Books by stephanos efthymiadis
LES NOUVEAUX MARTYRS, 2021
Η Βυζαντινή Αγιολογία της Κύπρου / The Byzantine Hagiography of Cyprus, 2020
Οι άγιοι, οι συγγραφείς και τα κείμενα (4 ος-13 ος αιώνας) ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΕΥΘΥΜΙΑΔΗΣ Η ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΗ ΑΓΙΟΛΟ... more Οι άγιοι, οι συγγραφείς και τα κείμενα (4 ος-13 ος αιώνας) ΣΤΕΦΑΝΟΣ ΕΥΘΥΜΙΑΔΗΣ Η ΒΥΖΑΝΤΙΝΗ ΑΓΙΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΟΥ Οι άγιοι, οι συγγραφείς και τα κείμενα (4ος-13ος αιώνας) ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΟΝΙΚΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ ΠΗΓΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΜΕΛΕΤΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΙΑΚΗΣ ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑΣ-LXXXV-ΛΕΥΚΩΣΙΑ 2020 Cover:
For an entire millennium, Byzantine hagiography, inspired by the veneration of many saints, exhib... more For an entire millennium, Byzantine hagiography, inspired by the veneration of many saints, exhibited literary dynamism and a capacity to vary its basic forms. The subgenres into which it branched out after its remarkable start in the fourth century underwent alternating phases of development and decline that were intertwined with changes in the political, social and literary spheres. The selection of saintly heroes, an interest in depicting social landscapes, and the modulation of linguistic and stylistic registers captured the voice of homo byzantinus down to the end of the empire in the fifteenth century.
The seventeen chapters in this companion form the sequel to those in volume I which dealt with the periods and regions of Byzantine hagiography, and complete the first comprehensive survey ever produced in this field. The book is the work of an international group of experts in the field and is addressed to both a broader public and the scholarly community of Byzantinists, medievalists, historians of religion and theorists of narrative. It highlights the literary dimension and the research potential of a representative number of texts, not only those appreciated by the Byzantines themselves but those which modern readers rank high due to their literary quality or historical relevance.
Contents: Introduction, Stephanos Efthymiadis. Part I Genres, Varieties and Forms: Byzantine hagiography and its literary genres. Some critical observations, Martin Hinterberger; Greek passions of the martyrs in Byzantium, Marina Detoraki; Collections of miracles (fifth-fifteenth centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis; Collections of edifying stories, André Binggeli; Greek Byzantine hagiography in verse, Stephanos Efthymiadis; Symeon Metaphrastes and the metaphrastic movement, Christian Høgel; Synaxaria and the synaxarion of Constantinople, Andrea Luzzi. Part II Hagiography as Literature: The Byzantine hagiographer and his text, Martin Hinterberger; Audience, language and patronage in Byzantine hagiography, Stephanos Efthymiadis - Nikos Kalogeras; Byzantine hagiography and hymnography: an interrelationship, Antonia Giannouli; Fiction and/or novelisation in Byzantine hagiography, Charis Messis; Holy actors and actresses fools and cross-dressers as the protagonists of saints’ Lives, Stavroula Constantinou; The literary portrait of Byzantine female saints, Nathalie Delierneux. Part III Hagiography and Society: Economy and society in Byzantine hagiography: realia and methodological questions, Michel Kaplan - Eleonora Kountoura-Galaki; The city in Byzantine hagiography, Helen G. Saradi; The hagiography of doubt and scepticism, Anthony Kaldellis. Indexes.
Hagiography is the most abundantly represented genre of Byzantine literature and it offers crucia... more Hagiography is the most abundantly represented genre of Byzantine literature and it offers crucial insight to the development of religious thought and practice, social and literary life, and the history of the empire. It emerged in the fourth century with the pioneering Life of St Antony and continued to evolve until the end of the empire in the fifteenth century, and beyond. The appeal and dynamics of this genre radiated beyond the confines of Byzantium, and it was practised also in many Oriental and Slavic languages within the orbit of the broader Byzantine world.
This Companion is the work of an international team of specialists and represents the first comprehensive survey ever produced in this field. It consists of two volumes and is addressed to both a broader public and the scholarly community of Byzantinists, Medievalists, historians of religion and theorists of the narrative. This first volume covers the authors and texts of the four distinctive periods during which Greek Byzantine hagiography developed, as well as the hagiography produced in Oriental and Slavic languages and in geographical milieux around the periphery of the empire, from Italy to Armenia. Volume II addresses questions of genres and the social and other contexts of Byzantine hagiography.
Contents: Introduction, Stephanos Efthymiadis; Part I The Periods of Byzantine Hagiography: The Life of St Antony between biography and hagiography, Tomas Hägg; Greek hagiography in late antiquity (4th–7th centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis with Vincent Déroche (with contributions by André Binggeli and Zissis Aïnalis); Hagiography from the 'dark age' to the age of Symeon Metaphrastes (8th–10th centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis; The hagiography of the 11th and 12th centuries, Symeon A. Paschalidis; Hagiography in late Byzantium (1204–1453), Alice-Mary Talbot. Part II The Hagiography of the Byzantine Periphery and the Christian Orient: Palestinian hagiography (4th–8th centuries), Bernard Flusin; Italo-Greek hagiography, Mario Re; Syriac hagiography, Sebastian P. Brock; Georgian hagiography, Bernadette Martin-Hisard; Armenian hagiography, S. Peter Cowe; Hagiography in Coptic, Arietta Papaconstantinou; Arabic hagiography, Mark N. Swanson; Slavic hagiography, Ingunn Lunde; Latin hagiographical literature translated into Greek, Xavier Lequeux; Indexes.
