Like John of Damascus, Theodore the Studite was an important literary figure and one of the principal people involved with the writing of the Canons. Theodore the Studite lived from 759-826 CE, and served as the abbot of the monastery of Studius in Constantinople from 798 CE until his death. Like John, Theodore was a defender of icons and believed that Iconoclasm was heresy. Theodore's arguments against Iconoclasm can be found in his three formal tracts and in his letter that opposed Iconoclasm based on the human side of Christ's nature, and on Theodore's belief that symbolism was necessary in religious worship. Though Theodore did admit that God could not, and should not be depicted in art, he still believed that the denial of the legitimacy of Icons of Christ meant the denial of the Incarnation. He argued that it was false to hold the belief, as the Iconoclasts did, that the symbol was the same as the essence it symbolized. Had this been true, he believed that the defenders of images would have agreed that the legitimate icon of Christ was the sacred elements of prayer and conscious. Along with his writings and stances against the Iconoclasm, Theodore also created two important funeral orations, one for his mother Theoctista, whom he painted as a pious yet practical Byzantine lady, and another for his uncle Plato, abbot of the Saccudion monastery, whose rules had provided Theodore with a pattern that would aid him in his own monastic reforms. These works, by Theodore, provide arguments from the Iconoclasm periods, and also, from his personal history that give scholars a view into that period of the Byzantine history.
Another influential scholar was Maximus the Confessor. In his early years, he studied philosophy, g...
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Theodora’s story starts with a distinctive start. Her father was a bear trainer that worked in the Hippodrome in Constantinople and she grew up in the entertainment spotlight (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 355, 2009). She was a mime and when she was older, she became an actress (Koeller, 1996). So, she not only lived in a circus, she also became a child star. Who would not want her childhood? But, back in that day, an actress was not a highly looked upon career for a women, therefore the term ‘actress’ was interchanged with ‘prostitute’ (Koeller, 1996). So, it might not have been the best...
Roman Emperor Constantine I founded the Byzantine Empire in 330 CE as a continuation of the Roman Empire in the east. The characteristics of the empire led to the modern definition of “Byzantine,” which means “strangely complicated.” This was true, as in the Byzantine Empire was very chaotic, complex, and strange at times, but it was very massive and influential worldwide. The empire heavily influenced modern religion, laws, and engineering making it worthwhile learning about the empire.
Without these two empires, much of the Greek knowledge known today would not have existed. These two empires brought back into popularity much of Greek culture and philosophy. There are many similarities that should be compared between the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic Caliphates.
Aurelius, Marcus. The meditations of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. New York: A.L. Burt, 189.
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
hammed. Byzantine and the Muslims worlds were the very first in the western world to base their governing off of their monotheistic beliefs. The religion of Islam began in Mecca, however the beginning of the Muslim period started with Mohammed’s voyage from Mecca to Medina. The religion quickly spread from India to Spain.
During the Middle Ages, the politics and religious systems of the former western Roman Empire changed in many ways due to a number of events and interactions. One of the most important and defining events of this period was the rise of both Latin Christendom and the rise of the Islamic Caliphates. More specifically, is was the ensuing interactions between the two as both faiths struggled to establish their dominance. The rise of the heirs to the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the Caliphates and Latin Christendom, led to conflict and a more clearly defined and structured western world. This “new” western world was no longer simply divided along geographical and political lines, but was now demarcated by an additional principal characteristic:
Much of past civilizations have endured many failures and triumphs throughout their existence. In the third century, there were many civilizations that started to flourish. One of these civilizations that started to expand was the Byzantine civilization. The Byzantine civilization, also regarded as Byzantium, was part of the Roman Empire which was divided in 395 AD. Byzantium had shared the same attitude, as the Roman Empire, toward exercising its authority over its citizens and throughout its empire. The Islamic civilization had started thrive in the fifth century. The Islamic civilization was unified together as unison by Islam and it has expanded its civilization throughout parts of Europe through jihad. Because of their expansions throughout parts of Europe, they shared various similarities which include their political system, social structure, and economy.
