The lyric novel - the largest work of the writer - is written in epistolary form. The name of the protagonist - Hyperion - refers to the image of the titan, the father of the sun god Helios, whose mythological name means High-Seated. It seems that the action of the novel, which is a kind of “spiritual odyssey” of the hero, takes place out of time, although the arena of the events is Greece of the second half of the 18th century, which is under the Turkish yoke (this is indicated by references to the uprising in the Sea and the Battle of Chesme in 1770).
After the trials that fell to his lot, Hyperion departs from participation in the struggle for the independence of Greece, he has lost hope for the imminent liberation of his homeland, he is aware of his powerlessness in modern life. From now on, he chose the path of seclusion for himself. Having the opportunity to return to Greece again, Hyperion settles on the Isthmus of Corinth, from where he writes letters to his friend Bellarmin, who lives in Germany.
It would seem that Hyperion achieved the desired, but contemplative hermitage also does not bring satisfaction, nature no longer opens his arms to him, he, always eager for merging with her, suddenly feels himself a stranger, does not understand her. It seems that he is not destined to find harmony either within himself or outside.
In response to Bellarmin’s requests, Hyperion writes to him about his childhood spent on the island of Tinos, the dreams and hopes of that time. He reveals the inner world of a richly gifted teenager, unusually sensitive to beauty and poetry.
A huge influence on the formation of the young man’s views is exerted by his teacher Adamas. Hyperion lives in the days of bitter decline and national enslavement of his country. Adamas instills in the pupil a sense of admiration for the ancient era, visits the magnificent ruins of former glory with him, talks about the valor and wisdom of his great ancestors. Hyperion is experiencing a difficult breakup with his beloved mentor.
Full of spiritual strength and high impulses, Hyperion leaves for Smyrna to study military affairs and navigation. He is uplifted, longing for beauty and justice, he constantly encounters human double-facedness and comes into despair. A real success is a meeting with Alabanda, in which he finds a close friend. Young men revel in youth, hope for the future, they are united by the high idea of liberating their homeland, because they live in a scolded country and cannot reconcile themselves to this. Their views and interests are largely close, they do not intend to become like slaves, who habitually indulge in a sweet slap, they are overwhelmed by a thirst to act. This is where the discrepancy is revealed. Alabanda - a man of practical action and heroic impulses - constantly pursues the idea of the need to "blow up rotten stumps." Hyperion, however, insists that it is necessary to educate people under the sign of "theocracy of beauty." Alabanda calls such reasoning empty fantasies, friends quarrel and part.
Hyperion is experiencing another crisis, he is returning home, but the world around is bleached, he is leaving for Calavria, where communication with the beauties of the Mediterranean nature once again awakens him to life.
Notar's friend brings him to the same house, where he meets his love. Diomita seems to him divine-beautiful, he sees in her an unusually harmonious nature. Love unites their souls. The girl is convinced of the high calling of her chosen one - to be the "educator of the people" and lead the struggle of the patriots. Yet Diomita is against violence, even to create a free state. And Hyperion enjoys the happiness that has come to him, gained peace of mind, but he anticipates the tragic denouement of the idyll.
He receives a letter from Alabanda with a message about the upcoming speech of the Greek patriots. Having said goodbye to her lover, Hyperion hurries to join the ranks of the fighters for the liberation of Greece. He is full of hope for victory, but is defeated. The reason is not only impotence in front of the military power of the Turks, but also in discord with others, the clash of ideal with everyday reality: Hyperion feels the impossibility of planting paradise with the help of a band of robbers - soldiers of the liberation army carry out robberies and massacres, and nothing can be restrained.
Having decided that he has nothing more in common with his compatriots, Hyperion enters the service in the Russian fleet. From now on, the fate of the exile awaits him, even his own father cursed him. Frustrated, morally afflicted, he seeks death in the Chesme naval battle, but remains alive.
After resigning, he intends to finally calmly heal with Diomita somewhere in the Alps or Pyrenees, but receives news of her death and remains inconsolable.
After many wanderings, Hyperion ends up in Germany, where he lives for quite some time. But the reaction and backwardness prevailing there seem to him suffocating, in a letter to a friend he sarcastically speaks of the falsity of a dying public order, the Germans' lack of civic feelings, pettiness of desires, reconciliation with reality.
Once the teacher Adamas predicted to Hyperion that such natures as him are doomed to loneliness, wandering, to eternal discontent with themselves.
And Greece is defeated. Diomita is dead. Hyperion lives in a hut on the island of Salamis, sorting through memories of the past, grieving for losses, the impracticability of ideals, trying to overcome internal discord, experiencing a bitter sense of melancholy. It seems to him that he repaid the black ingratitude of his mother earth, neglecting his life and all the gifts of love that she wasted. His destiny is contemplation and philosophizing, as before he remains faithful to the pantheistic idea of the relationship of man and nature.
