Poetry of the Byzantine court and aristocracy with Ioannis Vassis, Events Series 2019

Date: 

Wednesday, June 5, 2019, 7:00pm

Location: 

CHS Greece, Philhellene Square & Otto Street, Nafplio, Greece

Full title:

Poetry of the Byzantine court and aristocracy

Lecturer:

Ioannis Vassis, Professor of Medieval Greek Philology, Department of Philology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Language:

Greek

Synopsis of the lecture:

Through reading and interpreting representative samples of epic festive, laudatory and mendicant poems from all periods of Byzantine literature, we will attempt to approach the essence and special character of the poetry written by significant poets in praise of the emperor and the powerful citizens, so as to win their favor or even to consolidate their highly prized position within a small elite with high education and common aesthetic and ideological aspirations. The aim of the lecture is to highlight the meaning and usefulness of these occasional texts, as well as the mentality, ideology and the time when they were created.

Short bio of the lecturer:

Ioannis Vassis is Professor of Medieval Greek Philology at the Department of Philology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has studied at the Universities of Athens and Hamburg. His studies mainly refer to issues of Byzantine poetry, the understanding of ancient Greek literature, texts of the Byzantine school and issues of tradition and text criticism. He has published relevant monographs, articles and translations. He has taught Byzantine and Modern Greek Philology at the University of Hamburg and Byzantine Philology at the University of Crete.