Meet Anastasius the Librarian, one of the most fascinating controversialists of the ninth century. A native of Rome, scholar of Greek, and (probably) anti-pope for all of three days, he was no friend of Byzantium. He disliked and mistrusted "the Greeks" and argued that they were not Romans as they thought. His arguments have held sway in the west ever since. My guest is Réka Forrai (University of Southern Denmark), an expert on Anastasius' writings and thought; see especially her fascinating study ‘The Sacred Nectar of the Deceitful Greeks: Perceptions of Greekness in Ninth Century Rome,’ in A. Speer and P. Steinkrüger, eds., Knotenpunkt Byzanz: Wissensformen und kulturelle Wechselbeziehungen (Berlin 2012) 71-84.
115. Imaginary Byzantiums in modern Russia, with Eugene Smelyansky
114. Byzantium and the early Rus’, with Monica White
113. The emperor’s clothing and public appearances, with Maria Parani
112. Crisis and resilience in late antique Rome, with Michele Salzman
111. Inheriting the mantle of the Roman empire, with Nathan Aschenbrenner
110. Justinian: statecraft, law, and self-glorification, with Peter Sarris
109. The discovery of Constantinople, with Sarah Bassett
108. Who is ‘Islamic History’ about?, with Christian Sahner
107. Shifty Greeks, Arrogant Latins: Polemical authors and the schism of the Churches, with Alessandra Bucossi
106. Medieval Europe without a “core”, with Christian Raffensperger
105. So you’re the Roman emperor... now what?, with Olivier Hekster
104. Byzantine law, its experts, and its languages, with Daphne Penna
103. About time, with Jesse Torgerson
102. Byzantium and Balkan national identities, with Diana Mishkova
101. How to de-colonize Byzantine Studies, with Ben Anderson and Mirela Ivanova
100. Our new book on the armies, and on revisionism in history, with Marion Kruse
99. A new history of medieval Christianity, with Peter Heather
98. Egyptian hieroglyphs in late antiquity, with Jennifer Westerfeld
97. The remarkable world of hospitals, orphanages, and leprosaria, with Tim Miller
96. Pre-Islamic Arabia, with Valentina Grasso
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