Involving a vast number of texts, saintly heroes and authors, Byzantine hagiography stands out as... more Involving a vast number of texts, saintly heroes and authors, Byzantine hagiography stands out as a field of scholarly research highly rewarding for both the philologist and the historian. The studies reproduced in this volume cover a chronological range from late antiquity to the Paleologan era. They bring together annotated editions of specific texts and discussions of their contexts, complemented by comprehensive surveys of saintly and monastic cult. Having appeared over the last twenty years, they also illustrate and reflect upon the significant development and re-orientation which has marked the study of hagiography in recent decades.
Contents: Preface; New developments in hagiography: the rediscovery of Byzantine hagiography; Part A Late Antiquity: Living in a city and living in a scetis: the dream of Eustathios the Banker (BHG Nov. Auct. 1317d); A day and ten months in the life of a lonely bachelor: the other Byzantium in Miracula S. Artemii 18 and 22; De debito bis soluto: an edifying story on the administered oath (BHG Novum Auctarium 1317n); Two Gregories and three genres: autobiography, autohagiography and hagiography. Part B The Age of Iconoclasm and Post-Iconoclasm: John of Sardis and the metaphrasis of the Passio of St. Nikephoros the Martyr (BHG 1334); Le panégyrique de S. Théophane le Confesseur par S. Théodore Stoudite (BHG 1792b). édition critique du texte intégral; The Byzantine hagiographer and his audience in the 9th and 10th centuries; Hagiographica varia (9th–10th c.); The function of the Holy Man in Asia Minor in the Middle Byzantine period; Establishing a holy lineage: Theodore the Stoudite's funerary catechism for his mother; Le miracle et les saints durant et après le second iconoclasme; Medieval Thessalonike and the Miracles of its saints: big and small demands made on exclusive rights (9th–12th centuries); D'Orient en Occident mais étranger aux deux mondes: messages et renseignements tirés de la Vie de Saint Nicolas le Pèlerin (BHL 6223); Le monastère de la Source à Constantinople et ses deux recueils de miracles: entre hagiographie et patriographie. Part C Late Byzantium: Late Byzantine collections of miracles and their implications; Addenda et corrigenda; Indexes.
The volume Niketas Choniates. A Historian and a Writer (eds.) A. Simpson and S. Efthymiadis is t... more The volume Niketas Choniates. A Historian and a Writer (eds.) A. Simpson and S. Efthymiadis is the first scholarly volume to be published on the History of Niketas Choniates. Its major aim is to offer new perspectives on how the History of Niketas Choniates should be read and interpreted. As such, it follows an interdisciplinary approach and is concerned with a wide range of aspects of this lengthy, significant, and multi-faceted text. The ten essays examine various historical, literary, theological, and art historical issues of the text and demonstrate how these should be viewed as an integral part of the narrative. Moreover, alongside more traditional historical analysis and source-criticism, several essays promote the reading of the text as a literary artefact and uncover the rhetorical techniques by which historical reality was represented by a highly educated and intelligent eye-witness of dramatic events. It is expected that the volume will make a major contribution to scholarship on the subject and stimulate interest and discussion on the History and its author. Due to its interdisciplinary character, it will be of particular value not only for scholars and students of Byzantine literature and culture, but also for those working in related fields, such as art history, medieval history, literary interpretation, and theology.
Contents:
Introduction, Alicia Simpson, Niketas Choniates: the Historian and Stephanos Efthymiadis, Niketas Choniates: the Writer
Paul Magdalino, Prophecy and Divination in the History
Anthony Kaldellis, Paradox, Reversal and the Meaning of History
Stephanos Efthymiadis, Greek and Biblical Exempla in the Service of an Artful Writer
Roderick Saxey, The Homeric Metamorphoses of Andronikos I Komnenos
John Davis, The History Metaphrased: Changing Readership in the Fourteenth Century
Luciano Bossina, Niketas Choniates as a Theologian
Alicia Simpson, Narrative Images of Medieval Constantinople
Titos Papamastorakis, Interpreting the De Signis of Niketas Choniates
co-authored with Anthony Kaldellis.
Papers by stephanos efthymiadis
Interacting with saints in the late antique and medieval worlds, ed. R. Wiśniewski, R. Van Dam and B. Ward-Perkins, Hagiologia vol. 20, Brepols: Turnhout, p. 161-180, 2023
Known as the Virgin’s city and teeming with churches and shrines hosting precious holy relics, Co... more Known as the Virgin’s city and teeming with churches and shrines hosting precious holy relics, Constantinople never developed the cult-worship of traditional saints (apostles and martyrs) on a level that marked other Christian cities. At times the promotion of a saint’s cult was due to an emperor’s personal devotion and resulted in relics brought into the imperial city. Yet, first and foremost, in late antiquity religious foundations dedicated to saints in the capital owed their construction or restoration to private benefactors and to the sponsorship and support by communities of immigrants coming especially from the eastern provinces. In terms of potential and dynamic, the cults of new saints after the end of Iconoclasm (843), whether of patriarchs, monks, or figures that never existed, could not compete with the saints of early Christianity. All in all, the plurality of holy shrines and relics that pilgrims and visitors to Constantinople recorded in their accounts from the twelfth century onwards points to the coexistence of many cultic microcosms rather than to an endeavour to impose monopolies on the urban religious landscape.
