| The Asma tes Sousannas (Song of Susanna) is preserved in 78 versions, most of them from Crete and the Aegean Islands. The subject is the forbidden love of an Ottoman and the Christian Susanna, who is murdered by her brother to restore her family’s honour. The work was composed in Crete, probably in Heraklion; it may well be connected to the Turco-Cretans. The writing of the original poem, its transformation into a popular song, its dissemination and its extensive redactive adventures are dated to between 1669 and 1800. The song was influenced by other folk songs and underwent many and varied alterations to its form and content. Two versions are published here, from Icaria and Crete. |