Athens in the Middle Ages

Professor Kenneth M. Setton

Kenneth M. Setton ,.

Athens in the Middle Ages

VARIO'.RU.MREPRINTS London .1975

ISBN 0 902089 84 ,6

Published in Great BrUain by Variorum Repnnts

21 a Pembridge .Mews London' WI.1 3BQ

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V AR10RUM REPRINT C541

To the Memory of BASIL .LAOURDAS

Preface

I

CONTENTS

The Archaeology of Medieval Athens In; Essays in Me,dievalLife .and Thought~ presented in Honor of Austin Patterson Evans (New York~ .1955),

II On the Raids of the Moslems in the Aegean in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries and! their

Alleged Occupation of Athens 311 ~319

in: American Journal' o/ArchaeolQD,

LVIII (New¥orkt 1954)

III

IV

Athens in the Later Twelfth Century In: Speculum, A Journal of Media,eval Studies. XIX (Cambridge, Mass ..• 1,(44)

17'9~208

The Catalans in Greece, 1311-1380 In: K.M. Setton and H. w'.H'azard,. eds;

A His.tvry of the Crusades. III

(Madisofl1 MUWlnikee. anti London, .1975)

167-224

v

VI

IDndex

Catalan Society in Greece in the F ourteenth Century

In: Louisa L(J()urdai~ed., ES$IlYs,.to the Memo.ry o/BasilLaou,das' (Thes8aloniki. J 97.5)

The Catalans and Florentines in Greece, 1380-1462

In;' K. M: Setto» an.d H .. W. Haz.ara, eds., A History of the Cms(ltl'es" 111

(Madison. Milwaukee., and London. 1973 l

I This volume contains a total of 270 pages

241-284

225·277

1-24

PREF'ACE

The half-dozen artidescontained in this volume were written over a period of more than thirty years. For permission to reprint them I amgra teful to the Columbia University Press (for no. I), the editors of the American Journal of Archaeology (II), the Mediaeval Academy of America (Hl), Dr. Louisa Laourdas, editor of the dedicatory volume of the late Dr. Basil Laourdas (V), and the University of Wisconsin Press (IV and VI). The earliest of these articles (Ill), one of the sins army academic past, was writte n to h .. , ·t~i~ ," .e·· 'd, .,·-C •. · rtin .. , distr ctio ~ wish th .. · at I' . .f.Len -00 nas .hy ami. WarJmelSraClon. __ __ . ..... _

could rewrite it, sed Iittera scripta manet. Variorum has, however, allowed me to make some revisions, and in this Preface I shan try to take some account of recent additions to our knowledge of Athens in the twelfth century.

For years I hoped and indeed expected some day to. write the preface toa book on A thens in the Middle Agles (ef. the first footnote in no. I, p, 227) .. Long ago, however, I a bandoned my in ten tion to try to write themedieval history of the city and Us monuments, An incomplete and unsa tisfactory first draft of such a work (to the year ] 204) moulders in my files .. Becoming fascinated with the history of the later Crusades, I have devoted the lasttwo decades, to a. work on The Papacy and the Levant . .l204~1571.It is in three volumes" in the first of which I have incorporated some of the Athenian material I had collected relating to the thirteenth century, which period is: not covered by anyone of the present six articles .. Volume I of The Papacy and the Levant, which Is being published by the American Philosophieal Society, is now in the hands of the printer "and Deo volen te the other twovolumes should. soon follow.

It is surprising that Ferdinand Gregorovius's famous. but antiquated Geschichte der StadtAthen im Miuelalter, 2 vols., Stuttgart, 1889', and. Sp, P .. Lampros's expanded Greek translation of Gregorovius (3vols.~ Athens, 1904-6) should still provide our onlv fun coverage of amillennium of Athenian history. ] hope that some Byzantinist will soon undertake the replacement of the old Gregorovius-Lampros, which has been so conspicuous, in footnote references for the, last seventy years ..

That interest in medieval Athens is not lacking, is certainly suggested by various studies that have appeared in recent years .. The architectural growth and contraction of the city from antiquity to the beginning of the nineteenth century is traced by John N. Travlos, nOA€o5 O,utKf] €~€At~V:;1W.V'A817:p)'W,IJ) A thens, I 960, to which reference is made below in no. VI, p, 273, n, 174. The archaeological background of the early period is explored by my colleague Homer A. Thompson, "Athenian Twilight: A.D. 267~600)"t in the Journal of Roman Studies, XLIX (1959) l' 61-72. Among: other relevant studies Thompson has recently published, with R. E,.Wycherley, The A thenian Agora~ XIV: The Agora of A thens: The History, Shape and Uses of an Ancient CUy Center, Princeton, N.J., 1972, in which the last chapter deals briefly with Athens

after the Herulian sack of 267 .. On the intellectual life of Athens in the mid-third eentury and the Athenians' repulse of the invasion of the Heruli (In, ] 79), see Fergus Millar , "P'. Herennius Dexlppus: The Oreek World and the ThirdCentury Invasions,' Journal of Roman Studies, LIX (1969), l'6~29 .. Excavation has now brought to light some, 60,000 coins in the Athenian Agora, ranging from the sack of the city by SuUa in. 8,6· B.C. to the equally unfortunate expedition of Francesco Morosini in 1687-] 688 (see in general Margaret Thompson." The Athenian Agora,U:. Corns from the Roman through the Venetian Period ,Prin.ceton, ] 954) .. Efforts have been msde to use the finds of coinage to. help eke out the sparse literary record. These efforts have evoked the criticism's of Peter Charanis, "The Significance of Coins as Evi.dence for the History of Athens and Corinth in the Seventh and Eighth Centuries," Historta: Ze:i.tschrift fur alte Geschichte, IV ( 195.5)J 16,3-72 (reprinted in P, Charanis, Studies on t.heD'emogrClphy

ill

of the Byzantine Empire, Variorum Reprints, London, 1972), and the cautious of Sp. Vryonis, "An Attic Hoald of Byzantine Gold Coins (668-741) ... /' in the Zbomik Radova Vtzantotoskoz Instituta, VIII (Belgrade, 19,63») 291-300 (also reprinted by Variorum Reprints in Sp, Vryonis, Byzantium: Us internal Ids tory and relations with the Muslim world, London, 1971), and of Philip Grierson,'~Byzantine Coinage as Source Material," in the Proceedinzs of' the XIII th In temattonal Congress Qf Byzantine Studies [iheld atOxford in September 19,66] , Oxford University Press, 1967, pp. 315-333" with an extensive blbliography .Jn this context see a1so D,M. M.,etcalf, "The Slavonic Threat to Greece circa 5:80: Some Evidence from Ath!ens,"'Hespe'ria, XXXI (1962), 1.34-5 7 ~ where coins, some of which cannot be earlier than the years 582-.58.5, are described as "the only record. that the Slavonic invasion affected Athens" top. cit., PiP. 14447)~

We move to' rather less contreversiat ground with two arti .. '1.-." 'b"" A· n 'I Fr mtz. "Fret Pasar isn to ·C···· ••. hristianitv l" _r w.es . y. dson __ anz, ._. _om __ ga.n_sm_o ' ... _1. rnnly_n

the Temples of Athens, ", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XIX (I 9'65), m 85-20.5, with two maps and. twenty illustrations, and "Pagan Philosophers in Christian Athens," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, CXIX (1975), 29-38, Cf. also her brief papers" "Herculius in Athens: Pagan or Christian?' A kten des VIi. Intemattonalen Kangresses fur Christiiche Archdologte, Trier, 196$,. pp. 527~3o., and "Honors loa. Librarian," Hesperia, XXXV (] 966), 377-80. On Synesius's disdain for Athens, note the reflections of H. L Marrou, "Synesius of Cyrene and Alexandrian Neoplatonism," in Arnaldo Momigliano, ed., The Conflict between Paganism and Christianity in the Fourth Century, Oxford, 19,63, esp, pp. 135 fl. Wi.tb reference to the tenth-and early eleventhcentury mosque in Athens, 011 the site of the Asclepieum, around which there appears to have dwelt a small colony of Moslems (II, 314a~]9)" see the following articles by George C. Miles: uTh.e Arab Mosque in Athens," Hespleria~ XXV (i 956), 32944; "Byzantium and fhe Arabs: Relationsin Crete and the Aegean Area,' Dumbarton Oaks Papers, XVUI (1964), 3 .. 32, with 94 (photographic) iUustrations;and "The Circulation of Islamic Coinage of the 8th-12th Centuries in Greece,")

iv

it tti del Congresso tntemaztonale dt numismatica [held in Rome in September 1961], U (Rome, ~. 9(5)~ 485-98. See also Miles's catalogue, The Athenian Agora! IX: The Islamic

- _" ~

Coins, Princeton, 1962. Incidentally, the earliest datable

Ottoman coin found in the Agora appears to be; a silver aqehe of Sultan Mehmed I (1413-1421), after which there is a numismatic lapse of some sixty years when coins of Bayazid II (1481,-1512) become fairly common.

Jean Darrouzes has established the dates of the deaths of twometropolitans of Athens, in the mid-twelfth century in an article on "Obit de deux. metropolites d' Athenes Leon. Xeros et Georges Bourtzes d'apres les inscriptions du Parthenon" in, the Revue des etude'S byzantines, XX (1962), 190 .. 96. Xeros died on S unday, 18 January 1i53, and his successor Bourtzes on Monday, 1,6 May, 1160. The see of Athens seems to have been somewha t more important than the Metropolitan Michael Choniates represents it to have been (HI), both Bourtzes and his successor Nicholas Hagiotheodorites being charged with. missions to Rome, Darrouzes has republished six letters of George, Tornikes, written between 1153a.nd 11S5" addressed to the Metropolitan Bourtzes (GeorgesetDemetrios Tomikes, Lettres et discours, Paris, 1970, pp, 113~26, 1 S2~S5, 204-19). Sp, P. Lampros had erroneously assumed that [these letters were addressed to the Metropoli tan Michael (I 182- 1204), whose works he published (in 2 vols., Athens, 1879-80, repr, Groningen, 19,68) and see vol. II, p'p., 409-29 for the letters in question), on which note Robert Browning.YThe Patriarchal Schoolat Constantinople in the Twelfth Century," Byzanti().n,XXXIII (I '963); 34-37. Having declined the see of Corinth, George Tomikes became the metropolitan of Ephesus (1 155~1157?)1; the date of his death is unknown, but is prior to July ] 167 when a successor, Nicholas, held. the throne of Ephesus,

The letters of George Tornikes dispel some of the darkness encompassing mid-twelfth century Athens. He probably knew

- ., -

the city at first hand. His brother Leon lived there, and so

did his cousin Euthymius, The Tornikes family came from Thebes, and had close connections with other archontic families in Buboea, Corinth; and Arta, A third brother Demetrius; who Jived to an advanced age; was "logothete of

v

the dromos" (an imperial prime minister) at his death in late January 1201, on the eve of the Fourth Crusade. Demetrius's son Constantine Tornikes succeeded him as logothete .. The family was well known to Michael Choniates (cf. .J. Darrouzes;

'H'NTi ··t·· ,-.' -:; . 'E·" ith - ~-'- .. 'T'- ....•. ,:"';1,. ... E rth - :' ·-M·- '11-·· ke _* ·Ge-· . -- .'.

. .oes sur .' 11 .. yme . oml:r...;;S,_ th. .yme_,at a __ ~s e \k orges

Tornikes," Revue des etudes byzan tines, XXIII (]9'65] , l48-67~ . . and cr. the same writer's study of "Les Discours d'Euthyme T ornikes ,[ 1200-1205] ," ibid. ~ XXVI If 1968] ~ 49 if.).

The affairs of the Latin Church in. Athens during the thirteenth century are dealt with, as-noted above, in the forthcoming first volume of my Papacy and the Levant. The history of the Catalan Grand Company is traced in some detail (up to the; conquestof the Athenian duchy in 1311) in Angeliki E. Laiou, Constantinople and the Latins: The Foreign Policy of Andronicus 11, 1282M1328, Cambridge, Mass., 1972. The bibliography of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is covered in my Catalan Domination of Athens, 1311-1388, rev. ed., London: Variorum, 1975, which despite the title includes the history of the city under the Venetians and the Acciajuoli (to the Turkish occupation of 1456). Mention should be made of Edward W.Bodna]'~sb()ok on Cyriacus of Ancona and A thens, Brussels-Berchern, 196.0, and of his article on "Athens in April 1436/' in Archaeology, X.XnI (1'970), 96-105, and ibid., pp. 188 .. 99" which is concerned with Ciriaco d'Ancona's first visit to Athens.

The title speaks for itself in. James Morton Paton's Chapters on Mediaeval and Renaissance Visitors to Greek Lands, Princeton, 19'51, and the medieval as well as the post-medieval period is, touched upon by John Travlos and Alison Frantz in their study of "The Church of St. Dionysios tile Areopagite and the Palace of the Archbishop of Athens in the; 16th Century ./'Hesperia, XXXIV (1965), 157-202. The object of this Preface is of course; to identify recent books and articles which relate to one or another of the six studies whicb comprise this volume. BUt anyone who wishes to conclude his reading of post-classical Athenian history with that last, sad chapter which includes Francesco Morosiai's never tJI) be forgotten campaign against the Turks may turnto two somewhat older works, one by T .. E .. Mornmsen, "The Venetians in Athens and the Destruction of the Parthenon in 1687,"

American Journal of Archaeology , XLV (1941,), 544-56, and the other by J~ M. Paton, The Venetians in Athens (168'7- 1688J': From the Istoria of Cristoforo Ivanovich, Cambridge, Mass., [940.

Once more I am happy to acknowledge my debt to my secretary Mrs Jean Carver for her painstaking assistance and to Dr Harry W. Hazard, my co-editor in the History of the Crusades, for his careful preparation of the Index. And once more m am grateful to Mrs Eileen Turner" pub Usher of Variorum Reprints and. Revised Editions, for a volume in her series of Collected Studies, which has retrieved so manyarticles by various scholars from the vast and. sometimes inaccessible archive of periodical andmonographic publication.

KENNETH M. SETION

The Institute for Advanced Study 23 April 1975

I

THE ARCHAEOLO,GY OF MEDIEVAL ATHENS

Mr.Osbert Lancaster, who has drawn for us with entertaining brilliance .a Clauical Lanriscapcfoith figareJ, holds the Ame.rican excavators of the Athenian Agora, or Marketplace" up to some opprobrium for destroying the Turkish quarter in Athens in order to uncover the flat and, to, him, uninteresting foundation blocks of ancient buildings. The Agora,. declares Mr .. Lancaster, '<it is difficult to contemplate calmly when one realizes that, in order to lay bare this dreary bomb-site, industrious and heavily subsidized American archaeologists laboured long years pullillg down the .gr,eater part of the old Turkish quarter, the few remnants of which that still stand are yet sufficient to indicate the extent and. nature of the loss." 1M!. Lancaster feeds his indignation with some measure of inaccuracy. The truth is, that most of the houses and other buildings of the Turkish era had been reduced to rubbleduring the Greek. Revolution, and. the houses demolished by the American excavators dated almost entirdy from the middle or the later nineteenth century. A. few of these houses still stand, along Asteroskopiou Street, being employed for work and for storage by the American School of Classical Studies. Most of the houses that we're torn down. are still p£leserved in phot-ographs, mounted and filed in the splendidly k.ept records of the Am,etica.n School. Little has been lost as a. resultof these excavations, A vast amount of information bas been ,gained,

1 (London, 1947) •. P'. 4'8. The chiefsour,ce for the present essay has been the unprubHshed Exca.va:totS' Repo.r.t:S. ke'pt on file among the AmericaD Agora llemms, As,t.eI'Qskop·iou. Street. . .Athms;. Greec-e.. This ,e8laly has been. adapted .. (lAd. s,implified) froma.chapt:er In theW.l'ftf:!.{·S forthc.omin:gstudy· ·of Alh-e,n in t'he Middle Ag~f, wher,ewmpJet:e references to the a.(chaeological and li.terary sources win be givM., a fact which makes unoecessary an array 0'£ footnotes here.

•

ARCHAEOLOGY OF MEnIEVAL, ATHE,NS 229

however, and not only of the ancient, but also of the medieval past; for theexcavators have kept records of thei.r Byzantine finds witb the same lovin.g care tbey have lavished upon the descriptions and classification of their discoveries from Mjcenaeaa to HelIenistk; and Roman imperial times. We ,m,sry say, rather after the fashion of Terence, that the American excavators, as Athenian archaeologists" have regarded nothing in the Io.ng past of Athens as being alien to their interests or unworthy of their affeetions, American archaeology bas thus come a tong way from those heroic days when the School, something over sixty years ago" first excavated at Plataea and could report with pride that, although somewhat impeded by ,a rainstorm, the first three days' operations saw the demolition of seven Byzantine churches (April 2~4., 1889'), two of them being cleared tbe first morning .. V,eryHkeJy, as the historian of the American SChool haswritten, Plataea bad seen no such display of energy since the PeloponnesianWar, 2

The history of archaeological research i.n the Agora may be said to begin in July of 18.34, soon after the Greek government had moved from Nauplia to Athens, when King Otto set the Agora region aside for archaeological exploration; throughout the century that followed, heavy building in this area was pro~ hibited. The 'Greek Arch.aeo.Jogical Society excavated the Stoa or Attal:us, (1859·62), 1898.1902), as wellas the so-called Stoe of the Giants (1859, 1871); in 1896-97 the German .Archa.eologicaI Institute, under Professor WHhetm Dorpfeld, started the search for the Stoa Basileios, with which Pausanias begins his famous description of the buildings along the west side of the Agora (I, 3, 1, and 14,6), and this work was continued by the Greek Archaeological Society in 1907-RWhen the American excavations began, in 19'31., the whole Agoraregion was reckoned as covering about rwenty-sixacres of land, OD which some six hundred dweUin,gs housed from six to seven thousand persons. Since Greek archaeologists had been .assigned the eastern area, i .. ,e.,tbe

~2 l.o'Ui:s E. Lo.rd, A H.i#()ry t:1 the Amerit:an SthooJ'of Cla.uh:al St.udies at'A;he!U' {Ca.mbrldge • .Ma.ss., 1947), pp .. 7.3·74.

230 AR.CHAEOLOGY OF .M.EDI.EV.A.L .ATHENS

ancient Roman market, the .American zone of excavation was established as thearea of about sixteen acres between and including the Hill of Colonus onthe west and the Stoa of Attalus on the east, and extendingfrom the Areopagus and Acropolis on the south to theAth.ens~·Pira!eus Railway on the north-an area covering the central market square of the great period of Athenian history. On it were then located three hundred and sixty-seven houses and lots, which wereexpropriated by thegover.nmerit, an action involving some gingerly handled legal and social problems. These houses were graduaUy demolished, and with the removal ofmany tens of thousands of tons of earth, stones) and other debris one of the most fascinating; chapters in the romance of modern archaeology was and still is being written. The history of ancient Athens .has been almost completely revisedas a result of these excavations, and many important additions have been made also to the history of Athens in the middle ages, enough certainly to move the ghost of Gregorovius to envy.

We shal] not describe, "strosis by strosis," from the field notebooks of the excavators in and around the Agora, the abundanr remains of Byzantine habitation which they have uncovered in Athens. We shall leave no "martyras,' in thearchaeological sense) standing forlornly in excavated areas, to give their grim. testimony of construction and destruction jn the Athenian past. The archaeologists have understood and written. down this testimony in a long series of excavation or field notebooks; and like a court reporter, 1 have tried to read the record, .seeking evidencewherewith to write the history of Athena.' s city in a fascinating, but all the same forbidding, era, It is, therefore, as an historian that I write on archaeology, and this means, of course, that I write as a lajman-e-but then most of us are £aymlf'n in most fields of history, Occasionally for the sake of topographieal precision and ease of reference I shall locate certain finds in the precise archaeological sections into. which surveyors have divided the whole Agora and sutrollndingregioos .. These sections have all been designated byletters of the 'Greek alphabet, as Section MA<f which is just north of the Hill of Colonus, Section H,which lies

ARCHAEOLOGY O.F M.EDIEVAL .ATH.ENS 231

in the northwestpart of tbeAgor.a,a.nd so on.3 However.when we measure anything in this paper, we shall do so by feet and not by meters. Our effortsmust be toward historical synthesis and reconstruction" in so far as this IDJilY prove possible, and weshall seek to correlate some of the historical evidence with the archaeological record.

Du.rln,g the Romao.Emp,ire~ as in the Greek classical period, the celebrated Street of the Panataenaea ran from the northwest corner of the Agora diagonally across the front of the Stoa of AttaIus, much of which still stands along the east side of the Agora and the restoration of which is now proposed) as a museum, to house the many valuable antiquities discovered in the Agora by the American excavators, The Street of the Panathenaea led, next, up the northwest slope of the .Ac.ropoHs and gave easy access to the valley farther west, a.nd so to the Areopagus also; If one wished to go up there, as St. Paul once did on a memorable occasion.At the beginning of the Antonineperiod, another street, paved with m.;.ubie,w.as constructed which started at the south end of the Stoa of Attalus and thence moved eastward. A flight of a half dozen or more stairs leading up from the Street of the Psnathenaea, at the southwestcorner of the Stoa, gave access to this street, which made its way eastward through the ga.t,e of Athena Archegetis into the Romanmarket, where extensive remains still attest the interestwhich Julius Caesar and Augustus took in the ,city of Cecrops, In the fork thus formed by the SOr called Street of the Roman Market and the Street of the Panathenaea once stood the now famous Library of Pantaieos. uhe existence of which was not suspected until 1933,. whenthere was found, just south of the Stoa of Attalusand built into awall beneath-the southwest corner of the late Greek chapel of St. Spiridon, a. large lintel block: of Pentelic rnarble, bearing an inscription which-is to be dated about A.D. lOO~ whichrecords the dedication ora Hbrary "to Trajan and Athens.'·

3 See t.heac«)mpanying map of ··Moo.iev.al Athens," .. which has .ooeoredrawn from a .map prepared by Mr. John Travlos" architect of the Am.e.ric.an. School in A.tl1.e.ns, tor 0'1)' .Athens In Ihe .Middle Age!,

2,,2 ARCHA.EOLOGY O'F MEDIEVA.L A.TH.ENS

The building was erected by a certain Pantainos, wb.o is apparently the-person of rhis name who served as Archon Eponymous shortly afterA.D.]02. The inscription, which is beautifully cut, reads: "To Athena Polias and to the Emperor Caesar Augustus Nerva Trajanus Germanicus and to the city of the Athenians, the priest of the Philosopluc Muses, T. Flavius Pantainos, son of Flavius Menandros, Diadochos [of the Stoic School?'], with his children Flavius Menandros and Flavia, Secundilla, bas erected born his ownmeans the outer stoas, the peristyle" the library with its books, and all the decorations in the building,' 4 This glimpse into the f.a.mily history of the Pantainoi is v,ery interesting: father and son were both philosophers, the laUer also donor 01£ a. Hbra.ry andan archon of Athens: and the late Mr. A .. W. Parsons reminds us that this was "just in the years du.ringwhicbPIutarch, Die Chrysestom, and Apollonius of Tyana were visitors to the city,' Moreover~ it is quite possible that Tv Flavius' son.fhe young Flavius Menandrcs. who is associated with his father in the gift of the library to the Athenians, became himself, in after years, the father of another philosopher named Pantainos, who, said to bave been an Athenian~ also beganhis career as a. Stoic; was converted to Christianity; and in his capacity as bead of the Catechetical &.0001 of Alexandria was the teacher of the great Clement, Modern archaeology has tbusrevealed another connection of Athens with early Christianiry ,and one flot too unworthy of being mentioned ev en in connection with the famous visit of Sr. Paul.

South of the Library 0.£ Pantainos, along the higher east side of the Panathenaic way, long low terrace walls supported a row of houses which extended south to the Acropolis ... These houses seem to have been destroyed about the middle of the third e'enturyA.D." apparently before the coming of the Heruli in A.D. 267, for there is no evidence of fire as the cause 0'£ their destruction; various pieces of statuary were found here, together with

i.S cr. B. D.Merln" in Helperia, XV (1946L 23;, n .. ,64,aod Arthur W.P:a.[SO[lS,.

"A. fa.mily ofPhiiosopher:s at Athens and Alexandfiia, .. in CornmemoraJ;ive St'lldie5 irl Hoso» a/Theodore Lesli« Shea)' (He.sperja, SuppL VIII) 1949}, p, 2(1;9.

ARCHAEOLOGY O.F MEDIEVAL ATHENS 2;,3-

coins, but none later than Septimius Severns. After the Herulian attack" the so-called Valerian (once called, the "Venetian.")WaU was built, and Itsconsrruction was a sad but significant event in the history of Athens. Beginning at the entrance to the Acropolis; theWa.Hran ncrth=elong the east side of the Street of the Panathenaea+-to the Stoa of Attalus, which was incorporated in it. In order to build the Wall, blocks were carried from the buildings destroyed by the Heruli along the west and south sides of the Agora,whence carne an epistyle fragment from theHellenistic Merrourn, shaft's and capitals from the columns of the great Odeum of Agrippa, and so on, The demolition of the historic buildings wrecked by the Heruhreflects the ,anxiety of the harassed Athenians ofthis troubled epoch; the blocks taken from

. these buildings and built into the Valerian Wa.H"show no signs.of serious damage, by fire or otherwise: clearly they were deliberately and carefully-removed from the structures to which they belonged. "

From the north end of the Stoa theWaU was extended east as far as the massive Library ofHadrian, which was also incorporated into its circuit, and from here the WaH traveled south, under the lofty eastern end of the Acropolis, to the Odeum of Pericles, which was in its turn built into it. Next, the beautifullypropertioned Theater of Dionysus, the grea.t rugged blocks of the Stoa of Eumeaes.and the lofty arches of the Odeum of Heredes Atticos were all included in the WaH and contributed their strength to the defense of Athena's sacred rock. Finally, from the Odeum of Heredes tbeWaU climbed ba.ck up to the entrance of the Acropolis. Its circuit was complete. It enclosed a small city deady despairing of its future.

The ValerianWaU was built in the last quarter of the third c!entu.ry" while the Athenians still labored under the evil memory of the Herulian catastrophe .. Acoin of the Emperor Probus. (A,D. 276-82) was found in an undisturbed. section of the "footing trench' (aloqg the east face of thewall}, and since this is tbe latest of numerous coins found here, the wan may have been built during or shortly after the reign of Probus; Beginning about the middle of the fourth century A .. D .. ; debris began to rise along

234 ARCHAEOLOGY OF MED.lEVAL ATHENS

the course of the ancient street running north and south; it climbed 10 laye,rs up the lower courses of the outerwall. These layers have been studied in theattempt to reconstruct toe early history of the wall. Sometime in the fourth century) too, an interesting water mill was built against the northwest foot ,of the Wall, in the angle ofa defense tower. The date of the destruction of this mill can be fairly closely determined and is important for the history of this area, The millwas burned in the later sixtb century, and since the Agora shows ample evidence of later sixth-century burning, we m.ay, conceivably~auribute it all to an attack of the Slavs, driven on perhaps by the Avars, In the burned fill which overlay the floor of the mill there we're found "severalcomplete Christian lamps of .9. very degenerate type)" and more than six hundred coins, the latest being those of the Emperors Justin 1, Justinian, and Justin H(Y18-78). The mill was consequently destroyed about 578-85" years of notorious importance in the Slavic history of Greece. After this the region of the Agora, west of the Valerian Wall, was rather sparsely inhabited, although the American excavations have revealed that it was never entirely deserted. Iu constructing the Valerian WaH, gates had been left at either end of the marble-paved street which ran from the southern end of the Stoa ofAttalns through the Roman Market, and this street survived until modern times. Pottery and" more especially, coins have enabled thearchaeologist to trace the successive road levels, which rose from the fifth century through the seventh, continued thereafter into the period of Byzantine glazed pottery, and later into the Turkish period.

