The poetic work of Palamas covers a period of fifty years and extends to twenty or more collections, resulting in it not being satisfactorily known, due to its great extent, only to a few. In order to become known, at least in its most important parts, the need for its anthologization by Greek and foreign philologists, critics, and poets arose early on, while the poet was still alive. However, just as every era needs its own translations of classical authors, the same applies to anthologies. Of course, although anthologization is a subjective position, it must also take into account the objective criterion. After all, the criterion of representativeness does not contradict the aesthetic. Therefore, in this new anthology, poems and excerpts from all eras, genres, places, manners, and metric innovations of Palamian poetry are selected. I did not hesitate, many times, to keep one, two, or very few lines from long poems, seeking the successful aesthetic moment everywhere. The goal of this effort is to show the evolutionary perspective of Palamian poetry and the constant aesthetic vigilance of its creator, who constantly experiments to discover the "Lydia stone" of verbal expression of "inspiration," as he himself says, despite knowing in advance the impossibility of the undertaking.
K. G. K.