Thesis by Andriani Georgiou
The thesis gives an account of and the reasons for the widespread veneration of Helena in Byzanti... more The thesis gives an account of and the reasons for the widespread veneration of Helena in Byzantium, identifying the political and ideological aspects of her cult that have been significantly understudied by modern scholars. Art and text had a meaning in Byzantine culture, and Helena’s example enhances our understanding of this dynamic. The study determines that images of Helena mattered in Byzantium, and that the consistent representations – narrative and pictorial – of her with Constantine had a raison d'être. Helena, the first overtly Christian empress, now has content.
A study of the patronage of six imperial and elite women - Theodora Doukaina Palaiologina, Theodo... more A study of the patronage of six imperial and elite women - Theodora Doukaina Palaiologina, Theodora Kantakouzene Palaiologina Raoulaina, Maria Palaiologina, Theodora Doukaina Komnene Palaiologina Synadene, Maria Doukaina Komnene Branaina Palaiologina Glabaina, and Eirene Choumnaina Laskarina Palaiologina - that pieces together a broad range of secondary literature, of the primary written documentation of the period, and of the primary visual sources, particularly church architecture and deluxe manuscripts. Main focus of the thesis is to interpret the motivations that impelled this certain group of women into acts of patronage.
Publications by Andriani Georgiou
My chapter in the edited volume on Emotions and Gender in Byzantine Culture shows that it is a mi... more My chapter in the edited volume on Emotions and Gender in Byzantine Culture shows that it is a mistake to assume that particular emotions were solely gender-specific. I demonstrate that ‘anger’, which was frequently associated with Byzantine rulers and thus stereotyped as a manly emotion, can also be viewed from a female perspective. I ground my argument on literary sources that document the deeds of empresses, thus offering a new perception of the subject. Discussing the rhetorical ways their anger – justifiable or not – was constructed and perceived, I argue that their stories demonstrate the two contradictory elements that Byzantine society had to deal with when addressing empresses: their status as women and their positions as rulers.
Interested in all extant references related to the individual and interpersonal processes that shaped female imperial anger, I take the reader from the Deo coronata Aelia Eudoxia (395–404) to the empress regnant Eirene (775–802). I also pay special attention to the example of the empress consort Theodora (527–548).
I wish to thank Leslie Brubaker (University of Birmingham), Liz James (University of Sussex), Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus), and Mati Meyer (The Open University of Israel) for their invaluable feedback in the making of this article. Obviously any errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies in this work are solely my responsibility.
The present paper explores the ways in which the social memory of the mother of Constantine the G... more The present paper explores the ways in which the social memory of the mother of Constantine the Great was reconstructed, judged, and appreciated between the late fourth and ninth centuries, in an effort either to qualify or challenge commonly held perceptions of her. My evaluation of the symbolic significance that clergy and laity accorded to Helena broadens our understanding of the official position of empresses in the world of Byzantine politics: both empress and emperor mattered in terms of power, without suggesting that the former was of equal importance to the latter. The portrayals of Helena involve their own paradoxical and subversive qualities.
This article is an expanded version of a communication paper read at the 43rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies on Byzantium behind the Scenes: Power and Subversion, held at the University of Birmingham in March 2010. I am indebted to Leslie Brubaker (University of Birmingham) and Neil McLynn (Corpus Christi College, Oxford) for their meticulous assessment, constructive criticism, illuminating questions, and suggestions for improvement. A special word of thanks goes also to Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus) and Jan Willem Drijvers (University of Groningen), who have kindly helped me solve specific riddles. Obviously any errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies in this work are solely my responsibility.
Projects by Andriani Georgiou
Emphasising the interrelation between motive and reception, the proposed research project will an... more Emphasising the interrelation between motive and reception, the proposed research project will analyse a central feature of religious politics in the period between the late fifth and mid-eleventh centuries: the emergence, spread and development of a Christendom-wide belief in the Sylvester-legend, which became a symbol of priestly authority above secular power. The aim of this project is to investigate comprehensively, for the first time, when, how, and why the plainly western Sylvester-legend was transmitted to and embedded in Byzantine perception.
