Anna's intrusions, defending her role as a historian and lamenting about how unfortunate she was, creates an image of herself as an admirable historian and dutiful daughter. Sewter's revised edition of The Alexiad places Anna within the tradition of the Byzantine Historiography to demonstrate effectively her emulation of her predecessors, subjects and her innovations. This draws from a cultural, intellectual development, which arose during the period referred to as the Byzantine humanism (Comnena 1). Anna effectively incorporates concepts, which help to create her character through intrusions. In this paper, I will effectively show that Anna's intimate relations with her subjects, make her more reliable than any other Byzantine historian source.
In the preface to The Alexiad, Anna Comnena shows the purpose of undertaking the history of her father. She says "the tale of history forms a very strong bulwark against the stream of time…As many as history has taken over; it abides together" (Comnena 1). This statement clearly shows the importance of history writing. It also shows the particular rationale that motivated Anna to write the Alexiad. She argues that, the events of the past will in many times be lost: they should be preserved for future reference by diligent historians (Dalven 2). Anna puts into records the reign of her father to ensure that its memories survive. This explicitly stated intent, gives her recorded material credibility as compared to other historians. Her intimate relationship with the recorded subjects, for example, her mother and father; make her work serve a greater and more personal goal that any other Byzantine historian (Peterson 23). In addition to explicitly asserting her reason to preserve her father's...
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...e as a historical source than any other Byzantine historian.
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Komnene, Anna. The Alexiad .Ed. Peter Frankopan. Trans. E.R.A. Sewter. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009. Print.
Petersen, Thalia Gouma "Why is the Alexiad a Masterpiece of Byzantine Literature." Peterson, Thalia Gouma. Anna Kiomnene and her Times. New York: Garland Publishers, 2000. 169-86. Print
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Aspects of Byzantine historiography are that historical works are in the forms of chronicles of events that revolved around individuals with unique characteristics. The focus of an individual is clearly shown as Emperor Alexis Comnena I is in a way the protagonist of the Alexiad as he is the central character throughout the story. Emperor Comnena, throughout the book is shown to be a figure with no vices and is even comparable to Jesus Christ himself. The book, while bias can yield a lot of information to historians. The information that can be gained is Eastern Roman history under Emperor Alexis Comnena I and what transpired under his reign. The Byzantine perspective of the First Crusade and the incoming crusaders is also displayed by the Alexiad, therefore can yield useful information to historians exploring the First Crusade or something similar. The problem is using the Alexiad as source in understanding Eastern Roman history is that the book was wrote with a bias bent, therefore some parts history may have been tampered with and that Anna Comnena is telling her story purely though stories and her family history with no other sources. However, while flawed in some aspects the Alexiad is still regarded as a historical piece and relay important information is analyzed
The Byzantine Empire was a primarily Christian empire whose reign started in 330 A.D and ended in 1453 A.D with the capturing of the its capital, Constantinople by the Muslim Sultan Mehmed II. In the years following the fall of the Byzantines, many of the Christian basilicas were transformed into mosques for Islamic worship, inspiring many artists to create works that embodied their religious politics. One of the pieces created following the fall of the Byzantine Empire is the painting of Yusuf Fleeing Zulayhka, created in 1488 by Kamal al-Din Bihzad, a famous Persian painter who worked under the patronage of several Persian sultans. The illustration depicts Yusuf’s struggle to escape his master’s wife Zulaykha as she chases him through her elaborate palace in an attempt to seduce him. The representation was made using paint, ink and gold, and features jewel-like colors in order to portray the extravagancy of the palace Zulayhka has built specifically for the seduction of Yusuf (Stokstad 286). This essay will assess three accounts of the story of Yusuf and Zulaykha and the reasoning behind why the narrative is often labelled as a cautionary tale and of what kind.
With concern to ancient Greek literature, Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War is considered a relevant reference to the historical developments in Greece during those turbulent times. Thucydides, for one, is considered by many historians as a primary and earlier contributor in the developments of historiography...
Plutarch. “The Life of Mark Anthony” 25.5-28.1, 29 2nd cent. A.D. G. Women’s Life in
Meyer, Jargen C. “Women in Classical Athens in the Shadow of North-West Europe or in the Light from Istanbul”. Women’s Life in Classical Athens. www.hist.uib.no/antikk/antres/Womens life.htm. Accessed: March 10, 2012
In the second part of this paper, we will explain further about the social of the Byzantine Empire. It’s included different level of rank and status, military enforcement and also their administration. First part is about the social classes. Byzantine Empire society is based on hierarchy status, which is people lived at different level of rank that shown how powerful they are and the poorer. Moreover, these social classes had been divided into four levels. The top call is owned by Emperor or known as ‘by the Grace of God’ which is included all their family members, relatives and court. The Emperor is the one who has an absolute power in choosing their replacement, neither his own son, nor a trusted assistance (adviser). As an Emperor, they play a huge role in every aspect of government administration, military and also their life. The Emperor governed the church as well as the state. He was the one who created the law in religious matters and also civil matters.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity. New York: Schocken Books, 1995.
Ziolkowski, Eric. "Ancient Newcomer to Modern Culture." World Literature Today 81.5 (2007): 55-57. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. .
It is worth remembering that medieval secular literature for a long time produced courteous literature, in which there was a significant number of genres. However, the primary feature was the image of the knight, his exploits, his devotion to the overlord and other knights, desperate courage and the presence of the Courtly love, for which the knight was ready to go on a long journey. Women in these lais serve as fatal women, after meeting with whom life changes. At the same time, it should be remembered that the medieval world of chivalry is a
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume C. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Print.
“But how can women achieve anything so grand or noble?” Ancient Greek history was often written by the men that had claimed victory in battle. The women, slaves, and foreigners of Ancient Greece often get forgotten in all the blood, glory, and fame. The legacy of the women, slaves, and foreigners can be seen through the eyes of Greek society by looking closely at some of the materials from Ancient Greece.
In John Skylitzes’ A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057, there is no shortage of mentions of women in and around the happenings and imperial proceedings at the palace in Constantinople. This paper examines the view of women in Byzantium that can be understood from reading A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057, focusing exclusively on the years 867-1025. Before an examination of the Synopsis can be done, it must be acknowledged that Skylitzes clearly expresses in his foreword that his work is “a summary, that is, which will provide them [future readers] with a brief overview of what has taken place at various times and thus free them of the need to consult massive tomes of memoirs.” His work is upfront in saying it is not an in depth
In Alexandra Korey’s article, “Being a woman in Italy...in the Renaissance,” she argues that although the role of a woman in the present day has not been universally equalized, we have made substantial improvements since the conditions of the Renaissance era. She states, “Most of what we know...comes from documents, paintings, or other visual evidence that tell us much more about the patrician than peasant.” Originally, gender roles were highly influenced by the Christian story of the temptation in the garden, which affected many aspects in a woman’s life during this time, for she is seen as weak in comparison to man.
Burkert, Walter. The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence On Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age. Cambridge, MA ; London: Harvard University Press, 1992.
Antiquity acts as a passageway into the past, and a mirror used to reflect current time. Often, uncovered documents are used to interpret traits about people who are unable to speak for themselves. These artifacts are discovered from ancient times and are written by elite men who had access to these costly materials. I believe the powerful men of ancient Rome neglected to share the aspects of women’s social lives and experiences within their written work. It is our job as preservers of antiquity to uncover the mysteries that lie beneath the literary works of these high-class men. In this paper I will demonstrate how funeral inscriptions give us a taste of how women were treated and the expectations they had to uphold in ancient Rome.