The Valerian WaH thus enclosed only a very restricted area north of, and including, the Acropolis itself; for .a fuller knowledge of the' details of its circuitwe mustawait the studies, now under way, of Mr. Eugene Vanderpool; in any event it is now dear tbat the WaUwas carefully built of materials taken from the buildings on the west and south sides of the Agora. The final and complete demolition of the great buildings along the west side of the Agora, weU known from literary references to them and described for us in detail by ProfessorH.A .. Thompson,

ARCHAEOLUGY OF .M.EDIEVA.L ATHENS 235-

who excavated most of them) was the work of theAtheniansthemselves, who needed their finely trimmed blocks, in order to build theW.aU.Fortunately the so-called Theseum was spared, because the builders, found enough material rather closer to, hand. From the Herulian attack of A.D. 267 Athens never reccvered, despite the passing brilliance of the city in the fourth century, when the Emperor julian, Basil the 'Great, and. Gregory Nazianzerr were students in her hallowed precincts. At the dose of the fourth century Synesil1s of Cyrene spent some time in A.thens, but be could curse the hapless skipper whose ship brought him there . .. Present-day Athens bas nothing grand but .Its famous place names," Synesius informs 'Us, and he thought the city resembled a burnt sacrificial offering: only the charred remains were left of a creature which once ha.d Iivedc Philosophy had abandoned Athens, according to Synesins, and now the tourist could admire only the Academy, the Lyceum, and, by Zeus, the Sto« Poikii«, or Painted Porcn,which had given its name to the philosophy of Zeno and Chrysippus. But the Stoa was poikile no. longer, for a. proconsul had just removed the famous paintings upon which Polygnotus of Thasos had lavished his talent, Athens had .. once been-the city of the wise, but now onlythe beekeepers upheld her fame, s Be all this as it may ~ in less than three years after the departure of Synesius there was a fair amount of important construction in Athens-almost indeed a." building boom," and about the year 400 or so the complex of so-called "university buildings" was erected on the site of the ancient Odeum of .Agrippa. in the south central part of the Agora.. There was a good deal of building elsewhere aboutthe year 400, over a fairly wide area, which impHesan expansion 0'£ the ,city outside the narrow enclosure ·0£ the Valerian WaH (which was, however, maintained in case of further need). AU this suggests thatthe defensible outer walls yet again followed the lines of the Themistodeaa circuit, which was repaired in the sixth century by Justinian. and which may, ill fact, be the circuit of thewalls of which the Metropolitan Michae] Choniates speaks in the later twelfth cenrory ..

5, S)'1l.esius, .Ep. 135 (B6),! in. J. P. NigBe, PaUo/fJgia Gr~'eta, LXVI~ 1524 Be.

236 A.R'CHA.EOLOGY OF MEn:lEVAL A''fHENS

Some distance south of the HiU of CoIQn'Us, on the lower northwest slope of the Areopagus and extending farther west toward the Hill of the Nymphs, the sometimes sparse remains were excavated of bousewalls and floors from the fifth and fourth centu '~I"e'S-' B:;C.-. downto a' ,(1- d af te ;C" the third centurv A-·. n--w.1h· en

J __ •• ~.-._Jl,_"_:_i- .-'~' _ _:_'!o Q._ , - _- ,~, - - ".,_-" 1.11:.- ,,-,,t.,.' ,--,--.I,I.I!.U'''''l -",~, '.1." ".' ' .. _.

the Herulian sack of the year 267 brought desolation to this area and to those adjoining it Here, as elsewhere in the A,gora, the excavators have found much evidence of the destruction of the late Hellenistic city by Sulla In 86 B.C.; indeed, the remains of those houses are well preserved which went down under the fury of Sulla and his soldiers' notable capacity for depredation; for tbey lay) until but a few years a.go,weU protected by the debris of their own destruction, after which there was comparatively Iittle building in this area for about a generation, In the early Christianperiod.perhaps before the Ant'Ouines, some large houses were built here, and it is these which were destroyed by the Heruli, In one house the excavators have found rather spectacular evidence of the barbarians' work in Athens. The floors of this bouse were covered with burnt materials and with large quantities of broken riles that had fallen. from the roof, Underneath and embedded in the debris, dose to floor level, a well-preserved Romao portrait bust of an elderly man was found in the room. where it had fallen almost seventeen centuries ago. Charred and burnt materials were found everywhere in the house, "From the consistent appearance of this burned matter," according to the excavator's notes, «there would seem to have been no subsequent distorbance following the fire, and the objects found on the floor level must have been those in use at the time of [the] destruction .• ,1 These objects include a bronze bowl, a bronze brazier or censer (thymiaterion) , and a bronze statuette of Eros ..

The Eros was much encrusted at the time of its discovery, but it bas now been well cleaned and is a rather Iivelypiece (Agora

'Museum, inv, no. B809) .. Doubtless. many objects of softer substances have perished. A collection offifty-seven coins was abo found; these coins are mostly of bronze, and largely from the second and third centuries A.D.,;. the latest 0.£ them dates from

ARCHA.EOl,OGY Q,P' MEDI.EVAL ATHENS 237

the unfortunate reign of Gallienus (A.D. 253-68)., This coin dearly fastens the responsibility forthe destruction. of 'this house and area, upon the Heruli.

In a smaller room of "this same house, now known to the excavators as the .~ South House," still more of this dramatic story is told by a jumble of pots and jugs and dishes and by a heap of bones, those of a small. donkey" found mwhat was dearly the kitchen of the house, Under great massies of floor tiles, the excavator uncovered a mortar and pestle, some pots and jugs~ lamps and amphorae" a bronzeoisochoe.aa iron spoonand other kitchen wale which served well enough to identify rhercomv Here also wasthe skeleton of the donkey, who bad obviously been brought into the kitchen in the vain hope of protecting him from the rapacious Heruli.When, however, the inhabitants of the house had come to realize the seriousness of the situation, they had fled, leaving tbe donkey to perish in the heap of potsand pans which fell from the walls around him as the house began to crumble in flam·es"When this site was excavated and studied in the early spring of 1948"a Greek potmender named Andre.as observed that he and his mother and sister had similarly concealed. frorn the Germans, during World W.ar U; both a donkey anda goat behind a large wardrobe in his home at Corinth. The wardrobe was apparently pulled out from a windowless wall, and either Andreas or his sister had to be in constant attendance on the animals, so that when the donkey showed signs of braying, they might distract him by putting a bunch. of ,grapes. in his mouth! Andreas and his sister-went through two anxious days, but they saved their donkey and goat from the twentieth-century Heruli, (Miss Lucy 'Talcott told me this story in Athens in the summer of 1'9-500; as an illustration of how the third-century donkeygot inthe kitchen.) In the ancient house" however, since it was- a. vlery substantial and elegant one" tbe donkey came as a surprise; for the occupants of this house were certainly not farming - folk who must protect an animal almost before themselves. Tbe donkey was valuable, however, and worth concealing. Hwe may beallowed to .employ our im;agination in reconstructing the events which happenedin

23,8 .A.RCHA.EOLOGY OF MEDI.EV.A.L ATHENS

the frightened household one dismal day in the year 267,we may believe that the animal ro,a:y have brought a pack of vegetables and the like from some country place, and thus was tied in the outer yard when the alarm was given of the Herulian attack. Thereupon the donkey was brought into the kitchen until the extent of the danger was realized; then he was doubtless forgotten as the inhabitants of this crowded and rather wealthy district fled to the nearby Acropolis in an effort to save their lives, In any event you see why the arrhaeologists in Athens are fond

. of this story; it is a g,ood one, and Miss Talcott tens it wei I.

The history of the area northwest .of the Areopagus could almost be written from the drains, which reveal constant care and attention down to the middle of the third century or so but were finally abandoned in the sixth and not employed thereafter. This area shows the customary firesend destruction of the later sixth century, but does not present quite such a blank for the seventh and eighth centuries as certain other sites; for not only have ample evidences been found here or habitation in the fourth and fifth centuries, hut in one place an. industrialestablishment was discovered, witha.t least three furnaces+eperhaps a tine manufactory-« -wbich the excavators dated! betweenthe sixth century and the eighth, although it may besornewhat later. Some scraps of pottery of the sixth century A.D. were also. discovered, the evidence, fragmentary though it is, su,gges.ti:ng the long continuance of at least some houses and shops inthis vicinity. After the Slavic incursions of the later sixth century, these houses were gradually abandoned, their valuable contents being first removed by the inhabitants to other and saferparts of the city.

The drainage system, as we have noted, was no longer kept open, and so the entire southern portion of this section began to silt Up', a process which continued through the seventh andlater centuries,and raised the ground level in places fifteen feet and more-+aprotective fill for which we may be thankful, because it helped preserve some remains of private houses of the fifthand fourth centuries B.C. despite the general looting of the area in Byzantine times for building materials. At least a half dozen

.ARCHAEO.LOGY OF MEDIEVAL ATHENS 23,9

interesting and important Byzantine houses were discovered .a.nd un.earthed here, dating from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries, whence it is apparent that the historic valley between the A[eop~ agus and the Hills of the Nymphs and 0·£ Colonus contained an area where private housesweremaintained and shops werekept from classical far into Byzan.tine times.W·e are again reminded of the long, unbroken history of Athene in general, and of this area. in particular" by the discovery here of parts of the Turkish defense waU of 1778., built for protection against the depredations

of the Albanians in that unhappy y,ear. .

Southeast of the Agora" at the foot of the northwest slope of the Acropolis, two fragments were .found. of walls" probably from the later sixth or the earlier seventh century; they were covered -in m.any places with a burned "destruction fill,' indicating a fire some time in the seventh century, which may conceivably be related to the Bulgarattackwhich, l believe, resulted in the brief occupation ,0'£ Corinthin the middle of the seventh century ... Byzantine potsherds were unearthed in this section in some quantity, as we might expect, and a handsome, well-preserved rectanguJar bronze bucklewitb an open-work scroll pattern (Agora Museum, mv. no. B 523) , was found in di.rect contactwith two coins. of Constans II (64l~68) .As a matter of f.a.ct, the coins of Constans II were especiall Y numerous Inthis area. Disturbed walls, a cistern, coins, and pitb.oi suggest further habitation here from the tenth century on; .. It was doubtless continuous, whatever the vicissitudes: of the site. There was .91180 some rather extensive wall-building on the terraces ofthis area. from the' late thirteenth and fourteenth centuries into Turkish times. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries some houseswere constructed in this area, onthe upper terrace of which the excavators f·ound numerous walls but only a few floors stillremaining, The Valerian W.Slll showed signs of .repa.a in late Byzantine and Latin. times, suggesting that some of it may be the work ofthe Catalans and Florentines. Considering the history of .Athens in the foarteenthand. earlier fifteenth centuries, it is hard to imagine, as the' excavators, have suggested in their unpublished reports, that the ValerianW all could have

24QARCHAEOL.06Y OF .MEDI.BVA.L ATHENS

been looted for buildingmaterials during this era, After the 'Turkish occupation of the city in 1456, however., the waH would have made a v,ery convenient quarry, and there we're then no external enemies to challenge the sultan's possession of Athens,

Inthe later fourth and earlier fifth centuries A.D. there must have been. much traffic through the ,great towered gateway in the Valerian Wall, at the south end of the Stoa of Attalus, where the littlechape] of the Panagia Pyrgiotissa. once stood, as citizens and students moved from the narrow circuit of the inner city enclosed by the Valerian W an into the ancientAgora, despoiled, more than a century before of the great buildings ,along its west and south sides. At the northeast corner of the Agora, however, near the eastward swing of the Valerian W.all,th.e Stoa Poikile was probably stilf standing, although it was robbed about that timevas we have noted from Synesius, of the famous paintings of Polyg~ notus of Thasos .. Contributing also to the How of people and things from thearea east of the Wall into the Agora, was at least one othergate farther south, discovered under the Church of the Hypapantiwhen this was demolished in 1938. Doubtless the so-called "university cernplex" in the Agorawas built as .3!.COJlsequence of the renewed academic prosperity which Athens enjoyed in the middle and later fourth century; a passage in the rhetorician Mamertinus suggests that the Emperor Julian m,ay haverestored the outer circuit-of the walls during his brief r,eign:G thiswould have restored the Agora as a center 0.£ claily concourse in the cityand have made it a good place for the construction of the··univ,eJ'.sity complex"a.. few decades later .Asa student .in Athens,. Julian must -often have passed through the high-towered gateway, at the south end of the Stoa of Attalus, and read the inscriptionwhich would remind him that the great blocks, in the Valerian WaH. had not been laid. o:ne upon another by the power

I} Mamerti:nlls G,atiarum actio Ju.liano i.x,. in Guil.. Baehrens, ed •• XIl Panegyrici Latini (uipzig: Teubner, isn), p. 138: "Ipsae illae bonamm adlum magisLrae et. m\!~n.ttkes .Ath.enae. omnem .cultum. puMkepdvatim.que perdidemot. In mis~ randam l'Uibam ,oondderat Eleusina. Sed limIvews uibes ope{re] imperato'cis refotas enumerate pedoll,gum est ... :' I amnet here concerned with the prohlem ,of .!:~ M:ame~,tinus was (d .. EdQuard GaUetie.r. Paolgyriqll,e..r lalin J, 1 [Par.is •. 1949], XVUi.:XI'X,:c:xxu) .,

ARCHA .. EOL.OOY OF MEDIEVAL AT.H.ENS 241

of Amphion' s music, nor had the strong hand of the Cyclops put them. in place;1 the wall had been built by the A,thenians, who were not sofortunate as the Thebans.

Part of justinian's refortifkation of Athens, whether it included the complete reestablishment of the Themistocleaa circuitof the walls or rot, certainly included repairs to the Valerian WaU, which seems to have enclosed an inner city, alwaysavailable for refuge, as the years pas:sed,aga:inst tbe Incursions of Slavs, Avars, and Bulgars, In archaeological Secti.onHH (immediately north of ee, on the lower northwest slope of the Acropolis), the period: from the seventh century to the ninth has so far appeared chiefly in a thick destruction fill, showing ample signs of fire, overlying the foundations of a terrace wall, but there Isalso considerableevidence, including a new street running north and south (just east of the Valeriar» WaU), of Eyzantine, Burgundian, and apparently Catalan habitation in this ;areafrom the tenth century through the fourteenth .. Buildings, which seem to have been constructed in the eleventh and tWleHth centuries and to have been destroyed in the fourteenth, were found here. They coutid have been destroyed in 1311, when the Catalans took the city; in 1331, when 'Gautier II de Brienne sm.1ght to regain the city and duchy which his father bad lost twenty years before; ill 1379> when the Navarrese attacked Athens (and occupied Tbebes); orin 13,87-1388, when Nerio. Acdajuoli.occupied the lower city and laid siege to the Acropolis. The buildings lay east .of the Valerian W,all·; their destruction probably indicates the suecessful occupation of the lower city .. In any event, some time thereafter, the Valerian Wan was repaired, conceivably by Antonio I Accia[uol], whois said by a. literary source to have repaired walls, laid streets" and built houses in Athens.

A little farther np' the northwest slope of the Acropolis (in archaeological Section 11), some extensive .BlyzanHne remains

7 InJ(r.;ptiones araecae, Vols .. n-In~.Part IU:. Itlsc:ri/JlioneJ Atti.cae EudhliJ anno' p()JU';ores,. fasc, 1 (Berlin, 1935), No, ".200a.:

()'~ ,.titSf Dt.l~~~~i.I' ~ppw.-k vealef p&p/UrEJ otid!! Kt;:)(,lw.nt:ia:; l:t!flil~l~{t~p.f;flla}.

242 ARCHAEQLony OF M!EDlEVAL Al'H.ENS

were uncovered, including part of a massive Iortification wall, sgraffito ware, two Byzantine palos altars, and the like. A. smaU laundry; probably dating from the seventh century A.D., was found, established in one comer of an. ancient building. .. Much more important, however, was the discovery in this area of a. la.rge Byzantine bouse (designated by the excavatorsas "Bldg, D·'), with its ground plan very wen preserved; it consisted of seven or eight rooms arranged around a central court, which was paved, This house was evidently built in the earlier eleventh cen,tnry,w.as reconstructed in the twelfth, and was, conceivabl y, destroyed in 1203, when Leon SgOlUOS attacked Athens and the city was defended by its valiant Metropolitan Michael Choniates, Afterw.ard, some parts of this bouse must have been rebuilt, for rhe northern rooms bore witness to Frankish and even to Turkish habitation. More interesting still is the fact that the archaeologica.l campaign of 1938 revealed the Church of the Hypapanti (in the northwest corner of Section 11) to have been built during the Turkish period, probably in the seventeenth century ... "Earlier archaeologists,' 'according to the summary of the excavator's report, "misled bY' the altesations in the [alleged] <Prankish' style, had supposed that the original church must date as early perhaps as theninth century [and Professor G .A. Sotiriou dated it in the tenth century, in the EV(Jtn}(1l0), lOOP ,p.EQlltro·VtX;rov' jtv1fllelw) tij~ "Ell6:dos;], and had not noted that the plan of the original was identical with that of the Vlassarou aod other seventeenthcentU!ry churches. [TheVlassarou has also been demolished.] The conclusionas to its date is supported by excellent stratigraphic and ceramic evidence, as well as by the history of the Valerian Wall over which the Church lies; the 'Frankish' repairs are probably not earlierthan the eighteenth century! ,. The fact that a scholar like Sotiriou could misdate the earliest construction of the Hjpapanti by some seven centuries is a spectacular indication of the extent of our knowledge-or of our ignorance+corceming theso-called "churches of cldAthens,' to adopt the tide of Mr. Costas E,. Bids's convenient little book about them, Biris knows and lists one hundredand forty such churches; he seems to have

ARCHAEOLOGY O.F .ME.DIEVAL ATH.ENS 243

missed at least a score of others; but it isto be hoped that Mr. John Travlosmay publish before too longmoreresults of some of his own recent historical and architecturel studies of the "churches of old Arhens." The dassical archaeologists have shown, of course, as in the case of the Hypapanti.fhat they could date some of these churches of the J3yzaniineand Turkish eras with almost irrefutable exactitude. Unfortunately) however, when they conclude their robust researches, you have exchanged your church for a hole in the ground and a pile of notes, Thus we could never encourage them, nor the Greek government allow them, to date for u:s,more ,IIIO! the Kapnikarea, Sts .. Theodore, and the intriguing Old Metropolis.

The Church of the Hypapa:nti was torn down, as we have noted, in 1938. Under ita g.ateway was discovered in the Valerien Wall, with the original paving largely in place. This gate was apparently used throughout the Byzantine period, and the Byza.ntine pivot block was also found in Jit.u. The V alerian WaH was maintained and constantly repaired until Turkish times .. Excavation has made it abundantly clear that the northwest slope of the Acropolis was an importa.ntpart offhe large Byzantine community of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, which extended to a considerable distance to the northwest (doubtless beyond Sectio:nMM), and also to the nertheast. where the churches of the Sts. Theodore, the Kapnikarea, and the 'Old Metropolis are Iocated- -three beautifu] little churches, al] dating, it is thought, £romthe eleventh century, In the region of the Agora itself is the Church of the Holy Apostles, still standing, which is said. to date from the twelfth century.Unfortuna.tely, all these chllrches were subjected toconsiderable modernization), as well as repair, in the nineteenth century; and the extensive redoing of their murals comes as a. shock to the student of Byzantine art. Rut, at least t.ber stiU stand, sm. all, impressive, almost beautiful, with solid walls, and solemn interiors) used today just asthey were apparently eight or nine centuries .ago, historic memorials of adistant past,

Byzanfine finds of one sort or another, such as coins, potsherds, pieces of bouse and terrace walls, and the like, have been dis-

244 ARCHAEOLOGY OF M:E,DIEVAL ,ATHENS

covered in the numerous archaeological sections into which the considerable area between the Agora and the Areopagus and. the Acropolis has been divided to enable the excavators to keep exact topographkalrecords. But we cannot panse' in this brief paper to consider the significance of a. stray coin of Heraclius nor a few walls from the twelfth century, found on the' north slope of the depression between the Acropolis and the Areopagus, for there was apparently little habitation here from the seventh century until at least the fourteenth, Some houses were probably built in the Hft,eenth century in the south and central parts of this area (i. e., Section BE), but more modern builders have destroyed the evidence of whatever fifteenth-century habitation may have existed farther north, lower down the hill. In general we may say that the achaeological evidence for the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is very scarce, except for certain repair'S made to the Valerian WaH and to the defenses on theAcropolis, Turkish and more modern 'builders have done a. good deal of damage to the later medieval remains, since these lay much closer to the surface and were never buried in those deep layers of protective silt which covered and. preserved the' remains of the mote distant past. The chronology of the late medieval and early modern periods, is, also very difficult to establish, for neatly datable levels are rarely traceable, owing to the long-continued disturbance of the earth in building and rebuilding; unassociated with Important known events.

It may be permissible" however, and not too tedious to mention, byway of illustration" two or three of the mote impressive bits ofevidence which relate to the Byzantine history of the north slopes 00'£ the Areopagus and the Acropolis, before we pass on, finally, to the extensive medieval habitation in the north and northwest parts of the Agora and beyond tbese to the area north of the Hill 'Of Colonus, for a large suburb seems to have stretched, as we shall see, from the north slopes of the Acropolis and the AreopagusaH the way across the Agora into the rather thickly settled region north of the Hill of Colonus,

At the foot, then, of' the north sfope of the Areopagus (in

ARCHAEOLOGY OF M.ED.E.EVAL ATH.EN S 245

Section Y), a Byzantine house was apparently located, with a large rectangular open court, dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries. A little farther east, and slightly to the north (in SectiontP), many traces we're found of habitation fro.m the seventh century to theninth. The destruction fill overlying the floor of a late Roman building with a marble chip mosaic floor, wbich. was reused by Byzantine builders in the seventh century) yielded a coin from the miserable reign of tbe Emperer Philippicus Bardanes (711-13). Many other coins of thisgeaeral period, especiall y of Consta.:ns H, who is known to have been in Athens,were' abo. found scattered throughout the loose fill in the fr.agmentary walls and structures; there was a fair quantity 0.£ pottery, too, described by the excavators as "coarse and general~y characterless, a very debased form of Iatest Roman.' Still a little farther north (in Section T}) overlying part of the late Hellenistic South Stoa, therubble foundation walls of another bouse were discovered. The house consisted of at least a half dozen rooms and was built some time between the seventh ;and ninth centuries, as indicated by the potteryof a, very degenerate late "Roman" type, which was removed from its wallsand from the areas around them .... From the stroseis, or traceable levels, which had formed over thewalls, a little Byzantine pottery ~ i,e., early brown glaze ware, was reo covered, which means that the house must have been destroyed in. the earlier tenth century. Thus, although the Byzantine remains inthis area. (Section T) are obviously much less negotiable ill an historical context than those of sever an other sites in and around the Agora., they are interesting as being the product of one of the most obscure periods in the long archaeological history of Athens. The excavators have given the name t'dark ages" to the pedod fromthe seventh to the ninth century; and yet this is toe period during which Arhensgave two empresses to Byzantium and. during which the Byzantine chroniclers relate a number of important events that link the history of the city on the Ilissus with the great capital on the Bosporus,

In the extreme northwestern comer of the American. zone .of the Agora, in the section denoted. as "Eta" (H and H')~the ex-

246 AllCHAEOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL ATHENS

cavators unearthed, ten or twelve feet below the modern ground level, the walls of several Byzantine houses, And at the north end 01£ thi.s area there was uncovered a very large Byzantine structure, beneathwhich were found traces of at least one earlier Byzantine building and, further down, walls cf Roman construction. The north end of the large Byzantine building was cut away when the A'tbens, .. Piraeus Railway 'was built. At the time this building was erected there' we're no longer any ancient blocks on the surface of the ground for the' medieval builders to use in their. own structure. The Byzantine building was divided into some' twenty-eight or thirty rooms, not allconstructed at the' same time. The rooms were grouped around a fair-sized central court. Wh,en finaUy completed, the building seems to havemeasured at least one hundred and fifty-seven feet (48m.) from east to west and over ninety-eight feet (30 m.) from north to south. Coins found under the floors dste the buildingin the later twelfth century; those of Manuel I Comnenus were especially numerous. The depcsit overlying fhe floors yielded a very considerable number of Frankish coins, many of them bearing the names of the Burgundian rulers of Atbens. Coins of Prince Guillaume de Vlllehardouin of Achaea (1246-78) were also ·found in abundance .. It is V'e.ry difficult to, visualize this building or to discern its PUl'pos1e" for its plan is most haphazard, "3. mere agglomeration of rectangular rooms," It seems to have possessed, at Ieast along the north, a second storey. The location of its chief entrance like· wise remains in doubt, but it may abo, have been. on the north. The remains of this building no Ioager exist-th~y were removed by the excavators to get at the classical floor of the Agora-'but almost a score .of excavation notebooks contain much careful evidence .concerning the building.

The pre.senoe of so many Frankish coins in. the deposit overlying the floors of the; large Byzantine building led the excavat-ors to conclude that the building was abandoned t'in the thirteenth or fourteenth century." There are several occasions of sufficient violencein the history of Athens durin,g this general period when such an exposed place mi,ght have become impossible to live in.

ARCHA.EOLOGY OFMEDI EVAL ATH.ENS 247

The dates 120" 1204, 1311., 133:ll, 137'9, ][ 387~88!, 1397, and even 1402-3, immedia:telycometomind, for in each of these years Athens was subjected either to siege or t-o more or less violent occupation. But the earlier datesappear themore likely; it is not impossible that this building aad those near it were rendered uninhabitable by Leon Sgouros in 110.3 or by the Burgundians in 1204. In view of the large numbers of coins of the De Ia Roche discovered in the fin over the floors, the Catalan occupation of the city in 131l seems too late as, the time in which to set the abandonment ofthis building-.W e must hasten to acknowledge, howeve.r,that the abandonment of this building ,may v,ery well have been caused by some event or factor which bas escaped the historical record and is thus quite unknown to us. It bas been suggested that '~it may be deduced from the plan of the bu.ilding as well as from its unpretentious construction that the rooms were used for shops or for modest private dwellin.gs.~!Pr,etentious construction one would not expect In twelfth-century Athens, but the general plan of the building,. such as jt is, and the excavators' unpublished. nef'orts suggest rather, in view of ::1 certain un.ity which the building apparently possessed, the possibility .of its having once been the residence of one of the powerful arehontic families of whom the Metropolitan Michael Cheniates complains.

In any event all the rooms in this large bunding do not date from. exactly the same time, and it is likely that the building, or perhaps we ·might better call it a complex ofrooms, served more than one purpose in its rather short history. This building, together with numerous others of the sameperiod,must have been a familiar sight to the Metropolitan Michael, and it was doubtless easily reached from the western end 0'£ the Acropolis, sole place of descent from the medieval citadel, by walking down the path which in the Byzantine era sHU foUow·ed rather closely theancient Panarhenaic way through the Agora. There is little or .0.0 archaeoEogkal evidence for theroads or streets which served the twelfthcentury community in the northern Agora" but the easy accessibility of this building to the entrance to the AcropoHs, together with the number of its rooms.migbt even suggest that the building

248 AR.CH.A..EOLOOY OF MEDIEVAL ATHENS

served some official purpose in the city. Or, considering its proximity to the Theseum (Hephaesteum), then the. "Church of St. George in the Cerameicus:'a.n.d bearing In. mind onee more the number of its rooms and their peculiar arrangement, we might even entertairrthe suspicion that this building housed some of the monks of St. Goo;geand the travelerswho carne to them. But further conjecture is idle, for it has not proved possible to identify this building no! to indicate its purpose.

In Michael Choniates' day there was dearly a larg.e settlement along. the northern end of the ancient Agora, under the eastern porch of the Theseumvand the dirt-packed floors of the large Byzantine building have given up [0 the archaeologist's spade numerous objects of interest and some of importance-=sherds of pottery; lamps, bowls, and plates; bronze keys" a. bronze cross, and some bronze ornaments; a bronze stamp, lead seals, a battered bell; large storage jars (p#h()i) sunk into the earth floor; and Cornnenian coins in great abundance, especiall y from the reign of Manuel I (1143~80) . When the Byzantine, Frankish, and T urkish walls of Section Eta were demolished! in early June of 1935" various ancient objects, such as a msrble relief of Asdepius (found on June 1 in a Byzantine wall), fragments of bowls and. plates and lamps, Inscriptions, coins, and various ornamented blocks were found.. In this section, too, a Byzantine furnace was discovered, connected with walls predating the Frankish period. Coins make dear the fact thatthisarea was built up in the tenth and twelfth centuries and must have housed at least several hundred people. But the attack upon the city of Leon Sgourosil1 1203, or the Burgundia.n occupation in 1204, or the hard years of Latin rule sufficed to bring an end to habitation in this tenth- to twelfthcentury suburb, and from the thirteenth century until perhaps. the dose of the eighteenth therewas no extensive settlement in this northwest quarter of the Agora region, The city was now la.rgely concentrated farther to theeast and huddled under the north wall 0.£ the Acrnpolis.

To the northwest of Section Eta, in the section marked HMu Mu" (MM) by the excavators-vi ... e.\! in the area. just north of the

ARCHAEO,l,OGY 0.1" MEDrEVA L ATHENS 249

place where the Athens-Piraeus Railway runs past the accieor Theseum (or rather Hephaesieum )-the remains of a number of Byzantine houses have also been found. Here was rich evidence of Iong-continued Byzantine habitation. Byzantine coins were dug up, together with rings and other ornaments as well as plates, bowls.ipots, pitchers, lamps, loomweights, day stamps, storage pitsand pi/hoil wells, cisterns, and cesspools. Section MM formed part, as we have seen, of a large Byzantine suburb which spread out from the northwest corner of the Acropolis, and from the lower slopes of the Areopagus, more or less covering the region of the Hill of COnOflUS and the ancient Agora.

