Jean Moréas

Born Ioannis Papadiamantopoulos in Athens on April 15, 1856, he later settled in Paris and wrote in French under the name Jean Moréas. He became one of the best-known literary voices connected with Symbolism, and is especially remembered for the manifesto that gave the movement one of its clearest public statements in 1886.

Over time, his writing moved away from Symbolism toward a more classical ideal, a shift often linked with the group known as the École romane. That change makes his career especially interesting: rather than staying in one camp, he helped shape more than one important current in French poetry.

He died in Paris on April 30, 1910. Though born in Greece, his literary reputation was made in France, where he became an important figure in the poetry and debates of the fin-de-siècle period.