Maas's annotation on Fr. C, col. I in his edition of the new fragments says: ‘fortasse conferendi Diod. 13. 66. 6; Xen. Hell. 1. 3. 16–22; Dionys. Byz. Anapl. 13’. The comparison of Fr. C, col. I with the passage in Dionys. Byz. De Bospori Navigatione 13 seems to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the city referred to in the fragment is Byzantion. Consequently the supposition that the papyrus tells the story of the siege of Byzantion—dealt with in the other (...) two passages quoted by Maas—becomes almost a certainty. (shrink)

Theorists of the Russian conservatism have made a considerable contribution to the development of axiology, the philosophy of history and comparativistics. In their studies of the local civilisations existing at different times and at different places they have focused on the dynamics of their origin, development, collapse or transformation into new civilisational forms. The best known slavophiles such as A. Khomyakov, K. Axakov, I. Kireyevskiy saw the mission of the Russian civilisation in synthesising Europe and Russia which has preserved the (...) true Christianity – the Orthodoxy. According to N. Danilevskiy, the founder of the culturohistorical school of thought, Europe has an irreconcilable hostility towards Russia. He proves that Europe and Russia are two different culturohistoricaltypes (local civilisations). He understood Russia’s mission as that of unification of Slavic peoples. K. Leontiev develops the so-called theory of Byzantism, according to which the West is doomed and Russia will be saved thanks to its Orthodoxy and the oriental despotism underlying its statehood. He advocates a merger between Russian and oriental traditions. From the point of view of the proponents of the Eurasian theory such as P. Savitskiy, N. Trubetskoy, etc., the merger has already occurred, so Russians should be viewed as Eurasians and Russia as a Eurasian civilisation. Russian thinkers were criticising the so-called Eurocentrism in their efforts to prove that progress should be measured not only by the accumulation of material wealth, but also by the development of various spiritual aspects of human beings. The anthroposociogenesis does not have any predetermined patterns, its development is of co-evolutionary, often broken, discrete nature. (shrink)

The author's aim is to show that Leontev's ideas are not disconnected, as many critics have held, but form a system that is both logically consistent and interconnected by the "inner logic" of a powerful emotion. To uncover the emotional sources of Leontev's philosophy, half the book is devoted to Leontev's life, and especially his relation to his mother. Since childhood, he feared and loved her, and associated her with religion, refinement, and absolutism. Leontev's first formulation of his doctrine of (...) aestheticism when he returned from the Crimean War probably coincided with his first suspicions of his homosexuality. His unexpected marriage to his former mistress was an attempt to overcome his guilt and weakness. His first ideological work, Byzantism and Slavdom was written under the double strain of his mother's death, and his own experience of fear of death during an illness. Leontev's doctrine of aestheticism when applied to the individual, yields "a poetry of life" beyond good and evil. One's personal life must be maximally original, complex, and unified at whatever cost in happiness to oneself or others. Religious faith is needed to reconcile one with suffering and death. Yet, religion dictates an ethics which conflicts with the aesthetics of life. The constant struggle between the two principles enriches personality and heightens creativity, and must finally end in a heroic total rejection of aesthetics. Applied to society and history, aestheticism demands a society stratified into unequal and hostile classes and unified by ruthless despotism. Such a society was to be most conducive to the development of original personalities. The egalitarian, happiness-orientated West was in decline and sacrificed beauty to banality. Without much confidence in its realization, Leontev advocated "freeze up Russia" to avoid infection from the West.--T. D. Z. (shrink)

The present paper investigates, using the indexing facilities of the TLG, the genuineness of the little fragment titled Testamentum ad cives attributed to Epiphanios of Salamis. With the help of the TLG, words and expressions occurring in the testamentum are compared to the contents of other works written by or attributed to Epiphanios. The conclusion is that this particular text does not seem be a product of the pen of Epiphanius. On the basis of the testimony of John of Damaskos, (...) it is tentatively suggested that the testamentum is a forgery of the early Iconoclasm. (shrink)

On affirme couramment que les trente-quatre homélies sur les Hébreux correspondent aux dernières années de Jean Chrysostome à Constantinople. Les AA. reprennent dans un premier temps les arguments des spécialistes depuis Henry Savile. En second lieu, ils s'arrêtent sur la thèse d'Opelt qui préfère Antioche plutôt que Constantinople comme lieu de provenance. Ces trente-quatre homélies constituent une partie importante de l'oeuvre de prédication de Jean Chrysostome et ne semblent pas appartenir à la série des dernières prédications assurées par ce dernier.

