Abstract
As with other European languages, translations from Modern Greek into Czech began predominantly in the 19th century. The influence of philhellenism, sympathy for the Greek national revival, a strong classical-philological tradition as well as Greek-Czech trade and political relations at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries aroused an interest in contemporary Greek literature and folk literature.
This interest, however, is only a partial result of earlier creative movements in the period of the Czech national revival and classical philological tradition. At that time, translations from the classical languages took on an important role as a cultural mediator that served to cultivate the Czech language and its literature.
Translations thus helped to consolidate the mother tongue, and everything else was subordinate. This phase ended in the 1840s, by which time the revivalists had realized their artistic intentions through translations, seeking suitable technical means and translation methods in the process.
This was a period when well-educated poets became involved in translation from the classical languages, and as a result, Czech literature was enriched by masterful translations reflecting the spirit of contemporary creative practices. The study outlines the development of translation of Modern Greek literature into Czech in the territory of Bohemia (starting with the very first translation of Modern Greek poetry in 1864), through its fundamental transformation after World War II, to the period of submission to state ideology, and ends with a description of the rather chaotic situation in literature translation following the Velvet Revolution of 1989 as well as other trends of the 20th century.
It is supplemented by a complete overview of the works translated.