Greek

Greek belongs to the Indo-European language family. It falls under the Hellenic branch which is considered to be a single language branch consisting of only Greek. Greek was the main language of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire until its fall in 1453.

Language

Greek belongs to an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. Throughout the Middle Ages, Greek was the main language of the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire. The empire’s capital Constantinople was established in 324 by the Roman emperor Constantine I on the site of the city of Byzantion, first founded by Greek colonists from the city-state of Megara in the seventh century BCE. In 1453, Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks under the command of Sultan Mehmed II, an event that marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire but not the production of literature in Medieval Greek. The Greek used for literary works written across the Byzantine period differed from the language spoken in everyday life. Linguistic and literary education (mostly reserved for male members of the higher social classes) was based on the texts of the ancient and late antique past. The curriculum included both Christian texts such as the Psalms or the works of the fourth-century Church Fathers and ‘pagan’ works such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the Athenian comedy and tragedy of the fifth century BCE, and prose works from the Classical period, the Second Sophistic, and Late Antiquity. The language employed in Medieval Greek literature was thus influenced by Ancient Greek and the centuries-long Greek literary heritage while simultaneously having close ties with the spoken language of the time.

Written Medieval Greek occurs in a wide variety of forms, ranging from a highly classicising Greek to a vernacular register whose grammar and vocabulary were predominantly (but not entirely) based on the spoken language. Byzantine writers used these different forms of Medieval Greek depending on the kind of text they wrote, their intended audience, the literary taste of their time, and their own linguistic abilities and stylistic preferences. We find high-register classicising Greek, for instance, in historiographical works such as the Alexiad of the princess Anna Komnene (twelfth century), in Byzantine epistolography, and in the orations Byzantine intellectuals delivered in praise of the emperor or other members of the imperial family (see below). Authors writing high-style Medieval Greek did not simply imitate Ancient Greek but employed a living form of literary Greek shaped by a creative interplay between ancient usage, contemporary literary and linguistic preferences, and everyday language. Works using classicising Greek were not always easily grasped by less-educated Byzantines; some texts were therefore later transposed to a lower-register Greek, as happened, for example, with the Alexiad in the fourteenth century.

Many other texts were written in a simpler form of Greek often referred to as Literary Koine, which was closer to the spoken language but still followed the morphological rules of Ancient Greek. Koine Greek was used, for instance, in the New Testament as well as certain chronicles and saints’ lives. From the twelfth and particularly from the thirteenth century onwards, some literary works started to be written in a vernacular form of Greek, closer but not identical to spoken Medieval Greek. Notable examples of texts written in the vernacular are the humoristic petitionary poems of Ptochoprodromos or “Poor Prodromos” (most likely to be identified with Theodore Prodromos) in the twelfth century, the epic of Digenis Akritis, and the romances of the Late Byzantine period (see below).

Script

The Greek alphabet started to be used in the ninth or eighth century BCE (or even earlier) and was likely derived from the Phoenician alphabet. From the Classical period onwards, the standard Greek alphabet consisted of twenty-four letters. Later scripts, such as the Cyrillic and the Coptic, were based on the Greek alphabet.

Literature

The Byzantines did not have a term that precisely captures the modern notion of ‘literature’. The term most closely resembling ‘literature’, logoi (λόγοι), encompassed many texts that would probably not be considered literary today, such as letters, philosophical treatises, or sermons. Most Byzantine writers produced works of different kinds. For example, the monastic leader Theodore the Stoudite (759–826) composed poems and hymns but also wrote letters, polemical theological treatises, and catechetical addresses to his monks on the spiritual life. From the hand of the Late Byzantine polymath Nikephoros Gregoras (ca. 1292–1361), we have a collection of letters, a history of the Byzantine Empire from 1204 to 1359, funeral orations, philosophical dialogues, astronomical treatises, and other works. Much of Medieval Greek literature was intended to be read aloud, whether in a public performance (such as imperial oratory and sermons) or private reading. Besides the capital of Constantinople, Medieval Greek literature was produced in other parts of the empire, such as Southern Italy and Sicily, or episcopal and administrative centres, such as Thessaloniki, Athens, and Mystras. Listen to this podcast episode or watch this webinar to learn more about Byzantine literature from a leading expert in the field.

