Editing Odysseas Elytis (section)

===Travels===
In 1948–1952 and 1969–1972, he lived in Paris. There, he audited philology and literature seminars at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] and was well received by the pioneers of the world's [[avant-garde]] ([[Pierre Reverdy|Reverdy]], [[André Breton|Breton]], [[Tristan Tzara|Tzara]], [[Giuseppe Ungaretti|Ungaretti]], [[Henri Matisse|Matisse]], [[Picasso]], [[Françoise Gilot]], [[Chagall]], [[Alberto Giacometti|Giacometti]]) as [[Tériade]]'s most respected friend. Teriade was simultaneously in Paris publishing works with all the renowned artists and philosophers ([[Kostas Axelos]], [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], Françoise Gilot, [[René Daumal]]) of the time. Elytis and Teriade had formed a strong friendship that solidified in 1939 with the publication of Elytis' first book of poetry entitled "Orientations". Both Elytis and Teriade hailed from Lesbos and had a mutual love of the Greek painter [[Theophilos Hatzimihail|Theophilos]]. Starting from Paris, he travelled and subsequently visited Switzerland, England, Italy and Spain. In 1948, he was the representative of Greece at the ''International Meetings of Geneva'', in 1949 at the Founding Congress of the ''International Art Critics Union'' in Paris, and in 1962 at the ''Incontro Romano della Cultura'' in Rome.<ref name=nobel/>

In 1961, upon an invitation of the State Department, he traveled through the USA from March to June to New York Washington New Orleans Santa Fe Los Angeles San Francisco Boston Buffalo Chicago His return was to Paris to meet up with Teriade and then to Greece — Upon similar invitations in 1962 with Andreas Embirikos and Yiorgos Theotokas (1905-1966) through the [[Soviet Union]] to Odessa Moscow and Leningrad. Elytis did not like [[Yevgeny Yevtushenko]] when they were introduced but appreciated Voznesensky That summer he spent part of his holidays on Corfu Island and the rest on Lesbos where he and Teriade, who had returned from Paris, were establishing the foundations of a museum dedicated to the painter Theophilos. In 1964, the inaugural performance of the oratorio to the poetry of the ''Axion Esti'' as set to music by [[Mikis Theodorakis]] was held. In 1965, he completed the essays that would comprise the book ''The Open Papers'' and that summer visited the Greek islands yet again. He visited [[Bulgaria]] in 1965<ref name=nobel/> with his friend Yiorgos Theotokas on the invitation of the Union of Bulgarian Authors; it would be their final journey together as Theotokas would die in October 1966. Their guide throughout this country was the poet [[Elisaveta Bagryana]] (1893–1991), who had been nominated three times until then for the Nobel prize in Literature. In 1965, he was also bestowed with the Phoenix Cross, the highest honour of the Greek nation.

Elytis was a believer and follower of numerology in all its forms: Biblical, Kabbalah, Chaldean and Pythagorean. He also believed in Vedic astrology and held certain beliefs of Hinduism to be true. Elytis was beset with the untimely death of friends and relatives throughout his life: Yiorgos Theotokas, George Seferis, Andreas Embirikos, George Sarandaris. Of all the deaths that happened, Karydis, his publisher at Ikaros, shook him up the most. Elytis had cordial relations with Yiannis Ritsos and close ties with his best friend [[Nikos Gatsos]], both poets of the same generation.