In ancient timesa toad ran east and west through the southern part of Section MM, following a line almost parallel to that of the present railway .. Along the north side of this road once stood a loogDodc colonnade, which appears to have been built or rather rebuilt late in the first century B.C. or in the early first century A.D., with oldmaterials perbaps left from the destruction caused in this section by the soldiers of Sulla in 86 B.C. This building is known as the North Stoa, It was destroyed by a fire which left a. thick "destruction fin" all over its noor,asl1~ and charcoal whicDapparen.tly fell as the roof collapsed. This buHding was notrebuilt for a considerable time, and the earth and debris which collected in its ruins and covered the floor yielded potte.ry of the late third cenmry A.D." which makes almost certain the fact of its destruction by rheHeruli in A.D. 267. A new bu~ldiDg with solid. concrete walls was later built upon the foundations of the older .Mortb. Stoa; this was done in the earlier fifth century, as indicated by the finds of coins beneath the floor level of the new building. There was much building 10 Athens in the regien of the Agora in the early years of the fifth Gentury, indicating a fair measure of pr'Qsperity in the dtyand an increased confidence in the future, which may have been the consequence of a. successful defense a.ga.mstAladc in 395. In any event, the new building appe3L1's to have remained in use throughout the entire sixthcentury, but excavation bas revealed that Section MM was pfetty much abandoned in the later sixth. century, owing

250 AR'CHAE,OLOGY 0,' MBDIEVAL ATHENS

doubtless to the irruptions of the Slavs and others,

Running parallelto the stylobate of the North Stoa, and about hventy-one feet from it, is the north wall of another structure, called by theexcavators the "South Bu.Hding,Hwhich was also. built apparently in the later first century B.,e;, or early first century A.D" Into its foundation bad been set the Praxiteles base=bearing the words, in well cut capitals" Hf}a~ft.£A.fJ' e.niolwep-'wbich apparently 'comes, accordingto Professor H. A. Thompson" from the Sanctuary of Demeter, reported by Pausanias to be inside the Dipylon. A street about twenty-one feet wide passed east and. west between the North Stoa and the South Building; it was probably constructed at the same time as the buildings themselves. Like the North Stoa, the South Building seemsalso to have 'been destroyed in A.D. 267 and was subsequently rebuilt in whole or in part in the first years of the fifth century A.D.

,Although 'the settlement in Section MM declined rapidly in the troubled decades that followed the death of Justinian, some habitation must have continued here, for the wells in this area have yielded pottery finds from the sixth century A.D. to the period in which the brown vitreous glaze begins. ,A habitation level somewhat higher than the late Roman levels contained some fragments of walls.wlth much the same orientation as the later Byzantinewalls, but the fragments. were not extensive enough to furnish a glimpse into a. room or a house of this era. Beneath this Ievel, much early brown-glaze ware was found, These' houses, however, were largely destroyed by fire, as shown by the layer of ashes ovedying th-eir floor level, Coins and pottery were found beneath this habitation level. The disturbance of the lower filling at the time of excavation has made this level hazardous to date, but the coins .suggest that the site is late'! than Constans ]I: and may conceivably date from the later eighth and ninth centuries, the time' ofthe Athenian empresses Irene' and Theophano.

Aft'er the destruction of the brown-glaze settlement, Section MM was again built up, rather extensively, with private houses of a very good size although unelaborate in construction and ornamentation. The general plan of tbe area still followed that

ARCHA.E'OLOGY OF .MEDIE,VAL ATHENS 25,1

of the earlier Byzantine and classical periods, Two streets, ran north and south through thenew settlement, parallel to each other and about seventy-two feet apart (i.e., c . .22 m.). Since both these streets ran beyond the area of excavation, both north and south; and since no street running east and west was discovered for this period, the remains of three ,city blocks were thus recovered, "The' plans, of all are similar" utterly simple' agglomerations of small rectangular rooms, the walls of which are seldom exactly paralleL" Corns found beneath the floors of these rather spacious dwellingspomt to their having been built at the end of the eleventh century or SQ" the latest coins being mostly those of Alexius I Comnenus (l081~1118). These buildings wer'e in their turn destroyed by fire, Coins found between the pre-fire and post-fire floors and in pits fined up at this time appear not to run later than the reign of Manuel I Comnenns (114:;,.8.0); the date of tbe fire thus appea.rs to 'be about the middle of the twelfth century ora Iittle later, We may have evidence here of the visit ofthe Norman King Roger II of Sicily to Athens in 1147, when he pillaged Corinth and Thebes and removed numerous silk workers.

It may be noted in this connection that the excavators unearthed in MM what they regarded as an "Industrial establishment," with large vatsand basins, which suggests the possibility of a shop for dyeing textiles, a place in which Roger H would have taken an immediate interest, The houseswere.Jn any eventreconsrructed immediately (after Roger Irs departcrei'], but destruction soon came' to them again~ and a third floor level indicates still another reoccupation of this site. Nevertheless" enough of the old (second) walls remained for them to he repaired, and in some places flimsy new walls 'were built Coins found below the top level suggest that the second destruction occurred at the beginning of the thirteenth century, probably caused by Leon Sgouros in 12:03:, or possibly by the forces of Othon de la Rochewben they occupied Athens in October or November of 1204. (Coins of Manuel 1 Comnenus wereespecially numer-ous .. ) The uppermost floor level here, the third, was apparently laid down about the middle of the

252 ARCHAEOLOGY OF M.EDIEVAL ATH.ENS

thirteenth century or shortly thereafter, since some coins of Prince Guillaume de Villehardouin (1246-78) were found beneath it. A half century O.C so b:ter SectionM.M was abandoned, "Practi(ally everywhere," reads the excavator's report, «we found overlying the uppermost: Byzantine Iloor a mass" of debris from fallen walls: field st-ones, broken roof tiles, mud brick." This destructionmay have been. caused at the time of the Catalan occupation of the city In 1311,. The Aragonese version of the Chronicle O'f More.a records that Duchess Jeanne began by defending the citadel .against the invaders, but soon gaveu.p the idea. and surrendered the Acropolis to the Catalans, whose violent destruction and slaughter of the inhabitants .in Thebes is notorious. After 13,11 no buildings of any significance are found in this area ...

The construction of the houses in an three periods of habitation in Section MM was simple. Field stones, with sometimes an ancient block.were set in mud and formed the foundations except where unusual weight overhead, oran earlier pit or well underneath, might require mortar to be used! for additional strength .. The upper walls were of smaller field stones .. They were heavy enough to have-carried .3;. second storey; but the excavators found no evidence of stairs. Some wall plaster remained, a. soft gray lime stucco. Hard-packed earth formed the Hoofs in most houses of all three periods, although one room in a bouse in the westernmost of the three blocks, at the northwest corner of the section, did contain "traces of a well laid pebble mosaic which had later been patched with flat tiles and stone slabs." Cesspools disposed of the sewage. Storage pi/hoi were sunk into the floors of the houses, sometimes even three in one room; most of these pith,oi belofl,g to the first level of habitation, the "pre-fire period," and are of diff,er,ent types. Some of them were intended for the storage of oil and wine, others for the storage of grain and other dry substances. As earl yas the sixth century, probably owing to Slavic or Ava.rk irruptions, the ancient street running east and west had beenabandoned in Section MM~ but with the conseructioo of the large Byzantine houses, in this: area two streets-now running north and. south, as we have seen=-were laid out for the use of

A,R.CHAEOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL ATHENS 255

the-inhabitants. These two streets were graveledand for some time were kept in good condition. Although in the final period of the settlement the western street became deeply rutted, tbe eastern street was GontiouaUy gravele-d, and so its, surface' rose with, the cocstantlyrisiog floor level ofthe houses in the easternmost of the three blocks. This process went on for something under two centuries.

The Byzantine settlement of which such interesting remains, 'were excavated in SedionM.M extended some distanc,f' to the south and more or less covered the HUl of Colonus, upon which stands the-majestic temple' to Hephaestus, the so-called Theseum, for the beauty of which Mr. Lancaster finds it very easy to moderate his enthusiasm. To the north of the temple the extensive remains of several Byzantine houses from the tenth century to the twelfth and thirteenth were discovered.while the site bore abundam witness to fourteenth-century and even, later construction. By joining together the plans of the Byzantine buildin.gs oathe Hi]! of Colonus both, to the' north and south of the temple; with those of SectionM'M, r~8ular" city blocks are traceable," according to the excavator, the longest of which was about 25.0 feet. Tbe houses in the area to the north of the Theseum measured about twenty-six by fiftyHtwo feet (8 m" X 16m.). Some of them pad a. second storey. Pitboi or storagejars were' found, as almost always, in somerooms: bedroomafraces of a hearth 0[' kitchen, a paved court with a latrine, and the like were revealed in excavatioa, Nevertheless "everything po,ints. to the greatest simplicity:' The walls were of rubble" over which sun-dried brick 'was laid; theirthickness and style variedin accordance with their period. Sewage was disposed of by stone channels running into the street, as in Section. MM and as, in, l:ad! it stiU is in, some hUUSfS in the PI, aka, or so-called Turkish quarter in present-day Athens, The floors were .01£ packed earth. The thresholds indicate that these' houses bad double doors, lockedwith a vertical crossbar.

The history of the areaoa tbeHill of Colonus which Iies to the north of the' Theseum (i.e.,. Section ,AA)" may be divided into some four periods of habitation. Aft,er signs of destruction in

254 ARCHAEOL,OGY OF MEllIEVAl AT'HENS

the ~ate.r sixth century A.D" perhaps owing to Slavic irruptions, there come remains of some later houses, chiefly or the ninth and tenth centu.ries.Ne:xt, there was much building here in the early eleventh century, and the serdementwes maintained without apparent difficulty throughout the twelfth century. Wider wafts than previouslywere built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries ; the blocks used were large, often classical remains squared and cut down, which were put at the corners and in other strategic places, The walls were sometimes surfaced with mortar, which was not, however, used as a basic building material, There was a. fair amount of reconstruction during this period, but the general location of later houses remaiaed much the same asthat of the earlier ones. This second period carne to an end, most probably, with the attack upon Athens by Leon Sgouros in 1203 or by the BUlgundians in 1204. ," After a destruction of violent character," reads the excavator" s report, "the houseswere in pa.rt reconstituted and reoccupied," Now therewas much alteration of the previous plan .walls were cut into earlier floors, some rooms were made larger, and the eleventh- and twelfth-century d,'ebris was leveled off andpacked down to form floors for the houses. of Aehenians living under the :s.utgunctianregime,. which corresponds IDO[,e Of less with the third period of hahitation discernible on this site. ,j Abundant yellow-glazed, incised, and sgraffito wares indicate for this a date in the early 13th century," but the building of the third period was "all fairly slovenly.t'which is not surprising" for Latin wealth and the family and followers of the De la Roche were concentrated in Thebe-sat that time. Final destruction and the virtual abandonment of this site by the inhabitants are believed to have taken place in. the fourteenth or the fifteentb century. The archaeological and historical records agreethreughout with most satisfactery unanimity as far as this site is c-oncerned. There were, of course, several episodes of considerable violence during this period,the last of the four periods noted above, and this section (i.e., ALl) probably- ceased to be a thickly settled area owing to one of the later sieges of the dty-13,31, 1379, 1387 .. 88, 1397, or I402·3-towbicha.ttention.~scanedelsewhere in this

ARCHAEOLOGY OF MEDIEVAL ATHENS 255

paper. Still later, a Turkish road was built through this section, the construction of which may have removed some of the evidences of fifteenth-and sixteenth-century habitatioe, but after the dose of the Catalan era there was probably very little, if' any, real settlement here"

For convenience, and by way of summary, the four periods of Byzantine habitation in Section ALI!. may now be brought into, relation with certainwell-known facts in Byzantine and Athenian history. It is convenient to use thisparticular site for summary; other sites, however" could be equallywell employed for the same purpose. The first period extends from some time after the later sixth century A.D. until the early eleventh century, when much building "took place, obviously owing to the revived prosperity of Athens.) which resulted from the restoration of Byzantine power on the Aegean. In a city like Athens, so dose to the sea; there 'Was doubtless an increase of population when Crete was recovered from the Moslems (in 961) and when the emperors Nicephorus U Phocas (96,3-69) and John Tzimisces ('969~76) pushed back the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire and guaranteed the safety of Greek vessels on the Aegean Sea,

The researches. of ProfessorsG, A. Soteriouand D. 'Gr. Kampouroglous would seem to :suggest even an Arabic occupation of Athens some time during the first half of the tenth century I but all this the naval and military victories of Nicephorus Phocas and john Tzimisces must have brought to' an abrupt end, This new security from the raids, of Moslempirates, so notoriously destructive 1n the is] ands of the Cyclades and the mainland coasts of Greece during the ninth and tenth centuries, now resulted in some expansion of the city outside the narrow circuit of the walls north of the Acropolis. Some further confidence probably came to Athens as a result of the visit of Basil II Bulgaroctonusto the city in 1018,. when he made his famous dedications, after the spectacular military Liquidation o:f the first Bulgarian Empire, in the' Parthenon, then the Church of the Panagia Atheniotissa. It is no wonder that there was much building in Athens in the later tenth and earlier eleventh centuries" It is 'what we should expect

256 ARCHAE.O'L(l'GY OF MEIHEVAL A1"HENS

and it is what tbesrchaeologtsts have fOUIlCt" Perhaps it is .£10t unfair to emphasize, too, that the facts of Byzantine history have not by and large suggested the dates for the rise and fall of Byzantine habitation sites in Athens. Coms,pottety, buildingmaterials and the like have furnished the archaeologists with their evidence for dating; the excavation reports rarely contain referencesto facts or events in Byzantine history; the dating of the successive levels of construction and destruction has in almost every case naturally evolved from the archaeological evidence. Almost ironically) the excavator's innocence of medieval 'Greek history more than once strudc me, as I read the excavation notebooks in the American Ago.ra. Records, as not the least valuable aspect of his scientificpreparation, for he was thus not likely to impose some convincing and. intelligible chronology upon the history of the site he was digging, hy arranging his finds in a. framework of knowledge externally acquired. The archaeologist, however) quite literally unearths new and irrefutable sources, more dependable in their way than, say, some of the wild and. prejudiced statemeuts in monastic chronicles (which cannot be checked by other evidence) upon which sometimes equally untrustworthy statements have been made by modern historians both for and against, for only two examples, the Iconoclasts and the Patriarch Photius.

The second period comprises the eleventh and twelfth ,centuries! when there was a fair amount o.f building of rather mediocre type in Athens. To the eleventh century, however, belong those fine little churches, sHU perfectly preserved~ of the Sts. Theodore, the Kapaikarea- and the Old Metropolis, and for the later twelfth century we have the descriptions of conditions in Athens, from the pen of the Metropolitan Micb3!el Chooiates, whose views of the city of his time are consistent w.ith those of the excavators, who have uncovered the remains o.f several buildings thatmust have been familiar to him. Some further building; during the third p .. seriod i.e. the earl- .. ·.··· thirteenth century, could p.,·robibly r

, . .., . ., _ - _ _ . y - - - _ . _ - .. y; - - . . ,. - _ ._

have been expected under the lord Othon de la Roche,who is known to have been rather an easy taskmaster and a fair ruler

ARCHAEOLOGY OF MED.IEVA.L .ATHENS 2~7

in Athens. During the later fou.rteenth or the earlier fif:teen.th century, the fourth and last period in the history of this particular area, settlement virtually ceased. here in a " general final destruction and desertion," for the reasonswe have already noted.

Despite a good deal of compression and also of suppression, this p.aper has become longer than I had intended. .As -I reread what I have writterr up to now,questions occur to me. Why not include some of the material which bas been. omitted and omit some which has been included? There is still sufficient time to make such changes. I forbear to. do so only because I suspect that further consideration will convince me, as it has done before, tbat theright selection was made in the .first place. However this may be, I have omitted, among many other things, much interesting information about the medieval Acropolis; about the monastery of the Hephaesteum, "St. George in the Cerarneicus," and the buildings connected with it, which seem to have been destroyed in 1203 or 1204; the Christian ,graves in and around the Hephaesteum and their contents; the Byzantine buUdings found in Sections, Rho and Sigma, which are east and south of Eta, in. the northern part of the Agora; more aboutthe large numbers of Byzantine and Latin coins and some very interesting pieces of Byzantine pottery; and, finally, about the Klepsydra, the famous spring high up enthe northwest slope of theAcropoljs.which has an intriguin.g and sometimes important history from the Neolithic and Mycenaean beginnings of Athenian. history down to some very dramatic episodes, in 1822 and 182:6,. in. the Greek Revolution.

The justly celebrated Michael Choniatesv rnetropolitan of Athens from 1182 to 1204, has reminded us, like Ecclesiastes, that one generationpasses .away and another comes, but the earth abides for/ever. Athens also abides forever. It was .largely the .magk of a revered name that transformed the complete ruin that the new G.reekgc)vernment found in 1833-34 into agreat modern city, and the tourist of today is singularly ignorant orunimaginative to whom the reflection does. not rome as his hand touches a column of the Parthenon, that perhaps the band 0.[ Plato once

258 ARCHAEO.lOGY OF MI3DIEVAL ATHENS

restedthere, too ... Often I have thought, during many hours spent hy myself upon the Acropolis, of a moving passage in a letter which theMetropolitan Michael once wrote to his friend Michael Autoreianos, ioafter years the patriarch of the Nicene empire in exile; "We may still enjoy [here in Attica] the same loveliness of the countryside, the temperate climate, the fruit-raising, the fertile land, Hymettus rich in honey, the calm Piraeu:s,El,eusis of the mysteries, the horse-ridden plain of the Marathoniao warriors, the same Acropolis, too, where I sit now ,as I write, and seem to bestride the very peak of heaven ... , ."S

" Spy.ddon P. Lampeos, eeL,The Ext41ll Work,,!' (JfMkh~e'l ci,C'·omifJa111J Cb(mi4J'~J (in. Greek.;. ?!!'ols .. ;Ath.eos: 1879-1880)., £1',8,. 3 (VoL Il, p, 12),.

II

ON THE RAJDS OF 'THEMOSLEMS IN THE

AEGE,AN

1- ',Ne- T- 'H" 'E; -.:. N I' N·, 'T H' .

. '. ' " I.'" _: ~.. ',,-_

AND TEN'TH

CEN'TURI ESAN,D THEIR ALLEGED

oeCU'PAT,ION OF ATHENS

THE .fcnne. by, sea. ITo .. m CODs:tanlinople tOI Athens and the Pe)QPonnems was exposed, in the ninth. and ea:diier te'luh c,e'ntud.es. to constant attack by the Arabs .• who went everywhere their :sbips could ,carry them. Byzantine terri.· IJ(i,ry W'<lJs,harnssed"ilnd the' sea, lanes rendered unsafe, from SieHl' and. southe,rn I:taly to Tiles- 8a~oni(:a and C()~stantlfii(~ple itself. Despite the gre,a.t increase in Byzantine na val strength througho,m the second, half of thenin.th century. the Arabs caused ceaseless a,n:xiety and enjloy,ed almost ublquhous success. 1£ the expedition of the protospasharlus Theoctistus Bryennius, in the middJe ,of the ninth century •. went far ww: .. rds f,et;:(Qring Byzan.tine rule in the Pelopon.ne$,lIJIs.:i the Feassel"tton of Byza.ntine naval supremacy in the Aegean Sea was not to come for mere than a century,

The IactIs tbat the' Aegean world was harried incessantly through.out the e:ntite ninth, cenuuy by Syrjan and. Cretan Ara.D-s; and mat the piracies ,af the Afr.ican and Sicilian A~abs abo reachedxhe shores of Greece and me islands. 1:11:805". or P<Issiblyin 807', Saracens from Africa .had assisted the Slavs in the famous siege of' Panas when. the city was only saved from. certain destruction by the mi:racu~ous in-

1 Co:nltuitll'!u~PillPhpopnihii"D.t1 ~,btl.:j'l'lid\f;l:!f1d() .m .. plnO,. 50. ed. Bonn. p, 221.. and ed.Gr. Mlo,ravC&i.'k ,and trans. It.. J.H. Jen:ldna. Budapest, UH9. p .. 2:52. and d... In potni"A. Bon, Lt! Piloponn~s~ b)!~:ntin j'wq·u'tft lItH. Pam" 1951 .• pp,.47·48" 74. It' #Ub.i.

tervention ol St. Andrew',2 The M()Sle:m conqu.e·st of Cr-ete was a mast important event in the iConte-mporan,eous history of' Alh.ens. 111826 a band o:E Spanish Saracen re:I'u,gees set 011 t from Egypt. where tbey had spent an lev,e-fitful decade OF so" ona pmundering lellpedidon to the Dyzan .• tine :island of erf'te.· Pleased with their- . rkh success they returned .in. the spring 0:£ ,827 on a second expedttion under th,eredoubtable Abu Hefs, who was soon to found on Crete the town 0'£ Candia (the modern He:raldeion). they overfa.n the isl.and: completely, a 'valuable gain. for Islam and a se<dous 1'055 :Eor Christendom. because Saracenoorsain ther-e,afterh.anied with merciless persistence the Greek islands of tbe Aege.an.3,

Cl'lete remained in Moslem hands, as is weU known, ,despite several Byzan.tine attempa at hs tecove'ry.fof more lila.n. a. ct'Qtury and a quarter, until its tec;;--on.quest in the year 961 by Niceph~ OirUS Phocas. who became EmP"!l'Of soon thereafter (968~9'69}, :Many facts are kn.own concerniug these piratical raids ·0£ the Ar.aoo,. and, some ,of them are' qu.ite relevant, to, the' hht"Ory' of Athens. Thus; in the time of Basil I the .Mare·,

l! ct. K. M. Sc:tton", "TbeBIlJgall in the Batbru,and th.t!

Ocwpa:lion 01 Corintb in the ~th(';gtury,," SfMmltun,25 (19.) '1.8 fI,. with IlefL

! The Greet murces .litc,: 1M. ,GenesilUl, &:$.ileidi. rJ (de ,Micn44!1fe 11). ed. Bonn. :pp.4tH9 (and .in 'GemZUI" tiQl(l the Agm .dll. held eme.. ·'from wh:lcll, they 1I!unch .anaw upon &omantm:1:tont'J." [p. 49]): Tb.c!.

512

donian. the .Emir of Tarsus attack.ed me Byzantine fortl'e$S of El.ldpm. onth.e island of Euboea .• ,dangen,ll1s1y dose to Athens. tb.e M()6- lems appeared w.ltb. a fiOO't of thirty great warships~ but the dTategO$ of the theme ()f HeUas.- one Oeniates by: name, gathered togelber men ft-otl'l t1:u:! entire theme, oertainly including Atb_en.ia:n:5 .• with. whom he manned th.e threatened walls. and. !l.u:cessfuUy defended the fortress againsc a tremendous Mosl,e;m assault, Oeniates,in fact, succeeded in destroy. ing most ,of the enemies' Heel and. fOlices •. '"

(Ipha:nes CoI1:lintll:nus" Chl'01lO,gr.. U.:21 I, (Bonn.pp .. 7g ft). Ceo. MOD. Contig;u:atlu [i.e.SimeQ,ll Magii$ter]. ,fitdl! imp'. Tf!'cent" ,af!' ,Michaele 1:1, 9 (lkInn" p. 789); Simeon, called Magi.let, Chron;ogr.,de MirA. n, ~.4 {Jklnn, pp., 621,f1,2f)., Cf. Jose An,t. Condl {d. I B2O) , lli.$t',. de 14 Domi'l1.Qddn ,.u los .rfj(db~s en. &ptJ:i'14 [Samaa at: l'driO:If m4l1wmto.s y memorias atdbi,gw:]. I (Baooelolla.,1.8·U). 2~O·2S1j GlUt. Fr. HembeTg. (;e&~h. d. by~nr. u. d. (l~~~. Reich~$ r : Berlin,. IS8~. pp.~28"l2'9. See especially dile va~.uablc account in A . .A. V.::ulll~" By:to::lm~ dies A!rabes: ... 01. I.u. ,DynlUiie d'J'mMium (820·.66'). tfalU. R. Grtgqire, M. Canard .• C. NaIHno, md E. Ho.rn:gm.an:n [Qltpu9B~lle'l1en~ Hi&lnriac Byza.ntina.e,. I], Brua.sels,1935, pp. 31·{H. esp. pp. M·!i5 (Rluui.a:n mj,tion, Biu:c,nW'Q j Araby, I [E9BO), 46·50)" and d. the old. u::roUllt ,of J. lB. Bury. Ea.tlem:

RQm<!l~ E~piu,Un:2,pp, 287·291 fE. Som~ !ih.Olilfl date theSanlOO1 ocwpaticm ,of C~~ in 8213, <.u E.. W, Broob, "Tbe Atll.b OtalpatiQH. of Cliele," English. Hi$l .. Revjr!'Wj. 28 (19n;]4a:l~<j!.4!, esp'_ p. 4.52,whop'Te. fen the ~idenm of· thePaitriardJi Dlonyaj,uJ. as gj'o'en in MiMael the S,yrlafIJ. IOtne chrooology of Kindi); thcgcnen.t pmblem of ~he date Is reviewed by J. B. PlIpadopoulQ!J, Cret<ll Ul:j,d~T the S(!i1ia"~m (92J"961) .lin 'Greek] •. Alhen.s. 1MB. PPI. 58.6(1' It

About the A~ timc:as the' MoSlem. octupa(i.Qo of Cn:!:e. lhe Aghlabid9- of I.:airw:an ~n,in the ~UmIDff Qf 821.. thdr long ,truggle for II be i:$l1and of Sicily. whim Einall.ybecame .• fOT the most part,. it Mollem poll' ","onw'hm Syrawse fcU 1.'0 them, in M.ay ol87S (Vuflic'Y •. B)1mmjlJ! 1!'.ICes ANUS. pp .. 66 ff.: Bury,J!.4sl. em R~n Empiu,pp. :2M.5():8, and P. It. Bini, .ElM· 'Dry O!f theJ!mw:, Lomdcm:. 19a7 .• p. fU). .Alil. ahrough theIe }'QQ Skilil:u. Arab piratemre. of COUIK!. • mflIa~ 1.0, lhiPl going fro:tn. G~ to Italy"pwhlm. I(JID~ ..ulan, in Corllll:lh were loathe tt.I tab: St. O~'Y the Duapol1tcwRhqh,Ull for h.r of S'd]lan Anb pi.n:td (Ft..DYomik., ed, Pil!: th &:lint Grfi'goJl"e it:

Dt!ca.POlilc [Tn.YII,U pUbln par l'.~dtD,td'Etudies alava, V]. Pa,N •. 1926. 1eC; tt, p. 55)c

c n_""-;:"- ('...,.:~. ·C-·,iL.:- - - . _ ··V ( . .J~, ,~ .... p'_,.J! .......

• .......w;r"""""" ....... ,..... .. _i!JR!:nOgr... . ... - -- ull .... _ .. ·_

4on.I), 59 (Bonn. pp .. 2!JS._: ,(;eo. ~UI. Hi:&'t. ~~dj:vm (Bonn. II. 225~220:).

The Continuator ,of Thooph:mes abo descdbes. an extended. attack by the Moslems 0'£ Crete. apparently lin 879.'. upon the wesltrn coast of the PeloPQnnesus "and the further idanw .. ·• A patrician. named Nicetas OOlj'phas. then drungarius, was sem aga:instthem .. Ooryphas reached Cenclueae, the eastern harbor of Corhuh, ina few da.ys. and wasprompdy informed of Moslem depredations at Metho-ne (Modon), Pylos, PatraS!,and the region aroimd Corin.lll. BeIiev.i:ng ill1fiwise to. try to sail aU the way a.mJJl!nd the Peloponnesus, Ooryp.h.as had hi:s sh:ips drawn over the isthmus, from. the Sar()l!l,k 'Gul:finto the Corinthian water, at nIg;nn. and bundled Olin entirely unexpe<;tedatta;ck upon the terrified Moslems,. some '0:£ whose ships he burned: oshers sank. .Some of the Mosiemswet'f put to' the sword. others were drowned. their commander himself being kined~ of the Moslem captives some were subjected to tortures, espedally those w.nort'.rusOO!. C.lltistian baptism. Sh(),rtly after tbis. in 861. an Africanftee'u of :sixty warships inv:ad.ed Byzantine southern Italy. and plundered and took ,capdvles,as far as Ce'pnalonia and Zan(.e, The Emperor Basil sent the admiral Nasar, the successor (1f Nketas Oorypnas,~gainstthem. with a ,large .Beet 01 tri:reHu~s, birem.es, and lighter vessels, .N asar quickly reached MetnQrne with favo:ringwinds. After mme' delay, owing to the desetti.O:fi of many of his m.en. who were severely punished" NaSH restored discipline in his fleet. wiith. the aId. all one John Crerleus me lft-rll.tego.s of the P,eIoponnesus. At, length Nasal was al$Q able to launch. an unexpected nigh.tattack upon the Moslems. who were slain Tn large nurabees, After the bialt1e" N asa.t dedicated sum ene.my ships as bad. escaped destruction to the church ,of Methane. as a th.anksgiving to. :God. and. haswned. to send. news t.() the Emperor .of this stirr.ling victory of .Byzantine arms in Greece.'

