Background
Born on Apr. 17, 1863, in Alexandria, Egypt, he came of an old family from Istanbul, which, on his father's side, had emigrated to Egypt in the early 19th century. For many years the Cavafy family was one of the most prominent in the cosmopolitan society of Alexandria. Constantine, the youngest of seven brothers, grew up with English and French as his first languages, and spent part of his childhood in England. He returned with his mother to Alexandria in 1878, but in the meantime the death of his father precipitated the decline of the family business. At the age of 18 Cavafy spent two years in Istanbul, and after that, except for short visits to Paris and London (1897) and to Athens (1901, 1932), he lived continuously in Alexandria, employed in a government office. He led the life of a recluse, devoting all his spare time to poetry.