Introduction, Edition and Annotation by S. Efthymiadis, Translation by J.M. Featherstone. Στο Theatron. Rhetorische Kultur in Spätantike und Mittelalter/Rhetorical Culture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Millennium Studies, ed. M. Grünbart., 2007
Introduction, Edition and Annotation by S. Efthymiadis, Translation by J.M. Featherstone. In Thea... more Introduction, Edition and Annotation by S. Efthymiadis, Translation by J.M. Featherstone. In Theatron. Rhetorische Kultur in Spätantike und Mittelalter/Rhetorical Culture in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Millennium Studies, ed. M. Grünbart, Berlin 2007, p. 13–51.
Constructing saints in Greek and Latin hagiography. Heroes and Heroines in Late Antique and Medieval Narrative, ed. K. de Temmerman, J. van Pelt and Kl. Staat, Fabulae. Narrative in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, 2, Brepols eds, Turnhout, p. 33-56. , 2023
Dear reader,
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Acces... more Dear reader,
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/book/10.1484/M.FABULAE-EB.5.131816 under this same license.
Cahiers balkaniques, 2012
L'intérêt scientifique que nous avons porté à Phocée est né de la publication du dossier perdu et... more L'intérêt scientifique que nous avons porté à Phocée est né de la publication du dossier perdu et retrouvé de Félix Sartiaux, qui contient des rapports et des lettres concernant ses fouilles à l'intérieur de la ville et dans ses alentours pendant la période troublée entre 1914 et 1922. C'est en l'an 2000 que mon collègue Andréas Mazarakis, spécialisé dans l'étude de la période de la domination génoise en mer Égée, a découvert dans les archives de l'École Française d'Athènes ce que les archéologues qui ont repris l'oeuvre de Sartiaux dans cette région cherchaient depuis longtemps. À coup sûr, le dossier de Sartiaux, que l'on a publié par la suite dans le Bulletin du Centre des études d'Asie Mineure et qui comprend des lettres, des notes d'ensemble, des cartes et des photos, n'offrait qu'un intérêt marginal pour cette période très tardive. Son orientation archéologique le conduisait plutôt vers l'époque archaïque et classique. Ce dossier contenait néanmoins quelques témoignages intéressants sur l'époque byzantine et génoise qui, comme des pièces éparses, pourraient servir à améliorer notre connaissance sur une période de longue durée, mais que l'on qualifie, non sans raison, d'obscure 1 . 2 À la ville ionienne la plus septentrionale, l'Histoire n'a réservé que deux périodes d'apogée économique et sociale : a) la période archaïque où Phocée s'est avérée une métropole et une puissance navale (VII e et VI e siècles avant notre ère) et b) la période entre le dernier quart du XIII e siècle et l'an 1455, lorsque la ville a été conquise par les Ottomans. Entre ces deux périodes très éloignées dans le temps, Phocée avait connu le déclin pendant l'époque classique, hellénistique et romaine. D'abord alliée aux Athéniens, elle a été ensuite soumise aux Perses, puis à Alexandre, aux Séleucides, à Attale de Pergame, et enfin aux Romains. Cependant, elle n'est pas passée complètement inaperçue dans les sources qui, outre son passé glorieux, mentionnent, quoiqu'en passant, ce que sa terre et ses habitants produisent : de la céramique, du marbre, des vêtements de pourpre, de verres à boire, des éventails, et surtout des Phocée byzantine et génoise : une croissance urbaine Cahiers balkaniques, 40 | 2012
Contents: Introduction the historical context The Vita: critical introduction Text Translation Co... more Contents: Introduction the historical context The Vita: critical introduction Text Translation Commentary Index.
Single People in Early Byzantine Literature, 2018
Published in Singles and the Single Life in the Roman and Later Roman Worlds, ed. C. Laes, S. Hüb... more Published in Singles and the Single Life in the Roman and Later Roman Worlds, ed. C. Laes, S. Hübner, Cambridge University Press 2018.
Deltion of the Christian Archeological Society, 2021
One of the scenes of martyrdom that Ignatios the Deacon rhetorically records in the iconographic ... more One of the scenes of martyrdom that Ignatios the Deacon rhetorically records in the iconographic programme he describes in his Life of Patriarch Tarasios (BHG 1698) is of a martyr who performed “his funeral dance in public without entrails”. Identifying this unnamed figure with St Mamas gave the author the opportunity to rehearse the saint’s iconography in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine periods, with special focus on the depiction of his martyrdom. The personal perspective from which Ignatios viewed his task in rhetorically elaborating on this particular iconographic programme is also considered.
