The cultural dynamics of the term Hellanodikes in Palaiologan Byzantium

Abstract

AbstractIn ancient Greek literature, Hellanodikai (Ἑλλανοδίκαι) were figures of public authority and high esteem, renown for their fair judgment, overseeing control, and morally transparent life. The characteristics we gather regarding their public role come from a number of historical and other sources, such as Cassius Dio, Lucian, and Pausanias. In the Byzantine era, the term was revived either as a historical gloss contextualizing the position of Hellanodikes (Ἑλλανο- δίκης) in ancient times or as a lexical and grammatical entry. As a contrast to the conventional treatments of this term, Palaiologan scholars proceeded to its unique redeployment. In this article, I argue that Hellanodikes became an epithet of social and cultural significance in Palaiologan Byzantium, a notion embedded within the intellectual peculiarities of this age, especially in contexts of imperial patronage and scholarly apprenticeship.