#Christian Byzantine Empire

[themanfrommensa]

Open-access databases of the National Hellenic Research Foundation

The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF) provides open access to 16 databases concerning Byzantine History and especially Byzantine Greece: https://anavathmis.eu/?lang=en. Based on the scrutiny of a large body of primary and secondary sources by members of the Section of Byzantine Research of the IHR/NHRF and associated scholars, the…

[illustratus]

The Emperor of Byzantium Basil II during the Georgian campaign, 1020 by Giuseppe Rava

[lionofchaeronea]

Sardonyx cameo by an unknown Byzantine artist of the 14th century, depicting St. Theodore Stratelates ("Army Commander"). Theodore (281-319) was a Roman soldier, said to have been martyred during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Licinius. Here, Theodore is shown in full military dress, a spear in his right hand and a round shield on his left shoulder. The accompanying inscription invokes him and his namesake, Theodore "the Recruit," as protectors; the cameo would likely have been suspended from a chain and wore around the neck as a protective amulet.

Now in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Photo credit: Walters Art Museum.

[gemsofgreece]

In the Castle City of Mystrás

Mystrás was the capital city of the Despotate of Morea (1262 - 1460), the last Byzantine stronghold against the Franks and the Ottoman Turks. The sons of the Byzantine emperors served in the region as déspotes but in a few occasions the emperors would also be crowned there. Morea eventually fell to the Ottoman Empire seven years after Constantinople (1460). It remained inhabited until 1825 when it was attacked by the Egyptian army under the command of Ibrahim Pasha during the Greek War of Independence. Until then, western explorers often mistook Mystras for Ancient Sparta. In truth, Mystras is overlooking the ruins of Ancient Sparta and the modern city of Sparta is built 8km to the east. 

Photos from Wikimedia Commons.

[whereserpentswalk]

I find it so weird that people try to deny that queerphobia as it exists in the west is rooted in Christianity. Like, people are literally more focused on not offended the pope than they are protecting queer life.

Remember that there was no queerphobia in the western world before the Christianization of Rome. Caesar being made fun of for being a bottom isn't the same as the queerphobia we see spanning from the late Roman empire to the present day. The first person on earth to outlaw gay male relationships was the byzantine emperor Justinian. The first writing to circulate in the west to talk against homosexuality was the Bible. The systemic cultural and legal marginalization of queer identities is directly tied to Christianity and still is, from Rome, to northern Europe, to Africa (it should be mentioned that the most queerphobic nation on the planet right now had a openly bi king before colonialism) and the Americas, we see that the introduction of queerphobia and the introduction of Christianity are one and the same.

Also when you try to deny that queerphobia comes from Christianity you basically have to claim that people are just naturally queerphobic, which is not only something not back up by history but implies the oppression queer people face is inevitable.

[byzantiumcyber]

Jesus Christ on a Byzantine Coin.

[religious-extremist]

Thalerhof was the first concentration camp in Europe, active from 1914 to 1917 and its primary victims were Eastern Christians. This camp preceded even Dachau which is considered to be the prototype of concentration camps built by Nazi Germany.

It is the place where Austrians interned 30,000 “Russo-philes” which meant that those who identified as Rusyns (or Ruthenian), including Orthodox and Greek Catholics, were interned in either Thalerhof or Terezin.

Rusyns are a little known population who originated in the northern Carpathian mountains, along the modern borders of Poland, Slovakia, and Ukraine. To this day, their identities as Rusyns are not acknowledged and they’re often underrepresented in censuses, especially in Ukraine, where they are merely listed as Ukrainian highlanders.

There are countless efforts to erase this part of Eastern European history and today, Thalerhof has been razed to the ground and an airport is built where it once stood. Carpatho-Rusyns, in their attempt to escape genocide, are responsible for bringing Orthodox Christianity to America.

[sane-human]

Missed drawing the Franks

[along-the-silkroad]

A typical early christian depiction of Christ without a beard in the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia at Ravenna. Galla Placidia was a powerful woman in the early 5th century, who was the daughter of emperor Theodosius I, the ruler who made Christianity the official Roman religion

[lactodebillus-bulgaricus]

new hetalia art challenge: draw a ship like this

I'll start

that's how the christianisation of bulgaria went trust me :DDDD

[dreamconsumer]

Emperor David of Trebizond (1408-1463) and some of his sons (including Basil and Manuel).

David's surrender on 15 August 1461 marks the end of the Empire of Trebizond and of the Byzantine imperial tradition.

