Date post: | 03-Jun-2018 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | kostaspanzer1 |
View: | 227 times |
Download: | 1 times |
of 21
8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
1/21
8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
2/21
The
Kallos
of the
Byzantine
City:
The
Development
of a Rhetorical
Topos
and Historical
Reality
HELEN SARADI
University
of
Guelph,
Canada
Abstract
The term
beauty
s
among
those cited
by
Henry
Maguire
as
central
to
Art.
eauty
is
regularly
ascribed
to the
city
in the Greek
rhetorical radition.
This article
explores
the
use of the
topos
of urban
beauty
and its
associated
expressions
for
conveying
aesthetic
concepts,
and
relates
them to
the actual
physical
appearance
of the
late
Roman
and
Byzantine
city. Applied initially
o the
natural
etting
of a
city
or
the
accomplishments
of
its
citi-
zens,
the
topos
of urban
beauty
shifted
by
the fourth en-
tury
to
the
cities'
architectural
ppearance,
a
usage
that
peaks
in
the
sixth
century.
It
s, then,
at
precisely
the time
that the ancient architectural tructureof the cities was
gradually
disintegrating
hat the cities were
increasingly
praised
in
terms of
their
ancient
aesthetic
value. The ar-
ticle
proposes
reasons-both rhetoricaland aesthetic-
for this
disjunction,
and then
pursues
the
topos
of
urban
beauty
as it is
incorporated
nto Christian
iterature
and
transformed
in
the
classicizing
conventions
of the late
Byzantine
authors.
Descriptions
of cities are
found
in
all kinds
of
sources
in
ancient and
Byzantine
literature:
n
historiographical
ources,
poetry, epigrams,
orations,
both ecclesiastical and
secular,
in
epistolography
and
Lives of
Saints.
From the Roman
empire
onwards,
such
descriptions,
whether condensed
or
extended,
became a topos in literarysources and were formulated ac-
cording
to the rules
of
rhetoric:rhetorical
reatises
defined
the
formal elements of the encomion
of
the
city.
The most im-
portant
s thatof the
third-century
oratorMenander.In recent
years,
when
great
emphasis
has
been
placed
on ancient and
Byzantine
rhetoric
and
its influence
on
various
literary
genres,
the rhetorical
descriptions
of
cities became the
subject
of
several studies.
The
book
of E.
Fenster,
Laudes
constantinopolitanae
(Munich, 1968),
and
a recent
paper
of
H.
Hunger,
Laudes
Thessalonicenses, 2as
well as the book
of C.
J.
Classen,
Die
Stadt
im
Spiegel
der
Descriptiones
und
Laudes Urbium
(Hildesheim,
Zurich,
New
York,
1986)
study
specific aspects
of
descriptions
of
cities.
Other scholars have studied the
concept
of
the
city
in
ancient
literature
and have
discerned
a
significant develop-
ment.
Thus,
for
example,
J.
E.
Stambaugh
examined the
literary
image
of Athens
in
three different texts: the Funeral
Oration of Pericles
given by Thucydides,
a Hellenistic de-
scription
by
Heraclides
of
Crete
(third
century B.c.)
and
that
by
Pausanias.3
In the
History
of
Thucydides
the
city
is
praised
for its
cultural and
political
achievements and not in
Why
urn to
fiction--unless
it be to
escape?'
terms of
public buildings.
In
contrast,
Heraclides stresses the
architectural
appearance
of
Athens,
while the civic life is
of
no interest to
him.
There
is
no doubt that this
image
of Ath-
ens reflects a historical
reality.
Pausanias'
interest
is
that of
an
antiquarian:
he is
describing
only
the
city's
monuments.4
This
development
must be
interpreted
in
the historical
context
of
the
Roman
empire.
In
the new
political
conditions
created
by
the
expansion
of the
Roman
state,
the cities
ceased to be understood
n
terms of their
political
and social
functions;
they
had lost their
independent
political
character.
Already Livy describes this process with great perceptionin
his account of the fate of
Capua
after its
occupation by
the
Romans. The
city
had been
reduced
by
the
conquerors
into
a
dwelling-place:
But
it
was decided that
Capua,
as a nom-
inal
city,
should
merely
be a
dwelling-place
and
a
center of
population,
but should have no
political body
nor senate nor
council
of
the
plebs
nor
magistrates. 5
hus the
cities,
no
longer
expressing
an
independent political
and cultural
life,
became
merely
a
place
where
the
citizens lived.
In
literature,
therefore,
the
physical setting
of
the cities
gradually gained
in
importance.
Stambaugh
undertakes to examine this em-
phasis
on the
cities'
physical
environment n
connection with
the
general phenomenon
of
visual
descriptions
in
Hellenistic
literature and of works of art.6This interpretation gives a
new direction to the
study
of
the
image
of the
ancient
city
in
literature:
namely
in
terms of the means of
expression,
in
both literature and
art.
For
Byzantinists
the
development
of the
city
in the end
of the
early Byzantine
period
and
its fate in the
beginning
of
the Middle
Ages
still
constitutes a
controversial
topic,
al-
ways
attractive and
approached
with
conflicting arguments
and
conclusions.
In
a
previous study
on the cities of the
early Byzantine
centuries,
I have
shown that
in
many
his-
torical sources
adherence to the
classical tradition and rhe-
torical clich6s
conceals historical
developments.7
This
study
will
attempt
to
approach
the
topic
from a
new
perspective,
namely
the
expressions
used to
convey
aesthetic
concepts
as
they apply
to the
early Byzantine
city,
and their
develop-
ment
in
later
centuries.
The
terms
most
frequently
encoun-
tered
in
descriptions
of cities of this
period
are
kallos
and
kosmos.
The theme of
the urbankallos is
fully developed
in
the literatureof the sixth
century.
This
constitutes the
cul-
mination of a
long literary
traditionwhich follows the con-
ventions of rhetoric. What is
interesting
for
the historian of
GESTAXXXIV/1
?
The
InternationalCenter of Medieval Art 1995
37
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
3/21
Byzantine
urban
history
is that the
more
the
magnificent
monumental
appearance
of
the
ancient
city
deteriorateddur-
ing
this
early
period,
for
a
variety
of
reasons,
the
more
the
authors of
prose
or
poetry
insisted on
developing
the
theme
of
the
beautiful
city.
The
concerns of
the state as
docu-
mented in
the
imperial
decrees
from
the
fourth to
the
sixth
century, by
which the
emperors
had tried
to
impede
the
dis-
solution of the traditional architecturalappearanceof the
cities,
will
complement
the
picture.
Finally
we will
attempt
to
determine the
period
in
which
this
literary
theme be-
comes
less
frequent
and
establish
a
connection
with
histori-
cal
reality;
in
other
words,
to
examine
whether a
decisive
transformation of
the
architectural
appearance
of
the
cities
had
actually brought
about a
decline of
this
rhetorical
topos.
The theme
of the
beauty
of
the
city emerges
late
and
gradually
in
literature.
In
order
to
understand this
process
and
evaluate its
historical
meaning
it will be
instructive
to
take
as a
starting point
the
use
of the
topos
of
the
kallos in
Pausanias'
text,
an
unrivalled
account
of
sites of
interest
to
visitors. Given
the
nature of this text we are
surprised
that
the word caikkog s found only in a few passages. In only
two
passages
does it
refer to works of
art: in
an
account of
a
statue of
Praxiteles,8
and
in
a
praise
of
Polycleitus'
art
with
reference to
the theatre of
Epidaure.9
n
two
passages
the
Kadkkog
escribes the
quality
of
some
stones
which
beau-
tify
buildings.'0
In two other
passages
the
word is
contained
in
verses of ancient
poets
cited
by
Pausanias.
