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 reinforce 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.
"The material is arranged at random and the chapters are not in any kind of order."
Photios, Ten Thousand Books cod. 111.
animals
food and dining
marriage, family, and divorce
unorthodox sex
eunuchs
an interlude: erotic epigrams
medical practice
science and technology
war - by any means
punishments
disasters - mostly acts of God
heretics, theology, and scandal
a gallery of rogues
southerners, easterners, northerners
foreigners, minorities, others
Latins, Franks, Germans
The Byzantine
emperors
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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).
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