Papers by eliso elizbarashvili
Greek Roman and Byzantine Studies, Sep 3, 2010
HE PRESENT STUDY proposes to examine the nature of Digenes as a hero in Digenes Akrites. 1 For th... more HE PRESENT STUDY proposes to examine the nature of Digenes as a hero in Digenes Akrites. 1 For that purpose I seek to analyze the poem allegorically in order to identify and better understand the value-system of the work and to clarify the function of the poem in its historical context. The poem consists of two parts, the Lay of the Emir and the Digeneid. Some geographical and historical elements are revealed in both parts that allow us to identify events reflected in the poem. The evidence of the Digenes epos shows that the historical background is the period of Byzantine-Arab peace in the tenth century that was established after the Byzantines reached Syria and the eastern borders of the empire had advanced to the Euphrates. In the Digeneid the action is centered well to the east in Commagene, beside the Euphrates in the neighborhood of Samosata. This part cannot have come into existence before the imperial advance eastwards from Cappadocia during the campaigns of John Kourkouas, who 1 Six Greek versions of Digenes Akrites are preserved: Grottaferrata (G: 14 th c.), Escorial (E: 15 th c.), and the so-called TAPO group (Trebizond, Andros,
The Formation of a Hero in <i>Digenes Akrites</i>
Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 2010
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">An allegorical reading of th... more <span style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">An allegorical reading of the epic, focused on Christian archetypes and saints' lives, shows Digenes' adventures as stages of religious enlightenment and purification.</span>
Late antiquity is marked by substitution of the heroic ideal by the ideal of sainthood. Prelimina... more Late antiquity is marked by substitution of the heroic ideal by the ideal of sainthood. Preliminary studies has shown that victory of Christianity was not the victory of the one God over the many, it was a victory of man over the institutions of their past. The article discusses changing the perception of the Death from antique heroes to Christian saints. Antique ideology introduced heroes who achieve everlasting glory and fame by performing physical power, courage and heroism. They die in the battlefield a ‚καλὸς θάνατος‛ and defeat the death by their everlasting glory. This conception is destroyed in ‘Meditations’ of Marcus Aurelius: everlasting remembrance is ephemeral, after-fame is vanity. Christianity introduced a completely different path. Saints deny ephemeral material life and glory and seek martyrdom in order to attain eternal life. That common paradigm can be discerned in hagiography about warrior saints – soldiers of the Roman Empire renouncing their military service to ...
Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies, 2010
HE PRESENT STUDY proposes to examine the nature of Digenes as a hero in Digenes Akrites. 1 For th... more HE PRESENT STUDY proposes to examine the nature of Digenes as a hero in Digenes Akrites. 1 For that purpose I seek to analyze the poem allegorically in order to identify and better understand the value-system of the work and to clarify the function of the poem in its historical context. The poem consists of two parts, the Lay of the Emir and the Digeneid. Some geographical and historical elements are revealed in both parts that allow us to identify events reflected in the poem. The evidence of the Digenes epos shows that the historical background is the period of Byzantine-Arab peace in the tenth century that was established after the Byzantines reached Syria and the eastern borders of the empire had advanced to the Euphrates. In the Digeneid the action is centered well to the east in Commagene, beside the Euphrates in the neighborhood of Samosata. This part cannot have come into existence before the imperial advance eastwards from Cappadocia during the campaigns of John Kourkouas, who 1 Six Greek versions of Digenes Akrites are preserved: Grottaferrata (G: 14 th c.), Escorial (E: 15 th c.), and the so-called TAPO group (Trebizond, Andros,
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Papers by eliso elizbarashvili