Hellenism in Byzantium: The Transformations of Greek Identity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition

by Anthony Kaldellis

Overview

This text was the first systematic study of what it meant to be 'Greek' in late antiquity and Byzantium, an identity that could alternatively become national, religious, philosophical, or cultural. Through close readings of the sources, Professor Kaldellis surveys the space that Hellenism occupied in each period; the broader debates in which it was caught up; and the historical causes of its successive transformations. The first section (100–400) shows how Romanisation and Christianisation led to the abandonment of Hellenism as a national label and its restriction to a negative religious sense and a positive, albeit rarefied, cultural one. The second (1000–1300) shows how Hellenism was revived in Byzantium and contributed to the evolution of its culture. The discussion looks closely at the reception of the classical tradition, which was the reason why Hellenism was always desirable and dangerous in Christian society, and presents a new model for understanding Byzantine civilisation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521876889
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/31/2008
Series:	Greek Culture in the Roman World
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	482
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 1.18(d)

About the Author

Anthony Kaldellis is Professor of Greek and Latin at The Ohio State University. He has published many articles and monographs on late antiquity and Byzantium, and is currently completing a related book on the subject of the Christian Parthenon. His most recent titles are Mothers and Sons, Fathers and Daughters: The Byzantine Family of Michael Psellos (2006) and Procopius of Caesarea: Tyranny, History and Philosophy at the End of Antiquity (2004).

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part I. Greeks, Romans, and Christians in Late Antiquity: 1. 'We too are Greeks!': the legacies of Hellenism; 2. 'The world a city': Romans of the east; 3. 'Nibbling on Greek learning': the Christian predicament; Interlude. Hellenism in limbo: the middle years (400–1040); Part II. Hellenic Revivals in Byzantium: 4. Michael Psellos and the instauration of philosophy; 5. The third sophistic: the performance of Hellenism under the Komnenoi; 6. Imperial failure and the emergence of national Hellenism; General conclusions.

Editorial Reviews

"Kaldellis is one of the most brilliant young Byzantinists in the US academic world today. ...This wide-ranging book of impressive scholarship deserves a place in every university library. Highly recommended." —Choice

From the Publisher