The article fits in the new investigation trend about the classical models and sources of the Philagathos of Cerami’s Homilies, with particular focus on anonymous quotations and imitations of the Procopius of Gaza’s sophistic and rhetorical work. One of the most signifiant examples is the description of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo , for which Philagathos bore certainly in mind and adapted, besides other works, the Procopius’s Descriptio horologii. The conclusion is that Philagathos had at his disposal a whole now (...) lost manuscript with the Procopius’s work. (shrink)

Publication de deux poèmes byzantins du 12ème s. attribués à Théodore Prodomos, qui fournissent un certain nombre de renseignements sur les tentes des camps d'hiver des Comnène, et en particulier sur celle de la maison d'Irène la Sevastokratorissa. Cette étude mène l'auteur à un commentaire historico-artistique des éléments décrits: il compare d'abord ceux-ci avec l'art des 11ème et et 12ème s., et particulièrement avec l'art profane, puis il s'interroge sur l'authenticité des descriptions par rapport aux figures de rhétorique employées dans (...) ces textes. (shrink)

The article provides textual evidence for the partial, subtle dependence of Theodore Daphnopates' sermon On the Birth of John the Baptist on Homily 42 on the same subject by Emperor Leo VI . This finding is then brought into correlation with Theodore's homiletic oeuvre and its production environment. Through its exploitation of the given source the sermon in question emerges as being directly related to Emperor Constantine VII and his literary preferences, as is the case with other works of Theodore's (...) as well. (shrink)

Présentation d'un manuscrit du IXe siècle, le Codex Athous, Panteleemon 288, qui contient une collection de 34 homélies ainsi que l'oraison funèbre de l'empereur Léon VI . Au début du manuscrit, on trouve un court poème faisant l'éloge de Léon VI en tant qu'homiliste.

The so-called Artukid bowl is the only enameled object which includes both an Arabic and a Persian inscription. According to the Arabic inscription the Artukid ruler Rukn ed Devle Davud was the owner of this object. Although its provenance is still unclear, the technique and material show similarities to several Byzantine examples. For this reason the bowl has been interpreted as a royal gift from Constantinople to the Artukid ruler. It has also been attributed to Georgia or to Mesopotamia. The (...) Arabic inscription includes a long list of titles of Rukn ed Devle Davud, like "Katl al Kafara" or "Samsam al Milla" . I, however, cannot imagine that a Christian emperor would address an Islamic ruler with such terms. The sender of the bowl was most likely another Islamic monarch. In addition, the Persian inscription leads to suspect that the sender had a close relationship with the Persian language and culture. Most probably he was a member of the royal Seljuk family in Anatolia. What was the reason for sending such a gift to a minor local ruler ? The written sources inform us that the daughter of the Seljuk Sultan Kiliç Aslan I. , Sacide Hatun , was married with Rukn ed Devle Davud, owner of our bowl. Furthermore the sources tell us that bowls were sometimes a part of the dowries. All these factors lead me to suggest that the so-called Artukid bowl was produced as a wedding gift in a Greek atelier of Seljuk Anatolia. (shrink)

The author pieces together a manuscript of Epitimia of Theodore the Stoudite and other chapters prescribing monastic rules to the hegumen and monks. The manuscript, dating back to the second half of the 12th century, was originally belonging to the famous dossier of the St. Nicola of Casole Abbey . The Salentine manuscript reports a shortened version of Epitimia adapted for the Otranto monastery.