The book highlights over three hundred artefacts conserved at the CCH.
Talks by Andriani Georgiou
Conference Presentations by Andriani Georgiou
...The paper demonstrates that the perception of Constantine and Helena as symbols of authority a... more ...The paper demonstrates that the perception of Constantine and Helena as symbols of authority and sanctity not only discloses common identities, but also marks out differentiation and distance.
...The paper looks at the endeavours of the Eastern Church to entrench its supremacy in the perio... more ...The paper looks at the endeavours of the Eastern Church to entrench its supremacy in the period between the sixth and ninth centuries, aiming to draw some preliminary conclusions about the role and place of Sylvester in Byzantine rhetorical politics. My analysis seeks to go some way towards enhancing our understanding of the relationship between patriarch and emperor in Byzantium.
"What is the role that art plays in defining identity in a semi-literate culture?
How does art ... more "What is the role that art plays in defining identity in a semi-literate culture?
How does art affiliation shape cultural attachment and, at the same time, mark out differentiation and distance?
Where, and in what elements of a larger whole, the definite fulcra of group or personal identity should be sought?"
We are told in the post-iconoclastic Opitz-vita of Saints Constantine and Helena that Constantine... more We are told in the post-iconoclastic Opitz-vita of Saints Constantine and Helena that Constantine ordered visual representations of himself and his mother with the image of the cross. This is a case where verbal descriptions corresponded harmoniously with visual communications: the period the vita was compiled, is characterised by the frequent appearance of the saints in the decorative programmes of a large number of churches across the empire, alluding not only to their political significance as symbols of ideal Christian rule, but also to the theological value of their deeds for the Christian doctrine. Interesting observations which concern the communication of cultural and religious modes of expression beyond the borders of Constantinople are drawn. But beyond that, the images of Constantine and Helena, and especially their positioning in the sanctoral cycle, offer scope for contributing to pragmatic puzzles related to the design and execution of decorative programmes – for example, the intervention of patrons and painters, the impact of local trends and traditions, the devotional needs of regional congregations. The findings recorded in the paper are based on a sample of thirteen churches of Greece, which have been evaluated in comparison with examples from Cappadocia, Cyprus and Crete. What is characteristically Greek about the Greek examples? It is argued that the differences observed in representations of the sainted pair in regional and interregional level are more significant than their likenesses since they emphasise the role of Byzantine viewers in art’s creation. Or, put slightly differently, the individualisation of ecclesiastical decorative programmes.
Byzantine legends associating Helena with particles of the true cross on Cyprus were strongly pre... more Byzantine legends associating Helena with particles of the true cross on Cyprus were strongly preserved during the years of political upheaval that followed the island’s Latin conquest – first as a Frankish kingdom ruled by the Lusignan dynasty (1192-1473), and finally as a Venetian colony (1489-1571) – in the wake of the Third Crusade. Over these years the cross was exalted not only as the flagship of the crusades, but also as the stake of pilgrimage with Helena figuring as the model pilgrim. The paper looks at and assess whether the new elements gradually manifested in Helena’s religious iconography, with no attested counterparts in Byzantine artistic tradition, were the product of several generations of Cyprus’ exposure to western cultural modes.
Interest in Constantine and Helena was constant throughout the Byzantine period. For instance, by... more Interest in Constantine and Helena was constant throughout the Byzantine period. For instance, by the fifth century they had entered the rhetorical vocabulary of both court and Church as ideal models of Christian rulership, and by the ninth century they had been officially acknowledged and proclaimed as saints of the Orthodox doctrine. Such developments were accompanied by a prolific amount of literary compositions – historiographical and hagiological – referring to Constantine’s and Helena’s exemplary lives and Christian deeds. None of these descriptions, however, presented uniformity in content. The portrayal, especially of Helena, changed not only from period to period, but also from author to author. Such accounts are valid witnesses of the historical structures in which they were produced, reflecting the beliefs and concerns with which Byzantine society – and as a member of it, the author – was preoccupied. The same attitude towards Helena continued through into the eleventh century. The probably eleventh-century Opitz- and Gedeon-vitae of Saints Constantine and Helena are the only extant textual testimonies of the way(s) that contemporaries appreciated and reconstructed Helena. The paper studies the two vitae within the context of the historical processes in which they functioned, and in relation to the preceding traditions on Helena.