The Byzantium Civilization started cause of overcrowding in the eight century B.C. that led Greek city-states to send out colonies throughout the Mediterranean basin. In the year of 667 B.C.; Byzas, from the Greek city of Megra, founded Byzantium Civilization at the mouth of the Black Sea. Alexander the Great dominated Byzantium as he built an empire around it stretching from Greece to India. Byzantium was the Christianized eastern part of the Roman Empire. Constantine the Great was a vital figure in the early stages of this civilization. He established toleration for Christianity throughout the Roman Empire and legally transferred his capital from Rome to Constantinople, which is the site of the Greek City of Byzantium. Roman law and political institutions ruled the people there and they spoke Latin and Greek languages. Merchants at this city were able to grow rich cause of its strategic location between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Constantine liked to import Greek-Roman art from throughout the empire.
By 350 A.D., Constantinople was one of the world's greatest capitals. The city was located between Asia and Europe, making it a very diverse and strategic place. The many bodies of water surrounding the peninsula gave Constantinople many trade routes as well as protection. The famous walls were also built to further strengthen security. Constantinople eventually rose to a beautiful city of strength and wealth. Its Greek heritage separated itself from the West with their religion of Eastern Orthodoxy. Despite the power of Constantinople, unending attacks and problems would eventually weaken the city. The first major catastrophe took place in 542, when a plague struck and killed massive amounts of people. The recovery was very slow, and it allowed for countless attacks. For Constantinople, however, it was just the beginning.
Domitian was an educated person, although it is unknown where he got his education. He loved to write and wrote poetry. His poems were very sensitive no matter what the topic. Later on Domitian even wrote and published a book about baldness. Apparently, Domitian was interested in many different types of literature. People often said that he spoke intelligently, and made memorable comments. In his later years, Domitian began to read Tiberius’s commentaries. He established a way of thinking and developed his own ideas on standards and morals.
I invite you to consider the life of an interesting human being with me in this paper. Let us investigate together the man known as Irenaeus of Lyons. We will endeavor to gain an overall verbal portrait of the man who is considered the most significant ecclesiastical witness before Eusebius and the leading theologian in the second century A. D. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church both consider Irenaeus to be one of their “holy saints“. The name Irenaeus means a “‘man of peace,’ and the early Christian historian Eusebius honored Irenaeus as a peacemaker in keeping with his name.”
Both Byzantine and Roman mosaics developed at a similar time which led to the influenced upon one another. They possessed distinct techniques, materials, styles and subject matter. Byzantine structures emphasized on decorative touches while Roman mosaics were greatly functional. Both styles were enhanced in order to honour religious figures and domestic life (Ovadiah, 1987).
Not much is known about the life of his son Apollinarius of Laodicea he was enthusiastic to the formulation of the Nicene faith and was left to develop his theological theories, during his life time he made many works which have now perished. The works, which are available to us, are heretical and are just a small proportion of his entire works. Later this city became his Episcopal ...
Early Christian and Byzantine art started after Jesusí death in the first century ranging and ending to the fourth century AD. The art produced during this period was secretive because Christianity was not a formal religion but as a cult; the Romans and rest of Europe persecuted Christians so the artist disguised their work with symbols and hints of Christian aspects. Christianity was the first cult to not involve rituals of sacrifice of animals and refused to worship an Emperor causing the Roman Empire to make Christianity illegal. Byzantine art excelled in the Justinian period in the east during 520-540 AD. The art was produced in Ravenna, Byzantine, Venice, Sicily, Greece, and Russia. The difference between Christian and Byzantine is that Christian was earth beyond realism and Byzantine was more spiritual than worldly style. This art period was sectioned off into three different periods. The first was persecution from the first to the third century. The second was due to Constantine making Christianity legal in the fourth century. The last period is known as New Christian style starting in the fifth century. Most of the art from this period was frescoes, mosaics, and architecture.