The Sociedade Parthenon Literário ("Literary Parthenon Society"), better known simply as Parthenon Litterario, was a Brazilian literary society created in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, considered the main cultural association of the state in the 19th century.
Overview Appearing in a period when Letters were in an embryonic state and the population was massively illiterate, the Parthenon Litterario was the entity that effectively formed and consolidated the regional literary system, founding a renowned monthly magazine, stimulating the practice of reading and literary creation. It promoted the people's education with classes and other activities, organized regular soirées and conferences on literary and philosophical subjects, and a variety of other themes relevant to that historical moment, such as the moralization of customs, the national political model, the educational system, the definition of regional identity, the abolition of slavery, and the emancipation of women. The society was a main agent for the liberation of slaves in Porto Alegre and had an important influence in politics and in the dissemination of the republican ideal.
Founded in 1868 by a group of around twenty people, the Parthenon Litterario grew to more than 140 effective members and a network of collaborators with more than 300 people, bringing together much of the intellectual elite of the state, with José Antônio do Vale Caldre e Fião and, above all, Apolinário Porto-Alegre as leaders. It was praised in its time as a source of important cultural and social advances, but some of its initiatives failed, and most of its specifically literary production is valued today mainly for its role of cultural dynamizer and structurer of the literary system, and for having laid the foundations of a literature of regionalist character, praising the figure of the gaucho,Gaucho (in Portuguese, gaúcho) also refers to the people native to the state of Rio Grande do Sul. the folklore, the history of the state and the countryside scenery, within a romanticist framework. The cultural project of the Parthenon aggregated a generation of new talents, formed a new reading public, gave rise to the emergence of libraries, schools, associations, and literary publications in many cities of the state, and the society's activities offered a complete portrait of the Rio Grande do Sul intellectuality of the end of the 19th century.
The society ceased its activities around 1888 and was reactivated in 1892, functioning precariously for a few more years. It was officially extinguished in 1899. Its history and contribution are still poorly known or little studied. In 1997, admirers of the entity's legacy re-founded it with the updated spelling Sociedade Partenon Literário, resuming the practice of regular sessions, promoting diversified activities, and launching several publications.
History
The Sociedade Partenon Literário was founded on 18 June 1868, in Porto Alegre, in a period of social and political effervescence, with the Paraguay War in progress, republican ideas expanding, and a strong revival of the abolitionist movement. The local culture was still in its infancy, in a context that had been marked by a history of repeated military conflicts since the 18th century, by the main preoccupation with political and economic issues, poor education, and a chronic shortage of resources. Until the appearance of the Parthenon, few newspapers had been founded in the province, and even fewer were literary magazines, all of fleeting existence. Mainly through these rare vehicles, a meager literature of regional origin circulated, still very modest. However, a cultural movement was beginning and a significant group of intellectuals were active in Porto Alegre, Pelotas, and Rio Grande, the main urban centers.
According to Regina Zilberman,
The creation of the Parthenon Litterario had the collaboration of approximately twenty founding members, but was centered on two figures: the physician and writer José Antônio do Vale Caldre e Fião and the young Apolinário José Gomes Porto-Alegre. Caldre e Fião, besides mentoring the new group and constantly supporting the initiative, lent his personal prestige, since he was a well-known author, being elected honorary president. Apolinário was fundamental for his dynamism and posture, and was the undisputed leader of the society. According to Luciana Boeira, his activity was so dominant that "it is practically impossible to think about the institution without thinking about the action that Apolinário exercised for its maintenance." In the meetings that preceded the foundation, a provisional board was formed, composed of Vasco de Araújo e Silva (president), Antônio Ferreira Neves and Aurélio Veríssimo de Bittencourt (secretaries); Caldre e Fião, José Bernardino dos Santos, Manuel Pereira da Silva Ubatuba and Hilário Ribeiro de Andrade e Silva (statutes). The first effective president was Firmino Antônio de Araújo.
Achilles Porto Alegre has recorded a memory of the founding times:
In the following year, the society launched the Revista Mensal da Sociedade Parthenon Litterario magazine, with an editorial board formed by Vasco de Araujo e Silva, Apolinário Porto Alegre, Lúcio Porto Alegre, Aurélio de Bittencourt, Menezes Paredes, and Hilário Ribeiro. Its foundation was met with some opposition and disbelief, and by reports from Apolinário, it only came to light after receiving the support of the reputed journalist, military, and former congressman Felipe Nery. The society faced difficulties to maintain itself, and in the early 1870s, it suffered the first of its several interruptions. Still, in its most active period, it had distribution agents in numerous inland cities, ensuring coverage of almost the entire Rio Grande do Sul territory, as well as being distributed in Rio de Janeiro and Mato Grosso.
