1. Acritic Songs :
the songs of the frontier guards defending the
eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire
Presentation by
Konstantia Koukouna &
Kleopatra Stoumpou
Year 11 Students of the Music School of Agrinio

2. What are the Acritic songs ?
Acritic songs are a particular genre of folk songs
which talk about the exploits of the Akrites, the
frontier guards defending the eastern border of the
Byzantine Empire.
They are the oldest Greek folk songs and the oldest
surviving relative of the acritic romance of the 12th
century, known as the Epic of Digenis Akritas.
Akritas (in the language of the Greeks living by the
Black Sea) or Akritis (in Byzantine history) is a term
derived from the word "akra", which meant the
state border.

4. Distinctive Features of the Acritic Folk Songs
• They are a hymn to personal bravery. What is consistently
promoted is a heroic individual, as opposed to the masses
who are rarely ever mentioned.
• Each of the songs stands in its own right. In each of them a
separate deed or dramatic story of an Akritis is narrated.
In terms of technique they make use of:
1) A narrative (story with a beginning, middle and ending)
in epic form
2) Clear and fast action in a comparatively short verse
3) The supernatural element (participation of nature,
wrestling with Death)
4) A heroic character

5. Types of Acritic songs
These can be divided into two groups:
 The first kind have as their subject matter the life and
death of Digenis
 The second have as their subject matter the life and
actions of other Akrites, depicting their special relationship
with their horse as they are in the battlefield together and
together they achieve their victories against the enemy.
Today approximately eighty border songs are preserved
with dozens, however, variations.

6. Page from the Epic of Digenis Akritas, manuscript
from Athens - Andros
The Epic of Dighenis Akritas
The acritic romance of Dighenis Akritas is
the oldest written monument of Greek
literature written in the Greek medieval
language (11th-12th century), and is
regarded as the work which marks the
beginning of modern Greek literature.
It narrates Digenis’ descent, his childhood
years, his heroic deeds and his death.
Digenis earned this nickname because of
his bi-ethnic background : his mother was
the daughter of a Byzantine General and his
father an Emir from Syria.

7. Digenis Akritas

8. The common elements found between the epic of
Digenis and the other Acritic songs are:
 common plot elements, such as the death scene
of Digenis in which the hero, before he dies,
remembers his accomplishments and narrates
them to his companions
 verbal elements, which are found mostly in
Variation E, which is closer to the oral form of
the song.

9. The most well-known characters in Acritic folk songs
The most prominent among the Akrites is Basil Digenis Akritas, who
• had all the virtues of a fighter
• was a legendary hero who was kind, yet with amazing stamina and
strength,
• was distinguished among his peers for his bravery, his unique power
and fighting skills,
• is apparently the descendent of Hercules (from ancient Greek
mythology) in the Christian tradition
• stands for all those nameless defenders of the Byzantine Empire who
had to constantly struggle against various enemies and invaders.
Othersfigures praised in Acritic folk songs are:
Nikephoros,
Ioannes Tsimisces,
Vardas Phocas
Alexios
Constantinos Theophylactos

10. Digenis Akritas
fighting the dragon,
Byzantine dish from
the 12th century

11. Digenis features in two types of folk songs:
Those which talk about the kidnapping of the bride. In these,
it is either Digenis who steals his bride-to-be (as in the famous
Cypriot song Digenis and the daughter of King Levanter) or it
is his wife who is kidnapped by Saracens or thieves. In the
latter, Digenis is away from home and is informed, usually by
a bird, that his wife has been kidnapped.
Those which talk about his death. In these songs, the hero,
just before he dies, gathers around him his comrades and
remembers his achievements. In some songs, Digenis does not
die of a disease, as in the epic, but after a battle with Death. In
some versions of these songs, Death defeats Digenis in an
ambush. In most of these songs Digenis appears not only as a
hero with superhuman powers, but as a being with
supernatural dimensions.

