Signed, Angelos Sikelianos - Ο Χριστός στη Ρώμη / Christ in Rome, Original Edition - 1946

A rare signed and dedicated copy of Ο Χριστός στη Ρώμη (Christ in Rome), the fourth tragedy by Angelos Sikelianos, one of Greece’s greatest lyric poets and dramatists. Written and published in 1946, this powerful work stands among Sikelianos’ most ambitious dramatic compositions, combining ancient myth, Christian symbolism, and universal humanist ideals.

Bibliographic Details

Author: Angelos Sikelianos (Άγγελος Σικελιανός, 1884–1951)

Title: Ο Χριστός στη Ρώμη

English Title: Christ in Rome

Publisher: Τα Νέα Βιβλία (Ta Nea Vivlia), Athens

Year: 1946/47

Pages: 112

Dimensions: 22.5 cm × 15.5 cm

Language: Greek

Edition: Original edition

Signature: Hand-signed and dedicated by Angelos Sikelianos

Binding: Original softcover

Condition: Good (-) vintage condition with age-related wear (please refer to photos). Printed on economy-paper stock typical of Greek post-war publications.

About the Work

Christ in Rome is a monumental tragedy set in 1st-century Rome, shortly after the Crucifixion and on the eve of Nero’s Great Fire. Through a symbolic confrontation between Christ, Nero, the Greek Prochorus, and the Jewish figures Manaen and Daisan, Sikelianos explores the moral collapse of civilization and the possibility of spiritual renewal.

The work praises the oppressed, tortured, and marginalized, presenting Christ as a figure of compassion and moral integrity who stands with the weak and the wronged. A central theme is the dialogue between Hellenism and Christianity, embodied by Prochorus, whose Greek spirit represents continuity between ancient ideals and the emerging Christian ethos.

The climactic burning of Rome functions as a purifying and regenerative force, a recurring motif throughout Sikelianos’ tragedies. From the ashes emerges the promise of renewal: Daisan rescues an infant from the ruins, symbolizing rebirth, hope, and the continuation of spiritual and artistic life. Drawing deeply from ancient tragedy, Stoic cosmology, and Christian theology, Sikelianos weaves a vision of universal unity, catharsis, and the “eternal return.”


About the Author

Angelos Sikelianos (1884–1951) was a leading Greek poet and playwright whose work sought to unite ancient Greek spirituality, Christianity, and universal humanism. His poetic and dramatic oeuvre includes The Moonstruck, Delphic Utterance, Sibylla, Daedalus in Crete, Christ in Rome, and Asklepius.

A central figure of Greek intellectual life, Sikelianos was nominated annually for the Nobel Prize in Literature from 1946 to 1951. He famously collaborated with Nikos Kazantzakis, with whom he undertook spiritual pilgrimages across Greece and Mount Athos. While differing in temperament and worldview, both writers shared a profound belief in art as a means of elevating the human spirit.


Collector’s Note

Signed and dedicated copies of Sikelianos’ tragedies are exceptionally scarce, particularly works from the immediate postwar period. Christ in Rome is regarded as one of his most philosophically ambitious plays, making this volume a highly desirable piece of modern Greek literary history, appealing to collectors of signed books, modernist drama, and 20th-century European thought.


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