The library of Professor C. Th. Dimaras

The library of Konstantinos Dimaras was incorporated into the Foundation in 2013 through the generous donation of Kaiti Dimara. Thematically, it covers literary, historical, and philosophical subjects, with an emphasis on the theory and history of literature. The collection includes, among other things, books and pamphlets from the 19th century, many of which are rare or unique. It also features a significant number of dedications and inscriptions from prominent literary figures. Noteworthy is the collection of well-known historical and literary journals from the 20th century. The library is accompanied by part of Dimaras’ personal archive.

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C. Th. Dimaras (1904-1992), a critic and historian of literature, historian, scholar of the Modern Greek Enlightenment, and academic, is considered one of the most significant figures in modern Greek letters. He studied philology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (where he also attended medical courses for two years) and at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he earned his doctorate from the School of Philosophy in 1953. Among other roles, he served as head of radio programs at the National Radio Foundation, general director at the State Scholarships Foundation (1951-1970), and managing director at the Royal (now National) Research Foundation (1961-1970). In the early 1960s, along with Dimitrios Gkinis, he founded the Study Group of the Greek Enlightenment and its journal, “O Eranistis.” In the early 1970s, he was appointed to teach Greek literature at the Sorbonne, where he also directed the Modern Greek Institute. He remained in Paris until 1978, when he returned to Greece and continued his column writing for the newspaper “To Vima” for almost thirty years. He also collaborated with other significant magazines and newspapers. He used the pseudonyms F. Raphael and Konst. His research interests initially focused on ancient Greek and European philosophy. He then turned to history, literary criticism, comparative literature, and the history of ideas, areas in which his influence was pivotal for Greek letters. Influenced by the sciences, he placed great importance on archives and primary sources. He was one of the pioneering scholars of the Modern Greek Enlightenment. A prolific writer, he dealt with a multitude of philological, historical, and philosophical topics. His most well-known work is “History of Modern Greek Literature,” first published in 1949 and subsequently revised and enriched seven more times until his death.