1. See D. Niefanger (2002) “Formen historischer Lyrik in der literarischen Moderne,” in D. Fulda (ed. ) Literatur und Geschichte. Ein Kompendium zu ihrem Verhältnis von der Aufklärung bis zur Gegenwart (Berlin: De Gruytrer), pp. 441–46, here 442.
2. A juxtaposition between the two poets has never been attempted before, save for a passing reference made in 1962 by one of the first translators of Cavafy’s poetry into German, Helmut von den Steinen. He had emphatically characterized Stefan George as the German equivalent to Cavafy; see K. P. Kavafis (1985) Gedichte. Das gesammelte Werk, trans. Helmut von den Steinen (Amsterdam: Castrum Peregrini), p. 22. His view is also evident in his correspondence with the poet Karl Wolfskehl. The two men often refer to Cavafy and George, ascribing to their poetry common characteristics of the Gnostic theories. Nevertheless, a comparison between Cavafy and George from this perspective would be “hardly useful” for the history of literature, as Chryssoula Campas has remarked;
3. see C. Campas (2010) “Athen und Ägypten. Helmut von den Steinen, Übersetzer von Kavafis,” in C. Campas and M. Mitsou (eds.) Hellas Verstehen. Deutsch Griechischer Kulturtrcansfer im 20. Jahrhundert (Cologne, Weimar and Vienna: Böhlau), pp. 289–328, here 311. In the scope of the present study we will put aside the misleading idea of the Gnostics’ influence; instead, we will compare the two poets from the standpoint of fin-de-siècle modernism.
4. See G. Jusdanis (1987) The Poetics of Cavafy. Textuality, Eroticism, History (Princeton: Princeton University Press), p. x.
5. S. George (1958) Werke, 2 vols. (Munich: H. Küpper), vol. 1, p. 63. The translation is mine, as are all translations from German or Greek, unless otherwise indicated.