ENGLISH

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

By Anthony Kaldellis

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2008
ISBN
0521876885, 9780521876889
LCC
DE86 .K35 2007
Open Library ID
OL10438179M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (3375764 bytes)
Series
Greek Culture in the Roman World
Edition
1
Pages
482\482
Topic
History
Scanned
yes
Time added
2011-04-18 11:31:18
Исторические дисциплины;Всемирная история;История

Description

This 2008 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.

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