But
what is
more
interesting
is that
in
five
passages
the word
describes
elements of
nature
such
as
the water
of
rivers or
fountains
(one
such
example
is the
famous fountain
Kastalia in
Del-
phi)
and animals
(as
in
an account of
a local
tradition in
Aegeira
of
Achaia).'2
The
Rhetorical Tradition
Two new
trends of
rhetoric in
the Roman
empire
had a
significant
impact
on the form
of
city
descriptions
n
litera-
ture. These
trends are the
need to
produce
an
excessively
embellished
style,
essentialfor all
literarygenres,
and the
ele-
ment of
exaggeration
(amplification
and
diminutio),
inevita-
ble
in
rhetoric.
The
orator was
expected
to
extol,
apply
amplification
(aidrlaotg)
o,
his
subject.'3
Although
these ele-
ments had
already
been
stressed
by
the classical
Roman
ora-
tors,14
under the
Empire they
became
subjects
of
elaborate
theories
of famous
teachers of
rhetoric.' A
consequence
of
amplificationof the existing positive aspects of the praised
person
or
object
in the
encomion was the
need to
complement
absent
positive
characteristics with
amplification
(adi~l-
cctv)16
and
suppress
the
negative
ones. In
meeting
the aim
defined
in
these
terms,
questions
regarding
he
sincerity
of the
orators
were raised.
Aristeides,
for
example,
stressed the
im-
portance
of
credibility
which must be
announced n the
intro-
duction
as well as the
use of
exaggeration(hyperbole).'7
But
the
hyperbole
which
stands atthe
very
natureof the encomion
leads to untrue
statements,
and efforts
were
made
to
accom-
modate the rhetorical
technique
rationally.'8
Menander
offers the most
systematic
treatment of
the
city
encomion
by
defining
the formal
elements
of
the
genre
in
his
treatises
How
one should
praise
the land
and
cities
(IJJq@
pi
Xwjpav
nratvEiv,mrCg
Zpil
tmtu
mEcnatveiv).'9
Ac-
cording
to
these,
the encomion
of a
city
has two
parts:
the
praise of the city's physical environment (the site of the
city,
the
neighboring
cities,
the
climate,
geographic
fea-
tures,
such as
rivers,
etc.)
and
of the
qualities
and
accom-
plishments
of
its
citizens
(the
political
system
of
the
city,
the famous
schools
of letters
or
science,
of
arts,
rhetoric
and
sports,
etc.).20
If the
city
does not have
features
worthy
of
praise,
then the orator
must invent
some with
sophistic
arguments.21
It
is
important
o
note thatin contrast
to
descriptions
of
cities
in the literature
of earlier
periods,
in the rhetorical
rea-
tises of the late
Roman
empire
the natural
surroundings
f
the
city gained
in
importance.
A
general
rule in the treatises
on
encomia
is that
the external
appearance
of
a
person
or
object
must be extolled.22Often, however, in encomia of cities of
this
period
the traditional
view
of the
city
and
the new
trends
coexist: in
a
brief
outline
of a
city
encomion
in
Hermogenes'
Progymnasmata,
he traditional
value
of the
citizens'
achieve-
ments
remains
predominant
and the
praise
of
the
physical
beauty
of the urbancenter
is of
secondary
importance.23
Menander
himself exhibits
this
duality.
In his
treatise
on
epideictic
oratory (mcpi
tntS6tKZtKOv)
it is
the
surround-
ing
nature
that offers
pleasure
and it
must be
praised
as
such.24
He
employs
the
topos
of the
beauty
in
describing
the
particular
elements
of the
city,
such as the harbor:
you
will
praise
the harbors
or their
size,
beauty
and
harmonious
proportions,and for the quality and numberof anchorings
(K61rouqg
frtVcf
YtJ
S
Eig
t~P'y0og KCitf
Kil)kog KCti
EOpuOtiav
Ki.
cig
6t4t6lgvozrlZaT
Kcf.ai
Tohutlpv6 Tr1T);25
in
praising
the
acropolis,
the orator
must omit
the
possible
negative
ele-
ments of its natural
form and
he must
present
it as
the
most
beautiful
(aiTzrl
KacLioYrl).26
References
to the
beauty
of
the
city
are found in
two more
passages
in the same
treatise.
In the
first,
he
recommends
to futureorators
to stress that
the
proximity
of cities
to each other does
not
diminish
their
beauty
(Tzv
K6oypov).27
If
a
city
had been founded
by
in-
habitantsfrom
other
sites,
the orator
should
stress
that
this
move
was not the result
of
misfortunes,
but rather a
change
of the
site for the sake
of
beauty
(dl)6&
mpog
KcLc)og
IEza-
paLo~~a
iov
V
Tov).28
On the other hand, in another passage
the term kosmos
is used
metaphorically
to
designate
the
or-
derly
structure
of civic life: Besides all
these
practices
we
also
embellish
activities,
if the
city
is
administered in
an
orderly
fashion
(map&
mbcoag8&
Tcra
q
Trc
iuttrll86c0ct
Kai
TU
cvcpyflcLara
KOOdo4LsEC
, 6i
KOo?iWqg
tot
UKElt
i1
7 {6tg).29
Menander
also
suggests
that cities can be
praised
on
account
of benefices
which
they
received from
emperors
or
archons
or other
distinguished
men,
or on account
of one of their
ar-
38
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
4/21
chitectural
features,
such as baths or harbors or
any
other
building
of
the
city.
In this
passage,
however,
thereis no
ref-
erence
to
aesthetic considerations.
On the
contrary
he
sug-
gests
that such
descriptions
should
be
very
brief.30
From
this
analysis
it
becomes
clearthat in the
rhetorical
treatises
on
encomia
of
cities,
their kallos was
defined
mainly
in
terms
of
natural
setting,
an
element
borrowed from
litera-
ture, especially poetry, and in terms of the civic virtue of
their
inhabitants.31
The
cities'
architectural
setting
remains
an
undeveloped
theme.
Stylistic
trends
in
literature are
directly
relatedwith
the
use of
descriptions
of
cities.
The
orators of the
Empire
in
particular
elaborated
on the
beauty
of
literary style
with
definitions of the kallos in terms of
stylistic
norms.32
Her-
mogenes
in the
mnpi8& t
expresses
the
new trends when
he
defines the
KaikktYzoo
k6yoq
of the
panegyric
by
a
use
of
words
unlike that in
civic
subjects.33
Accordingly
the
sim-
ple
narrative should be enhanced
by
references
to,
or
brief
descriptions
of
sites,
such
as
great
cities,
remarkable
rivers,
etc.34Mention
of
the
characteristic urban features and of the
surroundingnature, such as their size and prosperity, give
beauty
and
simplicity
to the
narrative.35
Applying
these
stylistic
trends,
the orators
recom-
mended the use of
the
topos
of the
beauty
of the
city
in
a
variety
of other
speeches.
Menander,
for
example,
in
his
treatise on
epideictic
oratory
recommends it for the
speech
of
arrival
(&3ntLpaTzptog).
articularly
the
beauty
of
the
temples
(icEPCvKckkJl)
and of the
harbor should be mentioned.