Poetry

Throughout the Byzantine period, verse was used for many different kinds of texts, including hymns to be sung during the church liturgy, poems of praise or petition addressed to the emperor or members of his family, epigrams inscribed on monuments and art objects, didactic texts, and historical or fictional narrative. Byzantine poets used ancient metres, such as the hexameter or the iambic trimeter, and Byzantine accentual metres, particularly twelve-syllable and fifteen-syllable verse. Listen to this podcast episode to learn more about Byzantine poetry.

Romanos the Melodist (sixth century) is perhaps the best-known liturgical poet of the Byzantine era. According to the legend, he received his poetic and melodic skills directly from the Virgin Mary. He composed around sixty hymns or kontakia, some of which are still sung in the Orthodox liturgy today. You can listen here to his hymn for Christmas (Nativity of Christ).

Various female hymnographers were active during the ninth century. Among them was Kassia the Nun (ca. 810–867). One of her hymns continues to be sung annually on Holy Wednesday during the week before Easter. Listen here to a performance by Cappella Romana.

Other notable Byzantine poets include:

George of Pisidia (seventh century), best known for his panegyric poems praising the exploits of Emperor Heraklios (r. 610–641) against the Persians. Among his other works is a long didactic poem on the creation of the world entitled
John Geometres (second half of the tenth century), a soldier, poet, and later a monk active during the so-called ‘Macedonian Renaissance’, a period of cultural blossoming under the emperors of the Macedonian dynasty. His poems include epigrams on different topics, riddles, and hymns written in various meters. He also wrote sermons, rhetorical exercises (progymnasmata), and works of biblical exegesis.
Christopher of Mytilene (eleventh century), whose varied poetic collection covers a range of topics and includes poems written in different metres. The main manuscript preserving his collection was badly damaged as mice ate away at the book’s pages.
Theodore Prodromos (ca. 1100–1170), a poet with close connections to the court of Emperor John II Komnenos (r. 1118–1143). In addition to poetry of various kinds, he wrote letters as well as satirical and philosophical works.
Manuel Philes (ca. 1275–1345), the most prolific poet of the Late Byzantine Period. He composed many poems of praise and petition. His longest work is a didactic poem of ca. 2,000 lines on the characteristics of animals. His funerary poem for the aristocrat Michael Tarchaneiotes Glabas was carved on the exterior of the chapel where Tarchaneiotes was buried and can still be seen at the Pammakaristos Church (Fethiye Camii) in Istanbul today.

Epic, novels, and romances

The epic of Digenis Akritis emerged in written form perhaps in the twelfth century and drew on stories circulating in oral ballads and folk songs. The earliest known manuscript (Grottaferrata, Biblioteca Statale del Monumento Nazionale, ms. Ζ. α. 044) dates to the thirteenth/fourteenth century. The story revolves around the heroic and romantic exploits of the eponymous border warrior Digenis (‘Two-Blooded’), whose name reflects his mixed Arab and Byzantine descent. It is set at the eastern border of the Byzantine Empire against the background of the Byzantine-Arab wars in the ninth and tenth centuries, although it accumulated additional material during the later stages of its transmission.

In twelfth-century Constantinople, various learned writers composed tales of love and adventure on the model of the ancient novels produced between the first and fourth century CE, in particular Achilles Tatios’ Leukippe and Kleitophon (second century) and Heliodoros’ Aithiopika (third/fourth century).

