Sparta in unpublished manuscripts by Zbigniew Herbert. Reconaissance

Abstract

The article concerns Herbert’s vision of Sparta, reconstructed on the basis of unpublished materials stored in the poet’s archive at National Library. The analysis of those documents indicates poet’s interest in Sparta, especially the Peloponnesian War and the testimony of Thucydides, which was greater than it could be suspected based on the published compositions. Apart from those materials from Herbert’s late works, the writer’s archive contains a collection of his earlier manuscripts, most frequently notes, related to the experience of travelling through Sparta. The whole body of analyzed manuscripts and materials demonstrates that the author of Labirynt nad morzem showed lasting interest in Sparta-related issues.