II Thmph. Dant .. , Chr:otwgr •• v.. 61·6!, (Booo,. pp', !OO. !(4):Geo.CN:reDut, lilist, cQ"*.pend.(Bono, n, 227· 2.5'0): and d+ thI! not.iCCiD. ~~, pnrantJd., Chmn"I. 35 (Bonn,. ppc 96·97.~.M (fPI. 10J.I05). d~ Bon, U P,ilopt:mni$'e b)1wneitl,. pp. 11, 188. no. 14~IDd OD. the Bygnw.enavy al thU. li.:a:u::. d .. J. B. Bury. 'Th,rm· ~I .dd"mihistn:lliw 8)t.stO!!m :tnthe Ninth Cn'"" (Utll), pp. 109·110,. and A,. It. Lewis.Nawl ~ and Trade {IHI).pp. In-I<<. i57.

IlAlDS OF THE MOSLEMS

There wer-e 'Qmcl'times and places in Greece. however, in which the Moslems had their way'" and tbeIr way was de'athand destrucdon. Thus iin826 invaders from Africa: seized. the i$land o:f Aegina, so dose to Athens. and killed. the hus~ band .of S. Athiilna:Siia~whose parents had forced ber into marriage only sixteen day;!! be:£ore. e News o( the proximity of 'the Moslems must ba've caused ci>'DStemation in Athens. for 'their raid had been sufficient to leave Aegina "deserted and :~firgou~Il,.;; l' In the year 826~7'.wbelil Crete and Sicily fell to the Moslems"they also invaded Aet,OUa and landed in force (mthe bland of Lesbos, where their sinister m.emory long persisted)1 They plied, w,e sea lanes of' the Mediterranean :aJ:mJost. at win. About 898tb.ey destroyed three monasteries, on the bland of S,a.mos,;11 in 8'96, they captured the ancient city ,of Demetrias on the Gulf of Pa,gasa,e(VQlo);10 and six. y~~a'rsl;ater they seized. Tnessalonica, and. sackedthe second dty of the Empire (in July of: 90~:),u During tbis period of their strength and

(I D'I<' S, A~·t.h4ntl$itl vidud CIt' hergurnt'na. cap., I, in dcta SS., Aug. tOm. In (Pads, a.ndR:.oru.e, 1861), p, 170; d. Ed,. Ku:rtz, "Des Kleri~ets 'Gregorio. Beri'cht 'Ubel' du Leben" Wundenn2'ten iU:nd Tqnsla.t:ion del' hI. Thee,dOtaroR Thessalol1lich,. :ne!bsc der Metaphrase des Johannes Staitu;atio:s,"in [the Ml'l'noi're.f d~ I' ANdlmiot imper:i4~e de.!' ,sd~I'li:t'Ji dc'S",·Pt:,ler;sbou'rg [Zapis.kI hlliip. Aba" Nauk], 8th RI., Hist·phiilol. c1.,yot V[, no, I (~9(2). p. !I,

1 A. A, VasHi.ev,. V'~fliiill i drDilry [Za.piski jj5toriko~ liJo.logicheskago Falu~'teta lm,peratoll:kago S.·P(:I:a!. burg,ska:go UniveTSit,!!,ta, ma5!t LXVI:]., u (m90,2). p. 1M. n. 5; Chryso5.Papadopoullos.in 'the G-reek periodical Theologia,. 13,([9:85) 195-.96.

a For the 8ar.U.i.H! :attack. u:pon Aetolia. and the wcttem coast of G:u:ece. see Comt:atitin.e Ac:ropolira, Li!~ Of St. B'arbarw [iEli Greek]. edl. .1... P~padopolJl.G$·Kenmt.lij, ',A..Il\!I~,,;;,.,. "lfP(I.Q"'o~"'p.!:"'i'li:ii' ~·NX:~O"fl.b '1'0.1, l (St, l:'Iete.nool'g. UJ91). seee, S·4, p:p. _409. Onih@il'l.'I'iIJ lion of Lca:]:iOII. lee De S. Theoc~:ut" Lelhia in im~la Pa;ro'" 15. in . .4:ctIJ 8S., No",'. tom.. IV (B:n.well, 1:925), p.,229.

g'Valilie.... l"iWtnliia: i 4.1'46,. 11 (1902)" lSf.1Jli., with, refs., and cE. Tmai.tm. 5 (1947) ) 7,5.

10v'UUiev, :rizantu4 i .!baby,. II. 155·136, V.aulicv dates the &11 ,o:E :D.!mcuili!l :in 902: bu.t D. Of. Kampoll'ro· glou.. 'The C4;Wf'~ ,al .f.thms bj! the S4r41J~1l;t (in 'Gfte'k]. Atb,ene. 19M. pp. 1.21·128:,. b.p WoWii that the co:~ da,te iii 800.

lIV.'uev, Viii. Ii J:i"d~, II; 141·15's',wbere tbe 1OUl'CU are ool!lected ad amlyud:: O. TafRli, The#lIlmiqu, ,ck.t onpa'J iIhI XlY. sUde, PariJ. I.!!'H9" pp. lU.I!i6,

enterptise tb_e Ar,abs, also 'exacted. tribute of the inhabitants of Naxos;12 ruled ov,er those of Pat· mos, and made life desperate' fOr dlem.;11 and Jeft the ialan.d of Par()$ sum awild.ern.ess, as, a result o£ their raid!. that hunters went 'over from E.uboe'a after the: deer and, wUd. goats which became plentiful on. the i$.land ... t~ We;1m!

Hopi. "Griedile:nlall!ld," in Ench and Goobef"s Ent)!. iIQpii~. vol 85 (1867) l22·12!,~ and see ~p«ia:II.'f 'Ih.e .I.ea .• ed, article of AdoU Stmc'k, "me .Ew1x:nng ~. 13.1,(!IDi~kn, dutch die SaJill'm.en im Jalitre 004:" BY. 14 (1905,) 555·51)2, (Th~lcm~ca 'wu ~Ium, by the SaraceM in 904, by the NOnDam in 1U!5" and by the Turu in 1410.) Tam!!; 0"'. ci~'J'cbidlJ' IUmmariz:cs the: acroullIl of john Caimen,ia:tes, De e1lldiio Th~s· sJ;J,lankemi'. ed .. Bonn, 1838:,pp .. 487 ft.

12 Jobn Ca1Deni;a~.lJe t!xddio Tht!SS(lionictn:rl, 70 ,(Bonn, p. 588:); ValiIiev., I",iz:. i AT4,by'. n .. I If.

U John Came.rttatcl., ,De ~xc. Thtsndonk" 68-69' (Bo.tI!n, pp. ,S8~.·58J).

if ke the most i.ntcK!lting l'Iint.h.ccnw:ry life D~ .S., Th~,!:i;st~'L4!.l'bi:a in ;I'I""'~ PG1'O'. 11. in ,dt;-hI SS"" NO'\', tom .. IV (l"~b. I.). p. 228. 'The: Li!,~ ()1 $., 'The(lc~:isteal Ltsbw was wnueJi by one, Nli~9 M~Ri'ter. who, wu sent by the Empel'Or Leo, VI IiI,UIi CI1\'oy ,10 the Oretan Aram, Niitttas, WU, fomcd In break his voyage. for a briefwbile, at, the bland of .P,arm,. wheR he visited aotKebeautitul ch"licb of tbeVirglm which the .Arabs had destroyed. Rcr,ebe :metao oid 'mont mut!ed S'YJItmn, :who had liyc(l on the :island by :himMllf (01;' !'nom thlin thirty ya,n. S,meon ce:lebiral~ the dM!le !iel"i'ice fgr NioetQ lirid hiICfJm:pa.FI~Gnl,allld then toldthcm mt :wlo:ry of is., T~"IC:" u he: bad hQrd it IGme },eanbeful'C' from a :mem,eer ,a.f a hUl"i[· ing panr which had come over fllOm Eubo;e;a to P:ii.IUii. Th~ bunter bad. ntd S. Theoctiate at the very church where .NicetM, and bisrompaniotl5 had met Symeo-n. and she had to1'db:im the story of her captlllt' by Cretan pim.tes. yeats befOf'e, wh~n til.!!), ha:_d 'ta:k:.tm her islllnd home of Lesbos. On tbeir n!tumvoyagt!lhc Cr'tta!ll had! landed on PaFOl, whef't S. Tb.eoctUl:e had escaped Irn.to dileW'OOdJI ami :l'mIltl:ncdin hidiinguntil lh.c! ,depa.u!!Ite of the .Arabs. $Ile had. been, then: now I$Omt th~rty '~CiD. S. Tbenctilte :Kq,ualed. the hlU1W to bring hu ilh~ cuduinlt w'hen he re:roumm .~. the illiI:ndnex~ real '0 hunt., He did 110 .• and ~ wut bunting. Whm he Iet:urM<ll to tb.e church" ~ to' bid .h.C!rgoodbye. he found! her'dea.d. He buried tbe holy woman. Lr:&C wtting 01 'one hand IS a lelie, and men going hack to, bu boat. he P1'C otdcn to let .. iI. btU the boat RlDained mOdOfdefOt, bcld .fut in ttl ha.VeD. The hlln:ter l1'i'Idm'lGOd (bat Godl:wl been anFRd by h1JbaribtirmH iltquisbionof the' te1ie.liOd. lei wetilJtbKk to rhe ch'~Rhl~ 1m.ty the UDd with, the bod.yo:l S.. '1Ii'hmcWR.lfteT which die _p wu mb:aculously rdeaam &om itt 'divine~. The hun.ter dum re-~~ wbat bad.bappe&ed. "it HO-

314

. informed by the :historian. Genesiu.s that later f'n~ in the time of the Emperor Leo VI the Wise. .aCretal'l corsair named Babdel was, driven bya storm upon the ,share .Q£ the Peloponnesus, when Cons:tan,tine TeiSarakontapechys was sirategas of the southern th.'eme"u;

Moslem raids caused very ,se:ri.QUS social d,islocations both in, the Greel islands and. (lin the mainland. All tbe .inhabitants of Aegina WIeR ,thusfon:ed to Leave tbeir Island about 896. because the Moslems descended roo frequently UpOilll mem. They sought refuge and, we 3i.r:e told, enabUshed new homes in Atdca, the Peleponnesus, Boootia"and In other places.~fI Among rhese refugees we're the father and morn,er.of St. Lule the Younger (of Sti:ris). who finally seuled in Castoria, near Delphi in, P'bod.s" where St. Luke Wb probably barn. AlthQugh 'we are not concerned here with Sc,. Luke's in.terestingcareer, we Blust nQ:teth.at balf a century aft:e:r his parents,' flight £r·o:m Aegina. S1. Luke was in his tum obliged to flee Iromthe Moslems, in 943, this time' from a. piaoecaUed KaJamio,n (Kala-

,aPlOWl thm ti,u'~ the boat a.r:oi.lnd" .and 'vent bad:. to Parol, but. ilile~'rou.nd that, th~ body (),f S,. Tile· ,octistc had vanished from iu gravel S"uch was the It,Dry which the hu,nter nad told S,:meon. \Vbo nOw told! it 00 NiiceLal, wbom hi'! bound by oa~b ~.Q< oow:mi.t it w wridug; Ni«:w hu dene this in. itti¢.h .charming fashion that :tb.e present writer has in hi~ tu:m. lifl'll bound abo '~paII it on to such Q·f his rea.den as have the oo!l!.'age' tv read lcm.g f':oolnOU::iI.

111 1.01" (knULiill, BBSjkiai~ II (.Bonl1l, pp.4'1·48).

)I! Pitll S .. .Lucae Ju,fliioru~ in l.·P., Mig1le" Pa:tmlogia ·G:rlAl!!'ca:, eXI .• HIA. 444.:\; CU, U ,IC' 'TO~'iI"Otl' [ii.e. 1':0£0 .e~iol!ll ,AO'Iiri.] r~,"~1 ~l ,A,i"Y.tJ'iJ~ '''N'~,I''T'al :roijf .,~al'!lI , •• '. ot .. 4' •• I.i".x"i:s ,epi530IlJ "TW' I"rijs • A'f!I.p ~~P'l'rli\1 ,eZI'\I!.~ ~.ji!~If" iI!~,.-N 'r.~ Ileal .o)l·I:~'r~f ;Il'd"TEf,· 'Tii f~'Xo,,' ,.<ij.,. -F:ploJo., ~ .-JH;t' (j',,,,, ofl'1Qllronn, ~ITl:N'4n'4i.

-ylro,,,.u JI:'" 'l!"P~ 4t",*OPI!I"1 '~CI~'I"O~ ~1_,...i~"'TIlf ,,,6>"(u

... ni ol jUt ",'" X.!KPWQ$'o)' 4f riJ'" Toil D.~or, ~f'qol 11," ;-010 1t~1I' IIlCl~ al'.:\iIif ,n1l.01 "G-:rd).ujl'6JFroiSo II' lIih'G:t,I1X''''' !i",'Y~dir(l!i'TO 1'& ... ol~cu. ·On, St. .LIlk.e the Younger. ,of Soris (Stei:rioicsjt. see Cbry'$. Pa!p~'· d.opouloe. in th~Gree'k pmod.ica~ The,ologi4" 1 S (1935) i9:;·U'. aad CO'l'ltrib~ti'(.!!n:s [:Il'~,i\~] '0 I Iii e' .His,tary at .M,onar'ic Lift in Gf'4!(!ce: .I., S! • .L~b thl) :r:oun:g:er ['Nil"]" Athens, 1935: Chris. Zonas,]1Ilos ~:roM,nm ••• Alw~a, 'TAl Blw. AWflIlio 1935; D, Gr. KamlflOiiT· ·0000tili, l'h~ Ctlfrlu~ QJ' ,",."hem by th,e $ariU""'~ F~ ,Gte'k]. AtheM" 19,.., :pp. 81-112; a:nd d. N,. ,A. Bees; "Tb.e MOJiUtcty'w St. Lu.te of Sdrif" (in GteCik]." i:n BNJ n (19.hH) U9 if.

m,os?). presumably in Attica.1" Apparen.tly much . of St. Luke's life., like mal of his conlJemporai'"iC$~ was passed uncle'f the dar'k. s,hadow of :Moslem attack until peace, came, to him with death in the year 953.

Although the Arabs descended upon the P<eloponnesus in rapid raids", tbey appa.:r:e:ntIy never setded there for allY appreela ble period, as they are believed by some scboLars to have done in Attica, the, evid.encefo:r thb belie'( being some pieces of Arabic i:Qs.cripdon$ and quite a number O'iarchitectura] fragments bearing 'Cufie designs. \<\'e come now to the alleged, Arabk occupation of Athens .. The well-known Cunc designs on certain Athenian (and other) churches of the eleventh and, twelfth eenturies were prebably ins_p:ired by such materia"';" which appe'a:r to have been rather abundant in Athens tow,ard the dose of the tenth century, conceivably the work of Moslem crahsm...e:n who Ii ved in £he dty duting some brief pericd of Arabic occupadon or werle i.mported Ior building purposes in, m,e late tenth (l@:nlury after the Byzantine :reoov·e11' of Cn~te,.1:8 The hisbYtira'l record would sngg.est that the most Iikelyperiod of the Ata'bic OCC1l& patlon, if a.ny, mu.st have come in the late ninth or early tenth 'Ce'otury. during theJ'ie[gn of the Emperor Leo VI. (88:o-'912).whoS!e' milit3,ry and naval ventures against the Arabs were neterionsly unsaceesstu], It is impos.s:iblle to say. how. ever. whether the Moslems in Athens lived there as conqneror.sor as, capti1rl'es.

TBe general quesden of the M,osle:m.s. in

:11 :Vi,tA s. Lucae. in PG eXI. 461A. Kalandon bdng giv,en uKala,biGfi in Mi.gne. The Ja~e Pwf.cltor KampouI·oglnus has ldentifiedl"ht! pla.¢C as :KdamOll. i.n Attka (Tht: Co.p·4u"T .... Of /f.th,en.r by the Sariicens, Atbenl, HiM. pp, 81, i!2).wbidlseems .y~ry reJtsona:ble'. It was titis utadt, upon, Attka. in. 94J! ""Web Klmp(lu~lj)ujj at fif$:t be.lievoo .100 to {tie deprwdonand briiefOC:al· patlan o.E Ath~ by ~be s:arac~, alld whi,eh .be da:imcd, is the ep.iilOde described! ill the llO-caUcd "'iiamen'l o.f Am.ens,"lint pUblished by D~toul1ib l~ te81: KaroPGu.rogfous later cbanged bil mind ,as Cc(l tbe d!ate of the a:ne.gcd Mos'em OC(iD.pationof .AthetlJ" prefem:ng the-period 8,96·902, Le, jUJt afiiu thC!littacb beklre'wbkh the pa,r;e:ttt5 ·OIf St. .L.I.I:k·cfint: fkd from Aegina to Phods (800), ou aU of which Me i,,/ta.

18 Cf., - the iQtn.cUveoo.te in Bon. Le Piloponmu lry.%411!tin;, p., 18,,0. I.,

BAlDS OF THE MOSLEMS

Athen!l invohi'eg im.m,ediae:ely the problem of the interpretadon of the ~aned"Lammt of Athe!:l:s,'" From :lI.!srx.teenth- Qr 'ead)' seventeenth-centuryman.uscrlpt in mefo:tm.er Imperial. .Publk Library of St. Petersburg (no. CeIl). Cabde~. Destounis publishod in 1881 a sort ·of "lament" (01"1.-0,,) in sixty-nine jog-trot "political"",eTSes. Acc.o!l1dingco tbi,spoem the "Persians" Invaded Attica, burst into, thedty of Athens,. killed the priests, together witfu. the wise oh:lmenand leaders of the community, destroyed the houses with aU their oomenu. poUuledthe churches, d.efiled the icons. a.nd ra.vislled the women and boys (vv. 19..2~):

" ... and Athern~1 subsides and groons and weeps,

and simply cannot endure it" (v. 26).

In th.e poem. Athens is represented as, a woman grieving. Dest()unis dated the poem in tb.e second half oE the fifteenth century. and expressed the belief th.at its unkn.ow,n aluh.or was probably an ecclesiastic, The poem is written, in popular Greek, hut by a person ·of some educaeion, ]t ra,ther resembles uertain laments ()·,f the later fifteenth and sixteentbeenrurles on the b:U (ilf Constaminople und ot Trebizond, th,eRhoo:i.a.n plague of 1498, and the Iike, Although wme schoi,ars sought to connect the lament pllhHshed by I>estilJllnis with the Turkish attack. upon Athem and ocrnpati.on ,of th.e IQWU city in 1397. Dessounls, Lampros, Grego:rovius. Krumbac:ner. HeI:sen.betg'; and others have dated. the poem in rhe second half of the fifreenrh ,oentury.and stated that it describes the fall of Athens to the Tl:Ji.rks in 1456,. Soth,e matt.ers[,ood for some yea.nuntil the Greek historian of Athens. the late D. Gr. Kampeuroglous. took up the problem 'Of the lament agalin ..

It was; the opi]n:i:oll ,of .K.amponl'oglotls that the destructive se.b:UFe 0'£ Athens described in rhe lament is not th.e TUrkish. occupation of 1456,bl.1t actually cbe capture of Amens by the Saracens, in the later ninth. 01' earlier tenth centuryJtlFor some time KampoliLl'oglous be-

1;11 Kampou.roglou,pubUr.hedbb rice :in tOU.n«n. oo~es; wbieh appam1. ill. !:hc:' Gteek periodical .1lesti4 fmm 14 July '!,Q 25 September., 1928; the conl'CDIU of these

81.5

lieved that the Llf'e of St. Luke the Younger of Stiris supplied oonvind.f!lg grounds for dating the Sa:racenk capture of Athens precisely in the y_ear943,.oo Later on,tu)wevel, Kampourogl.ous dedded. that the Saracens must ha:vetalen Athensa bout 896, .andl,ost it about '902; Afben!i was thus in Moslem }lands duringtne same period that they held. Demetrias on the G1!!Jf o( Volo. [rom wh.ich rheywere expelled by Nkeph.Qf1lsPaoc;3is,thestr:aiegos of Thraee, Kampouroglous ,observed that"a~thQugh for the yea:u jtl.stpreood:ingand following 8:96-9G2 dated Greek. inscriptilonsn.ave been found. no dated inscriptions have $0. .fa:.r come to light fQr these six ye:ns.:u Kampourqglous thus beUevedthat the authQr ,of the lament lived long after the events which be recounts, forl:be Iang;u,age and style of rhe Iamentappear to date from the later fifteenth century. . For reasens w.hkh need not concern 111$ Kampouroglou;s was also (;ertaJin. that the auther of the lamen.t was noran Athenian, eonrrary to the opinion of Gregowvit!s. Among Kampourogleus' many argum.ents f~)rseeing in th.e lament for Athens evidence ofa Moslem capture of the dty in the .Iater· ninth century, ramerth.an a description OIf the events of 1456 when the Ottoman. Turks took. over, he noted tbat verse -is of tbe lamenu. refen to the fact that[ne peasants of Sepolia. tile district northwest of Athens, "had. liv,ed in freedom,wi.th. great joy" (To\.!i .{~Ii"il!!~ ~61tkpg p;n·a,xap&'p'£¥&)..:I11i) before their enslavement by their "Persian" cQnqnefQ:rs~ but how eeuld those who .lived. as sel'.fs[8ot!A,,,NP@t«Q~] under !:he yote of the hated Latins, asks Kampournglous.be regardedas Iree men for whom. me cont:a.lned great joy? Thus the even.ts described in the I.amellt must precede the esrabllshmem of the

fi.otaaml1!lmml!riized i.n KampouroglOM'l'Jook Oil 'H ··A~UT~" '.U1tnli.' ~.(j. .,&!, .~iII!hill,", . ..w.~. A:tibem, 19.34. pp,. 52 ft, (This bOOk il h~lc« cit:edi uthc G~Pt~f1! o:t AU;I~m.) Fiofthe tni.to[ tbc"Lam.ent of Athens." see the Ca,'ure o.ft.lthem, pp. 16-11 afidl.!i4· 155, w.11:11 a pbo~ostark IqIimduaion of the manuero:pt.

20' ('.afJ,un 0/ .j,I.liIe1U,csp.. pp. 81 -82,1 '1-13,8. 2l1! C"plur;e Of Athen:5',pp. 170'·111.

first Latin rigi.me In 1.2Q4.Z2 Be all this as it IiD.Y. thellelS . better evidence than. that which Ka,mpourogl.olils has a:ddllcedfor theres:idence of Saracens in Athens in the later ninth or earlier tenth ,c,entury. fo:r Arabic in.:scriptions on native marble have been found in Athens.

The Arabic finds in Atbens, are divisible into two general types,: I) true Arabic inscripdol!ls. of whiCh some half dozen 4lire now known, together' wit.b certain genuine Cufic designs, and 2) later BY,lantine imitations, of IUch Cone desi.gns. The :ifiScripdons thus far found in. Athens may themselves be divided imo two classes: I) three :(ragm:ents of what was ,apparently once a rather long text, possibly on a mosque built upon th.e remains of tbeanclen£ Asdepieum. and 2') some' simple texts or brief phrases caned on pieces Qf marble or' stamped. OR bricks. emploJedas architectara! decorations. Let us begin with the inscriptions fl'om the Asdepieum assu.ming that we are in :fBlict dealing: with. a s:i:ng:le text or rather a. single layout en the w,aU." SUzy,gows.ki found the firsr piece in 1888 on the south slope ot the A,eropolis, near the &depieum., It is a, three-line fragment said by some scholars, to be too small to read. butappears to belong. accQroii.ng to' Max van Berchem, to lb.!:! elevenrh or twelfth century; to Stnygow~ s.ti, th.is find seemedtQ furnish evidenee "of the presence aE Moslems in Athens at this tim.e.··:;li The ff;agmentin question is cut in Hymettic marble, and fsnow preserved in the Byz.anti.ne Museu:rn. in Athens (no. 318)1; it was recovered some yea.rs .ago worn the so-called T'ower of. the

~~ C4pCu:n~ Of A!~htm" p. 74. Kampo'1.ImglQWlS appea:l~ to believe that !;hue was little to choose UQDI between tbe La:ti.m: and the Turks, !Jut iII. faeil. tbemle of the, A«iajl.loli in Atb.ens was verY' :Iight. a.mel. :in. oonl:rul wirth that of ~he Turk, oould fudeed ha'Ii'Cl letDIed ill ret.ro5pect as it pe:dod ofn:ladve freedGID when life 'was in fad joyful.

$3 _. in. :gmeral. the ttxmUent arude of Geo. So~.riou ,. •• Axabic:Dcoorations on theB'yzantine Monuw(mts of Greece" [in G!ift!k~.in* SHJIl (1934-55) 23'-'$9 .• wUh vel)' brief' mmQlaF}' Jn Gennan.

., Josef SinygowUi. i'n MIIIX.:van BeJ'Ch.cm and j. SU2Y· ,gowski. Amida [D,w-bebil'l, Maopolamia]. lkiddberg., 191.0, p. 81.2, wb,ere fi.g. 324 iI II very care:bI dr.awimg of acwo-linc :imcripli'OD;; OllC fiDe' of .!lte origiml ba'!'ing ~g o."miu'td. t~r'Wlth $(late )etten from the ,other tWCil lina.: see Gco. ,Soterieu. in BNI U 09Sf..,!5) 255-2J6, fie:. 4.

Windii in dle Roman. Agora.wh.ere it h9id been trani:fettred for S3!:fekeep.img from the A:sclepi. eum. Fiomthe region o:fth,e latter building' two other pieces have been fOiund of much the same ,gener.al mal',ader as the6rst. One of these. a triangu:lal' fra,gment. now in the Byzantine Museum (ne, B15) .• bas also been stated. to be too smal] to read .e- 2G: The second is mum. more legible, however. and is in. a, style Q£' writing common from the ninth to the eleventh century;: it was found i:n. 18707 in Laropert's,e1Lcavlltion of the Asdep:i.eum; the second and. longe:r

- .

of i.ts two lines was said by the French ,odental-

is't Combe toeen rain the phrase"'. . . this mosque was founded.. .' :. 21 This readin,g was later rejected, however, as "false and fantas;tk"': the three inscriptions were said to be. in fact. invocatlcolls from. the Koran wbUe it was also :point:ed out that me religious cusaom of the Modems expressly forbids putting upon the w,aUs of a m(~qae any his-tocka] record 0:1 its :fonndatiolft. Kor,anic invocations,howev,e:r. such as those written on the smajl pieces ofnatfve marble from the Asclepieum were invariably Inscribed (Jon the walls o[ mosques; &0 that. rather cl!lri.oudy. Combe's conclusion that. the! esaablishmentol a mosque was attested by the fragm.ecot he believed he had read was (;Qfilirmed de,spite the :inaccunq' of his Rading,:27

Two short decorative texts are also preserved in the Byzantline Museum (nos. ~12 and 814). The RfSt •. whkh once formed a part of the small ,coUection In the so-called Theseum, is on Pen-

'1'1,.· .. A·b···· b

tie Icma.rl!j~.e; U I!S, a truez .ratncmscrrpnon, 'uc

is in, a h.ighly f;ormalized style, with flJouri.sb~ known as "Cufic palmettes," charaetenstlc of

21! Soteriou..BNJ 11 (19:M·-!5) 256·21'l1; fig. 5,00. (If c.ouac. ·of :Hymeuic marble.

HSMmou, '''.Atabic llemains in A.thens in Byzantine Times," in the PrM:~~ditlgs [Ptalll:iltz] 01 th~ A£'ad~~ olAth~m, IV (1g<J9).reptiflted lnKlrmpou:mglOIilI., C(l1'tt4,Tt 0.1 d,hem" pp. 160·.161.;, Soterlou. BN)' it (1954-35) 236·23-7" fig., 6. The piece thus t'Ud by Combe \\1M, in the Acropolis Museum lin 19'16, hut ,could DOt be found in the UI~·:I.

!!1_ Ka:m,pruurtlooS. CIilfJ.ttiTI!' 01 ,AtheRS,pp. 178·[81. •. and d. SOtcriQu.BN]11 (:l9M·!6) 266-26'1. (The Dew reading 'wumade byhamdu:ll:ih. tb.c Mufti ·wOon.· liantino:ple; who data me insttipmm. in dae' ~'t:b omtuty.)

