Hellenism in Byzantium: The Transformations of Greek Identity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition (Greek Culture in the Roman World)

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 Cover Half-title Series-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Preface Introduction PART I Greeks, Romans, and Christians in late antiquity CHAPTER 1 ‘‘We too are Greeks!’’: the legacies of Hellenism Classical Greece The Hellenistic World The Second Sophistic CHAPTER 2 ‘‘The world a city’’: Romans of the East Becoming Roman The Translation of Romania Byzantium as a Nation-State The Myth of the ‘‘Multi-Ethnic Empire’’ The Fictions of Ecumenical Ideology Where did all the Greeks go? CHAPTER 3 ‘‘Nibbling on Greek learning’’: the Christian predicament Between Greeks and Barbarians, Within Hellenism The Challenge of Hellenism The Legacy of Julian Ours or Theirs? The Uneasy Patristic Settlement Conclusion: The End of Ancient Hellenism INTERLUDE Hellenism in limbo: the middle years (400-1040) PART II Hellenic revivals in Byzantium CHAPTER 4 Michael Psellos and the instauration of philosophy ‘‘Unblocking the Streams of Philosophy’’ Science and Dissimulation Between Body and Soul: A New Humanism Hellenes in the Eleventh Century? CHAPTER 5 The Third Sophistic: the performance of Hellenism under the Komnenoi Anathema upon Philosophy Emperors and sophists Hellenism as an Expansion of Moral and Aesthetic Categories Hellenic Fantasy Worlds: The New Romance Novels A Philosopher’s Novel: Prodromos on Religion and War Hellenic Afterworlds: The Timarion Toward a New Hellenic Identity Anti-Latin Hellenism Ioannes Tzetzes: Professional Classicism Eustathios of Thessalonike: Scholar, Bishop, Humanist CHAPTER 6 Imperial failure and the emergence of national Hellenism Michael Choniates and the ‘‘Blessed’’ Greeks Athens: A Christian City and its Classicist Bishop East and West: Negotiating Labels in 1204 Moderni Graeci or Romans? Byzantines under Latin Occupation Roman Nationalism in the Successor States Imperial Hellenism: Ioannes III Batatzes and Theodoros II Laskaris The Intellectuals of Nikaia General conclusions Bibliography Abbreviations Sources Secondary works Index "This is the first systematic study of what it meant to be "Greek" in late antiquity and Byzantium, an identity that could alternately 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 part (100-400) shows how Romanization and Christianization 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 civilization."--BOOK JACKET Part 1. Greeks, Romans, And Christians In Late Antiquity -- We Too Are Greeks! : The Legacies Of Hellenism -- The World A City: Romans Of The East -- Nibbling On Greek Learning: The Christian Predicament -- Interlude. Hellenism In Limbo: The Middle Years (400-1040) -- Part 2. Hellenic Revivals In Byzantium -- Michael Psellos And The Instauration Of Philosophy -- The Third Sophistic: The Performance Of Hellenism Under The Komnenoi -- Imperial Failure And The Emergence Of National Hellenism. Anthony Kaldellis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 398-452) And Index. Examines what it meant to be 'Greek' in late antiquity and Byzantium