The Gyftopoula, the third and final novel by Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911) - before he was definitively absorbed by short stories - was published in installments in the newspaper Akropolis of Vlassis Gavriilidis (April 21 - October 11, 1884).

With this work, Papadiamantis permanently won the love of the great public and solidified the admiration he received from the intellectual world of the country.

The action is set in Laconia during the days leading up to the Fall of the City and revolves around the love story of Aimas and Machtos. However, the central figure of the work is Georgios Gemistos or Plethon, the great national philosopher of the 15th century, and alongside him, other historical figures from that dramatic period at the end of the empire, such as Georgios Scholarios and Cardinal Bessarion, move in the background.

However, the work is much more than a lamentation for the Fall; paradoxically, it is a hymn to ancient beauty [...]