The
orator should stress
the
emotional
impression
of
the
city's
beauty
on
him.36
Thus
in
narratives n which the author sim-
ply
employs
the
encomion
of a
city,
the
urban
center should
be
praised
as
aesthetically
beautiful.
In
the
lengthy descrip-
tion of the natural
setting
of the
city (plains, rivers, lakes,
mountains,
the
sea,
etc.)
that
follows,
nature also
must be
praised
as
beautiful
(nC6iOv
Krl
1).37
At the end the
orator
must
praise
the
qualities
of the
inhabitants.
The
topos
of
the
urban
kallos is also
employed
in other
speeches,
such
as a
speech
on the
fatherland
(ndzptoq k6yo?).
The
stoas,
temples,
harbor,
importedproducts,
athletic
per-
formances,
the
pleasure
of
baths,
fountains,
forests,
famous
temples
or
oracles,
contribute
o
the
beauty
of the
city
(Kai
yap
zraTC uvzThksI
gVT K6Co?ovTzi
m6st).38
Menander ex-
plains
what
differentiates these
genres
from
one
another: it
is
only
the
arrangement
of the
parts.39
Another
element of
interest
to our
investigation,
introduced in this
text,
is the
size of the city
(LsyioryTlv
T61tv).
The
topos
of civic
beauty
can
also be used in the
talk
(aktd6)
which
belongs
to
deliberative or
epideictic
oratory.
The
predominant
characteristic of this
genre
is the indul-
gence
in
stylistic
elements and stories
which
delight
the lis-
tener.40For this
purpose
the urban
kallos must be
stressed.41'
The same rules
apply
to the
speech
of arrival42and to
the
propemptic speech.43
In the latter
Menander mentions
the
beauty
of the
urban
buildings.44
n another
section of
the
same treatise Menander refers
again
to the
important
topos
of civic
beauty
(sTza Tz
a
d
Log
dzrgm6soEq).
Here at
last
the
city
is said to be beautified
by
its
splendidbuildings
and
by
the size
of its stoas and baths
(6paitiEszat
pi&v dp
ifl
6kt
KdckELtV
iEP(TV Kai
OzOV
Kai
kOUzpOv
LpE'yOCtV).45
In
the
leavetaking
speech
(CouvzaczKT6g)
he
theme of the
kallos
of the
particular
urban structure must
be
stressed.46
Again
the orator refers to the double function of the encomion of
the
city
in
rhetoric:
it is not
only
the thematic
relevance
of
the
topic
(an
archon leaves
a
city,
thus
the
city
must
be
praised
as
kalliste
in the
broad
sense of the
word to
justify
the emotions
caused
by
the
separation),
but
also
stylistic
needs. In the
praise
(Ecatvog)
of the
city,
you
will
beautify
your
speech
with
images,
stories,
illustrations,
and
the other
pleasant
devices,
and
by
some
descriptions
of
porticoes,
harbors,
rivers and
groves
(Ka)mo7Yost6
86
T
Ov
koyov
Kcai
siK6dot
Kai
iozopfit
K
7tap43apokCi
ai
tTal
UIkattg
ou-
KUTzlOt
KUi K(ppdopEacYFi
UtV
n
V
ET()
ECaiVV(
g hsmgO, YoTOv
Kati
,tJECvOV
Kati
tTozTLaPOV
ai
rctrly7v
1ai
Kt
omCv...).47
Menander
also
recalls a basic
principle
of
oratory,namely
thatit is necessary to praisethe city as if it were the first and
to admire it as such.48
In this
treatise there
is
explicit
refer-
ence to the
ekphraseis
of the
temples.
Elements
which must
be
stressed
are their
size,
the
harmony
of
their
parts,
and
the
beauty
of
the
stone,
an
element which is
found,
as we have
seen,
in
earlier
literature.49
We
may
therefore
conclude that
the
topos
of the
beauty
of the
city
is
recommended
by
the orators of
the late
Roman
empire
more for
shorter
descriptions
and
praises
of
cities used
in
various
rhetorical texts
than
for
the
encomion
of
cities
itself. We
may
thus state
with
certainty
that this
topos,
found
in
brief
ekphraseis
of later
Byzantine
litera-
ture,
had its
origin
in the
rhetorical
tradition
of
the
late Ro-
man
period.
It is
important
for
our
investigation
to
look at
the
way
these
recommendationsof
the
famous
orators were
applied
in
praises
of
cities in
these
early
centuries,
the most
famous
being
the
late
second-century
Panathenaikos of
Aelius Aris-
tides
and
the
fourth-century
Antiochikos of
Libanius. Aelius
Aristides
uses all
the
traditional
elements
of
the
city's
praise:
description
of the
land,
the
sea,
the
climate,
the
people,
the
mythical
beginning
of the
city,
the
generosity
of
the ances-
tors,
a
lengthy
account
of
the
historical
events,
the
great
urban
monuments,
its
cultural
achievements,
its
political
system.
The
topos
of the
kallos
is
extensively
used in a
variety of contexts. First is the geographical setting (the is-
lands,
the
mountains,
etc.)
which is
beautiful
andadorns the
city.50
Then comes the
greatest
adornmentof the
land: men
( Of
all
the
things
on
earth,
the
most
beautiful
thing
adorns
our land
... For
she
first
brought
forth
man :
zflV
&A
?CLTC1-
patv1XptV
KOCOS
OWv
chi
7l
TO
KG110zTov
..
vIp&cTr1
ydp
fiveyKscv
EivOponov:
24).
After
having
praised
the
great
achievements of
the ancient
Athenians,
the
orator
remarks
that for
one
thing,
it
[Athens]
adorned the
Acropolis
with
39
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
5/21
monuments
of
its
deeds,
and
added to
its
natural
beauty
the rival
beauty
of wealth and art
(#191).~'
Thus
it
was
becoming
fairer
and
greater through
its
deeds,
glory,
and
adornment
T64
K6~oLpm
a
e)ov
Te
Kati
i`mOv
yvoPtEvq).
The
surrounding
demoi are
adorned more
gloriously
than
cities and all the
beauty
(K6OcTov),
oth natural and artifi-
cial
beauty,
vying
with each
other in
the
city
and the coun-
tryside (#351). The temples of Athens are the greatestand
fairest
(Kdkktozot)
of all
(#354).
This
evidence
of
its
piety
is also a
testimony
to its
beauty
(Ka~ikoug)
nd
greatness
(#192).
The
Acropolis
itself is an
adornment:
To0zo-0dL)og
(#16).
The
Acropolis
as
well
as
the
other monuments
of the
city
are
praised
with
elaborate
figures
of
speech
(#364).
But
it
is
the
libraries which
constitute
a
particular
proper
or-
nament
for
Athens
(TzJv AOrlvv
K6oCLogiKEiog:
#354).
The
city
is the
originator
of some
things
and
of
others it
pos-
sesses
the
fairest
(K6aclktoza)
possible
(#375).
Thus the
city might
be
praised
(KooLPoizo)
by
means of its own ad-
vantages
(#329).
In
turn
the
city
adorns both earth and sea
(#66);
its
ancient
glorious
achievements have adorned
Greece (#132), while the Romanempire is not unwilling to
adorn
(KOoTPEiv)
Athens as
a teacher
and foster
father
(#332).
