Konstantinos Cavafy (1863-1933) is among the greatest Greek poets of the twentieth century. He was a cosmopolitan par excellence who spoke five languages (Greek, English, French, Italian, Arabic) and grew up in Liverpool, London, and Constantinople. At the age of 22, he settled in Alexandria and lived here for the rest of his life. The mismanagement of his father’s business meant that Cavafy had to earn a living as a clerk at the Irrigation Service at the Ministry of Public Works in Alexandria. The job was tedious but offered him economic security and time to pursue pleasure (studying history and archaeology, writing poetry, and seeking secretive and fleeting homosexual affairs). In 1932, he was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx. He lost his ability to speak after a tracheotomy in Athens and died in Alexandria on his birthday (29 April).