Modern Greek Literature
Modern Greek Literature covers a large variety of texts written after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until today. The first printed demotic texts appeared in 1519 and 1524; two short poems, now known only from later editions. The oldest surviving demotic work is a condensed version of the Iliad by Nikolaos Loucanis (Venice, 1526), a handsome publication embellished by 138 woodcuts.
This section includes also Greek folklore and folksongs and is supplemented by extremely rare Greek books in Latin characters, Turkish books in Greek characters (karamanlidika), lithographed books and Hebrew books printed in Smyrna.