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  1. Home
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  3. Hellenism in Byzantium
  • Cited by 36
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
December 2009
Print publication year:
2008
Online ISBN:
9780511496356
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511496356
Subjects:
Ancient History, Classical Studies, Area Studies, Classical Studies (General), History, European Studies, European History 450-1000
Series:
Greek Culture in the Roman World
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Book description

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.

Reviews

Review of the hardback:'The study is based on a direct acquaintance with an impressive range of authors from two thousand years of Greek literature. … I do hope that this discussion will be held in future scholarly literature, and that this book will find many readers: it is directly relevant for any student interested in the lasting legacy of Greek Antiquity.'

Source: L’Antiquité Classique

'Kaldellis's book brings many provocative points to an area of Byzantine studies that had stagnated for several decades. The contention that 'Hellenism' in Byzantium was synonymous with 'paganism' has always been unconvincing, but Kaldellis is the fist modern scholar to devote a book-length study to the topic.'

Source: The Journal of Speculum

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