The Argument of Psellos' Chronographia

Brill Academic Publishers
Anthony Kaldellis
ISBN: 9004114947
price: $92.00   hardcover

This book is a philosophical interpretation of Michael Psellos' Chronographia, an acknowledged masterpiece of Byzantine literature. Anthony Kaldellis argues that although the Chronographia contains a fascinating historical narrative; it is really a disguised philosophical work which, if read carefully, reveals Psellos' revolutionary views on politics and religion.
Kaldellis exposes the rhetorical techniques with which Psellos veils his unorthodoxy, and demonstrates that the inner message of the text challenges the Church's supremacy over the intellectual and political life of Byzantium. Psellos consciously articulates a secular vision of Imperial politics, and seeks to liberate philosophy from the constraints of Christian theology.
The analysis is lucid and should be accessible to anyone with a general knowledge of Byzantine civilization. It should interest all who study the history of ancient and medieval philosophy.
Readership: All those interested in Byzantium, particularly its intellectual history; the revival of the classical heritage during the Middle Ages, the history of Platonic political philosophy, as well as the literature of dissent.