| Hellenism in Byzantium: The Transformations of Greek Identity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition Contributor(s): Kaldellis, Anthony (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 0521876885 ISBN-13: 9780521876889 Publisher: Cambridge University Press OUR PRICE: $147.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 2008 Annotation: This is 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 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. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Ancient - Greece - History | Middle East - Turkey & Ottoman Empire - History | Europe - General |
| Dewey: 938.09 |
| LCCN: 2008295257 |
| Series: Greek Culture in the Roman World |
| Physical Information: 1.32" H x 6.46" W x 9.22" (1.96 lbs) 482 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Turkey - Cultural Region - Greece - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher 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. |