History and Religion as Sources of Hellenic Identity in Late Byzantium and the Post-Byzantine Era

Georgios Steiris

doi:10.3390/genealogy4010016

Abstract

Recently, seminal publications highlighted the Romanitas of the Byzantines. However, it is not without importance that from the 12th century onwards the ethnonym Hellene (Ἓλλην) became progressively more popular. A number of influential intellectuals and political actors preferred the term Hellene to identify themselves, instead of the formal Roman (Ρωμαῖος) and the common Greek (Γραικός). While I do not intend to challenge the prevalence of the Romanitas during the long Byzantine era, I suggest that we should reevaluate the emerging importance of Hellenitas in the shaping of collective and individual identities after the 12th century. From the 13th to the 16th century, Byzantine scholars attempted to recreate a collective identity based on cultural and historical continuity and otherness. In this paper, I will seek to explore the ways Byzantine scholars of the Late Byzantine and Post Byzantine era, who lived in the territories of the Byzantine Empire and/or in Italy, perceived national identity, and to show that the shift towards Hellenitas started in the Greek-speaking East.

Highlights

The question of Modern Greek identity is certainly timely (Steiris et al 2016, p. vii)
I shall adopt the analytical distinction between national consciousness and national identity according to Natia Tevzadze (Tevzadze 1994)
I deem the introduction of this term necessary, as I contend that Hellenitas is different from Graecitas, the self-identification as Greek (Γραικóς), which was common throughout the Byzantine period

Summary

Introduction

The question of Modern Greek identity is certainly timely (Steiris et al 2016, p. vii). It is an introverted and defensive mechanism of self-acknowledgement Those who seek a national consciousness presuppose the existence of distinct cultural characteristics and genealogies, i.e. a mix of history, memories and sentiments that people are called to adopt. I deem the introduction of this term necessary, as I contend that Hellenitas is different from Graecitas, the self-identification as Greek (Γραικóς), which was common throughout the Byzantine period. It was an identity, which could coexist with Romanitas, while Hellenitas represented largely a break with Romanitas. The Byzantine scholars attempted to redefine their identity based on the ethnonym Hellene ( ̔́Ελλην), a common cultural and historical awareness, Hellenic language, and their perceived otherness predominantly from the Latins and the Turks This article expands and supplement my views that were initially presented a few years ago (Steiris 2016, pp. 173–99)

Modern Scholarly Debate on National Identity in the Late Byzantium

Mid-Byzantine Views on Identity and Consciousness

The Conciliatory Stance

Pletho’s Radical Hellenitas

The Next Generation

Conclusions

Athens