Hellenic Colloquia

The CENTER FOR HELLENIC TRADITIONS at CEU
cordially invites you
to the next lecture of the
3rd series of the
HELLENIC COLLOQUIA

by

Niels Gaul
(Medieval Studies, CEU)

Iconoclasm, Plato, and the performative turn

Time: Wednesday, March 12, 18:00
Location: CEU, Gellner Room, Nador 9, 1051-Budapest

"Iconoclasm, Plato, and the performative turn", a work-in-progress report, re-examines the so-called "classical tradition" in Byzantium from its revival in the late eighth and early ninth centuries to its increasing immersion in Italian Renaissance culture during the first half of the fifteenth century, challenging the very notion of a "tradition". Instead, the paper attempts to suggest a variety of motivations tied into the changing specific socio-historical circumstances, which kept Byzantine interest in ancient Greek rhetoric and philosophy alive throughout the empires existence.

It proceeds in three steps: First, by outlining the discursive construction of a seemingly all-powerful Christian emperor from the times of Constantine I (r. 306-337) to the mid-seventh century, and his subsequent /de/construction during the "imperial heresies" of the seventh and eighth centuries and beyond, new interpretations of the post-iconoclast reigns of Michael III (r. 842-67) and Leo VI (r. 886-912) with regard to their impact on schooling and learning are being suggested; second, the end of the /ancien régime/ and the successful establishment of a new dynasty, the Komnenoi clan, in 1081 emerges as a decisive turn in both Byzantine rhetorical and philosophical production, certainly regarding its performative aspects; third, it is investigated to which degree manuscript studies as well as spatial considerations can assist the modern researcher in her/his attempt too understand the phenomenon of classicizing Byzantine "literature" or, if one prefers, "Hellenism".