Men have
praised
the
city
with
the
largest
number
and
the fairest
(Ka)cktoTa)
compliments
(#400).
Aristides'
speech
is
an adornment
(K60cLog)
or the festival of the
Panathenaia
#404).
Equally
developed
is the
topos
of the
kallos
in
Aelius
Aristides'
praise
of Rome:
Rome
excels
all the other
cities
in
everything
(#93).
With
an elaborate
figure
of
speech
he
suggests
that all
the
objects
of
art and other adornments
of
the Greek
cities
now decorate Rome.
Among
these a
pre-
dominant
position
is
occupied by
Ionia
( a
leader
in
beauty :
K
c
0i)ouq
,yLcp0v:95)
and
Alexandria
( an
orna-
ment of
your
domain :
6yKEK)X)rtoCYPa
g U'Pt6paq
yyovev
flyEtpoviag:
95).
The
importance
of the
urban
beauty
in the culture
of this
period
is illustrated
in
section
97:
All other
rivalries
between
cities
are
spent,
but this
one
contention
possesses
them
all,
how each one will
ap-
pear
most beautiful and
most
charming
(Kh
ai
a
v
6aikkt
mdccaut
qtkovtKita
Tr
Trh k6btk
knthth)oihcitvU,
jiia
8E aiuzrT
Kat~TXEt ThdCYabgptg,
ij7)cg Ot
Kk)CoTrl ]
Kai
tl6{oTrl
ai(UT
ErKcyTr(pcavelCati).52
In
Libanius'
Antiochikos
(Or. XI)
the
commonplace
of
the
city's
kallos
appears
already
in the first section of the
speech:
the
speech
adorns
the
city
(KooLatfC
kd6yo,
TilV
n6tyv).53
This topos will have a long traditionin later Byz-
antine
literature. The structure of
the
speech
follows the
rules of encomia: a
praise
of the
site,
the
surrounding
na-
ture,
the
sea,
the
climate,
the
mythical
foundation
of the
city,
and its
history;
a
description
of the
contemporary
ad-
ministrative
organization,
its
wealth,
and
the
educational
achievements,
among
which rhetoric
occupies
a
particular
place;
a
praise
of its
beautiful
buildings
(#194);
a
descrip-
tion
of the
city planning
(the
walls,
the new
city,
the
palace,
the
stoas,
etc.),
the
suburbs,
the
surrounding villages
with
particular emphasis
on
Daphne,
the river and the
harbor.
Antioch
is
praised
as
the most
beautiful
thing
in
the most
beautiful land beneath the
sky
(TY6g
COU'
o0pav
KcacCYTrl7g
TO
KacL)tc(Yov
l S
iC~oyv).54
The term
kallos
is
reserved
for
all the elements which
constitute a
subject
of
praise:
the
abundance
of
its
products;
the
sea;
a
famous
fountain;55
he
temples ( the temples are an adornment of the city and a
guard post
of
the
gods :
K6CYPOqg
TC
E
T?6ct KaEipuXacK1 TOSv
OSv adTvcvcLKopa);
the
buildings ( gathering
from
every
side
the
beauty
of
stones,
they incorporated
the
beauty
of
the
buildings, shining
like
stars,
into the
city :
7rtavacXo6`v
Kdhrl Mmiov dOpoioEvzrEg
CyK~ca Pt?Iv
io
SOlaPrlPdTmv
KcL'-
krl 1
O
ozt 6iKrlv
doaCYCp(ov
kCapnovtra);
its
location;
the
new
city;
the
palace;
the houses and the suburb
Daphne;
the
private
baths;
and
the
products
from
all
over the world.56
From all
points
of
view the
city surpasses
everything
in
beauty.57
The term
kallos
is
also used
to
designate
the moral
qualities
of the women of the
city
and
of the
demos,
as well
as the citizens' achievements in the area of education.58
Another interesting example is to be found in Libanius'
Funeral Oration
(XVIII)
for
the
emperor
Julian.
In a
dispute
between two
Syrian
cities about
precedence,
the
following
arguments
were advanced:
beauty
(Kdkko0g)
for
the
one,
on
account of its
proximity
to the sea and the
reputation
of
one
of its
citizens;
for the
other,
the wisdom of a
foreigner
who
had chosen
the
place
for
philosophical pursuits.
Julian did
not
consider
the
beauty
of the
buildings
(r&v
imOwv
ayriv)
which both
possessed,
but he
judged
them
only
on account
of their intellectual
accomplishments.59
In the
panegyric
to
the
emperor
Anastasius,
Procopius
of Gaza would elaborate
on
the
theme of the
benefactor
emperor,
the works
of
whom
decorate
the
cities. The
walls restored
by
the
emperor
are
the ornament
which
provides
security
(doq)Ik
Ko'CYov).60
The
topos
of the
kallos
of the
city reappears
in other
speeches
of Libanius. In the
XVth
Oration
(The
Embassy
to
Julian)
the
buildings
are considered
an adornment
of
Anti-
och
(#14).
Julian's
intention
to rebuild the
city, destroyed
by
the
Persians,
with
marble
buildings
is
interpreted
as
furnishing
beauty
for
the
city
(Tr
mlk6ct
rMapcKE6U'eg
Kca)ko0:
Or.
XV,
52).61
The
topos
of the
kallos has also
been
identified
in
descriptions
and
praises
of
the
city
of
Con-
stantinople
(KaXcktrotg)
in a
variety
of texts.62
These orations manifest a
significant
departure
from
the theories
of
the earlier orators:
t is obvious that in
praises
of cities of the late Roman period the topos of the urban
kallos was used
more
extensively
than
had
originally
been
recommended
by
the
teachers
of rhetoric.
Historiography
of the
early period.
The
rhetorical theo-
ries had a
significant
influence on the
literary style
of his-
toriography.
In contrast
with the rules of ancient Greek
historiography,
which aimed at
educating
the
reader,
Ro-
man
historiography began very
early
to stress the
necessity
40
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
6/21
of a
very
embellished
and
elaborate
style.
Thus
histori-
ography
was defined as
very
close
to
rhetoric,
particularly
to
epideictic.63
It was
recommended that the
historiographer
use various rhetorical
techniques,
in
particular
the
amplifi-
cation and
a
very
elaborate narrative
appropriate
o
epideic-
tic.64
Historiographical
works were
appreciated especially
for their
rhetorical
style.65
Quintilian
in his
Institutio
Orato-
ria explains the affinity of historiographywith poetry and
the
need
for
elaborate
style.66
Hermogenes
classified
histori-
ography
under
panegyric
because
historiographers
aim
at
amplification
and
at
giving pleasure
with
the
elaborate
style
of their
writing.67
Accordingly
Herodotus
was
appreciated
more
than
Thucydides,
because
he is
grander
and more
ap-
pealing
(navrlyuptKcz pogKaoi
t6iov).68
At
the
same
time
some
ancient
literary
critics felt
that this
trend distorted his-
toriography:
some historians were
reproached
for
being
more
interested
in
creating
an
elaborate
style
according
to
the
rules of rhetoric
than
in
investigating
the
historical
truth. The result was that
their
works had
become mere
encomia,69
and the
use of
topoi,
such as
digressions
of ek-
phraseis, became a
rule.70
In
the
context
of
this
literary
tradition
we can
under-
stand the use of
ekphraseis
of
cities and
the
topos
of the
urban
kallos
in
the
historiography
of
the
early
Byzantine
period.