The paper places the numismatic and statuary portraits of Helena in a historical and interpretive... more The paper places the numismatic and statuary portraits of Helena in a historical and interpretive context, in order to explore their political implications in a period of transition from Roman imperial traditions to early Christian reforms. Such portraits did not merely allowed contemporaries to form an impression of the appearance and physiognomy of the empress, but, most significantly, to experience and visualise her role within the cultural and political agendas of Constantine’s new regime. The paper approaches the evidence chronologically highlighting that: (a) between 315 and 326 Helena was not living in obscurity any more, but she was still not the most prominent female member of her son’s court; (b) two years before her death in 328 she participated in a pattern of Christian co-rulership with Constantine; (c) while posthumously, between 337 and 340, she was propagated as a symbol of the Constantinian new Christian order.
Helena: The subversive persona of an ideal Christian empress in Early Byzantium, Dec 2013
The paper addresses Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. Constantine’s importance as a pr... more The paper addresses Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. Constantine’s importance as a prototype of exemplary Christian rulership, and as a symbol of legitimacy and identity within the context of imperial ideological strategies, has been in the forefront of scholarly attention. Less interest, however, has been expressed for Helena. Nonetheless, both literary and visual primary sources, throughout the Byzantine period, describe and show Helena as an inseparable part of Constantine’s ideal Christian profile. The paper endeavours to take a fresh look at the evidence between the fourth and ninth centuries in order to lead to new insights into the origins of Helena’s cult, the emergence of a Helena-legend with symbolic and metaphorical functions, and the way that Byzantines reconstructed, evaluated, and appreciated her role.
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Thesis by Andriani Georgiou
Publications by Andriani Georgiou
Interested in all extant references related to the individual and interpersonal processes that shaped female imperial anger, I take the reader from the Deo coronata Aelia Eudoxia (395–404) to the empress regnant Eirene (775–802). I also pay special attention to the example of the empress consort Theodora (527–548).
I wish to thank Leslie Brubaker (University of Birmingham), Liz James (University of Sussex), Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus), and Mati Meyer (The Open University of Israel) for their invaluable feedback in the making of this article. Obviously any errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies in this work are solely my responsibility.
This article is an expanded version of a communication paper read at the 43rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies on Byzantium behind the Scenes: Power and Subversion, held at the University of Birmingham in March 2010. I am indebted to Leslie Brubaker (University of Birmingham) and Neil McLynn (Corpus Christi College, Oxford) for their meticulous assessment, constructive criticism, illuminating questions, and suggestions for improvement. A special word of thanks goes also to Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus) and Jan Willem Drijvers (University of Groningen), who have kindly helped me solve specific riddles. Obviously any errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies in this work are solely my responsibility.
Projects by Andriani Georgiou
Talks by Andriani Georgiou
Conference Presentations by Andriani Georgiou
How does art affiliation shape cultural attachment and, at the same time, mark out differentiation and distance?
Where, and in what elements of a larger whole, the definite fulcra of group or personal identity should be sought?"
Interested in all extant references related to the individual and interpersonal processes that shaped female imperial anger, I take the reader from the Deo coronata Aelia Eudoxia (395–404) to the empress regnant Eirene (775–802). I also pay special attention to the example of the empress consort Theodora (527–548).
I wish to thank Leslie Brubaker (University of Birmingham), Liz James (University of Sussex), Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus), and Mati Meyer (The Open University of Israel) for their invaluable feedback in the making of this article. Obviously any errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies in this work are solely my responsibility.