Parry/The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Patristics, 2015
Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All... more Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services and neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
Proceedings of a Conference on Byzantine Athens, 2021
Centre d'études byzantines, néo-helléniques et sud-est européennes, École des Hautes Études en Sc... more Centre d'études byzantines, néo-helléniques et sud-est européennes, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales Le Centre d'Études byzantines, néo-helléniques et sud-est européennes a été fondé en 1997 à l'École des Hautes études en Sciences sociales par délibération du Conseil scientifi que et sur proposition de Paolo Odorico. Les Dossiers Byzantins ont pour vocation d'être l'instrument de la diffusion des acti-vités du Centre, de témoigner de ses rapports avec d'autres institutions parallèles, de faire connaître ses recherches dans le domaine du monde byzantin et post-byzantin. Les Dossiers Byzantins publieront des Actes de colloques organisés par ou en collaboration avec le Centre, des monographies originales, des traductions en langue française d'ouvrages peu accessibles à un public plus large que celui des spécia-listes, des recherches conduites par de chercheurs rattachés au Centre ou ayant de rapports scientifi ques avec le Centre, des recueils d'études sur des sujets spécifi ques.
Uploads
Books by stephanos efthymiadis
The seventeen chapters in this companion form the sequel to those in volume I which dealt with the periods and regions of Byzantine hagiography, and complete the first comprehensive survey ever produced in this field. The book is the work of an international group of experts in the field and is addressed to both a broader public and the scholarly community of Byzantinists, medievalists, historians of religion and theorists of narrative. It highlights the literary dimension and the research potential of a representative number of texts, not only those appreciated by the Byzantines themselves but those which modern readers rank high due to their literary quality or historical relevance.
Contents: Introduction, Stephanos Efthymiadis. Part I Genres, Varieties and Forms: Byzantine hagiography and its literary genres. Some critical observations, Martin Hinterberger; Greek passions of the martyrs in Byzantium, Marina Detoraki; Collections of miracles (fifth-fifteenth centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis; Collections of edifying stories, André Binggeli; Greek Byzantine hagiography in verse, Stephanos Efthymiadis; Symeon Metaphrastes and the metaphrastic movement, Christian Høgel; Synaxaria and the synaxarion of Constantinople, Andrea Luzzi. Part II Hagiography as Literature: The Byzantine hagiographer and his text, Martin Hinterberger; Audience, language and patronage in Byzantine hagiography, Stephanos Efthymiadis - Nikos Kalogeras; Byzantine hagiography and hymnography: an interrelationship, Antonia Giannouli; Fiction and/or novelisation in Byzantine hagiography, Charis Messis; Holy actors and actresses fools and cross-dressers as the protagonists of saints’ Lives, Stavroula Constantinou; The literary portrait of Byzantine female saints, Nathalie Delierneux. Part III Hagiography and Society: Economy and society in Byzantine hagiography: realia and methodological questions, Michel Kaplan - Eleonora Kountoura-Galaki; The city in Byzantine hagiography, Helen G. Saradi; The hagiography of doubt and scepticism, Anthony Kaldellis. Indexes.
This Companion is the work of an international team of specialists and represents the first comprehensive survey ever produced in this field. It consists of two volumes and is addressed to both a broader public and the scholarly community of Byzantinists, Medievalists, historians of religion and theorists of the narrative. This first volume covers the authors and texts of the four distinctive periods during which Greek Byzantine hagiography developed, as well as the hagiography produced in Oriental and Slavic languages and in geographical milieux around the periphery of the empire, from Italy to Armenia. Volume II addresses questions of genres and the social and other contexts of Byzantine hagiography.
Contents: Introduction, Stephanos Efthymiadis; Part I The Periods of Byzantine Hagiography: The Life of St Antony between biography and hagiography, Tomas Hägg; Greek hagiography in late antiquity (4th–7th centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis with Vincent Déroche (with contributions by André Binggeli and Zissis Aïnalis); Hagiography from the 'dark age' to the age of Symeon Metaphrastes (8th–10th centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis; The hagiography of the 11th and 12th centuries, Symeon A. Paschalidis; Hagiography in late Byzantium (1204–1453), Alice-Mary Talbot. Part II The Hagiography of the Byzantine Periphery and the Christian Orient: Palestinian hagiography (4th–8th centuries), Bernard Flusin; Italo-Greek hagiography, Mario Re; Syriac hagiography, Sebastian P. Brock; Georgian hagiography, Bernadette Martin-Hisard; Armenian hagiography, S. Peter Cowe; Hagiography in Coptic, Arietta Papaconstantinou; Arabic hagiography, Mark N. Swanson; Slavic hagiography, Ingunn Lunde; Latin hagiographical literature translated into Greek, Xavier Lequeux; Indexes.
Contents: Preface; New developments in hagiography: the rediscovery of Byzantine hagiography; Part A Late Antiquity: Living in a city and living in a scetis: the dream of Eustathios the Banker (BHG Nov. Auct. 1317d); A day and ten months in the life of a lonely bachelor: the other Byzantium in Miracula S. Artemii 18 and 22; De debito bis soluto: an edifying story on the administered oath (BHG Novum Auctarium 1317n); Two Gregories and three genres: autobiography, autohagiography and hagiography. Part B The Age of Iconoclasm and Post-Iconoclasm: John of Sardis and the metaphrasis of the Passio of St. Nikephoros the Martyr (BHG 1334); Le panégyrique de S. Théophane le Confesseur par S. Théodore Stoudite (BHG 1792b). édition critique du texte intégral; The Byzantine hagiographer and his audience in the 9th and 10th centuries; Hagiographica varia (9th–10th c.); The function of the Holy Man in Asia Minor in the Middle Byzantine period; Establishing a holy lineage: Theodore the Stoudite's funerary catechism for his mother; Le miracle et les saints durant et après le second iconoclasme; Medieval Thessalonike and the Miracles of its saints: big and small demands made on exclusive rights (9th–12th centuries); D'Orient en Occident mais étranger aux deux mondes: messages et renseignements tirés de la Vie de Saint Nicolas le Pèlerin (BHL 6223); Le monastère de la Source à Constantinople et ses deux recueils de miracles: entre hagiographie et patriographie. Part C Late Byzantium: Late Byzantine collections of miracles and their implications; Addenda et corrigenda; Indexes.
