Kostis Palamas (1859-1943) has been informally called the “national” poet of Greece, while Romain Rolland considered him the greatest poet of his time. He was the second son of Michael. He was born in Patras and at the age of six he lost both parents within forty days. His younger brother moved in with their aunt, while Kostis and his other brother moved to their uncle’s house in Missolonghi. He lived here from 1867 to 1875. At the time, Missolonghi was a vibrant provincial town, where the memories of the last siege were still alive. The house was full of books and literary stimuli, but Kostis seems to have been rather miserable and deeply affected by the loss of his mother. At the age of nine he wrote his first poem. As soon as he graduated from high school, he moved to Athens and a brilliant literary career.