This article is an expanded version of a communication paper read at the 43rd Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies on Byzantium behind the Scenes: Power and Subversion, held at the University of Birmingham in March 2010. I am indebted to Leslie Brubaker (University of Birmingham) and Neil McLynn (Corpus Christi College, Oxford) for their meticulous assessment, constructive criticism, illuminating questions, and suggestions for improvement. A special word of thanks goes also to Stavroula Constantinou (University of Cyprus) and Jan Willem Drijvers (University of Groningen), who have kindly helped me solve specific riddles. Obviously any errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies in this work are solely my responsibility.
How does art affiliation shape cultural attachment and, at the same time, mark out differentiation and distance?
Where, and in what elements of a larger whole, the definite fulcra of group or personal identity should be sought?"
The paper endeavours to examine the development of Helena’s role by evaluating the changing meanings of her relatedness to Constantine, as those are presented in the primary written documentation, particularly historiographical and hagiographical texts, between the fourth and eleventh centuries. Helena’s authority and prominence within the family of Constantine is highlighted by the fourth-century work of Eusebios of Caesarea, The Life of Constantine - the first Christian source, which set the grounds for the development of a special treatment of Constantine’s mother Helena. The fourth-century Western Christian authors, Ambrose, Rufinus, Paulinus, and Sulpicius, reworked the Eusebian model of Helena and enhanced it with further elements of sanctity. In Byzantium however, there was a split from this tradition, evident in authors from the fifth century and onwards. These texts provide a substantial starting point for clarifying how Byzantines manipulated the picture of Helena in order to convey a series of messages for public consumption, and the circumstances under which Helena’s cult was developed in Byzantium as distinct from the West. The conclusions drawn at this point of my research on how Helena’s memory as the mother of the first Christian emperor was preserved and reconstructed in the textual sources, demonstrate an arguably more pragmatic and political side of motherhood in Byzantium, where Helena’s profile was treated as part of her son’s ideal Christian image, whereas in the West, Helena was seen more in her own right. The changing meanings of the mother and son relationship – obviously crucial in Christian discourse – had a distinct impact on eastern and western evaluation of Helena.
The reign of king Milutin (r. 1282-1321) represents a period of dynamic political and cultural interactions between Serbia and the Byzantine Empire under the Palaeologan dynasty. The conference King Milutin and the Palaeologan Age: History, Literature, Cultural Heritage aims to examine the wider historical, cultural and political context of these interactions and explore their impact on artistic and literary production in Serbia and Byzantium at that time. Along with military interventions that enlarged the territories of the Serbian medieval state, king Milutin and his entourage spurred extensive building and artistic activity, inviting the best Byzantine masons and artists to work for them. Thus, king Milutin’s reign was crucial in the development of architectural and artistic ideas that mark both Serbian and Byzantine art of the fourteenth century. Today the artistic achievements of king Milutin’s era are visible only in a limited number of preserved monuments and these reflect conspicuous influencе from the capital, Constantinople.
The thematic strands of the conference relate to history, architecture, wall paintings, illuminated manuscripts, clothing identity between Constantinople, East and West, liturgical textiles, textile history, the question of ruler’s tomb and his sanctity, gender history, literature, archival science, astronomy, sacral chanting, and the theological context of the period. We expect the participation of historians, art and architectural historians, archaeologists, historians of literature, theologians and all leading scholars in their fields who will bring new perspectives on the conference theme.
Deadline for submitting an abstract of 300 to 500 words is May 6, 2021.
Authors are invited to submit their abstracts to the following e-mail address: [email protected].
Presentations are limited to 20 minutes. The official languages of the scientific conference are Serbian and English. The book of abstracts will be published before the scientific conference and the thematic collection of reviewed papers after the conference. Deadline for submitting the articles for review in a special thematic collection is January 31, 2022.
We are looking forward to receiving your proposals and seeing you in Skopje. If for any reason we are prevented from organizing in-person gathering, the conference will be organized online.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee,
Dr Jasmina S. Ćirić, Assistant Professor
University of Kragujevac (Serbia), The Faculty of Philology and Arts
Department of Applied Arts - Department of General Education
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