Contents:
Introduction, Alicia Simpson, Niketas Choniates: the Historian and Stephanos Efthymiadis, Niketas Choniates: the Writer
Paul Magdalino, Prophecy and Divination in the History
Anthony Kaldellis, Paradox, Reversal and the Meaning of History
Stephanos Efthymiadis, Greek and Biblical Exempla in the Service of an Artful Writer
Roderick Saxey, The Homeric Metamorphoses of Andronikos I Komnenos
John Davis, The History Metaphrased: Changing Readership in the Fourteenth Century
Luciano Bossina, Niketas Choniates as a Theologian
Alicia Simpson, Narrative Images of Medieval Constantinople
Titos Papamastorakis, Interpreting the De Signis of Niketas Choniates
Papers by stephanos efthymiadis
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/book/10.1484/M.FABULAE-EB.5.131816 under this same license.
The seventeen chapters in this companion form the sequel to those in volume I which dealt with the periods and regions of Byzantine hagiography, and complete the first comprehensive survey ever produced in this field. The book is the work of an international group of experts in the field and is addressed to both a broader public and the scholarly community of Byzantinists, medievalists, historians of religion and theorists of narrative. It highlights the literary dimension and the research potential of a representative number of texts, not only those appreciated by the Byzantines themselves but those which modern readers rank high due to their literary quality or historical relevance.
Contents: Introduction, Stephanos Efthymiadis. Part I Genres, Varieties and Forms: Byzantine hagiography and its literary genres. Some critical observations, Martin Hinterberger; Greek passions of the martyrs in Byzantium, Marina Detoraki; Collections of miracles (fifth-fifteenth centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis; Collections of edifying stories, André Binggeli; Greek Byzantine hagiography in verse, Stephanos Efthymiadis; Symeon Metaphrastes and the metaphrastic movement, Christian Høgel; Synaxaria and the synaxarion of Constantinople, Andrea Luzzi. Part II Hagiography as Literature: The Byzantine hagiographer and his text, Martin Hinterberger; Audience, language and patronage in Byzantine hagiography, Stephanos Efthymiadis - Nikos Kalogeras; Byzantine hagiography and hymnography: an interrelationship, Antonia Giannouli; Fiction and/or novelisation in Byzantine hagiography, Charis Messis; Holy actors and actresses fools and cross-dressers as the protagonists of saints’ Lives, Stavroula Constantinou; The literary portrait of Byzantine female saints, Nathalie Delierneux. Part III Hagiography and Society: Economy and society in Byzantine hagiography: realia and methodological questions, Michel Kaplan - Eleonora Kountoura-Galaki; The city in Byzantine hagiography, Helen G. Saradi; The hagiography of doubt and scepticism, Anthony Kaldellis. Indexes.
This Companion is the work of an international team of specialists and represents the first comprehensive survey ever produced in this field. It consists of two volumes and is addressed to both a broader public and the scholarly community of Byzantinists, Medievalists, historians of religion and theorists of the narrative. This first volume covers the authors and texts of the four distinctive periods during which Greek Byzantine hagiography developed, as well as the hagiography produced in Oriental and Slavic languages and in geographical milieux around the periphery of the empire, from Italy to Armenia. Volume II addresses questions of genres and the social and other contexts of Byzantine hagiography.
Contents: Introduction, Stephanos Efthymiadis; Part I The Periods of Byzantine Hagiography: The Life of St Antony between biography and hagiography, Tomas Hägg; Greek hagiography in late antiquity (4th–7th centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis with Vincent Déroche (with contributions by André Binggeli and Zissis Aïnalis); Hagiography from the 'dark age' to the age of Symeon Metaphrastes (8th–10th centuries), Stephanos Efthymiadis; The hagiography of the 11th and 12th centuries, Symeon A. Paschalidis; Hagiography in late Byzantium (1204–1453), Alice-Mary Talbot. Part II The Hagiography of the Byzantine Periphery and the Christian Orient: Palestinian hagiography (4th–8th centuries), Bernard Flusin; Italo-Greek hagiography, Mario Re; Syriac hagiography, Sebastian P. Brock; Georgian hagiography, Bernadette Martin-Hisard; Armenian hagiography, S. Peter Cowe; Hagiography in Coptic, Arietta Papaconstantinou; Arabic hagiography, Mark N. Swanson; Slavic hagiography, Ingunn Lunde; Latin hagiographical literature translated into Greek, Xavier Lequeux; Indexes.