12. The Death of Digenis
Variation from Crete

13. Ο Θάνατος του Διγενή
(Κρητική παραλλαγή)
Ο Διγενής ψυχομαχεί* κι η γη* τονε τρομάσσει
βροντά κι αστράφτει ο ουρανός και σειέτ' ο απάνω κόσμός*
κι ο κάτω κόσμος* άνοιξε και τρίζουν τα θεμέλια,
κι η πλάκα* τον ανατριχιά πώς θα τόνε σκεπάσει,
πώς θα σκεπάσει τον αϊτό τση γης τον αντρειωμένο*.
Σπίτι δεν τον εσκέπαζε*, σπήλιο δεν τον εχώρει,
τα όρη εδιασκέλιζε*, βουνού κορφές* επήδα,
χαράκι* αμαδολόγαγε* και ριζιμιά* ξεκούνιε*.
στο βίτσιμα* ΄πιανε πουλιά, στο πέταμα γεράκια,
στο γλάκιο* και στο πήδημα τα λάφια* και τ' αγρίμια*.
Ζηλεύγει* ο Χάρος με χωσιά* μακρά τόνε βιγλίζει*,
κ' ελάβωσέ του την καρδιά και την ψυχή του πήρε.
• Σημείωση: Το τραγούδι αυτό δημοσιεύτηκε πρώτη φορά το 1909 στο
περιοδικό "Κρητικός Λαός", από τον Π. Βλαστό, το οποίο και
συμπεριέλαβε στη συνέχεια στην "εκλογή" του ο Ν. Πολίτης.

14. Poem Analysis
• In the poem what is prominent is the fact that Death
cannot defeat Digenis and that is why the former never
confronts him in the battle field, but tries to kill him by
setting up traps for him, instead.
• Digenis fights to death with as much courage, strength and
bravery that he can muster in the few hours he has left.
• Digenis fights for the survival of his soul and with his
remarkable strength he scares even the earth which is
about to welcome him in. The artist wonders how the
earth will endure such power and prowess.

15. Distinctive Features of Acritic Folk Songs
1. Hyperbole
2. Personification
3. Repetition
4. Vivid images
5. Epic form
6. Serious, grand, majestic tone
7. 15-syllable, not rhyming, iambic verse
8. Repetition and completion of line a in line b
9. 3rd person narration at the beginning and end,
alternating with dialogue (for vividness and
drama)

16. Digenis fights Death

20. Digenis on his deathbed
Variation from Crete

21. Ο Διγενής ψυχομαχεί. . .
Παραλλαγή Κρήτης
Έ, μ’ ο Διγενής, ο Διγενής
ψυχομαχεί
κ' η γη - ε, κι η γης τονέ τρομάσσει,
έ, κι η πλάκα το – κι η πλάκα τον
ανατριχιά.
Έ, κι η πλάκα το – κι η πλάκα τον
ανατριχιά,
πως θα, ε, πώς θα τονέ σκεπάση,
έ, γιατί κι όντε – γιατί κι όντες
ψυχομαχή.
Έ, γιατί κι όντε – γιατί κι όντες
ψυχομαχή
Λόγια, έ, λόγια αντρειωμένου λέει :
έ, «Νάχεν η γης, ναχεν η γης
πατήματα.
Έ, νάχεν η γης, νάχεν η γης
πατήματα,
κι ο ου – έ, κι ο ουρανός κερκέλια,
έ, να πάθιουν τα, να πάθιουν τα
πατήματα.
Έ, να πάθιουν τα, να πάθιουν τα
πατήματα
νάπια – έ, νάπιανα τα κερκέλια,
έ, ν’ανέβαινα, ν’ανέβαινα στον
ουρανό.
Έ, ν’ανέβαινα, ν’ανέβαινα στον
ουρανό
να δι – έ, να διπλωθώ να κάτσω,
έ, να δώσω σει – να δώσω σείσμα του
ουρανού».

22. The young Konstantinos
Variation from Central Greece
An Acritic song about the life and
deeds of other Akrites

23. Ο Κωνσταντίνος ο μικρός
(παραλλαγή Στερεά Ελλάδα)
Ωρέ, ν-ο Κωνσταντι- ν-ο Κωνσταντίνος ο μικρός
ν-ο Κωνσταντίνος ο μικρός κι ο Αλέξης αντρειωμένος.
Ωρέ, και το μικρό, και το μικρό Βλαχόπουλο
Και το μικρό Βλαχόπουλο, αντάμα τρών και πίνουν.
Είχανε και τους μαύρους τους στον τάβουλα δεμένους.
Σαν έκατσαν να φαν ψωμί, να διπλογιοματίσουν,
Πουλάκι πήγε κι έκατσε δεξιά μεριά στην τάβλα.
Δεν κελαηδούσε σαν πουλί μουιδέ σα χελιδόνι,
μον’ κελαηδούσε κι έλεγε μ’ ανθρώπινη λαλιούλα :
«Εσείς τρώτε και πίνετε και πίσω σας κουρσεύουν.»

24. The story
Three Akrites are away from home
and the moment they sit down to
have a rest and a bite to eat, a little
bird comes flying by informing them
that the enemy is plundering their
homeland and that their loved ones
are in danger.

25. Listen to our school’s
Traditional Music Choir
and Ensemble perform
this variation from
Central Greece of
TheYoung Constantinos