Evagrius,
for
instance,
explains
the
purpose
of the
urban
adornments:
they
are
devised for
magnificence
and
distinction,
or
summoning
to
public
or
private
function
(Tzi
r6tdt
Kdclh
,
1
mrpbg
o
yc
akolrpcEC
K
Kai
dLrapcdp3rlzov
1rlOKlLavLva,
t
pog
Kotvwg
i&StoaztKdKakoOvzTa
pEiac).71
In his
account of
the
restoration
of
Daras in
the sixth
century,
Evagrius
states that
walls,
beautiful
buildings,
churches,
charitable
institutions,
stoas
and
public
baths are the ele-
ments which adorn the
cities of
distinction
(ai
n
toyltot zTOv
/6rEO)V
yK
aXk)01)7i
OV1at).72
Procopius'
work
constitutes a
remarkable
example
of
the use of the
topos
of
kallos
in
both
historiography
(The
History
of the
Wars)
and
in
his
purely
rhetorical
work,
The
Buildings.
In
the
History
the
topos
of the
urban kallos
ap-
pears
only
in
brief
descriptions
of
cities.
Thus Antioch is
praised
as the
first
among
all
Byzantine
cities
of
the
East
in
wealth,
in
size,
in
population,
in
beauty
(KCdEkkt),
nd
in
prosperity
of
every
kind. In
another
passage
Procopius
praises
Antioch
for
the
beauty
and
splendor
in
every
re-
spect
(z6 ZEKdLhogKai zTOg fitavza
~Tcyakotpcmrt),
while
the
buildings
which
had
collapsed
in an
earthquake
in
526
were most beautiful
(dkktorza).73
A similar description is
reserved for Rome:
Totila
was
planning
to
raze Rome to
the
ground,
and he
was on the
point
also of
burning
the
finest
(zT Kcdkktora)
nd
most
noteworthy
of the
buildings
and
making
Rome a
sheep-pasture... 74
In the
following pas-
sage
Procopius explains
the reaction of
Belisarius to Toti-
la's
plans.
The creation of
civic
beauty
is
the work
of men
who
know to live
an
urban life: While
the
creation of
beauty
in a
city
which has not been
beautiful before
could
only proceed
from men of wisdom
who understand
the
meaning
of
civilization,
the
destruction
of
beauty
which
already
exists
would be
naturally
expected
only
of
men
who
lack
understanding,
and
who are not ashamed
to leave
to
posterity
this token
of their
character. 75
urther
on,
the
citi-
zens of Rome
are
praised
as
loving
their
city
(pitkot6nkt&g)
for
they
had tried to
preserve
their
city
so that
nothing
of the ancient glory
(To0
cnakato Kcy6oou) f Rome may
be obliterated.
Although they
were
for a
long period
under
barbarian
sway,
they
preserved
the
buildings
of
the
city
and
most of its adornments
T)v
,yKaxWhmrtoCLT(OV
T
recYTira).76
n two
other
passages
the term kallos is
used
in
a
general
sense:
when
destroyed
by
enemy
action
nothing
is
left
of their former
kallos.77
In
only
one
passage
in
Procop-
ius'
History
is a
city
(the
city
Apsyrtus
near
Lazica)
adorned
with the traditional
civic
structures,
a theatre and a
hippo-
drome
(6ip
Tp
Kai
o
irrpo6plom
tah0rZo).78
In the
Buildings,
however,
the urban
kallos
constitutes
a
commonplace.
The
emperor
is
praised
because
he
adorned
the cities of
the
Empire
with
all the traditional urban
fea-
tures:theatres,hippodromes,agoras, churches.The idea can
be tracedback in the earlier
orators.
Hermogenes
in
his
Pro-
gymnasmata,
for
example,
stressed
the
importance
of the
ur-
ban
institutions:
men are
happy,
if
they
have a
house,
gather
in the
ekklesia,
go
to the
theater,
and
please
their
souls
with
all sorts
of
spectacles.79
In
Procopius'
Secret
History,
as
in
Evagrius'
work mentioned
above,
the ancient civic
institu-
tions
are
described
as the cities'
adornment
(Toij
K6?ICpOUg
Kai
dU
cyKcaahkkJicXLtara):
he
attorneys
(rhetores),
physi-
cians,
teachers,
the civic
revenues,
theaters,
hippodromes,
circuses.80
In
Procopius'
works,
therefore,
the
literary
tradi-
tion
provides
a model
for the
use of
the
topos
of
the
city's
kallos: in the Buildings, which is an encomion of the great
restoration
programme
of
Justinian,
the
topos
of
the
urban
kallos
is
predominant,
n
accordance with
the
rules of
the
en-
comia;
in the
History,
which
adopts
the
principles
of
clas-
sical
historiography,
the use
of this
topos
is
very
much
limited.
Finally,
a
passage
of
Agathias'
History
is
particularly
revealing
of
the
persistence
of the
topos
of
the
urban
kallos
in
early
Byzantine
historiography:
.
.
another
small
town
which
despite
its extreme
smallness,
its
lack of
beauty
and
generally
unattractive
appearance
s
called
Kallipolis.
Aga-
thias
justifies
its name
by
the
beauty
of the
surrounding
nature: the
surrounding
country
is
graced
with
fields
and
roadsteadsdotted with agreatvarietyof treesandblessed with
streams
of
good
drinking
water
and
with a
rich,
fertile
soil that
produces
a
plentiful
store of all
the
necessaries of life. 81
The
imperial
legislation.
Imperial
legislation
on
public
buildings provides
insight
into the
aesthetic
considerations
of
early
Byzantine
society
regarding
the
cities. The
consti-
tutions
contained in the
Books
XV,
1 of
the Codex
Theodo-
sianus
and
VIII,
11 of
the
Codex
Justinianus
(de
operibus
41
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
7/21
publicis)
date from
the
year
338 until 472
(not
all
decrees
contained
originally
in
the
CJ
have
been
preserved).
They
deal
with the radical
changes
in
urban
public
space.
Since the
beginning
of the
fourth
century
administrative and
cultural
developments
resulted
in
profound
transformations of an-
cient
city
planning: public
buildings
had
been
abandoned
and were
falling
into
decay,
or
they
had been
deprived
of
their sculptural ornaments, which had been transferredto
other
public
buildings
of
larger
cities or to
residences of
pri-
vate
individuals. Aesthetic
considerations
had dictated a se-
ries of
decrees with
which the
emperors
had tried
to end
this
practice.
In
most of
these
constitutions the
public
buildings
are
presented
as
an embellishment of the
cities,
while
their
sculptural
elements
constitute their
ornaments.
Thus,
for
example,
in
the first decree cited in
the
CTh
15, 1,
1
of the
year
357
we read:
No man shall
suppose
that
municipalities
may
be
deprived
of their own
ornaments,
since indeed it was
not considered
right by
the
ancients that a
municipality
should lose its
embellishments,
as
though they
should be
transferred o the
buildings
of
another
city. 82
A
constitution
of the year 365 (CTh 15, 1, 16) refers to ornamentsof cit-
ies and their
marble
embellishments
(ornamenta
urbium
ac
decora
marmorum).
n
other
constitutions
governors
are
for-
bidden to tear from
any
structure
any
ornamentof bronze or
marble or
any
other material which
can be
proved
to have
been in
serviceable
use or to
constitute
an
ornamentation n
any
municipality. 83
A
decree
of the
emperors
Gratian,
Val-
entinian
and
Theodosius
ordersthe demolition of all
private
structures
erected in
public
space
for aesthetic
reasons.84
Similar
measures were
taken
by
the
emperors
Arcadius and
Honorius
(CTh
15, 1,
45;
a.
