La ville méditerranéenne, en tant qu’espace labyrinthique. Réflexions sur les romans Cités à la dérive et Printemps perdu de Stratis Tsirkas
The Mediterranean City as a Labyrinthine Space. Reflections on the Novels Cité à la dérive [Drifting Cities] and Printemps perdu [Lost Spring] by Stratis Tsirkas

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to analyse the Mediterranean city as a labyrinthine space based on the trilogy Drifting Cities (1961– 1965) and on the novel Lost Spring (1976) by Stratis Tsirkas (1911–1980). In order to represent space-time in a state of instability and crisis, with that space-time being Jerusalem, Cairo and Alexandria during the Second World War, and Athens during the socio-political disturbances of July 1965, the author resorts to the myth of the labyrinth. This myth evokes, on the one hand, the maze-like structure of an unknown urban landscape, and, on the other hand, socio-political disorder. As Mediterranean cities, Romanesque cities are hybrid and complex. For this reason, they appear as an “in-between” of the real and the imaginary, of the past and the present. It is by relying on the concept of thirdspace (Edward Soja), that the complex character of the Mediterranean city will be highlighted. However, each of these cities has its own specific features: Jerusalem appears as a chessboard where secret agents and obscure organisations engage in innumerable parties to satisfy their interests, Cairo presents itself as a political and social labyrinth, Alexandria refers to a labyrinth of intrigue and machinations and Athens is the home of the monsters of power.

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