The emergence of the Parthenon is part of the tradition of the illustrated academies, which flourished in Europe since the 16th century and were imitated in Brazil. Like them, the Parthenon allowed the exchange of information, texts, and ideas among its members, who had different origins, occupations, and experiences, promoting the circulation of articles in its magazine and in different newspapers that traveled the most distant corners of Rio Grande do Sul, being not only a cultural and political forum but also an important space for socialization, at a time when such spaces were rare in the city. However, this same diversity, which added richness to its legacy, was the cause of polemics and internal friction.
The society was interested in general education and set up a museum, a library, and a night school, which in 1873 taught classes of French, English, philosophy, rhetoric, history, geography, arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. The Parthenon propagated republican ideals and also promoted soirées, regular conferences, and debates on various themes, such as the Ragamuffin War, marriage, religion, education, morality, civic virtue, death penalty, and feminism, intervening, as Athos Damasceno said,
The Parthenon was also a form of decisive importance for the articulation, within a romantic framework, of the regionalist aesthetic, and for beginning the consolidation of the image of the gaucho, a character associated with championing activities, as a symbol of the people of the entire state and as a synthesis of their ideal moral, spiritual, and civic virtues. Múcio Teixeira left a succinct account of his activities:
The society's trajectory was irregular and its internal history is barely known, but in 1872, as the minutes of this year show, one of the few well-documented, the institution was going through a serious crisis. A climate of discord had set in, and criticisms from the associates multiplied regarding various aspects. The librarian was accused of neglecting the care of the collection and of not having yet provided a catalog, the treasurer did not present the balance sheet, the commission in charge of revising the statutes was inert, there were outstanding debts, the sessions were impaired by poor organization, next year's elections were threatened, and some accused others of creating intrigue and deliberately spreading confusion. In December, members Aurélio de Bittencourt, João Câncio Gomes, and Múcio Teixeira, who had founded the Sociedade Ensaios Literários, were expelled. In the following year, whose minutes have also survived, show that the situation improved, and the main interest turned to reorganize the administration and the project of building its headquarters. In 1879, the Revista Mensal was restructured, being published as the Revista Contemporânea do Parthenon Litterario (Contemporary Magazine of the Parthenon Litterario) but it no longer had the vigor of before and was discontinued in September of the same year.
Throughout its existence, the Parthenon functioned in several places, without ever having headquarters. According to Sérgio da Costa Franco, shortly after its foundation, the society lent its name to a real estate development in a suburb organized by Fernando dos Santos Pereira, who, in return, gave the Parthenon two plots of land for the construction of its headquarters. The subdivision was located on a high hill, and the building was to be an imitation of the Parthenon in Athens, also located on a hill. One of the plots was sold to pay for the construction. In November 1873, in a ceremony attended by João Pedro Carvalho de Morais, president of the province, and Dom Sebastião Dias Laranjeira, bishop of Porto Alegre, the cornerstone of the building was laid which, however, was never built, but was enough to baptize one of the city's current neighborhoods, the Parthenon. On that land today stands the Santo Antônio Church. In 1884, a plan to purchase the headquarters of the Sociedade Bailante Soirée Porto Alegrense was outlined, for 20 contos de réis, but the idea was not carried through. At this time the society was meeting in a house on Rua de Bragança.
Another attempt was made on 10 January 1885, when the cornerstone of a building located at Rua Riachuelo was laid, with the presence of Princess Isabel and Count D'Eu. In January 1886, a competition was announced for the project, which was to have a main façade imitating the Parthenon in Athens, a hall for sessions and soirées occupying the entire width of the building (and to be lavishly decorated), a room for the library, another for the museum, one more for classes and another for the practice of arts and crafts, as well as support facilities such as a room for the doorman, and storage rooms. The building would be of great proportions, crossing an entire block, with two façades, the main one on Rua Riachuelo and the back one on Rua Jerônimo Coelho. The author of the winning project would receive a 300 thousand réis prize. A budget of 30 contos de réis was available for the works. The chosen project was the design by engineer João Pünder, but as with the first project, the second was never realized.