406)
regarding
he
contemporary
structures
which
private
individuals had set
up
in the
space
between
the
columns
of
porticoes
of
Constantinople.
It
ap-
pears,
however,
that
this
law
was not
enforced,
and
thus a
constitution
of the
emperor
Zenon written in
Greek
(CJ
8,
10, 12,
6b)
orders that
these structuresbe covered
up
with
slabs of
marbles
in order
to
give beauty
(Kaikko?)
to the
city
and
pleasure
(WuXcay7yilv)
o those who
pass
by.
Another de-
cree of
the
CTh
15,
1,
50
orders the erection of
a
portico
in
front of
the Baths of Honorius
and
explains
that the
beauty
(decus)
thereof
is so
great
that
private
advantage may
justifiably
be
slightly
neglected.
Each one of
the
private
individuals
who
possessed properties
behind the
portico
was
also allowed as
compensation
to build
superstructures
o that
he
may rejoice
both in
the
beauty
of the
City
and also in an
increase of his own fortune. Specific buildings such as the
assembly
halls of the
professors
are
praised
for both
their
size and
beauty,
and
they
constitutean
ornamentation or the
city
(CTh
15,
1,
53;
a.
425).
A
Novel
of
Majorian
of the
year
458
refers to
the same
subject
in a moredirect
way:
the
pub-
lic
buildings
in which the adornment of the entire
City
of
Rome
consists
.
. .
the beautiful structures
of the ancient
buildings
are
being
scattered
. .
.
these
things
which
belong
to the
splendor
of the cities
ought
to be
preserved by
civic
affection . . .
(4,
1).
In the
same
sources
the
ornaments of
the
monuments are
basically
their
sculptural
elements.85
The
picture
that
emerges
from
these
legislative
texts is
revealing
andit
coincides with
evidence
from other
sources.
Thus,
for
example,
in
Themistius'
Oration
On the
Embassy
for
Constantinople
(IPEPECo3U1Kog
6
tiC
KcvoCvcavZcvouot6-
X?c)
the
capital
is
KaXLito[ktg,
constantly
adorned
by
the
emperors.86
Other
sources. The
theme of
the
kallos
of
the
city
also
ap-
pears
late in
epigrams.
This
may
be
exemplified
by
contrast-
ing
two
epigrams
on
the
city
of
Ephesus
from
different
historical
periods.
The
first,
written
by
Duris of
Elaea,
refers
to the destruction
of the
city by
flood around
290
B.c.
The
poet
mentions the
private
dwellings
and the
personal
wealth
of the citizens rather han
the
public
buildings.
The
theme of
the
beauty
is
absent:
Misty
clouds,
how,
drinking
bitter
waters,
did
you
obliterate
everything
with
unrelenting
darkness?
Not Libya's, but of unfortunateEphesus those countless
homes
and
possessions
from
fortunate
ages.
Where did
the
saviour
gods
then
turn their
eyes?
Alas
for
much-famed ladon.
All those
things,
like
rolling
waves,
rushed into the sea
with
spreading
torrents.87
In
another
epigram
on
the
destruction
of
the same
city
by earthquake
in
A.D.
554 written
by
John Barbucallus the
topos
of the
kallos
is
introduced
n
a
strong figure
of
speech:
This
wretched
city,
a
city
no
longer,
I
lie mixed
with nine-year corpses, all-hapless.
Hephaistos
subdued me amid
the turmoil of the
Earthshaker
Alas,
after much
greatbeauty,
I am ashes.
But
step
forward and lament
my
fate
And
pour
a tear
for
perished
Beirut.88
Christian
literature.
Despite
the
anti-urban
message
of
early
Christianity,89
Christian literature soon
adopted
pagan
traditional
motives and
conventions of
urban
life,
while at
the same time
cities
adopted
Christian institutions
such as
churches,
cemeteries and saints.90 n
Christian literature of
the
early
centuries the ideal of ascetic life
coexists with the
imagery of urbanlife. Christian literature also adopted the
topos
of
urban
beauty.91
For
example,
in the
Thirty-third
Homily
of
Gregory
of Nazianzus the
topos
is introducedin
a
splendid
contrast of urbanlife with the solitude in a rural
settlement.
Gregory
cites his
opponent's reproach:
Your
city
is
small,
one should not call it a
city,
but an
ugly village
without
any delight
and with
very
few
inhabitants. '92
re-
gory argues
then
that,
if
he is found in this
situation, i.e.,
away
from a
city,
it is
against
his
will;
he is
only tolerating
42
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
8/21
the misfortune.
If he had
deliberately
chosen
the
place,
he
would have
given
himself to
contemplation.
His
opponent
praises
the
splendors
of
Constantinople:
its
fortifications,
theaters,
hippodromes,
palaces,
the beautiful and
long
stoas
(Ka6k0r ozo&Jv
Kai
acy~0rP),
he
great
stele with
Constan-
tine's
statue,
a market
place
with
abundance
of
all kinds
of
products,
active citizens and
a
wise council.93
In
this ac-
count there are obvious similarities with the earlier praises
of cities and with Libanius' Antiochikos.
Gregory
reveals
his excellent
knowledge
of the rhetorical treatises on
enco-
mia
when he remarks that
in
this encomion one
element
had been
omitted,
the
superb
location
of the
capital
on
land
and sea. In the
following
passage
of the
Homily
he
ex-
presses
an
emotional
reaction
to the
ancients' obsession
with urban
life:
so,
do
we
have
to die
(Kai
6Ei
Z6TOvvav
pagt),
ecause we did not
build
either a
city,
or
walls,
hip-
podromes,
stadium,
places
for
hunt and the related insane
customs
(paviatg),
or
magnificent
baths with
luxurious
mar-
bles
and
other
painted
or
embroidered decorations?
Fol-
lowing
the rhetorical
rules,
he
suggests
that one
could add a
few more elements to the praise of the city, such as wealth.
With reference to the
occupations
of the citizens he con-
cludes:
in
his
site,
life is
very simple
and it can be
compared
to that of
animals,
it is
unequipped
and artless
(6GKCuog
Kai
avEntCl8ui6uto0).94
Further he uses
another
topos
of the
city's
encomion:
the
city
is
glorified by
great
men.95
This
topos
will
be utilized
by biographers
of
saints.96
Early
on the
city's praise
became a
standardelement in
hagiography,
which is
actually
the
Christian version of the
encomion. The close relation of the
Vitae
of
saints to the en-
comion is made clear
in
a
splendid way by
St. Basil
in
the
Seventeenth
Homily
on the
martyr
Gordius,
which has
not
been
yet
utilized
by
scholars.
