The Cambridge Intellectual History of Byzantium

This volume brings into being the field of Byzantine intellectual history. Shifting focus from the cultural, social, and economic study of Byzantium to the life and evolution of ideas in their context, it provides an authoritative history of intellectual endeavors from Late Antiquity to the fifteenth century. At its heart lie the transmission, transformation, and shifts of Hellenic, Christian, and Byzantine ideas and concepts as exemplified in diverse aspects of intellectual life, from philosophy, theology, and rhetoric to astrology, astronomy, and politics. Case studies introduce the major players in Byzantine intellectual life, and particular emphasis is placed on the reception of ancient thought and its significance for secular as well as religious modes of thinking and acting. New insights are offered regarding controversial, understudied, or promising topics of research, such as philosophy and medical thought in Byzantium, and intellectual exchanges with the Arab world.

Introduction Niketas Siniossoglou and Anthony Kaldellis; Part I. The Transmission of Knowledge: 1. Institutional settings: the court, schools, church, and monasteries Jonathan Harris; 2. Byzantine books Inmaculada Pérez Martín; 3. Questions and answers Stephanos Efthymiades; 4. Classical scholarship: the Byzantine contribution Eleanor Dickey; 5. Intellectual exchanges with the Arab world Dimitris Gutas, Anthony Kaldellis and Brian Long; Part II. Sciences of the Word: 6. Rhetoric and rhetorical theory Stratis Papaioannou; 7. Byzantine literary criticism and the classical heritage Manolis Bourbouhakis; 8. Theories of art Charles Barber; 9. Legal thought Bernard Stolte; Part III. Sciences of the World: 10. Conceptions of science in Byzantium Dominic O'Meara; 11. Astronomy Anne Tihon; 12. Astrology Paul Magdalino; 13. Magic and the occult sciences Richard Greenfield; 14. Alchemy Gerasimos Merianos; 15. Medical thought and practice Timothy S. Miller; Part IV. Philosophy and Theology in Middle Byzantium: 16. Philosophy and 'Byzantine philosophy' Dimitris Gutas and Niketas Siniossoglou; 17. The formation of the Patristic Tradition John A. McGuckin; Section 1. Platonic Themes: 18. The Byzantine reception of Neoplatonism Tuomo Lankila; 19. Platonism from Maximos the Confessor to the Palaiologan period Andrew Louth; 20. Fate, free choice, and divine providence from the Neoplatonists to John of Damascus Ken Parry; Section 2. Aristotelian Themes: 21. Logic in Byzantium Christophe Erismann; 22. The presence of Aristotle in Byzantine theology David Bradshaw; 23. Reading and commenting on Aristotle Michele Trizio; Section 3. Individuals in Context: 24. Maximos the Confessor Phil Booth; 25. John of Damascus' philosophy of the individual and the theology of icons Anna Zhyrkova; 26. Michael Psellos David Jenkins; 27. Trials of philosophers and theologians under the Komnenoi Michele Trizio; Part V. Philosophy and Theology in Late Byzantium: 28. Theological debates with the West, 1054–1300 Tia Kolbaba; 29. The Hesychast controversy Norman Russell; 30. Orthodox mystical theology and its intellectual roots Andrew Louth; 31. Kabbalah in Byzantium Moshe Idel; 32. Aquinas in Byzantium Marcus Plested; 33. Theology, philosophy, and politics at Ferrara-Florence Marie-Hélène Blanchet; Part VI. Politics and History: 34. Basileia: the idea of monarchy in Byzantium, 600–1200 Paul Magdalino; 35. Historiography as political debate Dimitris Krallis; 36. Theories of decline from Metochites to Ibn Khaldun Teresa Shawcross; 37. Plethon, Scholarios, and the late Byzantine state of emergency Niketas Siniossoglou; 38. The Byzantine legacy in early modern political thought Paschalis M. Kitromilides; Bibliography; Index of names; Subject index.

Anthony Kaldellis is a Professor of Classics at Ohio State University and a leading scholar of Byzantium. He has published numerous translations, articles, and books, including The Byzantine Republic: People and Power in New Rome (2015), Ethnography after Antiquity (2013), The Christian Parthenon (2009), and Hellenism in Byzantium (2008).
Niketas Siniossoglou is a Research Associate at the National Hellenic Research Foundation and is a historian of ancient and modern philosophy. His publications include Plato and Theodoret (2008), Radical Platonism in Byzantium (2011), and Ἀλλόκοτος Ἑλληνισμός: Δοκίμιο γιὰ τὴν ὁριακὴ ἐμπειρία τῶν ἰδεῶν (2016).