1. Pronunciation and spelling of Loundemis

2. The Moglenitsas and Loudias rivers

The Moglenitsas River (Greek, Μογλενίτσας), which runs through the area of Exaplatanos (Εξαπλάτανος), in the Pella region of Central Macedonia, where Loundemis spent part of his childhood, has been known through history by many names. In ancient times it was known as Moglenitikos (Greek, Μογλενίτικος) or the Almopeos (Αλμωπαίος) after the Almopes tribe which lived in the area, Almopia (Αλμωπία), before being driven out by the Macedonians during the reign of Alexander the Great. The river was also known as the Ano Loudias (Άνω Λουδίας, Upper Loudias). Its Slavic name is Meglenica (Мегленица), and in Turkish it was known as Karaca.

It is interesting that the municipality around Exaplatanos was renamed Almopia in the 2011 national reform of local governments and boundaries (the Kallikratis Law).

The Moglenitsas ran into the Giannitsa Lake (Λίμνη Γιαννιτσών, the ancient Lake Loudia). The Loudias River (Λουδίας) , mentioned by Herodotus (History, Book VII, 127) and Strabo (Geography, Book 7, fragments, 20a), emerged from the south side of the lake and flowed southwards into the west side of the lake on which Pella stood.

Over the centuries, the Giannitsa Lake and the areas around the Loudias River had become a boggy marsh, and was referred to as "βόρβορος" (Borboros or Vorvoros, slime, mud, ooze, muck, sludge, mire...), prone to flooding and the source of diseases such as malaria.

The lake was drained in 1928-1932 by the New York Foundation Company, and the Loudias was diverted and turned into a 39 km long canalized drainage channel. The river now flows into the Axios Delta on the Thermaic Gulf, west of Thessaloniki. In recent years further projects have attempted to improve the environment of the Delta and the local rivers.

Lountemis may have worked on this engineering project, although so far we have not been able to verify this. Greek sources on his life state that he worked as a labourer or foreman on a similar project on the Gallikos River.

See:

www.axiosdelta.gr, English version of the Greek website of the Axios-Loudias-Aliakmonas Estuaries National Park Management Authority, about the environment of the rivers and wetlands around the Thermaic Gulf.

3. Menelaos Loundemis on the web

There are very few websites in English with information about Loundemis. The best short biography we have found so far is on the website of ΠΟΘΕΓ (POTHEG, Ο ΠΟλιτιστικός Θησαυρός της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας): "The Cultural Thesaurus of the Greek Language is a digital primary cultural collection of works of Modern Greek literature that comprises mainly representative works of writers of all literary genres."

In his unpublished essay On Greek Literature, Greek author Dr. Nicholas Papandreou relates that one of the first Greek books he read as a child was Loundemis' Ένα Παιδί Μετράει τ’ Άστρα (Ena paidi metraei t'astra, A child measures the stars), about a poor child trying to learn to read. The essay includes a short passage from the book translated into English.

On Greek Literature by Dr. Nicholas Papandreou, link to the essay as a PDF document, at the website of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan.

The film (in Greek only) can seen online in 6 parts at youtube:

ΜΕΝΕΛΑΟΣ ΛΟΥΝΤΕΜΗΣ 1 από 6 παρουσίαση Δαυίδ Ναχμίας

"Pitichinaccio", a Wikipedia contributor, is currently compiling a detailed article about Loundemis in German. So far it looks very good, and the most comprehensive article about the poet we have yet seen. Hopefully his/her efforts will encourage people to write versions in other languages.

The "Baustelle" (test) version can be read at:

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