In 1833-1834, the poem "The Cretan" was written in rhymed couplets, following the tradition of the "Eroto kritos". Solomos observed the progress of the Revolution on the Big Island. In the summer of 1823, the Turks, in an effort to suppress the uprising, attacked the so-called "Labyrynth Cave", where many Christians had taken refuge. In March of the following year, they invaded Sfyakia. The Cretans, mainly civilians but also fighters, began fleeing from Western Crete, trying to find safety in the British-occupied Cythera and the Peloponnese.

The Sfyakia chieftain Stratis Vourdoubas recounts in a letter that the Cretan caiques set out from Loutra Sfyakion but encountered the Turkish fleet, which forced them to turn back to the coast. There, the Turks slaughtered the elderly, the women, the children, and captured the rest. Solomos was well informed about everything: he mentions the Battle of Labyrynth, the massacres, and the shipwrecks by name.

In the poem, a young Cretan and his fiancée are shipwrecked near shores with high mountains echoing thunder. He narrates the events himself, years later. He swears to tell the truth, and this leads him to mentally transport himself to a distant future, on the day of the Second Coming, when he will reunite with his beloved.

The young man remembers his misery: the Turks captured his brothers, killed his family. All he now wishes is to save his beloved. A visionary female figure, dressed in the moonlight, appears over the sea. Her tear falls into his hand, and from then on, his life will change: he will no longer be a warrior. He continues his quest and finally reaches the shore, but his beloved has died.

Author: Dionysios Solomos

Publisher: Stigma

ISBN: 978-960-269-256-1

Year of Publication: 2014

Number of Pages: 64

Cover: Softcover

Dimensions: 25x18