•

RAIDS OF THE MOSLEMS

517

the deYelllb.cent~ryand la.ter.,2aThel'e are similar Cuficfnscri.ptioru on. ceramic plaques set .10to the walls of the church Qf the St$.. Theodore, wheretbey alternate with diecoradve plaque'S of CuBe des:ign with wAich they hal" m.onhereadHy to fonn arnnninghand; the (!(Inn ·of wriiting ls simple 'Cu6c;without pOl]. meues, and <m one plaque th.e Arabist Comibe I\e'a.d..wim. much he,sitation. the WOirds "power of God.···~ If this reading is correct i.t is curious and imere&ting. because monograms of ChriS[ were frequently stamped on the bricb w.hlch w'en' into me construcdon 0:1 ChristiaTJj <:hurdle5 .. so So far we ha.v€ notiecl. an.Iy true Araibic hucripdons; they a ppelU"' to date from the tenth a:nd. eleventh centuries.

The:r-ea:t1e nuraerous otber memorials o:f a MOS:I.em past iJ,l Athens. In ]888 Stnygows.kl found, in the Asdepieu!ll,a plaque with an uprightcross 3!.nd a broad. band 'of Cufi.c d.esfgn aJong its top' bocder.31 andmentiQn should be made ()f the remarkable lion plaque, w]thits vErticaJ bor-ders of Cufie palmeues, which eo StrzygoW$ki "~Q dureh und durrn. meso:potaID' isch all~ieht," removed fmm. the A.cropoli:s to the Natioaal Mllseumin 1889. and now i.n the By:z:andne Museum~1i There are Cufi.c designs, and other Arabie ornamenratfon ontbe walk of the ih.UT(:h of the Sts. Theedore, as 'We hase seen, and. tbe same: is tme of the K:apnikar,ea on Henne.s St .• the Holy Apostles <lt the foot of tbe AcropoHs. and the Russian. Churcil ,of the "Virgin 0'( Ly,codemu$" (St. Nicodemus) on PbilheUene St.. It is wen known that there are animalrellefs of apparendy eastern inspiradOfi ('uved on four plaqill,e5 set in.ilio me fa~d.€ ·of the 118,S0mrlou" •• Arabic: ~tiQWli.,·· luBN] II <.19M·!5),

236. 288" lig, 'I., and "Ambil: R.emain,"· reprinted in Kampol,u:oglolll,. C4pt.ure .of .d'hm.t~p. 162: (which liatter Itudylhouldm ~raI!- rotttttaJ. by the· fQfm~r). The OtMt fn.gment of a. Gulie ilt1(riptiObil SDlilllerand. mOR balUeRd (BN] 11 (19M-S5'1 239. fig. 9).

!l1! Solerioo.BNJ 11 (1954·35) 258.6:g..8. and .IM.ould thlnl much baitation was wa:nanttd!

10, Gco •. LampUia. Mlmoi,u _T lei 411tiquithchrtdl:"M~ at la:WQ!:.Athc .... 1902:. pp. 2(11 •.• and S:1.ttygO~. in M.van ~ anel J. Stnygowm,.tmidG:~ pp.

"'·514.

iII~.S'!.nygoWilki.i.n. the vol. on .tmida, p. '72; Soterl,ou.

BN} 11 (1.954:·55) 90·200.,&_p ..• 2 .. ~3.

I::iI Sttyplw.lki. Amida..pp.. J7Q.&71; .Soterl.ol!, BN] n

(lDl.IS),261. ~.".

Little Metropolis in Athens.1I These :iv,e ch ulima are aUbe1:[evoo to da:te from. the eleventbcentu-ry. There ~ C.ufic design Oft ;afrleze frapentform.er:ly in the collection at tb~ menaliter; Ql .Dapbni. outside ,of Athtms.U There aile animal ,designs. of appaf,endy eastern origin. on the frieze o:f the main a.pse in the: m:[I;rch. at Skripo. buUt i0873-4 in .Boeotia.85 There is Cuficornamentatiol1 on the $lIr(:~hagus. once impmpedy reprded as that oEth.e Em:pet~:r Romanus U (9,5~96l\)" at the monastery of Sf. Leke of Stirb (near Uva:dia),as well as on me exte.rior ofth.e ease. apses 'of lh.!'! s.maUcl' ehureh at the moo.astery.1I8 Sucb Culic des,igns. wen described in. Gennanas Sc.hriftofflamente~ :a:re found in a la~ fl1lX1U.De:f o!chuI1chesthrouSlh. out 'Greec;e - :u. COl'h:nh. at Ch.ani.ta, Merbaka, Ljgou~do. and elsewhere im. the ArgoHd. :al Ml1stra and KaJa:rnata in the southern Pe:[Qpon· nesus, as, wen SiS at Amphissa. and Ana. in 0011- tinental Gr'~ce,. as far Q.()rtb as Ka:storia in Maoedonia" and even on the island of Co:r1:)'l'a. Bot it must be remembered that suCh Culie designs and ()m,unents are found r.:hieft.y in Greeoe. rather rarely an. Ml. Alhos and In. other Byza.nti.ne territories, and almostneYe:r in. Const:antinople~87i To, some e"umt dds, popularity of Cufi.!!: design may be one eiIFe-eJt of the earlier ioo-nod:astk struggles upon Byz:ant.ineart in Greece. However tbi.s maybe,. So~e:r.iou has ri..gh dy emphasised that Atbens is dearly rhe

33 'Cf~ Soteriou. (OcUidedu m~" bymnlin 4'Alltt:nes., tram. O. Mcilier., Ath.eDII. l'9!1I.l .• pp •. ,65.65, with fig, 88,: idt!m. in Kam.pou.mglQW-, Ca;tur't' oIA:thens.,p. 164; a!'!.d etp-. in BNJ 11 (19)4·35) 240 lI.i Stnygowaki, t.hnioo., p. 367. with6g. :5U'"

a~ Stnygowski. Ami_., p. !70.: .SOtcriou,.BN]ll (1934-'5) 24'6. 246.,:6g,. 15. l(Tbe fmgment is oowin the- D~~Il:' tiM Mwel!tm in At:bem,)

III StnySO,w,IIld, Ami., p .. 366~ SoteriOU,j BNJ n (1934·35,) 250,

IfI St-nY;80W1Iti, .4mida. p. 1572. ,Soterloo.BNJ II (19,.·35) 242"2,". 2.f8 .ft... For the aamciac:iOn.l'>f the £nrperor R.omanUllwhit ·!:hmonu.rery of St. Lul:i.C! ami for .lbis qrg,phapl, see R. W, khulu and S.H. Banuiq'1> The MOnGltery o:f S.aimt EuA:!! ,of S~iris i,TJPh~, LoDdon .• , 1901. pp. 6, 7, 15·16. :54·3.5~ EDT .tl!,e Cufic ornamef!J~Q. -= fig. 25,. pI. 1'6, aPd. d~pt II.

If Cf. S'tl'z)'FwBi., Amida, p •. MS,: Sotcrioo" BNJ n (1954- '5), .~m. K.aswria iI. the oulJ'p1lact in Ma:tfldonia WD.m: Gu.:6.c dedp. baa 10 far been noted (in. 1M chU!rdIi of the A~). II iI. Mttmr, despite the .auertion of ,St~Il. IK. ,.:it .. that. Culitta~ DOl.

·518

center from which the Grae<io-Cldh'.:: design spR'ad in!io other parts of Greece ... "

. All the ptu'ely Ara:bictemains in Athens date from the tmth to the twelfth. eenl:u:ry. They are. by and. [ar~, aU workedon Iecal marble .• and. hence have not been imported into the city from di:sraDt. Moslem. lands. Of the Inseriptions the only leglhle ones, as we have noted,3ppea ... till be evliden(ff! of the bunding of So! mosque an me .ite of the ancient AscIC!)l.ieum where :SlIiC' eessive traces have been Found .of earlier Chris~ dan murmes.3f It seems probable from the evidenoe that therewa~ a. Moslem. settlement :iin Athens in the tenth Clentu.ry or so. Moslems carved me.iT deeorative insa.iptions upen their own bllUdlnpand. other objects, and. so sup· plied the prQtotypes£or imitation by BYlatDt:ine W'orbnenwhowtought theva:rio.us examples of Graeco-Cufic design preserved. tad:a., in the Byzantine Museum in Atbens, and elsewhere, Soteriou has ebserved tint the thlW:ry of Kampmlroghms would nelpmexplain the wellknown fact that no dautthes :in. Athen:i have lurvivM from a period earlier than. rhe eleventh century.tO The true Mabic inscriptions would appe'ar to place beyond dispute the presence of MOl'ilems in Athens., but Sateri01!l has also observed that Cufiic design could have been copied

found on Mt •. Atbos;. there iI,fol' example, 2. "ery imp~vcC:Ufic friezt overthC' lintd of the gtnt door= wa.y i:n the monastery of Chita:ndari {Sol'CrioU • .oJ? ,cit., pp.254-255 :a:m.dlig. 40~, I" 662a:nd BOO Anb attacks upon. Mt. Arbos dilturbed the qui.e~ .Iire of St. l1uthy· milllll,hc you.ngeF (Lcu1Ib: :Pelil, "Vic et offi~ d~ ,st, E!1Ithymele jeune," RevOrChTS [1908msecc.21, :24·~. pp. 185,. 189·190, and d. V.uilid, .BJ:umce e.1 let Ar:aDe;;:, t 258).. Collilddentally E'utbymius' blognJ'her,. whQ reporu th~ An!) attll!(cQ,. was oneB1UiI. - apparently an early tentb·century Metmpolitan. of Tbemlonica. and Aid 00 ha.ve beea all. Atha.ian. who was, ~n hi~ tady )'eilI'B. a mon:k near 'Ch:ilandari {RC't'OrChr 8 Il'M~li 16()·161),

III Sol.eriw.. toklwp!)Ul'Ogllnn, Ca,htre ofA'thelU:,pp.

IM·IOS.For I)t:h~ Athenian ,Quia. ~. Sotenou .• BN J 11(1954~iU) 252·254.

If Cf. SOI.Ctiol.l, Bil~.ptN'r41!' JU!!\~I;I'~""~jii lAP't1jUW.. "if ':IUcL4o:t. pt. I (1.927},p. 4G~. idem, in Karnpoul1iOglow!, Ca:pt'u~ of .A1theru. p .. HIli. ThacillSttiptiona mi.;ght, ofcou.1'R, ba.'U: bern ttawfetTed to thi, Mtt'; fromllOme Qr:hff platt in A~ 0.1' At:tka. See abo John Tr:avktJ, '''T.beAncim,t Chrlarian Builiaof the A.d~ieum 0f A.thms" [In Crea]. oJlprint flDrn th .ArchFJPh 1959· l'U(HH8) 55 ff •• IUild esp. p .. 00.

40 Soterlou,.i.Dbmpoumgloul, C'02p1.:U1U of .:f~h.m.s, p. 1&5.

by [be Ath.enlans a.ndOither Greeks from jewelry. embroidery, woven :textiles, and the Uk;e imported into Greece from foe East.1 The mere fact, however, tba.t the true Arabic inscriptions seem. to proee rhar there was a Moslem cammunity in Athens of at least some yean' dura.· lion im the tenrh ten.w:ty otSO does nos ind:icat~ that K.ampourogloll!i is correct in hisbelieE tn.at the • 'Iamen.t of Athens" describes, a. Moslem sebur~ 0.£ tl:le city in the tenth. century. Mos~.emscm.dd indeed have been in AuheJU at this time, as SttzygQw.s)d suwsted. mmeman fort.y years OI!go. and. the unknown poet's Ia.mmtoould stiU be, as tile present Wl'lterbelieve$. a d.escrip. dOD. of the TlI:rkish ocrnpadou of 1456 .• w:nkb would 00, pfie'sumably, the only Islamic (,'Per" sian"') occupation of the dty known to the author of the lamem unless weaS$.urne that be bad. read a 5Qlm::e no longer extant, describin8 the Moslem attaCk of the tenth century. which seems too large anassu:ooptiOll} .foir historical purposes, Th.e !ityleand language of the lam.ent ;$U~st thlU the poem was mitten in the late", fifteenth century. a.nd Its tonlents and character suggest that [he poell!! descrIbing the events of 1456.

Th.u. the M(}sl13ft)}J, were e'llQtmQus]y aetivecn the Aege'.ul we ban already seen. The .Byza.J!l. tine ch:n)'nider$ desm.be the coming of 'he .Emir Uamiana. r·OO.o1OOota bleconqueror (J.f Tae£saHan Dem.etria! (896·902). late hi the second decade of the tenth century, Ina raid upon the island Qf SttobBos. with a fleet o£wanllip5 and a lar~ £o:rce, newottldhav,e taken th.e island, they say, if he had. natfaUen itl, and .his dea.th. obliged the Sar3:.cens to. depa.rt empty handed, Dami:ana had long heen. the ,chief s(1)urge of Greek shipping in the eastern Mediterranean". 111.9'11·912 be had. overrun the great island. of Cyprus •. wbich. he held .£())r four months and rava.ged ternbly~U

USote.ri.ou. BNJ U (19M·!I5)262~.26J.

d Mu.;udi {d. 95Ej·1).GQ1,!Un .Meadouts (/AI Prllirit:$ d'at)" ed, Barbi.er de MeynaJld.Paril. UWUIl'j VIII .• p. 282 .• tran~. Mao'll canard. in A.A. Vasnie';',. Sy%(3ft;Ce tf l,r!$ Ambes. n:,pl. 2: (BrutI'I:ll. 195(ij.p. is. and cf. Sir Geo~ Hm.1Il$trn"),QI' Cypn.,s,.1 (1940) •. p.294 and p, 4. 'Ceo. Cedre.m.ll.Hisl. (:ompm:d.iu,m (IkmD. ll. 284). who eaUs Damiiha Emir of Tyre.Fnr Damian.a·.raid! on Strobikll"lM!@. '1Jf~~ the: lOurcareladngm !:he death 01 CIwet.

RAIDS OF THE MOSLEMS,

In the ebb and Haw 0:£ wa:da:re between the By.z3,ntiine.s and, the Moslems m:any captives were raken on both sides, Maybe the little colony o:f Moslems in Athens were captives rather than con que ron as Kampoutoglmls assumed. Some of these Moslems were converted to Chl'isdan~ ity, andeven entered the service of the Byzan.tine state. Such was apparently the case of one Chases or Cbas:e,;tS Itwas about 9U t'nat Ch.ases - "who sprang £rom. therace (I,ftbe Saracens," says Constantine 'Pot,ph.yrogen.itus, "and.remained a true Saracen inthol:lgbt and. char,act.e.r and n~Hgion,,".fIIfo but had nevertheless b@'come a Byzantine p!I."otG*patna:riu.s _. . had made hi_elf so obnoxious to the Athenian.5 because of bis debauchery and Insatiable cupidity, as well as the injuries he had :inflic:ted upon them,; that they rose up against him in anger~ and pursued.

til cr. Sot~:ri(lU. EN] U (19!4·JS) 264-216.

ilt CoAlt. p(lrpby~n'j' D~ ddm. i:mperio, ~O, C!d. Gy.

Monlf\'ai,k and traM., R. J. 8:. Jenkip$, Budapest, ~949, p. 2'4.2; ed, Bonn, pp,.la;!O·:8,1.

4!i F,Qir' the dea~b of Chua. see the .lyzantlfU'; chmn:iclon, Theopban.es Co:nt. (Bonn. p. ,588),; Sim.eon .Magister. Ch:r:cmogr. {ibid., p. 1211)1; Gco •. :MonaiCh'I:!iS,lmpp. fibU.; p. 880)i ,and LmGrammauw.s (Boo.tt.,.pp. 29!·2!Hi). Cf. Kampo,u:rogl{lus, Capt'ure ot Jith~n$, pp. :172·17,;1"

n Tilt: WorAJ .(J! Lord Byron: Letter$: a:~d }wma:w, ed.

It. E. rr:othero. V (London,. 19(1),4$'. 4M"

519

'him even bUG the Patthenon~ the cilurdi. of the Virgin Ath.enioti:SS;l"wh.'ere they stoned him. ie death withIn the very santtuary.t~

The evidence for the Moilcm (>ccup.adoD of Athens is, thus very :sUght. It, seems pretty clear that there was in Atbens a,Dou.t dl.eyear 100001' so at least a :smaU (Jolony 0.( Moslems, They had a mosqueon the slte ·of the Asdepi~um, and Moslem workmen were employed here and there in the city. Origina1ity" bowe'ver, u the bane of histodcal sch.ol.ars.hip. We all. suKer f:rom it. When tbe facts: are imulfiden.t for logic (itseU a s.ot!.1'ce o:f deception).imagj.nation coma, to, our aid. Then we leave the pathway .of history" narrow and oonfinitl!go and. turn aside intOI the epen fields of speculation. Indeed. Lord. Byr;on.whose name is an :appropria.Jte ornament to any stud y of Athens; was moved 1i0 centempia.me me iHuld.ven.ess ,of the memory even of recent e:ven,ts, and a fortiori the sobjecdv:it,y of the bbl'o:rr ,of the dbtant pa,t;"Wh,o an be sure that Imagination is not metorcb.-bearUt' ...... Let philosophers decide. I am fione;'46 The bases for Kampouroglous' claim thail. the, Mosletm 'oocupi.ed Athen s, :forcihly and destructively. in 'the tenth. ,century are 60 tenuous that we must leave tophUosophmra.'tberthan to histioriafi.5 the final adjucUcadon 0'£ hi. theory.

COLUMllilA. U NIVUt.S1"IY

III

ATH···· 'E'N"'S' IN" ;T'I'HE" , .. ' LA'" '~T--C:'E'~R" 'T"W' "E"LFT-:" '·'H"" C'E"N'TU-,""'R' y.,.,

,.' . - . ',,1-,.:. ,.: ,--__ _ __ -,_, _: ,- ~" 0,-;:., ',. ,',:, I'" I, "" ,11_:, ,I, ~ .:. •. -.:.: _' - '_, ~.'"

FOB almost a thousand years the city of Alb.ens remained, as hergreatest crItic has described her, "brilliant" ivy-crowned., and enviable A,thens,':! The goddess Athena protected her city and maintained, itaprestige, despite 8. fewse'veJie reversels, from. the time of Aeschylus to lha,t ,of the Bmpl"ess Athe-nam. Although partially saekedby Sulla in 86 B. '0.", ,Athens suffered no real distress until pmaged by th.e Heruli .in ,A. D. ~7) when she was rescued from the barbarians bya certain Kleodamo.s and the historian. Herennius DexiPP1!lS .. 1 A. vision. of A.thena Pro.maehos ranging the walls of the: Acropolis, armed to do battle for' her city; with the' hero Ach,iUes nearby, ~lllSt as Homer showed him to the Tmjans,' acco.rding to Zosimus, frightened the Visigoth Alarie into sparin.g Athens although he .ravaged the rest of Greece.1 'Under both the ear~yand the late empir,et Athens was the' foremost university city in. the Graeeo-Boman world., and. many famous n,ames.·,arewoven into the fabric of herhistory dUl'ing this period, Athens, was be. loved of Hadrian !beyond fllD,;y spot. on ,earth:; it was here t'hat Marcus Aurelius and Lucio.s V:erus reeeived fheir educetienundee Heredes. AttiC:NIlS. It was 01 Ath,ens that Pausanias wrote the most readable sections of' the Deacriptio Gr:aeciae; it was here, too, that Dian Chrysostom, Aelius Aristides) Maximus ·of Ty:re,and Ludan of' Samosata lectured to theirapprcciatilve audienees .

. Alter the Antonines and a.fter the sack by the Heruli in thefonowin_g c.entury,.

Athense..xperienced sam.€' decline, She came to.f'eel more keenly witb each. genera .. tion tbat passedthe increased com.petition.that t.he schools of Asia Minor and Egypt gave her, not to mention her distant rivals in Italy and G.aul, but in the fourih century Athens was still, the school of Hellas, Himerius of Prusa, Libani11l8 of Antioch, and ,Juli&n the A.posta.te, Basil the 'Great, Gregory of Nazianzus"and Synesius of C'yrene studied in Athens, and paid, with one prominent exception, fitting tributes to her greatness. 'The Em,peror Consta.ntinehad taken pride in his tiUe Strategoo. of the Athenians., and. 'When. they erected. a statue inhis honor, he bestowed upon. Athens an annutalgift of .many tens of thousands .of medimnoi of wheat.'

'DIe :pres.e:l!lt &.l"tIDle is based Chiefly upon thew-orb of Miclw.el ChoIdate!l • Archb~p of Athens ('U8,2·12:D·4). edited. viery llarge~yf~r tlle fird.tim-e. by Spyr.idon P. Lambros. r!ib)C~;il'l. '~n" 1'O£l Xw;;,6.l'(iU ~4 ~wt~~E.i''' ~ vola •• AtlbI\'DS .• 18'7g....oo. Of !eOOndary literature Lambros:. .ll. 'AOijq, ~ ,... Ti)." TOG &ilH"71I<V A,E&iI"OJ. AtheR!!. 1878. an:d~elldina:lld. ,Gre:gOn)vius,. OutiiMk tl",. ,Stadt ,A.U1", tim YiIklaJter. ,8 ed., 'I 'vOls.~ Stuttgart,. 1889 (the first vODe oDly)~ havebee:n most b.elpful in interpret .. :inl the works of Ch~. utd.in the 'cuem Laab~· book, iDplacing t1mm chrono:lO:gieaJUy. 'Otler sources, hotlt priim.aq aDd. ~Dd.ary worb. lilted not be meDlti.ODed UDtil their· ~n(!e iib the

text and notes. . 1 Aristophanes [alter Pind&rJ. Km,kIr" lSU.

:1 'bebeUiusPollio.. Oidlimi ,dUo, 13. S (HOhl. II. H). Zosimus. R~ ~ r, 89 (MendelsaOhn,.pp. t1'-eSh Sp.eeJlw.. C~. (Bonn,. ,'. 7l7); ~A,tln. .• :m,. i6 (Bonn. D. 6M-OO.5),. Ct,.lolm. D.y~An Eoanomic ,H~ .qJA.~ unlet .&m.;m Domi~ (New 'York;, lINt). pp. a8-i61.

I'~ vl6 ("Memde_lm. PP+ a:-us) •. 'ftil~us. B"" ••• ,. XlI. I. (Bidn. GrUel __ Cl&~~" Il,.l~l'l).ad()sthat .Alaric<,t;ook Alb .. " (.d,.,.ut,.tD.eo).

,. ,,Ju.lian. Qral.l.Ik::o (Hertlein,. I, .,10).

180

A.tMns in the Later Twelfth OerduT1J

Athens made a proJoundim~)<ression upon those who weJ'e fortrm.at:ee:nough to visithe:r~ Christians and.pag~ alike. Himerius was a, teacher at. Athens for almost for~y ·y,ears, and. Libanius, after refusi.ng at Anti.oonri£"h heiresses in m.&r" riage. 'would have deelined, like Odysseus, marriage evenwith a goddess for just the smoke flf Athens/1Wheu Julian was summoned by the Emperor C'Qnstantius from Athens to Milan, be shed :fI.oods oftears and uttered. awful lamentetions: 4Stretching out my hands to the Acropolis .. ,. and besoochin_g Athena to .spare her suppliant and not to abandon him ... I even asked. for death. at her hands" there in Athens, rather than. to meet it an the JOW-They :I was then to make !~ Athena did not abandon him.2 He prayed that Athens might. always have emperors that would appreciate her and love her beyond the rest of the wodd.3 In Julian'.sO'wu day Ss. Basil of Caesareaand Gflegory .of Nasiaazus were fellowstudents in Athe:ns~an.diGfegory has left abundant testimony of his love for the 'City of learning: '.Ath.ens was tru1y golden. for me. if .for anyone/ he sighed ill aft~r years) 'and the patroness 0'£ lovely tb.ings!~' AUums was, the glory of Gr·€eee.1

But the world of the future,. the Middle Ages,. was Christia.nt while the greatness of Athens was unalterably pagan. When. Constantinople became the chief city of the eastern. half of the empire~. Athens began gradually toraH into obscuri~y. Mystidsm and the Christian capacity for the .irrationaloouldthrive· in Coastantinople, which. became a peculiarly Christian. .capital., but the traditions of Athens were very diffeJlent and not to 'be discarded by Iter tea.chel"s..Tn.ere were fewt indeed, who like Prohseresius could reconcile the career o:fthe s:ophist with. the life of a Cbristian, In Ath.ens small attention was paid to religious dogma and revealed truth; the su.perrmtural was distrusted; and. wOE'SnipWRs tempered with indolent good nature ... Literatureaad lea.rning,art and philosopb·Yj.muslc and the city £,'eslivals. were more at home in .Athens than was Ch.ristianity .. 6

Early in the fifth century Synes:ius o.f Cyrene spent some time in Athens, but he could curse the hapless skipper whose ship had hrQught him there, 'I.P-resent day Athens has nothinggr.a.nd. but its famous place name'S' (OVOfJl fXOVcr,.P' a~ "'~J! ·.Ae~Ptu, tfEp,Po:v, 6)..).' ~r,a KhIHP.i TWP Xtr.1pk.l:v OPb"",a.Tct).T.be city was .l:ike a burnt sacrmclaJ offering, he thought, and only charred skin was lett as a. reminder of a creature that once had lived. Now that Philosophy had departed fram Athens, he said, Hie tourist couldadmire only the Acad.emy,the Lyceum,. andl~by .Zeus:, tihe Stoo .Pmkile (PamtedPoreh), which had. given its name to the philosophy of Ghrysippus .. But the SOOs waspoikile no IODger~ a proconsul had just removed the famous pa.intings upon which PolygnQtus. of Thasos had spen.t his skill. Athens had oneebeenthe city of the wise, but now only the boo-keepers upbe~.d her fame~" Synesi1us' letter is \lnsympabhetiet it does him. small credit. Hispic.ture of decline

~. Lihardus_ O~~.l. 1i': (poerster. I .• 87).

·'!!iliaD,., E". ~ .8 •. P.Q'. Athenimrium.275.uJ (IIertle~ r, 654) •. I Ibid., 187D (H~, I, 870).

,. G"'8" Ng., . .oral. XLlll (In wWtm Btuflii M,ugnl1.. 14. {PatrDlogilJ ,~, :urn:. SUb.), The ,Itory o.f .BasH and Ore~', remeDoo as studel!l.ts in Athens .is; told atgr~tl.ength by Gregt>l'J1'., ihiil .• 1.,..]8, (:51i8.\.-5Hc);. 14 (5i8c:.-,5!D~). C~ .. Dfnta ma, vv, HI: sqq. (PO, XXXVI:!:, 1087,4 sqq . .),.

I Gng. Naz •• Ad Ne:meriUm .• v.M (PO. UXl'll!. 16M,,).

Ii 1.-:0 brof:l (1818).p •. ll. t: S~eglUl, Ep .• lS5 (56) : FG~ LXVI. l5i4'Bc.

181

in Athens, 000, appear. to be no little ,saggerated. One would rather picture the kindly Syne.siUB wandering through the ,Agora, up the west ascent of the Acropolis, to the para;pet of the, Nib tem,ple,w;he:nceto gaze in silent wonder down to the ba:rbor at Piraeus" dwe[]h'llg fondly in his mind on. the thim,ls tlmtl!lsOO to be, but w'e:lIe no Dlore. This,]is what ):lichae~ ChOluates, Archhish-op of Athens in the later twelfth ,ce:ntury, was to do when very much less o.f Athens was left to gaze at in silent wonder.,

Although, Justinian helped much to preserve the antiquities of .Athens by having her walls repaired,:l he deapoiled the city of some co~umns that were used in buildin,g Santa Sophia2 (and which are thusapparen't-ly still preserved. but 00 longerid.entmahle) ; and his :famousedict. by which in the th:ird year 'of his reign he prohibited the teaching of philosophy and of law in Athens (a;f~f:W€/;,$ ,(J.~,3E,,,,a a"a&Ui(fW ¢~l..OO'otPlQoll p,""" VOJJfPt!l. i!:"7ITa9cu;). was a. blow to the city from "rhich any sort ofreeoveQ"was impossible.~'

N otiees ofAthe'Dsm the' early Middle Ages are infrequent; the city bad become a provincial town, and in no way, except in her glorious history. was she to 00: compared with Coastaatinople aadThessalonieaThe state of our knowledge of ,early mediaeval Athens, despite the laibors of Lambros. Gregorovius, Kampouro~ glos, and :many others~is most unsatisfactory .. Same facts are known. Athens~ for example, could seareely have escaped involvement Nrly in 7217 in the revolt ,Qfthe Greeks, north o·f the Gulf of Corinth (the Belladikoi) and. the inhabimn.ts of the, Cyclades agamst the iconoclastic measures of Leo the Isaueien, 8, revolt whieb the imperial na,vy, with the' aid of Hreek fire, quickly overesme in April of the same year (7!7l.·' The Emp,l'£::ss Irene in 7n7 exiled the Csesass, her brothersin-law, to Athens~ and almost & ,century later the Emperor Leo VI exiled 'the abbot Theodore SantabaI'enus:~ a. follower of Photius~ to Athens.o,

'Tber-e ean be little question that A.thens was much. hara.ssedllby the Arabs in the late nm.th, a.ndearly tenth centuries. We learn from the: anonymous" but contemporary, Hfe of St Lucas Junior Thauma.turgus that the' Arabs raid.ed the nearby island 'of' A,egina so .frequently tha.t the inhabitants. were forced. to seek homes elsewhere in Greece and the Peloponnesus.s There is some evidence. indeed, for' the settlement of Arabs in. Athens between ca900 and co 1100."

