Chiliostichos: Studies in Byzantine Poetry and Beyond

This collective volume brings together 26 studies by specialists in Ancient Greek and Byzantine poetry and literature. The contributions explore works by both well-known and lesser-known poets, examining aspects that have received little or no scholarly attention until now. Particular emphasis is placed on metre and language, as well as on the content of the texts, the historical figures and events connected with them, and the ways in which later authors draw on earlier poetic traditions. Through these perspectives, the studies illuminate the significance of these works for Byzantine literature and for the broader Byzantine world, from the early period to the seventeenth century.

The volume addresses a wide range of material, including Euripides, anonymous fragments of ancient Greek poetry, Byzantine epigrams, and extended poems by notable and lesser-known poets such as George of Pisidia, Theodosios the Grammarian, Manganeios Prodromos, Manuel Philes, and others.

The book is dedicated to Ioannis Vassis, one of the most distinguished scholars of Greek poetry—especially Byzantine poetry—whose pioneering research opened new paths for the study of Byzantine poetic literature. It will be especially useful for scholars working on Byzantine poetry and Greek literary studies more broadly.