Theodore Prodromos’ Rhodanthe and Dosikles was written in the 1130s in twelve-syllable verse.
Eumathios (or Eustathios) Makrembolites wrote a novel in prose entitled Hysmine and Hysminias. This novel enjoyed great popularity in later centuries and was translated into various European languages in the early modern period.
Constantine Manasses’ Aristandros and Kallithea, written in fifteen-syllable verse, survives only in fragments. Later readers mined this novel for the many moralising maxims it contained.
Prodromos’ student Niketas Eugenianos wrote his Drosilla and Charikles in twelve-syllable verse and drew inspiration from his teacher’s novel.

In the Late Byzantine period, various romances in the vernacular register of Medieval Greek (see above) were composed, mostly by anonymous authors. These include Livistros and Rhodamne (probably thirteenth century), Velthandros and Chrysantza, and Kallimachos and Chrysorrhoe (fourteenth century). In the same period, Western romances were translated or adapted into Medieval Greek, such as The War of Troy (based on Benoît de St Maure’s Roman de Troie), the Theseid (based on Bocaccio’s Teseida), and Florios and Platziaflora (based on the French Floire et Blancheflor). Other Medieval Greek romances drew inspiration from Eastern narrative traditions; the romance of Alexander and Semiramis, for instance, adapted Persian Turandot material (today best-known through Puccini’s Turandot).

Hagiography

Throughout the Byzantine period, numerous hagiographical texts were produced, recording the lives and miracles of saintly figures of the past and the present. These included martyrdom accounts of saints who had met a violent death during the early centuries of Christianity, such as Demetrios, the patron saint of Thessaloniki, who was martyred in the time of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the early fourth century CE. Many hagiographical texts narrate the biography and way of life of holy individuals, of which the Lives of the Egyptian monk Anthony the Great (third–fourth century CE) written by Athanasios of Alexandria and of the Cappadocian nun Makrina (fourth century CE) written by her brother Gregory of Nyssa are among the earliest examples. Other texts focus on the miraculous deeds of certain saints, such as the stories gathered in the seventh-century collection of the miracles of Saint Artemios, a saint specialising in healing hernias and genital maladies in men. To explore the wealth of Byzantine hagiography, have a look at Dumbarton Oaks’ Hagiography Database.

Notable collections of saints’ lives include:

the Religious History of the theologian and bishop Theodoret of Cyrrhus (ca. 393–466), which records the lives of thirty Syrian ascetics as spiritual models to be emulated;
the Spiritual Meadow of the monk John Moschos (late sixth–early seventh century CE), a collection of edifying stories based on his encounters with a large number of ascetics during his travels through Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and elsewhere;
the tenth-century Menologion of Symeon the Metaphrast, which collects earlier saints’ lives and arranges them according to the saints’ feast days in the liturgical calendar. Symeon revised and rewrote many of the existing texts, often embellishing their style and language.
the Menologion of Basil II, which is among the most richly illuminated Byzantine manuscripts. It was produced around the year 1000 for Emperor Basil II (r. 976–1025). Despite its common name, the manuscript is not a menologion but a synaxarion, a collection of short biographies of saints following the liturgical calendar. Enjoy some of the manuscript’s beautiful images here.

Historiography

Byzantine historical writing is often divided into accounts describing (Christian) world history from Creation to the author’s own time (‘chronicles’) and works covering a shorter time span, often recounting the events of the author’s own lifetime. While the latter typically adopt a high-style register of classicising Greek and follow the example of ancient authors such as Thucydides and Xenophon, texts belonging to the first category commonly adopt a more accessible Greek and are characterised by the brevity of their account. These categories should, however, not be taken too rigidly: there is great variety within each group and many characteristics are shared across the two types of historical writing.