1 Prooop~~ D,-fJiciil DN.ltutiAm1. IV. i ~OIlD. m. 27.).

z Geof~ C(ldmus,. De d~ra _pli8" BopItitu (lktnn. p, 18i). '.John MlIla'lM. Olwonerr"X'Vm (Bo~,pi"'l).

, Tb.eop~C~p,. (DODD, I,B-6U) ~ George Cedren~ Cmnp •. hin. (Bo.DD., t, '1'(6). Nicephw\u, C>llSt:PtmopoljitauJl,. D, ~. pod Jlauricir.mt "mw' (DoDD. pp.6Htii) •.

'.' C.~ftj JlI4~ 'B'~., IV (ltiS), !H; 54. tM~

• Anon.gmi tiIa 8 ... LuctU I,,"ioN, e (pO .• CXI. "1.4.--''''''). A- IaD~M. '1 February (Paris" 18M" U. 84B)1

'~ 'The Greek: ~G.A.Sot,eriou. ·'Ara.bic Remains in Athens dur.ing Byzantine Times" Cia G~}t. DpiUCT,J,II:4 Tijr ~A.,d",p:filS '~. IV ,(1.9) •. 1~7~ sees·a:n Arab OOO'Il!patwn of the city in the middle ·01 tiheieutD century fro. the following bits of evi.deDOO~ .tI:aee Cue inscriptio:u road in the ~ie:ioD, ,ud the, :~I.D. Apra" Clt6e~W:LD8 ·on tbe Chua of st.'n~ and Cdc ~tAtimli. fJJil • :marbIe Ilt.b o. the AempoliU -,all of whicb.remaija. ate to be dated not _Her tho tG goo ur .tor thd ea: n.oo" aDd dnce the mubIe hM in each .. aD, Attic origin. ~. ~ t:c)uebu mud. b&fl b.D,.appIiIed in AtheY, where SoU'no1J Wev:el there wu a. Mdem

lSi.

Goorg:e Cedrenus says of the Empero,r Basiln BlLIilgflJ'OOwnus in lOlS-;1019, after his suceessfllllBulgarian campaign. 'when he had. eome to Athens and had given thanks to the Mother of God [.or hisviCtQry, he decked out the ehureh [the P~rthenonl with many beautiful a.ndvery costlyofiel'mgls, and. then he returned oo,C'onstantinaple .. 'l

T'ne runic mscription on. the Piraeus lion, now at the entrance to the arsenal in Venice" whither it was brought by Francesco Morosini in 16S8,has iooenthought toindica.te the occupation of Athens about 1041 by the VM'angians under Harald Sigurdsson Haaedraade in the service of the Emperor Michael IV • Indeed, aeeordbt,g to the reading of the Dan.ish scholar Carl C. Rafh, Harald. Haardraade and the Norwegians. 'imposed heavy financial penalties because of the insurrection of the Greek people.':! ~heJle have been scho~l~rs unkind eno~gbto suggest that Rain's translation Is pure :fan.t.a.sy and. that the inscription is too worn and defacerlio read,- while Greg:orovius has suggested that the runes were carved by V.a.r.a.ngislus. in the retinue of Basil II in 1018--1019 ... 4 Otto of Freising states that Athens. along with Thebecs andCorinth, was eccupied boy .KingRoger o.F Sicily in 1][46 or '~147; althou.gh. it is not improbable, Hope regards the NOrDl.a.n occupation of Athens as e~tr,emely unlikely, however, "da die :Byzantmcr davon Nichts erwahnen.'5

Th.ere area number of r·efermees to Athens in mediaeval chronicles from the ninth to the eleventh century; they reve:allittle or nothing more than theirauthors' protonnd respect for - and! eomplete ignoranee of ~ both ancient Ath.ens and. the eity Qftb.eirown times~!!

Some curious references to twelfth.-eentmy Athens have also been preserved in. western chronicles and eastern Iegends, The King 01 Ge.orgia~ David nthe 'It -.~-·-va.to·~ tl089~1121::). whosewif ··asaBy-zantine .p. rineess was sup .• p· osed to

eno ... ..r \.~. . .. 1,)., W _. se w.e w ... ,. ,. _ . ..'.. .,.,.".... 1!l. _ _..

have found.ed a monaste.ry near Athens, whither every year he sent twenty young scholars to learn the Greek lan.guage and ito bring back. to his kiagdom the preeious waresef Greek pb.ilQsophy and theology, The Arm.enian . historian Wa:rdan. how-

- .... h ·1";·· . d·· th ... ~:·t nth nt .. _'. _~t'L ueh he m nti . n -. David .' . . b id ever) wno _we·' i In. etmrteentn coon Ul'Y, w. u'oug rne mermonsa ..... 1·. S SlIl,S1 Y

sanct:ql''Y (Q~. the site of the .Asklep~eiQn)alld. an .A:ra:hi.c ,settle.ment. Ci., for a, shrtd. of ME evidence to the same e'fi'oot, Dem .• Or. Ka:mp-ol,!!fQglmu, "Tlhe S!U'!lJX'.J}s in AtheDN' (ttl Greek) ,ibid., IV (1029), g4:1~S,",.

I·Geor~C(!;drenu~ .•. Hi8t. crnn.'l!~. (Bonn., II, 475h Michael Gbkas. AN:n,.lV (Bolm.PP. 57S-67t); Jolm.Zon.ta~ Epil.. kw •• XVII, '9. f3-!lJ6 (BoDD,.n:t,ed. BUttnef-Wobst. p, 566).

:I C .. C. LIn, Runuind;TiJt i Piil'(l;t!tU, Copenhagen. 1856: K8,1'1 Hopf, 'Ge~itbte Griecbe.nla:nds "'om Beginn des Mi,uel .. Uer;s bis auf unsere Zeit,'Erschu. Oruber:'s A.Ugmndne Encyldoplldied~ Wi,,mucha,JteM und KiiMtt~S5 (1861) •. I40:7;. K. Papartegopoulos, lIi4t'ory (Jftb.t Gt,uk PUJph (m Greek),." (Sed. A.thens,192:5). iN-UB.

I Vi~b.elm. Thomsen, Ancient RUIMa and Scand'irun'ia (Oxfurd and London. 1877'). pp. 1~11ll9., wh.o cite!! S .. Bugge.., .K'Qngl .. Vitkrhtk Hi~ ochAniigtoiWl.A.ktldemim" .Mdnadrblad" XLUl (Stocldmtm.

1.8-76) •. pp.97 !qq.. .. Gil'e~rovius, 8~A:tJi;m,:!: (1889),. nO-I?'!.

II OUo of Ffeiain:s,GUItJ Friderit:i.lm~. I, 58 (Monti-menta G«matlii4e .kiItoJiea:" .Bcrn.pl.Qt-u. xx, 8'70') •. L],he: t-ext is cited. (Ill. a 1ater DOte. Otto, of FreisIDg'sstateme:n.t:, altb.oughllejected.by most m.od~. !!IOoollars (Finlay,. U()pf~ H(';rtibel'g~ PIi~gQp!)~') is a¢eepted byLwDbrm (1878). p. u. OJ. Hopi (lM7},p. 15'1.

I For .~u.tkm @d ~Ion ()I these references" 6fl:·GregoMviu~.1 (lSSQ),. '".~i9.

Athens in the Later Twelfth· Century

18S

·01 forty young Georgian scholars in 'Greece' -. . whiChmblistext ,certa.i.n1y means T.hessalonica, th.e monasteries on.Mt Atho.s" and 'Constan.tinop~e·~ knows, nothmg of Georgians in Athens at this time .. Anoifiherstory, and a vezy good! one" was to the ,eileetthat the Georgian ,epic poet Chota Roustaveli came to Atlkens with some of :btis compatriots ahemt l192, studied the Gfleek pbaosop1!e:rs. and historians as well as musIc, and after a residence of several years: in, Ath:ensretmned. to Goorgiato become poet Iaareate and Iibrarian of 'Qu'eenThamar~ 'who I"l.ded Georgia like a seeend Semiramis from 11M to 1211.~lMichaelCh0Diates, who was Archbishop .of Ath.ens during the lastqu.arler of the twelfth centmy, knows nothing of the poet's sojOW'1l in. his city to seek thewisdom o·f ancient Greece, while he was himself beooming a veritable barbarian •. as we shall hear him eoenplain, for t.he lack of such wisdom in. A 1hens.~~

No less interesting, and rather more trustwo.rthy, is the tradition. 01 ,certain western scholars studying in Athens in the twelfth century. A Paris physician named ,Jo.hn Aegidius, isalleged to. have studied in Athe:nsoo,wards the end of tneoontwry.:l; It may be that he is: being mnfused with. an ,earlier .Ac,gidiusJ or Gislenus, who. founded the Benedictine monastery at Hama.ul.t in. Belgium about '640, andW'howas believed to have been born m Attica and to have studied philosophy in Athens .. • In. any ev'ent,it is ,cUf5.cult to understand what a physician eouldl learn about medieine, if that wss his, purpose, in twelfth OO'D.tUry Athens.,

Matthew Faris has preserved. a tale of stllldy in Athens by John of Basingsteke, Archdeaoon of Leicester~ who. died in ·ID25,2.Rasings1toke is reported. to havetold Bobert 'GfIOssetestet the famous .B.ishop' of Lincoln, 'quod. quando. studlu.it Athenis viderat et audierat ab peritis Graeoorum doetoribus quaedaea Iatinis ineognita,' In Athens Ba'---'g st -tl __ .. ~ -, .,-; d ·00'- d bi -, ught b-<>fik· t·-.· -,E'-'uQ'-Ia.-,- d with him a oop.y·· . of

_ _ _~ID_S Q1!t"e I.QUD._, __ ., _ [lOu,__ _ ...... _ Q_.__~ __ It_ Wl. , __ .1 ...

th.e Testaments of thefwelveP,atna'rCM, wbich .hasbeen recognized. as thetenthoont1ll'ymanuscript now in the Ca:mbl'.idge Univ,ersity Library,' and which Nicholas of 8t Alba.ns translated Ir()m Or-eek into Latm.mID242 at the behest of Robert Grosseteste .. Basingstoke introduced Greek numerals into Englan.d, and translated a Greek grammar; he also brought uthermanuscripts with him from A.thens, So much of the aooount ()fBasingsoo~e and his asS()CiatioJl with Athens appears to betrue.but Matthew .Par.is did Dot commonly allow truth andprobability unduly to restrain. his zest Cor storYRil.ellJ.ing .. He assertsthat.Basingstoke had often told him that the source of his learning had bc!ttn. a young girl in A.thens,: 'quae.dam puella, fiilia :a:rchlepiscopi Atheniensis, nomine Constantina_. :nondumvicesim.nmagens annum. virtutibuspraedita, omo.emtrivii et quadrivii noV'e:l'at difficul.tatew .. . et quicql!lldboni scivit in sc~en.tia, ut saepeasseruit, lieetPerlsius diu slud.uisset eli:. le:gisse,t, ab ea m.etldicaverat. Haec pue:Ha. pesti-

1 Gregottwfus:, I (lS89),H7~l •• Lambnu (1878), p,.416; William Miller, TM LdiM·~ .1A4·l.ftant

(.LoQdon. 19(8),IJP. 2Hl.

• Mich ... Chon.; E'P" 28 (lam.hros"n .. '")~

• Poly,CR:l'p 1Ayse:r, H~ ~m d pt>tmatu.m m~i _ (172l),p. 49SI. I A.da ~m, :90etohet (Paris,. 1.866,IV. lOS]. sqq,J, Mill!er (lOO8),p, 10,

, J .R. Sandys, .. A. H~oJCkwical8cJwlm:l:liip. 1 (8 ed, C'&mbridge. 1921), 516.

184

Athena in the Lat8f'TwelfthCe:ntury

lentiu~ tonitrua.. eclipsim, et quod mirabilius fUli.\" tenae m.otum pr.aedicenst omDes 11i10S, a.nmoores infaJ1iibiUter' praem1m1vit .. '1 This extraordinary girl o.f tw,enty,dau,gh.ter of the ArehlJwhop 01 AtheDS~would ha:ve apparently to be the daughter of Micllael Chonlates "the last Greek Archbishop whose dau,g,hter BasiDgstokeoouJ.d have known, for the latter' died in 1'152. But the amazing 'COnstantina was not the daughter .of Chooiates "who expressly doclareshe had DO children (d1'4P .j(d~ ~(t1"~P 06.1( ,00'fJllOPlI)' ,riA"~ ,ol,h,: 'Tel E1ri. 1"Ot~~CU(fi. 1{APC ra:d~" O'7)'6.'l'Xpq).z Choniates, furthe'l, does not mention Basing~toke.and the latter apparently did. not speak of Chonlates to Matthew .Pa.r-is.

MattJ.tew Far.is alSo. informs us that in the third or fourth year 01 the reign Qf Kin,g John. (oa 1!w2)'q,uid.a.mphilosophi Gr:aeci .. vultu et gestu severi et venera .. biles •.• :in .Angliaw ab A.tb.enis venientes, curiam. regis adiensnt .. ~These philoso~ p·hers;.apparenUy Gr:eekmonks, whether from Athens or Dot. were not allowed to remamin En:,da.nd, btcau.se KIng John feared that by th.eir deceptions they might shake the faith o.f his people ('et sic impositoeis silentio vacui reeesserunt et ronfusi').* In after yearst when JO.M. was dead, Matthew, muchimpressed by his expulsion from :Eng!and of the A.the.nian 'philoseplrers,' tll.oU!_gbt that this would. secure him evei~8:Stingpr.aisethrough the centuries to come," On the deeivation of the name AtAens Matthew learnedly informs us, 'hoc nomen Athenae dieitur aba, quod est sine, etthanatos, quod est mors,quasi. immortalis. 'l>

Although there were few scholars in the west in the twelfth. century who could read :Per.icles' funeral oration in the second book of Thucydides, in which the gr-eat Strate-gOB makes his much quoted description of Athens as 'the school ol Bellas'" mediaeval readeI'sin western Europe were well. awar-e of Athens' cultural preeminence,. as Greg<>roviu8 has observed." through. their reading of Cicero! Cor.ne:lius Nepos, Horacefand other Latin. authors, BiS wen as the Latin FatbeJ's~G Certainly no c1assioal author. moreover, was more alive to .Athens' oontr.ibutions 00 ancient andm.ediaeval culture than Godlrey of Vlterbo (ca 1 HID--oa. 1198). GodlN)" declares in. his Speculum 't,gum, a. genealogical history in verse of kings and. emperors. from the sons of Noah to 'Charlemagne, that the Romani ,etTheuf.o.. nici .,.ega et imperatores stem-wed from the kings of Troy, who were themselves descendled. from ,Jupiter. primus rex Atltenitm.si:um. Jupiter had been born In Ath.ens, whence C8bl.e the knowledge uflbe trivium and 'quadrivium. (indeque ,....nA ..• ,.. .• •. , . •• 'f) Ath f dedi d th 'f v-1'1W'I· trWi1qUe"mentiavettl·, atnens was rounceauneer tae protection ot

Minerva's !l.aBle (BUb nominefada Mine:rw.e), that wisdom. migbt thrive through the goddess' ,support. lupite.l'~s first wife was Niobe, whog,ave mankind its o]dest lawcod:e. His seoond.wif'e was Juno; she becametbe mother of .Danaus. the .ancestor of the Greeks'~

• Matthew p~ CAt.iea m4~, ed ... H.R.. LuaU( (Rolls Se .. ie~ 057), 'V (1S'80)" 1~'1 •.

I: Mich. Chon., Ep. UQ, i (I.m:nbrm. n. M4). Cf.Lamhros (1878). pp •. 411-60. H~pf (18&7). p. 1'77. believe. .m. C'onstantin ... , 'buth .. op:inio.n. e:tprressed Wore the publication. of Micbae..J. Cb~t" • _0 (187~),. is wi.t.hou,tvalue OD this point.

• .Matthew Pari&" BUkniu. Anglorum (miooT). ed.Frederic Madciem.(RoU. Series. M)" ill. (1.869).

M. 1iIIlM,..1I (l866)l. 1M,.

• Cltnm. '~V(l880)., :286. I'GUFf'Oviu" Stadl' Altkm,I (l~). J8·7.

185

'S' I' . ... ":1,'.' 't

' .• Ie OVla m term .&,-0n6 malQr ,emt~

Thus A.thens was the source of ;written law, whenee Rome came to possess it; in .short"aU. thearts and sciences eouldbetraeed back to Jupiter an:dto Athen&ll Godfrey of Viwbo would seem. to, have been an. authority for our debt to Greece, who unfartunately,.like m.a.ny another in our own day "Jlepresents.lli-.e triumph of naivete over common sense.

The hist.or:y .of Athens in theearlieI' Mid.dle Ages must be pu.t. together from. 00 .. easicnalrelerenees in. the Greek Ichronielers~1 from some inscriptions of disputed. value, and, later~fJlomlead seals and the like, but continuoue and. extensive literary sources are entirely Jacking.· Withtbe accession to:the arehlepisoopa~ throne, however, o.f .Michael.Cho'Diates at thebegllilum_g of the last <i:11Iarter of the twelfth ,centu.ry t the social, eeonomie, and IClllU:ural history of Athens beromes much better knowuto us until the oecupation of the city by the Franks late in the year 1204 (and, althoughwith some serious gaps in our knowledge.tean even greater ,ex .. tent thereafte~). Of the immediate predecessors of Cboniates we know tittle beyondth.eir names ~ Nicholas HagiotLhoodorites, Gooil'le Bourtzes , and' Leon Xeros _. . which. were carved on the columnsettae w:est end of theParthe:non:.1 If they bad fulfined the multiple duties .of their office as sincerely and. as competentlyas Choniat&s, Athens would prohably Dot have been so ]pOorly off ..

MIchael Choniates was born about the year 113.8 in A.siaMinor in the Phrygian city o.r Chonae, th.e Colossae of StPaw, whenee Michael and his perhaps m.ore famous brothee Nieetas are known as the Ch.oniatae .. Destined. from. birth for the Church, Michael was about eighteen years o.f a,ge when he was ~nt to Const.antinopl.eJ where he studied under :Eustathius, later the .Archbishop of Thessa.]onica" who took him into his home and. taught him to love the ancient classics, and especia.lly Homer and. PinUar.

Choniates remained in. Constantinople for some twenty-five yeats •. He In'oved tQl be ,0. very able studellt,and attraeted! someattentio:n as a scholar. Michael's father was~ we ma,y assume, pleased with his son's progress, for he sen.t the younger Nicems to study und.er hisbrotb.er. Niootaswas a, credit to .Micbael. He rose high in 1ih.~ imperial civil service and. became a. distinguished man of letters. Our lnowled.;!'G of ~yzantin.e his.tozy fr-om. tbe dea1:h of ManuelC'omnenus tbroughthe establishment of tb.eLa.tin Emperor in Constantinop.le (1180 to 1.2(6) we owe la.rg~ly to. theworb of Nicew Ch:oniates~

As for Michael,bis eareeewas welllannchoo,t .and his future ~edt.wh:enhe beeamethe ,secJletary o.f the .PatriarehT.beod.osius Boradioktes ~] 178~[ 1,83), with whomhe sha.red~ as Lambros ·hasput. It. both the hazards and. the emoluments of the patriatehal power in those troublous tDnes. Hisfrie-ndShipwith &ramoktes

I Godffe, of Vi!~oo. 8:p#fJwmHgVm: .Ep •. ~d ll~ f'1 (MGB, ,Bcriplot'e4 XXIt" ~I!Il __ )j. lk ION primo Fllf' AthmieJul;. vv .1~l!6 (Wid.,. SH,i)"

I :t.unbro!l (1 B?8)! 2t)...i.4 (-: ~).I· GhElQurtse8 the:r. ia a Doticebv P. N. PaTioio__.,.I1iu. BA ......... ~~

._, \.J_.,_,.,. __ , '_'_"~_" __ "~' J' __ ' __ -_.'._ - __ ' ' _' ., "'11 " , "r-e~!'ol~' .,~ ..

Z~ u (1898).581. Of his .~I ,ChooiM:a meBitioos ~1X:er<IIIJ (Ep~ :11!. I~ t.mhrm. Ilt 80') •. See, hQweveJ,thc: Prda~e to this volume.

186

seems tohave boeae fruit when in the year' 118!tMichael Choniatesbecame the Arc:bbishop of Athe'ns.1

It is not easy to understand Mieha.el~s reasons for abandoning his Jilfe of apparent ease and. oppol'tunilies for study to aeeept thea.rehbisho:pric 'of & <City which he must have known to be in his day 8· help~ess and a. hopeless shambles. To the statesmen and. scholars of By.zantium,as,llis brother Nieetas indicates" Greece was 8. 'far comer of' the empire' (x{ijpo.~. ~. "'.~'",.£.'HU·OP)..t .Mickae.I',s life in Athens became 'a constant .stfu;ggle alright against 'wrong, of virtue against vice. ~I

Choniates • 'Ulany petitlons, sermons, and letters to those in high places, seeking relief from present evils and redress for past injustice's (works which were for the most part unpublished unti11879-SV), stand asa lastmg :Juemorial of his burning love for Athens and his eourageous devotion. to the Athenians both d1!lring his term of oHi.cean.d after his expulsion from the city by the Franks in. 1205. He appealed in behalf .of Athens in formalpetitions to the Emperors Isaac Angelus and .AI.wus III. He delivered passionate addresses to the provincial governors Nicephorus Prosouehos, Demetrius Drimys, and Michael StryphnQs;. he wrote to su,ch hlghpersonages as George Xiphilinus and .Euf~ymius Tornike:s" to the Logothetes Basil Ka.materos and Jo:J:w Belissariote.s, to the s,turdy Theodore D-u,cas of Epirus, and t:t~,e Emperor Theodore ascaris of Nieaee - to aJI these, in theletters written. before, his exile', he generally complained, it must be aeknowledged" of wha'~ a God-forsaken hole he had got into. when he went to Athecns~ 'Uke another' vault in hen ]"fBu~ more often than. not, his letters carried appeals, w.he.neve:r he t_hougbt it might do any good, for aid ag.ainstrapaeiou.s tax-eollectoes and corruptgov'erno:r.s.; and, after the faU of Constantinople and his own banishment from Athens, he prayed for a Greek victory that might drive the Latin barbarians from his adopted city,. the shrine of ancient enlture.

1 Wh~ Hie'r'O!lymus Wolf published tbefirst edition of Nicet:l:s Cho,m.l:attt's· history, 3!nd gave him dlA! name Acominams (Ni"etae AC'ominati ChonwUle ••• histono. ••.• BaBel,. l5-51·~. Ni~1!;as' elder b:rotherMichacl aliso'acquired the appareatly un.wamml:ed name Ac::ominatus, which be bore for almost £:OUf: eenmries, Th,e most impoi:'taiJlt study ·of Michael's Ufe and work is. that by ~o,rg StadttnUJ]er~ .MJehael Chonitlte:s • .Metrop.oli't von Athc:n (c,a. 11.38 - ca. 1222), in Orie-ntalia Ch'ristiana; XXXllI-2 (Rome,. 1934). StadtmuUert pp •. 274-78, has si;u),wn dtu there see'lnS to be no .ialuthQdty for assignitng the name Acomlnatus to' tbetwo Choniatae: • Man kann •....• mit gutem OmT!!de belhaupten; dass dieser INam~J nie:maJs existiert hait' (p. 216). V. Gru:md. • De l'Orig:ine

d "A .... , .. , Ii.. "E'.~. 'E' ~'B ". ...."" .. '0 -. - X' 'X:~" I ~ n 5'~) '£:5' 6-1-

u nom., i!l:(J'IlW'U:roc;:, lUtne .,",:rn;'·fflP~" £''I''(u,oew:t - ,tI~.ClPTWWP· "'1!'(i!Vu wv." IU. ,Jl;:;ol ~ '~' •• I.U. "' I .'

bas .sqgestied.tha.t the mystery of theil'am~ may' be dhipelJled by 3iSmming thar ;some marrusw.pt (whiih WOolf had seen) Inlllt have 'been nDsinterpreted IIy an im:~rrect readil1g of aibbre~.atiQ:n5 and ligatlUies (NUtTl(T(l.) 'Toif d[1ITbl «w/Jw 4[b)Toi' XWVc4TOU). 'TheexplafiJjJ.tIofi is ingem,oM. Stadtmiillel',. • Zur Biogmphie des NU:etas Ch,onia.tic!t/ Byzan,tlnische FQ1'schun,gen. I (I 966}., 5,21, does. not: dispu.te :it. I am sHU uncertilin. Tha.t ACOmhlatUliil wasknowna:s a Greek name before Wolrs. time seems 'W'c:UaUesl:ed by the .appc'ar-anoe on 1 Jan·uuv. B·9'i. of one Aronitm.AcQ'm:i'natut.gr€cus. an apostolic protonotary. in the diary oftbepapal maste-r of~~monies Johann BuKbrd ,(B'ur<:hard·). L{bn nota:rum, ed, Enrico celani; II (19'1141t unfimmed).,U. While this has not'hling to do with the MeblOpoEilan Miidtael, onew-ond.ers wb.eth,erlhe !1!MI!IC': lhouldent'il\ely disappear &O:IDB~tilH prompogmpby. Stadt!Ulill~. pp. 27'9·-81, :bas Ifho,wumat '(.a:Olbros wal c.on:ect.i11i mainwabJg that Michael arrived in AtheRl in. 1182 to occupy.be an.:hieplisoopal tmo--A.e fOt· mQttC Ibn twenty ycan"uatiJ be fled before the FoW"th •. Qusadcn. in: 1204;.

t NiceW ,~te.. De Alan.' CotIHIt!ftO. I. S (&~~ p. '78).

• Lambros, I, EUa;.; p.,,'. ' Mkih. Chon .... Ep. l~ 6 (LuDbros, n, 19).

