige which by his example he lent to the cultivation of the object which he loved and served.