Notable chronicle writers and chronicles include:

John Malalas (sixth century), whose chronicle was much used by later authors;
the Paschal Chronicle (seventh century);
the Chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor (early ninth century), which completed that of his friend George Synkellos and was later continued by various authors in the tenth century (‘Theophanes Continuatus’);
Constantine Manasses (ca. 1130–1187), whose highly literary and novelistic Synopsis Chronike (in fifteen-syllable verse) enjoyed great popularity and was translated into Middle Bulgarian in the fourteenth century;
the Chronicle of the Morea, which focuses on the history of the Peloponnese under Frankish rule, concentrating in particular on the thirteenth century. It survives in Greek (verse), Italian, French, and Aragonese (prose).

Notable writers of classicising historical works include:

Prokopios of Caesarea (sixth century), whose Wars describes the campaigns of reconquest fought by Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) and his general Belisarios. Prokopios also composed the Secret History, a work highly critical of Justinian and his wife Theodora.
the poet and historian Agathias (sixth century), who continued the work of Prokopios and wrote a history of Justinian’s reign between 552 and 558.
the influential politician and intellectual Michael Psellos (eleventh century), whose Chronographia covers the reigns of fourteen emperors and empresses through a series of biographical portraits. Psellos himself features prominently in the events he describes. You can find an English translation of the Chronographia here.
Princess Anna Komnene (ca. 1083–1154), who composed a history of the reign of her father Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) entitled Alexiad. Listen to this podcast episode or watch this TED-Ed animation to learn more about Anna Komnene. You can find an English translation of the Alexiad here. Tracy Barrett made Anna’s life the subject of her historical novel Anna of Byzantium (1999).
the learned official Niketas Choniates (ca. 1155–1217), whose History covers the period from 1118 to the beginning of the thirteenth century and is an important source for the Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople in 1204. Choniates also wrote the Armour of Dogma, a refutation of heresies up to his time.
the statesman and teacher George Akropolites (1217–1282), whose History is an important source for the Empire of Nicaea, the largest of the Byzantine successor states during the Latin occupation of Constantinople (1204–1261).
Various historical works in Greek describe the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453. The courtier and diplomat George Sphrantzes (1401–1487) composed a personal memoir in vernacular Greek. The author known as Doukas (ca. 1400–1462 or later) covered history from Creation onwards, with a detailed discussion of the years 1341–1456. Michael Kritovoulos (died ca. 1470), governor of the Ottoman-ruled island of Imbros from 1456 to 1466, dedicated his classicising history of the years 1451–1467 to Sultan Mehmed II. The Histories of the Athenian-born Laonikos Chalkokondyles (ca. 1423–1490) trace the rise of the Ottomans in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, with the most comprehensive discussion reserved for the time of Mehmed II.

Oratory

At set times during the year, orations were delivered to praise the emperor, such as those performed by the court orator and professor of rhetoric Eustathios of Thessaloniki for Emperor Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180) at the Feast of the Epiphany. Other notable examples include Themistios’ orations for various emperors of the fourth century, the verse panegyrics of George of Pisidia for Emperor Heraklios (r. 610–641; see under ‘poetry’ above), the orations of John Mauropous for Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042–1055), or the panegyrical addresses of Manuel Holobolos to Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) and Isidore of Kyiv to John VIII Palaiologos (r. 1425–1484). Other occasions also called for elaborate oratory, such as the arrival of a foreign bride (for example, Eustathios’ oration for the arrival of Agnes of France as a bride for the heir apparent Alexios II Komnenos), imperial weddings (for example, Prodromos’ oration celebrating the wedding of two sons of Anna Komnene), and funerals. Among the many funeral orations composed throughout the Byzantine period, notable examples include those written by the fourth-century Church Father Gregory of Nazianzos for his friend Basil of Caesarea, by Emperor Leo VI the Wise for his father and predecessor Basil I (r. 867–886), by Michael Psellos for three patriarchs of the eleventh century, by Eustathios for Emperor Manuel I, and by Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos (r. 1391–1425) for his brother Theodore.