.tlikemin the Later Twelfth Century

187

From befo:re the time of COI.lsmfl.tinePorphyrogen:itU9,the ,eparcby of .Ath.ens had lain withintbe ,pJlovinee or theme of Hellas, whim. extended aslar as AeloUa in. the west and Eulboea in the east, and included the island o.f ,A.egina. This theme" lik.e others in the empire, had been governed by military offic~r,s (wpah"wp€S;, rpw1tpa!'f(JJ{JE$, D'1':PttTrYoL), sent Irom Censtantinople and equipped withestensive poHticaJ]powert altho~ghimperial justices (K.P"Tat~ '&''''ClO'TaO ,b.ad. served as interpreters of law and dispensers of justicem the theme.1 These p'raetors (govet'~ nors) •. in the western themes, received no salaries:: they had to wake their offi.ceS iOOa.r fruit fn}v Q;PX~·P K;!tP'IN)WO',I1' is the elassie term),

Troubles with. Normans, Italiaas, various Crusading gIloupstBulgarst Serbs, and the like, harl6.naUyledin Greeee durmg the t;wellth oonbtry to the frequent combination .of both military and judicial funetions in the hands of a single gover'fioft as-elsewhere, at differ·ent times, simi]ar exigencies h:ad similarly modified. proviecial administl'ationin the empire. I

It would appear that the theme o.f HeUas bad been. combined, somewha.tearlieJ' than.MichaeIChoni.aws t d'ay, with tbeth.eme o.f the Peloponnesus into a singl.e province to beruled by a single praetor." The office of praetor, ChoniateB told Drimy.s) reminded him. of the story ()fMedea: just as she had. scattered her poisons over the plain of Thessaly, so did the praeoorscaU:er every possible injustirethl'ollgnoutthetheme of Bellas, and the Peloponnesus." Of the doeen metropolitan sees in Greece,. aU umler the PatriarCh of' Constantjnop~.et A.th.ens and Corinth were the two most im.portan.t. Athensc[ea:rly possessed more ecclesiastical dignity than political and! economic importanee, Subject to the Metropolitan of Ath.ens were ten or a dozen episcopal cities .in northern Greece and the Ar,cbipelago.6

\Ve arefortunat{ll{~noug.b. to possess the .first sermon w.hich M.ichael Chomates l)reacbed.to his flock in theParthenon ,shortly after his arrival in. At!b.ens, 'Tile new Archbishop was assured that the Athenians were goin.g to reciproeste his love

'fron .1:.1,. ir dadsosa - la· -. ~·L, .~. ,am - stn -.- ' .. ·f ..a:1f-, ~- si n "tlf-'a.t· t, ~.J ,-, -t· hi I

_rom tJ!__j,eg~ __ ~e.~ ces* !IoU,e e e_l ... uess 0 w.e process_o __ IW!L .. m:r.u m.e.· . _l!lD~

the joyous reception, and the dances, inspired and even.as it weJle,.enra.ptured.' (E":r~ ,WP 1'E1".:tVWJ,tE'PWJI w-po!1clnrtIJv Vf,iWJf l(il1~ ri}s .'Op.1f'K!~1'"~PQ.s 6"J!"·(tPT.ul(T~WS"ol .pa,3ptJTth'lsblro6oxf}s f(ct~T'QiiJ' o'lo" fJ!'e'rent!1'f'I:~ K,ai xa,p~~~()!) (f.K,~p'1'i,u,!1,.TO$) •. '1

M-i -~,. ',·1 . .), - riffed" f~ ir -it- ,- f~ - -; -·th' ,- c -·f··· J- ,,,,. '-,- - - and . ;f·'isd·:o- 'B' -' - k - .. '

cU.a:e, g ,0 __ cnerr c_y as 'I-Ue mo er o etoquenee a:n 0 w m •. _,@spo. _e

of an ancient festival. the torch race (~ ,..,a;vtylip~f Aa"''I",!tIj:rr8po:pOoS), which the Athenians: in days of yore had run on horseback. The racers were stationed a.t m.e3S1!IrOO:. intervals: they·passed. the torch from one to .ano1ll,elt the first to the second, the second to. the Jthird,and. so on, The:y carried! on until speed. and fine

1 ID.CCl1nstanttine Pb:rpb~itQi t~ the theme of lIeDts8Uppli.ed tenshilJ" (d~), .• rair I'!:lmiOO,. 8.5 well ,II!! iSOOsemnen and 700 soldiers lot.he i:mpe:r.ial. Davy: 1h cmimoniu a~ lJ,mrmfU14 II. c .. 44 (&nn,.l. 6058; note ,also p. 657).

'J .. B. B,ury •. The 1mperi4l Adm:mmroti" Sr;dtmin 11M. NmtA OMurg (l.ondon. 19U),p. 40. 'LambfO!!! (1B78).pp. ~~J6.

"Mich. Choo .• Addrcu:1o ;(he Prod.ar Ifflndriw .lJrim, •• I (Lambros, I" 1,5'7); '7 (p .. HKJ); ~ tdtln.,

J Ibid •• ~7 (I..(!!:!1lbroJ.~, 177). " .Lammos (l8'18).p. 26, a~d StadtmliiUc[. p •. l49.

, l .... ~:.,:IL,Ch·· . 'I' - . __ ,I'.Ai JJ( -. !i':~~'~~). - 11 :,.~- AliI')'

.lIU:LCtI. ··-_.oB . .., . .1 Mugu"'" 4_1''''' .~, 1 'i, I;tIUs. I, ......

188

horseman,shiphad scored a vietory fo.r the w,mninggrotlP. The torch race per .. MSted, in a sense in the Chmch, he observed; Ohrm was the judge (athlotl&etel), and every Christian was called, upon to carry the toren. for hiS ,Share of the race.1

Michael would not call bimselffortunaw in, ha.v,ing become Ar,chbishop of fmr .. f,aJIl.OOand, golden Alb,ens. not y,et, not until he too had ca:rriedthe torch and wcm the athlete's crown oOf' victory., But Athens was truly thequee:n ,of cities, the nurse of letters and of men .of eharaeter, a.nd it was small wondeJ'that. he was oomg congratulated oub.a:-ving rooei.v~d God~s gilt of so distinguish.eda charge. Hicbae1, however ~ was. nut soiimpressed by the Apparent glory 0.£ high oHicet not so unaware of human weaknessJ not so indifferent in his quest for truth",as not to seek and to find out just. what it really meant and how mueh it was truly worth to, be Archbishop .of AtJl.ens. Not on merepossession of .office could he accounthimself fortunate, but still he hoped that no one would take o:ffenseat his wordg,.For~ after alit L.e did not km.ow whether he had become protector (pr08tatetl) of Athenians who were worthy 'Of the high tradition of their lineage. It remained to be seenwhether the bright fame of Athens had been brightly kept. He did not. kn.ow wh.ether Athens, was still the city of 'Olden. times or wbeth.e~ only her glorious name was I.e ft. But someone might conduct him. eround the city to show hjm the clear proofs. that this was Athens: !This is the :Peripa.tos~ this is the Stoa, QV,e'J' here is the Akropolis, dow.n there is the Peiraeus, andright hereis the Lantern of Demosthenes,' In that event, he would. merely possess additional evidence of the sort of men the Athenians of the past had been. He tooka figure from the Lantern of Demesthenes: mayhap the Athenmnswere but snifling the lantern wicks of the past!' It was not to monumentsthetfhe ancient city and. its citizens had. owed theilr fame. It was to their character (anne) and totheu wisdom (,uphill). Thus it was that the Ath.enians had. been as superior to aU the other Greeks as the oUl.er Hreeks had been superiorto the barbarians. 'I

The oongregati.Q.n. drewsmaH. oomlort bow. his affirmation that they were the deseendants of the ancient Athenians. Tim.e had not so :far IJllevailed against them. he safd., that the nne ru.c'ial coinage of their great forebears (1"0 EVyEJ'€$ TWV O'1fOuOQ.W,t,V 1I'PO"Y(W(dV (J~v «oPJLI1) hadl been. ISO to. speak, re-eut in 'error and d.es.troy'edm t:hem .. T:he meW still rang true, and. it WM not short of weight. Snrelythe Athenians

-ll th bar- ... - .. ' -. f tb .,. . - - - n th harL~_· d h·

preserveu __ e c.· . ,acrel'lst'lcs o,--,~eU' type UW(L. u __ e,utW:m.ns., an_ W--_Q

uld ~L_' the S··· 'K·· .~ ~.th· '. E . ·C·:1I'· '. .J!

COw.' . not soo~t __ . 'yrlADS, ._elts., ~J_umDS, .gyptta.ns, ···liLlclans. &nu.even

the Cretans with.th.e legend. of tbe.ir lying,l.were aU reproducing their kindiin types that ran true to form? It was SC8JIceIDynecessary to apeak o.f birds and beasts and evea plants, in aU o.f whieh the same pheuomenon.was to. be observed .. ' What pride could A.thenians take mthe mere fact that they were descended from AtheniansP Michael had Rot wished to he offensive in all this. He hoped. tba,t they would not hard.en their h.eartsagainst him .. '

11.1.!.l' .L__i!'I'(- ~'E.) U1I,;I..., ~I '.0,1" ......-v~_,.

"'Ibid., .IS (I. .).

II·L;.J g.,;~4 ·(1 'ft.~)

_~"'!II _ ~ _ '_" ~.v_:".

.Athen, in the Later Twelfth Centufll

189

Ch:oniates warned the AtheAians in solemn tones to pu:serve the noble ctl8"' toms ot dIeit ancestors, who had been iliemos,t humane of all the Greeks .and th.e most honored. He dwelt upon. the ancient .Atheniwt dev,otion. to eloquence (logoa). They might be said to have obeyed and served eloquenceaione·:by ~wonis they were easily led 'like a docile' horsefl.1at needs no curb.' lit was by his powers as an orator that Pericles bad ·caJmoo. the JlesUve people when the plague was in their city. Burt the success would not have atte:nded Fericlest skill in speaking if the Ath.emans had not grown up to an obedienee of eloquence and to following whitlu~tsoev,el' it might lead them"'being led n.ot by th.e :nose,aB, the saying is, but by their ears.' The tact that Alexander ,could -besoothed when T.imotbeus pmy,oo the iluteWBS rather an indication of Alexan.der's natuJle (phllri8) than. of Timotheus' talent.'

If those wham Choniates was a.d.dressingwere oil that golden seed. of the ancient Ath~nians.. if they were not unworthy branches of the stalk. that came of that seed, if they were true citizens of that best of cities, as th..ey elaimed to he and. as they were called, time would. soon tell, He would learn. of their Attic blood and their Athenian inheritance very quick:IDy, but.net because they did their haw into a krobylQ8 and pinned it with the tet~.Longbefore, these 'things bad marked. the Athenian" to be sure~just as the .spear had. marked the Spart.a.n~ and. the descendant of Pelops was known llythe ivory white mark on his shoulder, Choniates • however, wouldreeognise that his congr-egation were tnie .Athenians by their noble thoughtsend their high character and by the spirit of their ancestors,2

In one Jlespect~h:owever~ and. t.hat the most important o.f all, the Atheniaus o.f Michael Ghon1ates' day were superior to th.eirancestor.s in. the time of Athens' greatness .. They were Christians~ They WOl,shipped D.O false virgins li.k~ Athena, themother O'f Erichtbonius, and! Artemis, who loved Endymi.on. The Athenians of Michael's day knew the one true God, and! tbeywe:lle known by Him. As Christians: they must needs surpass all the: virtues of Aristides, Aeacus, Diogenest Pericles, Themistocles; and the warriors of Mar.atJh.o.n,. 'just as truth ,surpasses falsehood, light surpasses darkness, and' reverence for God and the Almighty HhnseU surpasses; mere dread of demons.~ Born. otthe stock of the Athenians, of old. however~ the Athenians of Michael's: day 'wel"'e 'like wild olive shoots grafted upon cultivated. trees, and watered .. In the house of the Lord1 as it were,w.ith. the dew of theapoetles and theprophets," That the result of this spiritual viticulture might notprove a failure Michael offered his p.rayers to, Christ the 'planter of all good' (1ro,VTdi 41a6ou ,tPU:fOllP1'~J"

Mi.cha.elr,eferred. to how, in the distant past, there had burned 'On the Acropolis before the venerable wooden. statue of Athena Polias in the eastern cella. 01 tLe Ereclltheum a golden lamp, a symbOl. of godless paganism, but tik.e the light of the gl,Qwworm the falsehood of paganism had paled when. the dawn of ChristialitUUtk bad arisen with the eternally V.irgin Kore, Tbe eitadel of .Athens had been. beed from the tyranny of'thefalse Virgin (R,euilopartltenoa).Now there was in the Parthenon a reallyeternd lamp' that g~ea.med forth from. the height of the Acropo-

I Ibtd,. 25 (r.. 101-lot) ..

I YL'!.l' . ~6- .:..:>- ..... 8·~(· . ·1·""1I_1~)· .1-., ... , ~.Jl . r" .. ~-.

190

lis as though from Heaven itself to enligbren not Athens ailone and A.ttica,.but the most distant confines· of t.he earth as far as the sun. makes itsw.ay. Who cowd! be mare super.stitiousthan the Althenians whom Paul had seen, who worshipped a God they did! not know and could not name P Now 'God w.as known and. great wasbis name. 1

In a .spirit o.f .exaltation and in theecsttasy of tha.tmom.entMichael'wa:s in danger of imagining himself to be Moses. ' :Far a momenthe stood not upon. the citadel of AUrens,but upon Mount Horeb, upon theverype'aK af Heaven.!

Michael's descent from MQunt Horeb was rapid and unhappy. The chief re-action. oif the congregation to his learnmg an'deloqillence was perplexity; the ,chief emotion that he caUed f·orth was disquietud.e.W.hatoouldl ignorant Greek peas .. ants and. Siavsan.dVlachs know of the krobylosandl theteltix or even of Aristides a.nd Pericles? The fin"e racial coinage of the ancient Athenian_s~ to adopt ~\l:i~ha.el's own . .6gurethadbeen debased bya high measure malloy. Heeould not move the Athenians of the twelfth. century •. sunk. in poverty and in ignorance, hy holding up to them as models, for imitation the noble customs of their ancestors (prvgmwi) , a rhetorical device that may possibly have been suggested.tn him by his .reading of the Attic orators.who employed it very .often. Bu.t it was, not until almost seven centuriea after Choniates,' time, in the first querter of the nineteenth e,enlury. that the Athenians were really moved to emulate the great deeds of their aneesooir8when th.ey responded to the .superb eloquence of AdamanHos Koraes, who called upon them .iu repeatededitions of his Salpiltma PolemiawrUm to match 'the heroes of ).1a.ratjbon. Salamis, Plataea, a.ndTbermo~ylae, your unconquerable ancestors' (progonoi) ,I

In the days that foUowe4 .his manguraladdress Mich&!!IoompleUily lost the few .illusions he had. cherished. ceneerning the A.thenians. In another discourse to them I' wbi.ch he delivered not. long after the first, he [amented,'O city of Athens,. to what depths .of ignorance thou:hast sunk, thou the motb.er of wisdom!" He had exercised his miad, he had. sharpened his speech." so to speak, and be had exerted! .himself to the futl before an audience of the descendants ofthe great Athenians of old. It bad boon their ancestors, who hard pressed once by It grievous f,amine had thought it unw«rthy of them to borrow from a certain. richman, because he was untutored, and, a'S .rarasthe rules ·Qf grammAr were concerned. a. veritable barbarian in his speeeh, ~I lend you, 0 men: of Athens,' he had offered, hut they bad preferred 00 die of famine rather than to borrow from ,such 8, barbl\N)us speaker. Howcould an A.thenian accept even sustenance from th.ose whobarbarized his 'laDguage:? Micllael .bad.~ooked. .forW8.rd.to, an. audience of the descendants ()<f such .lovers of I~guage .. Truly he had done his best. He had sbiven to produccsamet'hing that was direct and not, affected. He had not wished 00 seem

.A:therulinthe Later Twelfth Oentury

1'91

the unworthy foster-parent of the city of eloquence, He was deceived in bis h.opes, disappointed m his expectations. A short while before" h.e had delivered his .fust sermon to the A.thenians, a simple address and quite straightforward, with. absolutely no attem.ptw impress them. But he had seemedta be speak[Dg of things unintelligible ~.q O"liHTLl) , and even in some foreign tongue" in. Persian or in Scyt:h:ian !1

The Ath.enians had become .& barbarian horde; they no longer had any desire to search fOl'wisdom.'Onee their speech was Attic; now it is bsrbsrie' (oi1l",i;).rn ~/r,...t/!:,llO",..at vfjv,,·c.·pfJo.pW'fu£). On1y with great difti,eulty had Michael achieved an understanding of the language they spoke; in fact, it had taken him ·three yeal'S to learn the ~Attic dialect' of the tweUth century. There had been, ofcourse, some words that welte not new to him, some words tlat 'time could nevel' obliterate" words like Piraeus, Hym.ettns, Areopa.gtls, KaUirhoe, Eleusis, Marathon.; There were, too, popular diminutives that he understood, sumas Of.P,ip,,·Ul,1I"p;o{Jo.:rlillul, ~a~,~abA)'"t1.) ete.sas well as the forms" still hesrd in Athens, 01"EitrOS' and .iT(i,VVOf.1

Tbe speech of Athenians was repulsive to him. "I have become 8· barbarian myself since I have been. resident in Athens,/ he writes} 'and, what is harder to bear, I have been forgotten as though I were dead, and forgotten I re.main/'

T'here is a wise saying in Ecclesiastes (m: 4) : 'One generation passeth away ~ BOd. another generation cometh, but the earth abideth. forever,' .At&eoswas st:iU. Atbemh Michael reflected~ though she had become s city of ruins. Michael mu.st often have thought, even as the tourist of yesterday and of today, when his hand. touched a. column or the Parthenon or when he walkedbetween the Ionic columns of the central )laS8ag:e 01 the Prepylaea, that the hand. of Pericles may have rested there too, that Demosthenes had many times passed between those lovelyeolumas, In this. vein he writes one of the most interestin,g and. moving passages in aU his .letters. He writes to Michael A:utol!'eianOStwho later became the :Pabia.lIch of Nieaea:

We may stin enJoy [helle in Attica} the same loveliness of the countryside) the temperate dLma:te, thefrult-raislng.thefenHe land (,.a 1t,1t~6PQlr), :Hymettus :ricb in ho:ney. the calm. Pira.eus"Eleus,Es ofthemystefies" the hoeee-ridden pl.in of the Marathonian w,arriOTS •. th.e same Aerupotis. toot where I sit DOW .asl write •. andseem to' bestride the very peak. ,of heaven, but thst studiO'US r&'Oe ,o:f uncommon wisdom has goBe'tand there has come' upon us .8; boarish. people, beggar~y in. mind &Dd moody, quick. to wander 01' and. seek their food DOW in on.l!) plaee~. now im a!lQlh.e:r~ aD.d tienOl!: to fy aw,ay .iJl.l:ik~ :migrato:ry hiiriis}

But thispraise of Attica :18 only poesy; MJchael; infa.et.f is ,seldo;w consistent in his attitude towards Athens and the Athenians. He genenilly laments the decline of ·the land as wen as that o.f tb.e people .. In a letter to one of his learned COI1'p.s~ pondents"be writes that the see ot A:th.en:s:'onee the home of letters, has 'become a vale of tears andlamentatlcns,' During a drought he writes that "the riv·ers have left. the olive pOY'e5, the streams have Jeft the prdens,. Kallirhoe Ha,ws D.O longer,. the bees, bave left U:ymettus, and the meadow' grass has left the flocb!1i Marathon

1 Mich. 'Ch~D .. ~ .Fird C~ ~ .. e0-St (I.ambros..~, lU,). I MiCh •. Chon~ 81'.18. s (r..m~ Q. fi:).

I Ibid ... t (0.."). .• Ep. S..8 (u; 1:1).. 18, .. 10, :1"" (0. .) •.

lOt

has lost,. besides i.ts trophies of longagp,even, the capacity to bear· grain, and. pirates indu.ct themeusmians into the adyta of Hades: and initiate them into the mysteries of death (pvoVJI1'~S 9tt.,lt.:rlotl .J'I)(1l'.qPUt).1l

It was not alone in ike things 0,£ themind and the spir.i!t.that 'the A.thenians were depressed". however, fora swann of IDe~r of6cials,'as mrmeeeus as the leaves and.fI~)'W'ers .in their season." more so than. the f:rogs God once sent into Egypt," had 'or generationsileen oppressing Pindar'scity of'the vio1.d crown .. There were DO ph.ilosopbers in .Athens. There were no ordinary workmen. Th.ere were women an.d children. They were ill-fed and ill-rilotbe<L' Death was preferable . to Ufe~ and. the dymg pitied those who.m.they lelt ibeh.m.d.~

One ·of the most constant andl characleristicfeatures of the social and military life of tweB'thcentwy Attica was po-aey, which the imperial governmeet was not able to suppress, Off the roast 'Of Att4ca the islands of 'Salamis" Aegin&" and Makronesi were pira,t:e· ,strongboids; Mit;hael's writings aoound[ in lIeferences to pirates. I! .Persanall_y and. officially Michael was .harassed. bypira.ws,.w.ho seriously wounded. one o·f his nephew8~" and. who p-iUagedJ thealready inadequate resources of the arChdiocese of Athens" not oruy to the detriment of' his people, butalso, Mie'hael insisted, 00 the detr.iment of the imperial treasury. How eouldhe thus render unto 000 what was God's 'Or unto Caesa:r what was, Cae'sar'sP'1 In thepossession of mOD,ey for its own sake Miehae~."cb,imed to have DO interest at aU; whatever revenuem gold and silver the ehurehpossessed was expended. on the dire needs of his people as soon as, it W'Q.S, eolleeted, ~ and. evenbefore it was collected,."

Isaac Angelus and: .AJ.cxius JEO were tmaMe. 01' too preeeeupied with other matters, to deal! effectiveWy with thepira.t.es.Tbe Genoese pirates Vetrano and Caf~

.f·ar.· _"'. a·n· dman ·Y.~ oth -i""ad- veaturers ~~70.·- rn and unknown ravaged the eoast Ieiti .... s

_'-"' .. u _. . .. ·.e",.. _ en· ...... €:.os JlU.l w._ n ,lI,ilLMt .... _I '"_. .e .. .ue __ ...

of the emplre and the islands O'f the .Adriatieand fheAegean.The imperial govemment sought to m.eet fire with fire ... Against Caffaro.in 11917-98. John. Stei.ri.ones was sent with thiirty ships; himself a pirute,s. Calabrian hy birth, Steiriones had. aequired a gJ'im notor.iety in. the profession afarms at sea frupu'1wv 3. XEtpW1"C)f). But he distinguiSbed. himself in the emperor's service, a.fter one serious failure, by finally riddmg the seas of Gaffaro. Piracy was Rot likely tQOO stamped out, howeve:r.wlte:n it not infrequently helped. to ,sweU the income'S of Byzantine gmndees.'While Choniates appealed to Byzantium for aid against pirates, MichaeJ Stryphnos, Grand .Admiral of the FI.eet (!\ ~'cu 8oiJ~:toiii 1ff6~Oll), whose wife was the sister o.f the Empre,sg Euphrosyn.et grew ever richer by sharing in. pirate pitmd,er and by engaging in privatepill.a.ge of theships and dockyards of the Aegean. area which it was his g,worn duty to. defend. I

'IU:J ,(:. -'. 'E-- ... -(-. c, ) _ Z! ( .)

__ ~,.. 'U,~~ ';' _po M." • n. 105 •• I ,rip •. 8, In, U.

4 l" .lJ'mdriw DrimT/', 48-\H, (I..am"bros. I. 176).

'ChODia,te!mentlowJ Aegin& as < .. am ofp:ir.tei in Ep. i7, 8 (I..amb~ n, 48). Cf. [,a,mbn)s ,(18l78)t ~pp. $$-=6"{ t.:lld 87:-$.

• E1J. D,. 6 (Lunbros. 1II. 68). i Eip. 44, 5 (u,'11). ' Ep. 166 .• 5 (II, Sl~) .•

• .N:......._,... 'Cho :'~..... De Al.ufu Com. _ -. ·1' -- ... ..• ...~,_,:.J.:;..-... ·~-(B··· . . ., 0!Hl'~.g'1" ,. u 1 (n, '7]16),

_,,_ ..._ J:neI~ __ .. _ . _. _ .. ~! .. ~ln.~1. nKT~ II r-: O.DD, .Pp. """'~ ~" fL \1:" _ . •

Cf.M:ich. Chtm •• ..4.diJRu to tIu Omnd'.~ BtfJphMf, 19 (1Am.~. f.SS1);, :tJeeBIIso n.51~51S (DOte)~ .Mii.mu'l', admls to StFyphn05waJ -p:rob<thly wriUcnin 1202.

.A:tMmin the Later Twelfth Century

IDS

Tke twin plagues of the maritime themes. were pirates and! praetors. Conditions in A.ttica were fearfW. han effort to ,save his eity from furthex decline tle Amhbishop .sent, an appeaito the ,Emperor Alexius. m An,ge~us, in which 'the unwmth.7'

d -h -b1' 'f h" " . d h' ~ MaO' ---.- . .1 . .,. .L'I!. ~

an um I.e ,serv,Knts 0 " I!S puissant an _ ~ol.y I' "'J!es~ypre,,~ to petition U1eU'

holy Sov:ereign.'IMichael made this appeal toward the end of 1198,.

Attica .• enoe a populous, district, is being emptied of its inhabitants. The Athenians are weighed down with a load of taxation two or tbr,ee times, and more, heavier than. falls upon the' neighbor:jng districts. The nscallity of the ta.x~Dectors leads them to survey Attica's barr,en soil 'with, measures small enough to check the p.rints Df Beas' (f,,'E-rn iV~hall); the Athe'nians have the ve:ry hairs on their heads counted, the leaves on ,e've:ry vine and plant.

Other districts in Greece receive fairer treatment. 0111y last year the Athenians, and theya.lome. were mulcted. of a wge sum of money to build a Beet (1(6.1"l!lp'Y«). The fleet was never built. 'Whe'n Pansias Steiriones was ranging th.e coastal wa.ters,.the Athenians were pressed for moremoney for ships. After this th.ey were again foreed against their' will to give Sgouros and the govemoe of Bellas stilt more money for ships .. The district~ of Thebes and. Buripus (Eubeea) paid no. such large assessment although". according to ike .ancien:ti:custom sanetioned by the Emperor himself., Athensshowd. :have paid less than Thebes and.

E- .. -,·,-"····· 2'

W'lpU.S.-

But suppose Athens does put up with the 'tribute {K~l'<rOS)t as well as with the .. ,. f' th . '_1.. uld _1:.. ···U he ith . 'h h" h L~. _ _J_;J mcursmns 0',· e pirates, sno c~;; sne ,sb_ ar WI out tears t: - e Ilg'~IDiliU!ru

abuse of the governor? The presentgovemer (apparently resident 'in Thebes) has, no right to collect taJiesor to. exercise jurisdiction in Ath.ens. far an imperial decree (:'IrPQQ11!:t!P'.l'fOV 'Xpvuo/3fJ!.i)'''ADJI), prohi.hits even his entry into the city with. armed men. a, But he eomes aU the same ~. he comes to worship in thA:i eatbedral! (But. his plunder of the :Parthenon has been m,ore barbarous than that of Xerxes;. and ev'eryoue of influence in the city behaves worse than the thirty~yrants}) He

. . -

treats the country as though he had. undertaken a raid upoa some barbarian out-

post. Before ,bimstalks Ruin., so to speak, in the guise of his eommissar:iat (h-oo'ox6:rop(!!), who demand daily as support. for his retinue and horses five hundred mtdim'lWi of grain, whole, herds. of cattle, whole flocks, .of' hens, a, sea. full of' :fish'J' and more wine than th,€!, vineyards can produce. They take unpleasant. action .agains,t swch A.thenians. as are inclined to be recalciit.rant inenrrendering their possessions. On top of all this they dema:nd remuneration (pur96$), ,as, though they were rendering the peoples. service (dis: Ewpy,iTat .,.I14$)i and no smaH sum either. but goldenougb to .requite even their well nigh insatia.ble desire.'

The governor himseU finaUy comes and oftentimes, even beloife he has made obeisance to the Mother of God, he has, accused one man, of nut. having met him,

I Mid., Ch(W •• Mmoritil (R~) 101M Emperor Alt.t,u, ComtlMUI;. 1 (tambros., I. sm).

With, this appeal to, the empe:rorin behalf of alii .AilbeD. riddeD by (&mme. poverty. and pimy ibQuId be oompar~d e~ia'lb" Choniates 'adckess T(J ~w lJrimg,~. 8: (lo 168-t'O) u.d 6 (pp; 159- 160);abo,Epp. 8 (II, :n-IS);!fl7. 5-8 (n .. U-iiS);: aud.6S (u~ lOt-mOl).

!I a:~~ 1-3 1(Lam.~ :(.807···818).. lief. .LaJnbroa (1878), pp.84-65.

"Midi. Chon., &p. 6S. S (Lunbros..'~ lOS).. 'llBJlOft H (Lunbro8., I, ;SO&-eOQ) •.

Athens intke' Lmer Twe'ljt,h Century

8Ddtmother he imprisom, and punishes on seme otheJ" charge. Tben~ having enjoyed bimseU at the expense of the poor Athemansfor as tn.any daysa.s he wishes, he ,BOOks some sort of'h,ol1loMum'fom' the time h,e has had to give to JTra.yen: (1f',POOK~"'7jTbt,o~).But, ofcourse_ ill I11ch a religious IP'OUP it is not only the gov~ ernor 'who has to pray"but there is a co:mptroUer ().O'YapnlO''T'~s), who has some p~yinl 'to do, and Aller :him 8 grand chamberlain (1rp(in·o(J~(rn6..p .. O$), and an arm.ycom..mander (rpwT'odil.,.',ap'XI)$).. Then everyone in, the governor's retinue takes his tum ,at,pr~ying, one at a time, and theyproIong th.eir devotionste m.ake certain they don't I.eav,e Attica before they haveget ever:ythin,g. At ]ong' last. after many entreaties, and the assurance there is absolutely no more' to begot, the-governor is with dimcul~y persuaded to le'8ive.Hebegins, preparationsfo:r his departure. He requisitions the best paek-animal he can find~ whereupon he is very likely to sell the animal back, not once, but often twice, to its rightfUl owner. When the governor finally does leave, th.e emperor may be assured that ,a multiplicity of things 'Of every description leaves with. him.!

