Καθρεπτησ γυναικων of Constantine Dapontes - the trip to the Crimea in political verses (1746)

The Phanariot Constantine (Kaisarios) Dapontes fled in 1746 to the Crimea, where he was received benevolently, with the recommendation of Constantine Mavrocordatos, Prince of Wallachia, by the Tatar Khan Selim II Giray. He wrote in the so-called political verses a dialogical report on his sojourn, which he enfolded in his huge Καθρέπτης γυναικών, i.e. “Women’s Mirror”. Dapontes was the first (early) modern Greek author, who made the Crimea accessible to the Greeks of his time. He also raised awareness that this place was - though Tartarian - a truly Greek place, but without referring to the Greek antiquity and the Byzantine times. Since the work was very common, his portrayal of the Crimea should not be without effect. Dapontes wrote nothing remarkably new about the political situation in Crimea, but he made some information available for his compatriots. What is important are Dapontes' remarks about the monastery landscape of rough beauty, which contrasts with the Arcadian riverside meadows, and about the Greek population living near Bakhchisarai.