Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities

Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from History's Most Orthodox Empire
Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-0-19-062594-8
Verlag: Oxford University Press, USA

Buch, Englisch, 248 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 450 g

Weird, decadent, degenerate, racially mixed, superstitious, theocratic, effeminate, and even hyper-literate, Byzantium has long been regarded by many as one big curiosity. According to Voltaire, it represented "a worthless collection of miracles, a disgrace for the human mind" for Hegel it was "a disgusting picture of imbecility."

A Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities will reinforce these old prejudices, while also stimulating a deeper interest among readers in one of history's most interesting civilizations. Many of the zanier tales and trivia that are collected here revolve around the political and religious life of Byzantium. Thus, stories of saints, relics, and their miracles--from the hilarious to the revolting--abound. Byzantine bureaucracy (whence the adjective "Byzantine"), court scandals, and elaborate penal code are world famous. And what would Byzantium be without its eunuchs, whose ambiguous gender produced odd and risible outcomes in different contexts? The book also contains sections on daily life that are equally eye-opening, including food (from aphrodisiacs to fermented fish sauce), games such as polo and acrobatics, and obnoxious views of foreigners and others (e.g. Germans, Catholics, Arabs, dwarves). But lest we overlook Byzantium's more honorable contributions to civilization, also included are some of the marvels of Byzantine science and technology, from the military (flamethrowers and hand grenades) to the theatrical ("elevator" thrones, roaring mechanical lions) and medical (catheters and cures, some bizarre). This vast assortment of historical anomaly and absurdity sheds vital light on one of history's most obscure and orthodox empires.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kaldellis, Anthony

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Vor- und Frühgeschichte, prähistorische Archäologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Animals

- Byzantine emperors

- Disasters

- Erotics epigrams

- Eunuchs

- Food and dining

- Foreigners, minorities, and others

- Heretics, theology, and scandal

- Latins, Franks, and Germans

- Marriage, family, and divorce

- Medical practice

- Punishments

- Rogues

- Science and technology

- Southerners, Easterners, and Northerners

- Unorthodox sex

- War

Über Autor(innen)

Anthony Kaldellis is Professor of Greek and Latin at The Ohio State University. Author of The Christian Parthenon: Classicism and Pilgrimage in Byzantine Athens (CUP 2009) and Hellenism in Byzantium: The Transformations of Greek Identity and the Reception of the Classical Tradition (CUP, 2007), among numerous others (including two in progress with OUP).