Contents: Preface; New developments in hagiography: the rediscovery of Byzantine hagiography; Part A Late Antiquity: Living in a city and living in a scetis: the dream of Eustathios the Banker (BHG Nov. Auct. 1317d); A day and ten months in the life of a lonely bachelor: the other Byzantium in Miracula S. Artemii 18 and 22; De debito bis soluto: an edifying story on the administered oath (BHG Novum Auctarium 1317n); Two Gregories and three genres: autobiography, autohagiography and hagiography. Part B The Age of Iconoclasm and Post-Iconoclasm: John of Sardis and the metaphrasis of the Passio of St. Nikephoros the Martyr (BHG 1334); Le panégyrique de S. Théophane le Confesseur par S. Théodore Stoudite (BHG 1792b). édition critique du texte intégral; The Byzantine hagiographer and his audience in the 9th and 10th centuries; Hagiographica varia (9th–10th c.); The function of the Holy Man in Asia Minor in the Middle Byzantine period; Establishing a holy lineage: Theodore the Stoudite's funerary catechism for his mother; Le miracle et les saints durant et après le second iconoclasme; Medieval Thessalonike and the Miracles of its saints: big and small demands made on exclusive rights (9th–12th centuries); D'Orient en Occident mais étranger aux deux mondes: messages et renseignements tirés de la Vie de Saint Nicolas le Pèlerin (BHL 6223); Le monastère de la Source à Constantinople et ses deux recueils de miracles: entre hagiographie et patriographie. Part C Late Byzantium: Late Byzantine collections of miracles and their implications; Addenda et corrigenda; Indexes.
Contents:
Introduction, Alicia Simpson, Niketas Choniates: the Historian and Stephanos Efthymiadis, Niketas Choniates: the Writer
Paul Magdalino, Prophecy and Divination in the History
Anthony Kaldellis, Paradox, Reversal and the Meaning of History
Stephanos Efthymiadis, Greek and Biblical Exempla in the Service of an Artful Writer
Roderick Saxey, The Homeric Metamorphoses of Andronikos I Komnenos
John Davis, The History Metaphrased: Changing Readership in the Fourteenth Century
Luciano Bossina, Niketas Choniates as a Theologian
Alicia Simpson, Narrative Images of Medieval Constantinople
Titos Papamastorakis, Interpreting the De Signis of Niketas Choniates
Please note this article is published with Brepols Publishers as a Gold Open Access article under a Creative Commons CC 4.0: BY-NC license.
The article is also freely available on the website of Brepols Publishers: https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/book/10.1484/M.FABULAE-EB.5.131816 under this same license.
Εκτός από διαχρονικές, οι προσεγγίσεις του τόμου είναι εξ ορισμού επίσης και πολυθεματικές, αφού κινούνται στον χώρο της λογοτεχνίας, της ιστορίας, της αρχαιολογίας, της ιστορίας της τέχνης και των πολιτισμικών σπουδών. Ως προς τη λογοτεχνία, οκτώ συμβολές ιχνηλατούν τις μεταποιήσεις των μυθικών αφηγήσεων σε διάφορα είδη της αρχαίας ελληνικής, βυζαντινής και νεώτερης ελληνικής λογοτεχνίας. Οι Καναβού και Πετρίδης επικεντρώνονται στην αθηναϊκή κωμωδία, Αρχαία και Νέα, μελετώντας τον μύθο ως θεατρικό διακείμενο. Ο Λιαπής εξετάζει την πρόσληψη του ψευδο-ευριπίδειου Ρήσου στο αρχαιοελληνικό μυθιστόρημα, συγκεκριμένα στο Δάφνις και Χλόη του Λόγγου. Ο Χριστοδούλου αναλύει τη λειτουργία του μύθου στους ρητορικούς λόγους και την πολιτική σκέψη του Ισοκράτη και ο Κουλακιώτης στους πλουτάρχειους Βίους. Δύο συμβολές καλύπτουν στον χώρο της βυζαντινής γραμματείας. Ο Ευθυμιάδης μελετά μυθολογικούς υπαινιγμούς κυρίως στην επιστολογραφία, ενώ ο Cesaretti περιγράφει την αλληγορική χρήση του μύθου των Σειρήνων κυρίως στον 11ο και τον 12ο αιώνα. Η εξερεύνηση της παρουσίας του αρχαιοελληνικού μύθου στη λογοτεχνία δεν θα μπορούσε, βέβαια, να μην προεκταθεί και στην ποίηση της νεώτερης Ελλάδας (Βογιατζάκη).
Τρεις συμβολές εξετάζουν πτυχές του αρχαιοελληνικού μύθου σε σχέση με τη θρησκεία, στην αρχαία εποχή, κατά τη μετάβαση από τον παγανισμό στον χριστιανισμό και τέλος κατά την περίοδο του Βυζαντίου. Πίσω από τους αγώνες στα Νέμεα η Ζολοτνίκοβα αναζητεί τις μυθικές τους αιτιολογίες. Οι Δεληγιαννάκης και Magdalino περιηγούνται στα fora των ελληνικών πόλεων της ύστερης αρχαιότητας και της βυζαντινής Κωνσταντινούπολης αντιστοίχως και εξετάζουν τη θέση της παγανιστικής πλαστικής στον δημόσιο χώρο των χριστιανικών αυτών κοινωνιών. Μεταξύ θρησκείας και πολιτικής κινείται η Μάρκου, η οποία μελετά αναπαραστάσεις μύθων στα αρχαία κυπριακά νομίσματα.
