Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities | Buch

Cover: 9780190625948 | Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities | Anthony Kaldellis | Buch | Gebunden

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Sprache: Englisch

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Beschreibung

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 churn up 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.

Über den Autor

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).

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

Details

Erscheinungsjahr:	2017
Genre:	Geschichte , Importe
Jahrhundert:	Vor- & Frühgeschichte
Rubrik:	Geisteswissenschaften
Medium:	Buch
Inhalt:	Gebunden
ISBN-13:	9780190625948
ISBN-10:	0190625945
Sprache:	Englisch
Einband:	Gebunden
Autor:	Kaldellis, Anthony
Hersteller:	Oxford University Press, USA
Verantwortliche Person für die EU:	Libri GmbH, Europaallee 1, D-36244 Bad Hersfeld, gpsr@libri.de
Maße:	222 x 145 x 17 mm
Von/Mit:	Anthony Kaldellis
Erscheinungsdatum:	23.11.2017
Gewicht:	0,45 kg