In
the
introduction,
in a
figure
of
speech,
St. Basil describes the
Christian festival
honoring
the saint with a civic
vocabulary:
for now the
people
first
poured
from the
city,
as
if
from
beehives,
and
in
a
mass took
possession
of the
ornament before the
city,
this
holy
and
beautiful
place
of the
martyrs
Niv
y7p 86
1poTov
6
0a6g,,
olovei acJipPo)v
ztvv,
O g
6
X
npoxu0~evTr
z6v Tpond-O-
kEov
KOCYpOV,
OZ
aPVOV
TOUTO
Kai
ItdyKcatov
TCJv
papT6pU0v
odStcLov,
rtav6r7psi
KaTCraflhi(pacYtV).97
hen
he
explains
that
his
Homily
is
an
encomion. The
encomion of a saint or mar-
tyr
is
justified
with
a
quotation
from the
Scriptures:
accord-
ing
to
Solomon,
people
will be
delighted by
the
encomion
of
a
just
man.98
Although
the
speeches
of orators or
logogra-
phoi aim at surprisingthe listeners, people are pleased with
their elaborate
style,
the invention of
arguments
and their
structure,
the
pompous
and harmonious
words;
in
contrast,
the Christian
praise
would
produce spiritual pleasure
by
mentioning only
in
simple
words the achievements of the
martyrs,
which thus become
prototypes
for
imitation. All
other encomia
consist
of
amplifications,
while in
martyrs'
encomia the truth of their
action is sufficient to show their
great
virtue.
Thus,
he
concludes,
when we
give
an
account
of the saints'
lives,
in the first
place
we
praise
God
by
prais-
ing
those who were his servants.
We
praise
the
martyrsonly
with the
available evidence
(8th Tg
laptupictag
v
otlPEv)
and not
by exaggerating
and
amplifying
the real
events;
people get pleasure
only by
listening
to
good
deeds
and not
from an elaborate
rhetorical
style.99
Therefore
Christian
preaching
should not follow the
rules
of
rhetoric
( the
holy
place of teaching does not know the conventions of enco-
mia :
o0K
o 6Ev
oUv
E77aKY)CiV
6pov ZTb
ov
61tSaCYKa-
kXiov),
for
it is based on the
evidence
of
acts.
According
to
the rules of
encomion,
the
place
of
origin
of
the
praised
person
must be
examined,
as well
as his
social
background
and
education.100
St. Basil
enumerates
all
the
elements of
the
city praise: great
achievements,
particularly
victories
in
wars,
location, climate,
fertility
of the
land,
etc.
But the
Christianoratordoes not
need these
formulas of
rhetoric,
for
he aims
at
praising
the virtues of
the
martyr.
Despite
this
repudiation
of
the norms
of
rhetoric,
St.
Basil
starts the
encomion of
the
martyr
Gordius with a tra-
ditional rhetorical clich6:
He
was born in
this
very city,
that is why we love him very much, for this adornment
(K6GIpog)
s
ours. '101
e have seen
that
in
Menander'strea-
tise
on
epideictic
rhetoric,
the
achievements of the
citizens
are
praised
as an
embellishment.102 In
the
propemptic speech
Menander
uses the
topos
inversely:
as
someone can
be
beau-
tified
by
wealth,
likewise it is
appropriate
o
suggest
that the
archon is
adorned
by
the
greatest
of
the
cities.103
Thus the
to-
pos
of the
Christian
saint
whose
virtue adorns his
city
of
or-
igin
is
simply
an extension
of a
traditional
rhetorical
clich6
already
recommended
by
teachers of
rhetoric.
John
Chrysostom
provides
a few
interesting
passages
along
these
lines. In
his
Nineteenth
Homily
Eig Tzog
dv6pt-
avzTa,
he
reproduces the theme referringto the social and
political
order of
civic life: if
Christians
respect
the
law for-
bidding
the
oath,
they
will
embellish
themselves
and their
city.104
For,
while the
other
cities are
praised
on
account of
their
harbors,
the
market
place,
the
abundance
of
products,
Antioch
will be
glorified
on
account of its
inhabitants'
virtue
( this
will be
embellishment
and
security
for
you :
-oiro
6piV
K6(YpO
E
iEat1
Kai
dy(pd~ista).105
In
the
Seventeenth
Homily
Eigzoi
dv6ptidvTa,
he
elaborates on
the
theme
by
contrasting
it
with the
traditional
elements of
encomion:
what
is
important
and becomes an
adornment of
Antioch is
neither the fact that it is
a
metropolis,
nor
its
size,
nor
the
beauty
of its
buildings,
nor the number of
its
columns,
its
large porticoes and gardens, nor its elevated status among
the other
cities,
but the
virtue and
piety
of
its
inhabitants.106
The theme is also
extended to the
adornment of
the Church
by good
Christians
( today they
beautified the
city
for us
and adorned
the
Church :
di -Tiv nt6Xyv
jllaivCK0cLXltoUcv
cOrlpEpov
ai
Tfiv
'EKKXcriCavK6c0priflaV).107
It is
important
to note here
that the
spiritual
kallos is a basic
Christian con-
cept.
Deriving
from
pagan
philosophy,
it
developed
.into
a
highly
elaborate
theme
in
Christian
literature.108
43
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
9/21
8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
10/21
8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
11/21
constitutes their
kallos
and charis is the
variety
(notkltfia)
of
materials,
patterns
and colors
in
the decoration of
the
interior.156
The result
of
the combination
of
these
various
elements is defined with an
aesthetic
concept
known
from
classical
art,
the
proportion
of
crafted
harmony
(ooptropAvr'l
TflV
vakoyiav
Iilg
Apiovia)).157
Even
gold gives
beauty
with
its
riches.158
The
resulting
effect is charm and
balanced
pro-
portions.159
Along the same lines, the decorative elements
adorn the icons. The church of
St.
Tryphon
is
especially
praised
for the
pleasure
and the fame that it
gives
to
the
city.'60
The second
part
of
the encomion includes an
account
of
the
history
of
Nicaea with
particular emphasis
on
the
ecclesiastical
history.
In
summing up,
Nicaea
surpasses
all
other cities
in
the location and
nature of its
land,
the
length
of its
wall,
the charm and
the
beauty
of its
buildings.161
Evidence
of
the
city's
beauty
is
the
emperor's
care
for
it.
62
Accounts
of
conquests
of
cities
belong
to
the
same
lit-
erary
genre,
the
encomion,
and follow most of its formal ele-
ments. An
account of the
occupation
of Thessalonica
by
the
Arabs in
July
904
is
given
by
John
Kameniates:
the
city
is
praisedas large and preeminent among those in Macedonia,
its
strong
walls
guarantee
the
security
of its
inhabitants,
its
prosperity
s
assured
by
its harborand the sea
trade,
the land
around
the
city
is
praised
as
very
beautiful.163 In
particular
the
land to the west is adorned
by
churches.164
Thessalonica
enjoys
the
products
from
its
land and from
long-distance
trade and it is
beautified
by magnificent
buildings
and the
intellectual
achievements
of its
inhabitants.165 Its
churches
are
large
and
decorated with
a
variety
of
adornments.166
The
fall of
Thessalonica to the
Normans
in
1185
is the
subject
of an
encomion of Eustathiusof
Thessalonica. At the
outset the author states that he will
include
deviations on
theological subjects,
and he will
embellish
the
style
with
various
elements,
particularly
ekphraseis;167
he
will
also
try
to
keep
a balance
between the
tragic
nature of
the event and
his desire to thank
God,
in
accordance
with his
Christian
principles,
for
an excessive
embellishment of
style
is not
appropriate
o an account of
sad
events.168 Further
referring
to the
pillage
of the
city,
he mentions its
ancient
beauty
(nakat&d
Kakkovi).169
In another
passage
Thessalonica is
praised
as
Kaki.170
The
topos
of
the
kallos
is
likewise
applied
to the
military
equipment.'71
Equally
embellished
with
the
topos
is the
account
of
the
last
occupation
of
Thessalonica
by
Ioannes
Anagnostes,172
with
particular
emphasis
on
the kallos of the
churches,173
while the disorder(dKooJpia)f the city after its occupation,
compared
to a
garment appropriate
for
mourning,
is con-
trasted to the
previous
orderly appearance
and
adornment.'74
The
topos
of
the kallos is
employed
to
embellish
a
jiov86ia
of
Anagnostes
on
the same historical
event,
writ-
ten
in
a
highly poetic
style.175
There is no
doubt that an
elaborate
literary style
dictates the use of the
topos
of
the
urban kallos. The
above texts
may
be contrasted with
the
narrative of John
Kananos on the fall of
Constantinople,
written
in a
very simple
style,
from
which the
topos
of
the
kallos is absent.176
In the same
literary genre
we should
classify
a
letter
of
Manuel
Chrysoloras
addressed
to the
emperor
John
Palaeo-
logus.177
The letter
is written in a
highly
classicizing
style.