Έξι κεφάλαια τέλος εξετάζουν ποικίλες πτυχές της πρόσληψης του μύθου στη νεώτερη εποχή. Στον χώρο της σύγχρονης ελληνικής πολιτικής μυθολογίας ανήκει η συμβολή του Τζάκη, ο οποίος σκιαγραφεί την επίδραση του μύθου της Αθήνας στους στρατιωτικούς προσανατολισμούς της ελληνικής επανάστασης. Η Χατζή χαρτογραφεί το μοτίβο της μυθικής Αρκαδίας από την αρχαιότητα μέχρι και τον ύστερο 20ο αιώνα εστιάζοντας ως επί το πλείστον στις καλλιτεχνικές απεικονίσεις του από την Αναγέννηση και εξής. Ο Παπαϊωάννου δεν μελετά μύθους ως ιστορίες, αλλά την εκδοτική τύχη και την παιδαγωγική αξιοποίηση ενός αρχαίου μυθογράφου, που έλαβε ο ίδιος μυθικές διαστάσεις: του Αισώπου. H Φουσέκη περπατά στα δρομάκια της Πλάκας και παρατηρεί πώς οι αρχαιοελληνικές μυθικές παραστάσεις λειτουργούν πια ως τουριστικό προϊόν. Η συμβολή της Κόντου τέλος ακολουθεί τα αχνάρια των αρχαιοελληνικών μύθων στα φιλοσοφικά σπουδαστήρια της γερμανικής κυρίως φιλοσοφίας του Διαφωτισμού επιστρέφοντας μάλιστα στο αρχέτυπο των Σειρήνων, που είχε απασχολήσει και τον Cesaretti."
Stephanos Efthymiadis
Open University of Cyprus
efthymiadis@ouc.ac.cy
With this book, the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library--a series of lightly annotated texts with translations modelled on the Loeb Classical Library--reaches to twenty titles, a considerable part of which consists of works of Byzantine Greek literature. The choice of texts so far has been felicitous, and this case is no different. After Michael Psellos, Niketas Stethatos was the most significant theologian of the eleventh century, and his single extant hagiographical work stands out for its spiritual and literary value. In terms of thematic orientation, it is primarily a work of defense, first of the author's spiritual father, Symeon the New Theologian, and subsequently of the latter's own spiritual father, Symeon Eulabes. As in many instances this dual apology intertwines with polemic against those who opposed the recognition of both Symeons as saints, the Life allows a glimpse of the internal tensions that shook the Byzantine Church in a period contrasted by the strong tendency of society towards secularization.
Dating from the second half of the eleventh century, the Life of St Symeon the New Theologian is a saintly biography produced in a literary vacuum. After the publication of Symeon Metaphrastes' Menologion (later tenth century), hagiography fell into a decline, largely prompted by a widespread belief that the age of saints had come to a close. The Lives of new saints, written thereafter, tended to be extensive and teeming with 'material' that would cement the establishment of a saint's cult. This is also the case in the contemporary Life of Saint Lazaros of Mount Galesion, another long monastic biography that was translated and annotated also by Richard Greenfield for a previous Dumbarton Oaks series. This text offers a vivid picture of Byzantine monasticism, yet as this functioned in the provinces, not in the capital, as does the Life of Saint Symeon the New Theologian.
As an author, Niketas Stethatos is very much present in his text. If we trust his personal testimonies that we find interspersed in his narrative (chapters 129, 131, 135, 136), this vita was one of many diverse writings (funeral orations, hymns, eulogies) with which he consolidated the holy paradigm of Symeon but of which none has come down to us. Moreover, as he pledges in two passages (chapters 113 and 150), Niketas was the author of another, more extensive, Life of Symeon, which has also not survived. We may wonder why he proceeded to the compilation of a (relatively) shorter Life. At any rate, beyond the devotion that he showed to his subject of praise, there can be little doubt that, acting as the 'editor' of St Symeon's textual legacy and as his biographer, Niketas Stethatos had a personal axe to grind; and that, in coming to grips with the rivalry that must have arisen around Symeon, he tried to respond to questions that preoccupied the Byzantine Church.
Contrary to what one might have expected, a chronological distance usually separated the composition of the Life of a 'new saint' from his or her death, and in this Symeon the New Theologian is no exception. At least thirty years must have gone by before Niketas wrote this Life, which certainly postdates the translation of St. Symeon's relics to Constantinople in 1052, mentioned and dated in chapter 129. Thus we may wonder whether the Symeon portrayed in this Life is close to the real one or not, yet this hardly affects the value of the work for the modern reader. Aside from the amount of confidence we must place in it, this long Life should appeal to anyone interested in Byzantine spiritual traditions, Church history and life, prosopography, daily life, and its realia. This range of interests ties in well with the variety and arrangement of Stethatos' material, and his steady attention to concrete detail. To begin with, the Life is built upon accounts of the experiences (chiefly ecstatic) which marked Symeon's spiritual progress and highlight his personal commitment to mystically meet God; it includes episodes that bring out his opposition to ecclesiastics and monks, in defense either of his spiritual father, Symeon Eulabes, or of himself; finally, a large section of the narrative is taken up by ordinary hagiographical material, namely stories referring to the saint's miracles before and after death.
Unlike most of the hagiography produced in past centuries (especially in the ninth and tenth), this Life is mostly staged in small, closed spaces and is poor in scenes of travelling from one place to another. An exception are the sections dealing with Symeon's exile to the outskirts of Chrysoupolis, on the Asian side of the Bosphoros (chapters 94-104). Moreover, written more than two centuries after the end of Iconoclasm (843), the text emphasizes the icon-cult of saints, thereby constituting a rare record of historical memory regarding the iconoclastic controversy. All in all, although Niketas is drawn to such and other subtle theological questions, he demonstrates no less an interest in factual evidence and attention to detail, which he supports with prosopographical references and first-person narratives.