[themanfrommensa]

New Scientifc Journal: Analekta Stagōn kai Meteōrōn - Analecta Stagorum et Meteororum

Dear Scholars of Byzantium, My colleagues and I would like to bring to your attention the publication of the first issue of Analekta Stagōn kai Meteōrōn – Analecta Stagorum et Meteororum. It is a new biennial scientific journal dedicated to the history and heritage of the monastic community of Meteora, published by the Academy of the Metropolis of Stagoi and Meteora. Its first, celebratory issue…

[illustratus]

The Massacre of Antioch by Gustave Doré

[lionofchaeronea]

Byzantine icon of the Madonna (Theotokos) and Child, of the type known as Hodegetria (Our Lady of the Way): Mary gestures toward the infant Christ, who in turn raises his hand in a sign of blessing. The type originated in a now lost icon from the Monastery of the Panagia Hodegetria in Constantinople that was said to have been painted by St. Luke. This example, by an unknown artist, dates to the 14th century and is in the MUZA, Valletta, Malta.

[gemsofgreece]

TIL from a podcast featuring historian and Byzantine archaeologist Yannis Theoharis:

Athens was one of the most religiously conservative cities of the Byzantine Empire. It adhered to the ancient Greek religion for longer than most other areas. Contrary to popular belief, its eventual conversion to Christianity did not happen violently. Christianity was getting more and more ground amongst the believers progressively. Meanwhile, the ancient temples and shrines were progressively emptying but as long as there were believers they were functioning properly and had guards and went through restoration works and all, as stated by Neoplatonic philosopher Proklos (with the exception of nude sculptures which had been destroyed already by proto-Christians). The historian also claims the conversion of the temples to churches happened later than what was previously believed, around the 7th-9th centuries. As the vast majority of the population had eventually converted to Christianity, the temples were left abandoned. The empire ordered their conversion to churches so that funding their preservation could be justified. Furthermore, there wasn’t as much of violent banning of ancient schools as it was thought. Justinian did not ban the function of the Neoplatonic school in Athens but ceased the state funding unless the school accepted to add Christian theology to its curriculum. The Neoplatonic school refused but it was not banned. It kept functioning using its own private funds until this wasn’t enough and the school had to close. Evidence for this is that it is documented that the school functioned for several decades or more than a century (don’t remember exactly) after Justinian’s imperial command, which was previously viewed as an immediate or violent shutdown. Meanwhile, the Neoplatonic school in Alexandria (in Egypt) agreed to add Christian theology to its curriculum and it kept functioning undisturbed until the 7th century and the Arab conquest.

Also, he has more insight into the similarities observed between Eastern / Greek and even all Orthodoxy and the Ancient Greek religion, such as idol / icon worship, lesser deity / saint worship, virgin female deity / super saint worship, patron gods / saints etc He says there was an interesting cycle of Christianised Hellenism followed by Hellenized Christianity. Some of these elements of Christian Orthodoxy were emphasized more than in the early years of Proto-Christianity or even exaggerated by the Byzantine Greek Christians in order to attract the pagan Greeks and make them understand more easily the philosophy of the new religion and find common ground between them. It worked.

Lastly, he disputed the dated assumptions that the Visigoth king Alaric I was assisted by monks to destroy Athens during his invasion in 396. This was falsely concluded because in documents it was found that Alaric was accompanied by men clad in black. Theoharis says these were actually Thracian soldiers (Alaric indeed fared long in Thrace and the Thracians were by large mercenaries) and supports it is very unlikely based on historical evidence of the time that Athenian or Greek Christians would collaborate with a Visigoth invader to help him destroy historical areas of Athens, even if they were pagan.

These are the most important bits from memory, I am linking the podcast here, it is in Greek.

[little-cereal-draws]

Does anyone know if there were any ancient connections between Hermes/Mercury and Jesus?

I know when Christianity was gaining popularity in ancient Rome, conflating Zeus/Jupiter and Jesus was popular because they’re both kings of Heaven and it was easy to explain this new god to people who had only known the Roman pantheon. And there were lots of sculptures and drawings of Jesus and other Christian religious figures modeled after Roman Emperor equestrian portraits because it showed power and leadership.

But to me it would make sense to combine Hermes/Mercury and Jesus.

Both are messengers for their heavenly, king of Heaven dad. Both spend a lot of time with mortals and assist in daily life. Both assure souls to the afterlife (although in different ways). Both have connections/epithets about shepherding (tho Hermes’ is more literal). This was more in the Middle Ages rather than Christian Rome, but they both have ties with intersex bodies. (A part of European alchemy was intersex Jesus and Hermes’ kid was Hermaphrodite.) I’m sure there are other things I can’t think of at the moment.

Does anyone know if there was a connection either visually or culturally between them?