In
the
beginning
there is
a
reference
to Antioch's
beauty
praised
by many,
with
particular
allusions to
Libanius
and
John Chrysostom. Famous cities of the East are praised on
account
of their
magnificent
ancient
monuments,
still
visi-
ble.178
The ancient
capital
of the Roman
empire,
Rome,
is
equally
praised
for its
monuments,
although
most
of
them
had vanished either
through
passage
of
time
or
because
they
were used
as
quarries
for metal and
stones.
Constantinople
had also suffered from
dilapidation
to
such
a
degree
that one
could
say
that
it had nourished
itself
from its own
parts.
In
spite
of
this,
its
ancient
glory
can
be
discerned from
the
remaining
vestiges
and
columns,
as
well as
the
great
size and
beauty
of its monuments: not
only
were
they
beautiful
when
they
were
standing
in their
original
form,
but even
the
remaining parts
of
them maintain
their
beauty
(KaQ6).
Many
of them had been broughtto Rome from Greece, as one can
see from
the letters of the
inscriptions.
They
are
of the
most
beautiful and
ancient
type
(Toi
KckkCYTou
Kai
dp~aiou
rc6nou).'79
hese
objects
of art
testify
to
the wealth and
great
achievements of the
inhabitants,
and
to their
love for
beauty
(q(tkoKakia).180
The ancient monuments of
Rome
are
praised
as
large
and
beautiful: the
walls,
the
aqueducts,
the
porti-
coes,
the
palaces,
the
bouleuteria,
the
forum,
the
baths,
the
theatres,
the
triumphal
arches,
etc.181 The view
of
Rome
from
outside
is
equally
beautiful and
pleasant:
the
walls,
the
location of
the
city,
the flow of the
river,
the
grace
of
the
fields,
of
the
suburbs,
and of
the villas.182
It
is
interesting
to
note
that even in
this text
inspiredby
the
antiquarianspirit
of
the
Renaissance,
the
description
of the
churches
occupies
a central
place.'83
The
description
of
Constantinople
starts with a state-
ment of its
superiority
to
Rome: founded
out of
competition
with the
ancient
capital,
New
Rome was
built
larger
and
more
beautiful than
the
old.184
Constantinople
received its
kallos from
Rome,
as if it
were
the
lighting
of a
fire
or
a
ray
of
sunshine.185
Chrysoloras
follows
the traditional
rules of
the encomia:
he
praises
the
site,
the
harbor,
he
strong
walls;
all
the arts had
been
used
to
beautify
it;186
Chrysoloras
refers
to the
magnificence
of the houses
and
the
churches and re-
markson the
streets,
covered in medieval
fashion;'87
among
all the buildings of the capital the topos of the kallos is re-
served
only
for the
palaces.
Furtherthe suburbs are
praised
as
competing
with
the
city
itself in
beauty.'88
Particular
emphasis
is
placed
on the walls in
a
passage
which is
worthy
of
mention: a settlement becomes
and receives the name of
a
city
from
its walls
(n6itv
-E
npTzo
dit6
TJv
TetLv
qpaiveOV
,
Kil Kahelo0at).189
Ancient
objects
of art in Con-
stantinople
are
fewer than in
Rome,
but
certainly
more
beautifuland
more
magnificent
than the
latter's.'90The bases
46
This content downloaded from 131.130.217.127 on Wed, 9 Jul 2014 08:17:24 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/11/2019 Saradi the Kallos of the Byzantine City
12/21
of
the
statues
which
had
been taken
away
in the course
of
the
years
testify
to their
great
size,
their
beauty
and
their
magnificence.
After references to
particular
monuments,
Chrysoloras
closes
the
description
of
Constantinople
with
a
praise
of the Great Church.
Following
the rules
of
the enco-
mia,
Saint
Sophia
is
praised
as the
largest
and the
most
beautiful.
Among
its various admirable
elements,
as
in
other
texts, the
tnotKtkLia
nd plppoviare especially stressed.191
Thus,
while
Byzantine
encomia
of
cities in the later
cen-
turies follow the traditional rhetorical
clich6s,
two
elements
underlying
the medieval character of the urban centers
be-
come central in such
praises:
the kallos of the churches
and
the
kallos and
the
strength
of
the
fortifications.
Later
Byzantine
historiography.
In
the
Byzantine
histo-
ries
or
chronographies,descriptions
of cities
are
usually
sim-
ple
and brief. References to the
kallos
of
cities
are
few
in
Byzantine
historiography:
they
are found in the works of
classicizing
authors and reserved for
the
largest
urban cen-
ters.
In
Psellus'
History,
Antioch is
sptKaKiXflg,
n
Pachy-
meres'History only Damascusis
Kakkiozyl,
in Choniatesonly
Antioch is
Kakoryl,
while Thessalonica
is
splendid,
note-
worthy,
renowned
(kapaip6,
koyitrj
and
(aiyaXovulog0).'92
But what
particularly
attracts the attention of
the
Byzantine
historiographers
or
chronographers
is the
fortifications.
In
Choniates'
history
some cities are referred to as
ply6tnupyot,
while Proussa is a
Kakkitnup7o
yo
kt
with
very strong
walls.193
The decoration of the towers of
Amorion with lions'
pictures
is
worthy
of mentionin
Theophanes'
Continuatus.194
In
some verses
of
the
poem
of
Manasses,
although
they
refer
to
an earlier
period,
the
urban
fortifications are
praised
as
beautiful
and
solid
( of
the
whole
splendid
city
with
strong
towers
and walls :
tdcyl nX6k?cSkXapntpd?6nrtpyou zEp-
porcsEiou).195
n
a few
passages
in
Byzantine
historiography
urban
buildings
are mentioned
as
beautiful;
they
adorn the
city. They
are
especially
found in
descriptions
of destruction
of
cities
by
enemies.196
Several texts
apply
the
concept
of
beauty
to
important
urban
buildings,
such as
palaces.
In
Theophanes'
Continuatus he
palaces
of
Constantinople
were
beautified with
new
buildings
or
adorned with various orna-
ments
by
the
emperors
Basil I
and
Constantine
Porphyrogen-
itus.197
In a
passage
of
Choniates
about Manuel
Comnenus
the beautiful
buildings
erected
by
the
emperor
on both
sides
of the
palace
and decorated with mosaics
depicting
his vic-
tories are
evidence of his love for