After the critical editions of the Greek text and its translations into French and modern Greek, which we owe to Irénée Hausherr (1928) and Symeon Koutsas (1994, 2nd ed. 1996) respectively, the English translation of this Life and discussion of recent scholarship in its introduction represents a significant contribution to its study. Richard Greenfield is an experienced commentator of Byzantine texts, and it is regrettable that, in compliance with the rules of the series, he had to keep the annotation of this important text to a minimum. The study of Byzantine authors seldom benefits from detailed commentaries and, in view of the limited number of scholars engaged with Byzantine studies, it is doubtful that any such undertaking will open up in the next years. This is, however, an issue that affects the whole series, not only to Greenfield's useful endeavor, the core of which is an accurate and readable translation. Indeed, the list of slips that I was able to spot with regard to the reproduction of the Greek text, the English translation, and the notes is not extensive (see errata list, below).
Finally, the following important title is missing from the bibliography: M. Hinterberger, "Ein Editor und sein Autor: Niketas Stethatos und Symeon Neos Theologos," in P. Odorico (ed.), La face cachée de la littérature byzantine. Le texte en tant que message immédiat, Dossiers Byzantines 11 (Paris, 2012), 247-264.
--------
Errata:
1. Chapter 14 (p. 36): πυρινόν; should be πύρινον.
2. Chapter 14 (p. 37): ἀκηδία; better than "spiritual boredom" is "listlessness" or "despondency."
3. Chapter 35 (p. 78): μόνος μόνῳ...προσωμίλει Θεῷ; a possible allusion to St. Symeon's mystical prayer, which introduced his hymns; see ed. A. Kambylis, Symeon Neos Theologos, Hymnen (Berlin 1976), 42.
4. Chapter 50 (pp. 108-109): ἄρτι ἀνιπταμένων ἐκ νεοσσῶν; not translated.
5. Chapter 56 (pp. 124-125): πιθών, πιθῶνος; should be translated as "store of jars," "cellar," not "large jar."
6. Chapter 92 (n. 97): instead of that by F. Boulenger (Paris, 1908), there is a more recent critical edition of Gregory of Nazianzos' Oration 43, by J. Bernardi, Sources Chrétiennes 384 (Paris, 1992).
7. Chapter 94 (p. 216): ἑώρα ὁ τὰ θεῖα πολὺς Συμεών, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἠρεμήσει, ἐὰν μὴ κακοποιήσῃ ὁ τοῖς λόγοις δυνατὸς καὶ ἀντιπαραταττόμενος αὐτῷ τε καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ; the last words are the object of the participle ἀντιπαραταττόμενος, not the verb κακοποιήσῃ, intransitive here and to be followed by a comma. So the translation must be: "the most godly Symeon...knew that this man (sc. Stephen of Alexina), who opposed him and the truth and was strong in words, would not keep quiet until he does ill."
8. Chapter 103 (p. 236): ἀλλὰ τῶν γραφέντων τελείωσε τῆς ἀναγνώσεως; τελείωσε cannot be correct, and must be restored to τελευθείσης (as in Hausherr's ed.) or to τελειωθείσης (as in Koutsas' ed.).
9. Chapter 103 (p. 238): μητροπόλεων; means "metropolitan sees" rather than "metropolitan cities."
10. Chapter 106 (p. 246): σπόδος; wrong accentuation for σποδός.
11. Chapter 145 (p. 360): ἀσκητικὸν καταγώγιον...εἰς γυμνασίαν ἀρετῆς; "an ascetic abode for exercising virtue" rather than "an ascetic abode as a gymnasium of virtue" (cf. chapter 136, p. 332: εἰς γυμνασίαν τοῦ λόγου).
12. Chapter 147 (p. 366): τοῦτό μοι πεποιηκέναι δωρεὰν; the allusion is also to John 15:25.
13. Chapter 149 (p. 374): ἠλευθηρώθη; misspelling of ἠλευθερώθη.
14. Chapter152 (p. 382): σύναμα; wrong accentuation for συνάμα.
l’idée de réunir un colloque, ou plutôt deux colloques parallèles autour de deux œuvres majeures de Paul lemerle, Le premier humanisme byzantin, et les Cinq études sur le XIe siècle byzantin, est venue pour nous deux de constatations communes. Il s’agissait de rendre hommage à celui qui, par son enseignement, par ses travaux, par ceux aussi de ses élèves, par les institutions qui lui doivent leur naissance, a façonné les études byzantines en France telles que nous les connaissons. Il s’agissait aussi, pour tous deux, de l’expérience d’un enseignement, historique ou philologique, qui s’était appuyé pendant plusieurs décennies sur ces œuvres. Étaient-elles encore actuelles ? Quels correctifs leur apporter ? Comment, au cours des quarante ans et plus qui s’étaient écoulés, les questions évoquées dans ces deux ouvrages fondamentaux avaient-elles évolué ? Il n’a pas été difficile de trouver, à l’étranger ou en France, des collègues qui, familiers eux aussi avec l’œuvre si influente de Paul lemerle, ont accepté de nous rejoindre à Paris dans les locaux du Collège de France, et d’apporter leur contribution à cet hommage et à cette recherche.