Church services provided another occasion for speeches in the form of sermons or homilies. Well-known homilists include the Church Fathers John Chrysostom (ca. 347–407) and Gregory of Nyssa (ca. 330–395), the fifth-century patriarch Proklos of Constantinople and his ninth-century colleague Photios, the emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912), the south Italian monk and preacher Philagathos of Cerami (twelfth century), the theologian and Athonite monk Gregory Palamas (ca. 1296–1359), and the monk and preacher Joseph Bryennios (ca. 1350–1431).

Epistolography

Most learned Byzantines wrote letters to maintain their networks and friendships, establish new connections, and petition high-ranking imperial or ecclesiastical officials. Many of the surviving letters are highly literary, written in high-register Medieval Greek and with frequent allusions to the ancient literary heritage. The largest surviving letter collections are those of the fourth-century rhetorician Libanios (over 1,500 letters) and the Egyptian ascetic Isidore of Pelousion (died 450 CE; over 2,000 letters); other substantial collections include those of the monastic leader Theodore the Stoudite (759–826; 554 letters), the learned patriarch Photios (ca. 815–after 893; 329 letters), the intellectual and politician Michael Psellos (eleventh century; 515 letters), the archbishop and theologian Theophylakt of Ohrid (ca. 1050–after 1126; 135 letters), the learned bishop of Athens Michael Choniates (ca. 1138–1222; 181 letters), and the Late Byzantine intellectual Nikephoros Choumnos (ca. 1260–1327; 180 letters). Among Byzantine letter writers, we also find patriarchs, such as Athanasios I of Constantinople (ca. 1235–1315), and even emperors, such as Manuel II Palaiologos (r. 1391–1425), who travelled to Italy, France, and England to seek support against the growing Ottoman threat. You can learn more about Manuel’s turbulent life in this podcast episode. Read more about his European travels here.

Scholarly works and school texts

Byzantine teachers and scholars produced a wealth of texts related to education and the ancient authorities studied as part of the grammatical and rhetorical curriculum. Important handbooks include the Art of Grammar of Dionysios Thrax (ca. 170–90 BCE), the preliminary exercises or progymnasmata of the fourth-century sophist Aphthonios of Antioch, and the handbooks by or attributed to the second-century rhetorician Hermogenes of Tarsos. In addition to these technical works, ancient Greek poets, such as Homer, Aristophanes, and Euripides, and prose writers, such as Demosthenes and Ailios Aristeides, were read as models of language and style. Notable teachers and scholars include John Sikeliotes (fl. ca. 1000), Eustathios of Thessaloniki (ca. 1115–1195; learn more about his Homeric commentaries in this webinar), John Tzetzes (ca. 1110–1180; read more about his work on Homer here), Manuel Planoudes (1255–1304/5), Manuel Moschopoulos (ca. 1265–1316), Thomas Magistros (ca. 1280–after 1347), and Demetrios Triklinios (fl. 1305–1320). Listen to this podcast episode to learn more about Byzantine scholarship on Ancient Greek literature.

Other notable works of Byzantine scholarship include:

the Myriobiblos or Bibliotheca of the learned patriarch Photios (ca. 815–893), which consists of almost 300 reviews of books he had read. You can find its table of contents and a partial English translation here.
the extensive Suda encyclopaedia (tenth century). Browse its wealth of information here!
the miscellaneous essays (Semeioseis gnomikai or Sententious Notes) of the statesman and intellectual Theodore Metochites (1270–1332). You can find partial English translations here and here.

Influence

Various late antique (especially patristic) and Medieval Greek texts were translated into other languages, including Latin, Syriac, Armenian, Georgian, Arabic, and Slavic languages. Byzantine scholars played a significant role in teaching Greek to humanists in Italy before and after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Important figures include Manuel Chrysoloras (ca. 1350–1415), Theodore Gazes (ca. 1400–1475/6), George of Trebizond (ca. 1395–1471), John Argyropoulos (ca. 1415–1487), and Constantine Laskaris (1434–1501).