Description

The middle of the ninth century was a particularly momentous period in the history of the Byzantine Empire. The Iconoclast movement, which had divided Eastern Christendom for over a century, was finally liquidated; the Slavs were converted to Christianity, thus immeasurably enlarging the orbit of Byzantine cultural influence; and a renewed interest in classical literature and learning assured the preservation of the ancient Greek heritage. It was also when the growing hostility between the Eastern and Western Churches erupted in the first great schism.

The homilies of the patriarch Photius--unquestionably the greatest figure of his time--hold an important place among the literary documents of the ninth century. Although the original Greek texts were published early in the twentieth century, his homilies remained almost unread by modern historians. Cyril Mango has translated the homilies into English, making this primary source of the intellectual, religious, and political history of the ninth century available to a wider audience.

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