Webinar: Byzantine intellectuals having fun in Justinianic Constantinople

The Gennadius Library at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens (ASCSA) will organize a live webinar featuring University of Ioannina Professor Alexander Alexakis on "Byzantine Intellectuals Having Fun in Justinianic Constantinople," on Tuesday, February 2, at 7 p.m.

Despite Procopios' bleak impression of the Justinianic period (first half of the 6th century), the intellectuals of Constantinople seemed to have led vigorous intellectual and social lives. Among them, a certain poet, historian, and lawyer named Agathias has left a testimony to the modus operandi and vivendi of these circles. For part of them, Agathias has presented a scathing outline, describing their "academic" transactions with a great sense of irony and an apparent disdain. "Interestingly, this circle of pretentious ignoramuses has contributed, through their dilettantish preoccupation with...