[...] In this small volume, I tried to encompass the broader and most representative part of the three-thousand-year-old Greek poetic production on the theme of love. From Andromache's Homeric monologue, the famous chorus of Sophocles' "Antigone," the ancient lyric poets, Arethusa's monologue, and the folk songs, to the popular songwriters, and the newer and contemporary poets, all facets of the much-sung-about love unfold: passionate, unfulfilled, romantic, vulgar, unexpected, playful, selfless, funny, murderous, paid, marital, adulterous, homosexual... The same diversity prevails in the form of the poems, ranging from the classical and traditional style to the modern and avant-garde, with all the intermediate trends.

This anthology is mainly representative and by no means complete, given the vast scope of the subject. The selection was made with both objective and subjective criteria. The objective was the general acceptance and establishment of poets who could not be omitted (regardless of my personal estimation). The subjective was the selection of the poems as well as the inclusion of notable poets who did not receive the necessary recognition or fell into oblivion. As for self-anthologizing (since various things will be said), what priest doesn't bless his own beard! [...]

Dimitris Choroskelis