To what purpose this ruin, of Attica? asks Michael: the state, treasury receives no- bene-lit; rather it .su:ffers loss. More people abandon. Attica~and the'land is deserted. Micha.e1 is 'telling the emperor of but a few of the ills the AtheniansaJ'le ,su:li:ering. Throngh him they beseech his most clement and ho]yMaj'esty ,to tak,e pity OR themand 'to check the flood of evils that threatens to overwbelmlhem,. Inthemteresb 01 the state treasury .itself' the emperor is urged tofr-ee the Atheni~ ans from suchplundering for,a.ys by their own. gov,el"nor~ and, 'with the aid 01 the esalted imperial M,Istik08; who had beenappolnted the Atheuians' advocate (rejnend'a1'iO's).to bringabout the restoration of properly that had been pdlaged iUIlder the pretext of taxa:tion~ Another' imperial rescript is asked reiterating the p,rohibition of entry .into .Athens of the governer and :his staB and carrying a threat :f:or its disregard, The Atlumians may then meet thenaval assessments and eontribute Bh.i:ps~ as manyes may be dulyr,equirro by the LordJobn Dueas, Logothete of the Dromos, and no mare, so that ,R host of officials cannot be laying claim to taxes with no imperial authorization, as is often done, under th.epretex.t of levying atrihute in ships,.2

The Athenians have borneo. bee.:vy and eontlnuous Iead of taxation, which, they pray .ma.y notoontinue to the point of overw'hclndng them. It is suggested th.a,t probably there are other districts in the peninsula that, could be taxed, and that the remission of various imposts already granted b,y h.is Saer,ed Maj,est;y should be confirmed, Michael protests also against 'the encroachments of the richer in -habi tan ts of the city (kastreno,) upon the peasants' holdings in the free villages (dro'ungo£)~ which will be the ruin of Attica if the emperor does not interve ...

ne ..

I Ibid .• ,6 (~ 8(JHIO)<. F~ol!' the' ·officials bo'Wll iii kI'4ria1U~ pr~aDd. pmto.~,. see l..mbros:, 11,,51.5-:.516 (Dote) ... very1ittlecan. be fOUlild .abrlut the back.g:round of theprotmutiCH'iol' and. :~ml. B. Bury (lon) and in Scadllmu1ler (1934), p, 295.

:I B,JIO-11'~, 7-8 (tamb~ It :~nO). 'Themy~W!!l a high imperial ofIiclal wh!.ll po.~ tIte power ,rA ~_gf(U' the churelt Pf'(iIpertyt:ru.it N.d been im.properiyaiicmated. On thefQct:itml ,ofth.TlfiikoI in the· p~ ·eue _ little (:8:0 be leamedfmm ,A. EUisse:n. Mie,., Jl~ tIOI'& ,C~ (Gottmpu,.lMG), p. 'J.M, n. 59. andLambro., n, $16 (DOte). Cf. StadtmWler,p.297.

Athen8 in fits Laie« Twelfth (Jent'U1"Jj

195

.If the emperor would. ()~y doas Miehael begs him, the Athenians would be saved, and the taxes th.~y are paying would hndtheir way intothe im.pertal trea,a.. ury. In return fUil' their .salvatIQD the Athenians would never cease to pray :£or hls holy MaJ,es~y, tow-nom they have presumed, these unworthy sel'vants,thusro present their petition.'

The emperer'sanswee to the H'1J'P01nneali.ktm was apparently to send to A.th.ens the· Grand. LogQtbe1te .BasilKamaoo:ros, afwlbtom it maybe said that. if he did Athens no good, at least h.e did her no harm. After him, strange to .say, thenotoriems Michael Stryphnos. arriv,ed; :Strypbnos, who had but a few years before s.tripped, thefteet b:y .selling the naval supplies for his own p,ro.fit, gave his. time in Athens, as onemigh.t. expect. to his private enrichment.' He caused Choniates no end of anxiety.

Despite her pirates and governors (praetors) ~. and. despite Choniates .~ .statements to the ,eont:rary -. Athens was still a city 'Of some importance in. the later twelfth century. Thefacf. lha.t she was, n.ot entirely wi.thout eommeree, and therefore presumably netwithout. something to s:e:U~ would seem to follow from the apparent. inclusion of the city in Byzantine commereialagreemeats madewith the Venetians in n48~ 1.187, and 1199.,1 When Skyphnos visited. Athens, he saw ships in the Pil"aeus;Mich.a.e~ also mentions at lesst one vesselIrem the port of Monemv,asia. in the Peloponnesus, and he awaited. another.,· But, inmediaeval1l Athens there were, alas, no ergas1.eria like those that figure in the At.ti.c orators of the late fifth. and fourth centuries B.C. Athens, in fact seems .scareely to have engaged in. themosb profitaMe industr:y in Greece in thecentra~ period 'Of the Middle Ages~ the weavmgof silk cloth .. 'T.he leading cities of the theme of He~as and the Peloponnesuswere Thebes) Corinth~ and Patras, aU three of whicB owed their prosperity to their silk manufaeturies, We have MicbaelC.honia!es 'own assertion that the garments of lords and. ladies in 'Constantinople were woven by 'Th.ehan and Corinthian. finger.s,."Ii'While .silk cloth seems to .have been woven. in Athens: in. the very late Empire,. there is .00 evidence that Athenians 01 the later twelft.h eentury were engaged in this highly lucrative oeeupation ... It is ba.rely possible that there were silk weavers in. Athens as lids as Ilt6~lm4'1) when the Norman King Roger I 'of Sicily is said to have taken the 'city.~ forRQger is said (in a disputed text) to have: removed to Sicily same silk workers whom he chanced! to find in Athens, together with those he took from Thebes and Corinith.· A. few

1.1l1lpamneslilcrm. 9, (Iamhros,.l' .• 811). Ina lett.e1' til the Belissariota.e:in Const:&nt:iD.ople , GhQl:!i.lileB! indicates tJ1Jat the lwI:. bmden upon. Athens has been vety gt~",t1y lessened (Ep,.65 •. 1!c~; Lambros. t. un); it.wol!ll.d thu! appel1l' tlmt fol' the time being at least the H~nutikonprodluced. gpod.resub

~cf..Lambr,os. n, :li8S). I Lambros (J.S78).p .. 97' ...

"G~·· ·1· T·c'"'·1 ·.,""·G··-:"· ""","- ..... ·u·····L.·~! ... " ;':"'-en H~1IIndS" .. ·d----Lt.eAte.tkr.J}J..o;-'u".1:. .•• #, .8!*!'_ .fIiDU.' DJI.,. ,J.uowas,.r_n«eft: m _.- .. __ .... .. . ..... _..........,~.. . .• _..,_

JI:medig m#~",. .B,.hu1lg ~t4 Byz(fft%u-M die ~.I (Viemta" 1856)~pp .. lIS (Manuel eomneous);. 1.84 (Isaac .An_gelm) ;al!d 165. !79 (Ale\x:ius HI An;ge!lus). Cf. Lambl'O.!! (18'18). pp,iHO'.

• Mich .• Chom •• El'. 84.S (r..mb~ n, 187). Ie Ep,. 50, JO (n, 88). ..

• Otto of Premog. F~ l",pmdM. I, 83 (JlGB. S,~~ xx. 8-'110) :'fude adiILter1.OTa 'Gqe. _ p1'O~ Corinthum, 'Theba,. Athm.u, antiquanob.ilih,ite eeileib.rH eJ])UgnaDlt ••• opiices diam; qui. aerioos pa.nDQS tex~resOlemf.ob ignom:mi8.mimperatQtg illiws .mique pr.incipis glor.iam. cap" tiVOf!. liedue,unt: Roser establiShedth~W9v~r!!lm t.b£. ;Sici1i.an capital. ()f~.lermo.&D.d had .tb.em

196

years after the, Norman occupation, Benjamin of Tudela found 'Thebes a 'llarge city ... with about two tIlousand.Jewish mhaM,tants •.• the most eminent manmacture'fs of ,silk and purple cloth in an Greece" tIIn this ,oonnec:lion Lambros brought f()fWardas an indication of Atbens' poor [economic co:ndition the fact that there-were very :few lews in the city. ~T.he o.nly opportnni~y the ,Athenians had to mare in the considerable profits being realized by their near neig:hbors 'to the nerthand south of them lay in. fishing lor the mussels (I(:D'YX,b~Ul), whence, as in antiquity', the purple dyes were made, and Michad. mentions that the' Athenians were engaged inthis purmit off the barren island of Gyaroa with other groups from Chalds and Carystus,;1 But it is not known, that the A,iliemans even did any purp~le..Qyeing of cloth made elsewhere.

T,b.ere was, nevertheless, some manufacturing inAthens~ but it was probablly of a domestic character. Michael refers to the p!ri!'paration of soap ,and ,apparently to the weaving o.f cassocks.- But the knowledge of certain essential skills appears tohave declined ,sadJy in Athens,. Mich.ael writes, for example" to the Bishop of Peristeraand Gardikioa (in Thessaly), which la.ttel" town Benjamin o.f Tudela a, generation earlier had found to be 'a, ruined, place", containing but few Jewish or Grecian inhabitant.s/e, and so itself no home of' industry: ~Everyth.iing in Athens, llspoo.l' and. meal!l) and especially the agricultural implements; so send us wainwrights; (d.pat,oroto,t).fJ :rn.deed~ in 'the 'very first letter that he wrete from Athens, Michael complained that 'the city :isiust B, ruin, 'fot 'the bellows hasfail,ed, us" there is no worker in iron among U$, no worker in brass, no. maker o.f swords, things that were ,still preservedto us' but yest;erdaya.nd. the day before,"

The soil of Attica.in the twelfth century was probably not so fertile as, it was in antiquity oras it i~ at the present time: Michael. regarded it as 'sandy and poor." But the olive and the vine, the twin staples ·of the economy of' ancient Athens~ 8tm, flourished in. the tweHthoontury. Although w,e do not know whether olive oil was: exported asan article of commerce, Michael could send his friend Isaiah of Antioch ~a full skin .of oil, containing 'twelve [large] Attie pints' (X,wp&iv o,&u~Uo. EE(f1"M 6..1"·nICo6s). ... He sent Isaiah ,at the same time a eonsiderable quantity of soap' and, promisedto send him some {woolen?) cassocks on the next; ship from .Antioch. that stopped. at Athens.,· Th.e wine, however, W'&S not good .. It was sharp and bitter. ~y{)U know boW' the wme' of Athens,' he MeOW his friend Euthymi.lls of Neopatras. cseemsto be pressed bam resinous pines rather than from dusters of grapes. '10 Bo:n,eyw8S ,s,tm. produced, in Attica. and the monks of' the m.o:naslery of 'Kaisariane tended the bees on the ~slopes ofMt Hymettus. ~I

teadllW own weav,ers the art of aUk 'manufacture, "et ex hine pmedicta an lila, priUSi 8 Graecls tan~ tummte-t christianos haMm, Romani:! pateN! eoepit inilJdliis." cr., h!)we'Ver, A.. A.Va$mcv, B~ oJ

:lMB~~, Empire, n (lot!}). 7t. .

i A·· .. '.~L_ Th ·.l-~-·- ,,'.D_~ B' •... ". "'" 1"".~.1._. (T.~ . ..1 .I 'B"!~ ·1 ..... ' ... ) 417 ' .. ~ ~~, _' , .. e !'W4!waty ,oJ ;I~ ·mJomm "''' ~ 'IHLAU '"LODgOn an ..... ellW •. ,~'. p. ",

t Lam.b:ros (1818). pp. 80-31, 'Mich. Choo", 8,., 185, i (I...amb~, n,2'75) .•

~'Ep. &J~ 3 (11',13"1).

I A. ,Asher, Bm,iamitl ,0/ Tudela {181O)[".IID. ,I Mich. ChODl.,E,. ",,1; ,(Lambros; n. tiD) •.

, E, q, " (~, 11),'. .• H·.~ ,-.' ,~, .J.~~J........ ~IIT --.b. .... ,.. 'entA

P ~ .-' . .Ii'~. \~. rea. ., VUI/'

~ Ep. ,M, ,8 (lambroa,.n,.I$7). iO E,p. 1.9" 8 (ii~ 1$). II Ep. 1:i6, 2 (il, SU)..

A,tIuma in the Later Tw:elftk Cemury

197

The production. of wheat was gen,er:aDy inadequate, and som\etimes there, was famine in Ath,ens. A lack of good, wheat was doubtless a pret~y constant featur-e of' Athenian, economy, and Michael ,oompiainstbat the bread, was wretclled (,.0 ,Ktlt 4PTOl!' 'qlLfUl ~Ji'o~») But th"ere seem, to have been times, too, 'when .Attica g,ew more wheat than she really Deeded herself,. The district of Athens was able, Lamb!ros believes;, 'to contribute its ,share ot the one hundred thousand.medimnoi of grain purchased, by the imperial government from the tbem,es of' Hellas and the, PeIoponneslls in 108'7 to ,relieve a famIne in Constantinople caused by a six m.onths' drought.' Athens" furtbermoref was apparently not without w'beat in the following year (1008) when the themes Oof Thraee" Macedonia. the Strymon, and Thessa.lonica suffered from a famine which took its tQ,J!], in northern Greece as far south as Thessaly.1 A hundred and fifty years later. however, AtbeDs'; luek in this respect had run out, and in. the time :of M'ichael Choliliates the' city sufferced a grievous famm.e.f

Bya law 01 Theodosius II and Valentmian nr, dated :t4 No'Vem.ber"485, aU pagan shrines and temples. (si quaetia'rJt nu~nc fe&tant integra) were -ordc,red closed although they might be consecrated 88 Christian. churches. It was: several generations after th~ and certainly after J"us.tiniiRn;s. time, that the Parthenon and. Erechtheum we'l,e COD.Viertedinto chmihe-s.' T:he .Partbenon, because or its peculiar architecture, made an admir,able church. cathedral of the Athen:i&nAreh~ bishop, home of the Virgin Mother of God in Alb'ens; (Tfuotokru A.thmWtu;,,) ," A1though the Christian Greeks, unlike the Latins and the Turks after them, do not appear to have' erected any new structures on the A.cropol.is,tbey did, never-

- - -

theless, institute the :firstvel'Y considerable changes on th,e Acropolis since the

elose of the Peleponnesian War'.

Many visitors and pilgrims came to Athens in. the Middle Ages to wOl'shipm theParthenon, but the c:ity had other jj,neehurches, some 'ofwhicn are preserved to this day. The most notable, after the Parthenon. and Ereehtheum, was the Hephaesteum (o,r 'Theseum'), which Choniates knew as the Ch,Ull'ch of 'St George in, the Cerameicus.,"7Therewerealso in the twelfth century ,tbe little

I. Ep. 19,8 (u. 28).

Ii George CedJIeBws, Hm .. compe;ul. ~. H.516). Cf.lambros (lS78)~. p. 28.

t Cedren,Qs. Hirt, rompend. (Bou. 11.. 51:8).. ' I.amibros (1878),.pp. 28 and 51..,52 .• ,

·f (JOOn T.htod(J"'~8, x;VOC, J,O, 15 .(Hom:mse:n:. I,. 00li). Soo 1. Stn:;ygowsli. 'Di~ AkropoJ~malt¥

'b . f~- ~ __ t. 'Ze·· "." III " ... L~r . --.I: - :1. j __ L - -01 1-- .:. ,j ,.L - ,;j L" - (I· 88· ft,)· QI'J"'_ilI'YQ'

I 'yzaD:_~-er .. 1", ,.111' __ ~m Di'Jf" IIii. ,~. a~ '. n ~., • .n.!4'_~. ,.:1,1;14", XlV I" .. : ''''' ..... ~'~"'H".

- "The PClnagi4 AOimiatiaa (DCl:PIIli1'Ia;, ~ ':~ •• "(f.) iIJ, a type fa.miliar from the extant lead .seals of the Athenian ArclIbish(!lp8 6.eorp (1t6'U$?) and M:ichae:l( Clloniates,P) 81""'&1 as of a few othel B,yantru digDi,~ The Virgin b: portrayed. with a pearl wreathoD. her head, her right hand, on, her b~ I'IJilQ w:i1th fbe .WIant J~ held, in her left arm,

This~ type is to be distmguish,edfrom. the ·ruder Pana,ia .Blademititu~ (UUG1'''' ,..il. ,~x~). whiclili iis Jnost eQDmomy 8001ll on Byzantme ,oom~ ad shows the Virgin of lBlaclwnae witbthe m,ed.nioA of Clmst on her b~,. &e. Lambros U8?S). pp.S4-38 (and seals reproduced in tbeap-

-- .JI:'-)' ...1' 'G' ,c-L 1- be -, ,- 8' '.,;....:.ll:..- ,...]i.' , ,L ... -,_L: . tv " ). 'OCI"_J' . 1 ..... ,·· ial o,_ ..• ~,

penwx~ aDQc., ~um ";ser, ...... ~"al'"'!-I ""&",,Q __ -.M \;o;ans,,_,.pp. c'f'" aqq,.i ,.80 "1oW_ iii,"

,ftudu ~;; n (1889). 'M5-iS1D; v 0-), T:8Hl3. nl (l8M)~ 81 .... 6,. 'Mich.Ch.oJl" Ep. 116," (Lamb~ n, 288:).

198,

Athens in the ,Later Twelfth Oetdu/rJJ'

Kapnilarea" so ca1l.edfrom its alleged foundation by-a cel't&in Kalmma.es; the P:a.nqia Gorgopicowith its curious reliefs ; and the Church ofSbTheodore, which had boon builta centurysnd a quarter befeee Miehael~, Choalates " arrival in Athens .. A little wa.yfrom th,e city was tn.€: shrine .of the Athenian Martyr Leonidas. who had died upon the eross.! When the city f:eUto the Franks, Innocent In confirmed the right ofBe~aJld~ the Latin sueeessor to C.boniates • w, miUs (nwlendina), gardens and baths (lwr,'i et balnea)" markets (maoelJa)"amd to a seore of abbeys an.d.m.on.asteries in. Attica,,! 'Chief: among these were the abbey of Kaisariane, at the foot .of storied Hymettus,whose monks kept bees, the monastery of St lohnllie Hunter, restored ,apparentlym Chomate.st own day; and the monastery of Daphni between Athens and Eleusis, AU the~es," m:blishmenls, were j],tted into attractive settings I, where the Greek monks (U'md indulge their superior capacity for living.

In converting Ute Parthenon. into a Christian church. eeetain changes were necessitated by the basicsVu.cturai difference between the church and the Greek temple. The ehureh is entered from the west;, the temple was entered .fromthe east. It must be assumed in this, article that the read.er isfamilia:r with the ground plans of the typical Greek tem.ple, and the Parthenonand Ereehtheum in particular, as well as of tb.e Christian basilica. The aceompanying plan of the Pa;rthenon as a, .Byzan.tine church, together wi.th its analysis, should help keep the present de-scription of this ediJice straight ..

Whil.e therewas oroma:r.i1y no connecting doorway in. the Greek temple between the ,opUt~ (the rear chamber on 'the west) and the naoa {the sanetuaryproper)~ it so happened that in theParthenonthere was such. a. passage. and in tb:isrespeet the Parthenon was admirably adapted to the needs of the Christian architects. Bypie:rcing the onJy blwnk wa.ll in the interior of the Parthenon~ that between the western and eastern. ehambers .of the largenoos (the parihemm proper and. thelwkatompedJ:m respectively of the Greek temple). a continuous passage was secured from the steps: of th.e ~tl:wdonws or west portico, through both chambers of'the naos" into t.hepro:naD8~ or vestibule (of the Greektemp~.e).The original entrance at the east 'end of the Parthenon was enlarged and wor.ked into an arch~beh.ind whi.ch a shallow semi-c'koular apse was, eonstrueted, the curvingwalls o.f which fitted into the two central columns of the old pMnaoa, or vesUbule .. Thus the west end of' theParthenon~ whicbbd been thereat' of the Greek temple, became the front of the Byzantine cathedral. 'The ancient opialJwticmum and west chamber ofthe naos became together th.e nartll.ex or vestibule Qj the esthedral; the eastchaenber of the noos became the nave, to the east of which. was added the apse, tbus closing up what had. been. the entrance to. the GJreek.tem.ple and rounding out theChr.istw.n church,

Th.e original marble roof o.f the Parth.en~nwas remove<i,possibly when it came m require exrensiv:erepah •. but .for the m.ost part the ederior ofthetemple was

I Au--du ·M. I··· .. -....:1. - - - "':r._~J... IT ",," '. 'I-C). 'ICI.:!'- 1: ""'", . 1r - - 1. . (1-8.....:1') .. "

- ··e ...... --· om:mIeII. ,.:11._' "',.. •. __ \.uLtlpll& .-..o."pp. vv-Jl"",,; ~",IIO;!I ... _'11;>, p.,.."

I ~tr~Ep.t.s8, (P~ ~CCXV". 1!5M).

199

'not much, changed. The interior 'was, brought into conformity with the familiar requir,emen.t.s of the Or,eek ,Orthodox Churcb. To thee east 01 th,e :na,veWaB COD-

1;,_.. &,_.1' 'l.lL .. ed 1.. .. 1... la tf . ..' h'ch f' ed t-t.. ~L!_I..J'·

SL.[u:C'~ Iwe saer .' " . ,tiem:.a, tDle p .. ·_orm to W -1 - was .·asten .. we SrCl'ee'D ~Ulma:

THE PARTHENON AS THE CATHE.DRAL CHURCH OF ATHENS

t. ptl

From A. Mie.hael:il, rur Pmh;non (187:1),p,,46.

Tbis plan was drav.'D bum the aeoounu ·of eady mod(fRl t:ra'Vi!:~.en. espn:iaUy the 'Vien,I!;8i ,A,p.onyu:t01!1a (1458--00'). Fr. Ja.cql!.tes r. Babin (1671). Jacob Spo.n (16'7t1).. ed ~ Wheier (l.6!76). T!beir pet~ linen!!t texts.b>gdher ",-jth. those of other traveleg. 'am be studied in A.. Michaelis (1871)., A:m:b8ll,' III. pp. 83' ,sqq ..

J: 'the arcltbisbop,'s throoe (6 8~. .,.. 6f1,!T01'lJIP ),

X: thi! v~tibule (6 !I'~)

LL: side doors,ilppanmtly with steps, to the

'WomI!}l's gallery M: a pillar (TlBklD)

N: the ()iuter vestibule: (6,'JI'pm.aos) 0: the baptisby (ri .kn'~)

sn.: the side aisJ.es (ta rapa«J.tata;) BBC': wo:me;p's gallery (0}; l',,",,~l"7f)

OD: tbe' sacred ~ (N4'YWP'Pi1#«)

E: th-e a~ (q ~:n. ;'1flS)

F: the ;sacred table.tJhe ",al.tar," (qi:yill 'T,o&nlll)

G r the "be&'lJtuu'l door" (Ii apcWll 11'6}.,,) la, the !J;I!jlctlD1"y ...n. UptlDWh.icb icons w~ pain,tOO (Elmt'tlOTUu.)

H:the .l'ea,ding stand or leetem (6,,,.,.)

UJUl ho~y of holies. T.hescroonwas pierced with three doors and. adorned with paintiings of the saints. Behind the screen was the high. aI,tar, over which was set a canopy 'On lourpo,rp.hyry columns. Over the altar, in. Choniates ;day~, was suspended a goldeD dove (.,:\ulb XPl)(tij),. material ,s:ymbol of the Holy Spirit, whiCh ',moved, unooasi:n,giy in its cireuilar fUght.''1 The clergy ,occupied marble seatsm the

t Mich. Chon ••. TQ ,1M ~. Dub B~. ,4J (Utmbro.. I~ SiU).

200

apse .. The vaulted ,eeilingof the apse was deeorated.ttwouId appear, w.itha large mosaic, most likely of the Vilrgin. Atheniotissa" which was described as a work of exceptional[ beau.tyhy the Vienna AnorrymoUl8 .shortly after the'Tttrks occupied

.. I. '., (. 1"'1 .• ) f T'1L!- ...•.. c. c :.- I·· *" .... --'h:'~"- --1L,-.!I cThI 1- ·_·_- ..... enth .-

.. .lie city ImJunc .a!~56 '. . .. rnS mOS&l,C; was&lim.. W lu>W~tl'U, •... e SlX.!.-m111 ... oen-

tury references totbe Parthenon are quite insignificant and seventeel1ith~ntury trav,elers.like 'Spon and. Whelel' were able to leave no description. of the mosaic. A. few cubes of tinsel and. gilt were eeseuedfromthe debris .of the apse when it was cleared away by LudwigBooa: in 1S35. They ar~ now in. the .British Museum. Lambros recaUedthat, when he was .a b~y" youngsters used to find such little gold. cubes as ,8 Stmday holiday sport;,.a1tb.ough na.tUJraUy an these pieces did not belong to. the mosaic pieture of the Virgm.t but had .. faUen. f:wm otherpictures adorning the walls of the farth.eIloll.:Il In.llie nave .oltha cathedral, on the lett, stood the lectern or ambon;. across from it, on the right. hut nearer the altar, was the a.rch~ bish~'p'sth.rone. TIl.e throne was an ancientmarble seat, a:ppa;rendy 'One of the g!i:rly-odd. such .seats in the Theeter o:fDionysus .. lit was also found in 1855t, and is now in the Acropolis MUseum ...•

The eastern. nOO8 of theParthenon had. been divided, to begin with. into anave and ,side awes by two rows .of eolumns whiles short rowan thew'est 'end! completed the enc~()sm'e. Christian architects at an unknown datereplacedthese colu.mnsby smaller ones. twenty~two W number. ten of whi.ch. stood on each. side; the 1MIIlamm_g two stood at the west end of thenave, one on. eaeh side of the entrance .. This column arrangement supported galleries for womea along both sides o:f the nave and over the entrance. In the galleries were twenty~three eolumns which .supported the ceiling ·of tbechurch~ these eolumnswere imm.edia;tely aoov,e those which rose from. the Boor of the nave to support the galleries; the twentythird oohlmn was in the snort west gallery above the entnence, The galleries seem tohave been .ingeni.olts~y installed."and their eff,ect m.ay not 11.3ve been displeasing ..

T.he spaces between the-columns of the OpMthodnm08 were walled up,. only the entrance .in the <!enter an.dtbe southernmost intereolumnlation being left. open, Tbe latter dOQrway Ied into a. small ehspe! .of some sort .over which the Turb Iaber er-ected tb.eirminarel which is so conspicuous in. drawingamade ·of the AcroJlQUs.befa.re the Greek Revolution. The appearance of the Parthenon was most nnh.appily altered when the intereolamniations of theperistyne were filled in with. a heavy walIwhich was broken only by eight small d.oorway,s.! t~W() at the iront and. t.!lmee OJ} eeoh side .. It is hard. to ,say when this wall was J::mil~ but it must have boon befom the time of Michael Choaiates ..

The waDs of thevestlbule and the nave, as wellss; the apse, were covered with pain.tiqgs" very slight. traces of which still SW'vive.Lambros relates that he made 8 very careful study .of these paintings •. and be was .able to distin_guish two styl.e&

'~. Vienna Ano;nymow.ri flCliTP« ml L.5I1(J'I.'4AiZIlf'{;w'A.e"vtiJi. II (lex:t~ in. Adolf MWhaeliJ. .D:w p~ Leipt;i& ltWltAnb. m, t •. p, 885).

I Lambros (1878).pp. SHO •

'ld&C- .!It'!l.~n~.,.·· 'If •... ...,.;IO;.>_,.J D:.o.."."· . c' C'L..!!,",",._t,_1 '1:" '_~I_~ (N ·Ha·· .. · .... "_) Qn!"/

. _.·.,;.,~m if.(lU(# _~~ l.»uui~1 1I!(l._ ~1}eJ! .r,.rIiM!!' .·ewven., 1~', pp .... ",.,~

198!U1du. Ut •.

101

.Although those on the wall to the r.ight as one enters. the temple f)'Om theopiS,tho-. domos are older and lessweU preserved, those on the left wall as 'One enter:s, and on tbe north,. are veTy' skilfully executed; Lam:bros, in fact, does .DOt. hesitate to compare them'withthe most beautifW works of the high. peried of Italian art' {rpO.s Ta it«AX,llT'Ttt ~fJ r 'ta T'Vs 4«pctlas1I4P' 'I:rQ~oi:J"fXJ',s} .. 1 It WU 8 beautiful chu;rch. Choniates was very proud of it, .sn.dhe'fmther be-auWied it, provided. new vessels and fumiture, increased its property in landamd .in loeb and. herds, and a~eDted the manbee of the clergy. "

Like the· Parthenon; when the .Erechtheumwas converted. .into a cbureh, possibly dedicated to the Saviour~1 its ori~mtatio:n was reversed, The small door on the west of the temple:; just north of the Poreh of the Maidens~ was em1arged Bnd made into the main entrance to the ehureh, There had, been three chambers inllie ori,ginal Erechtheum: the westeruruJD8t which now became: the narthex. 01' vestl.bule of the ehureh: the middlentW8, the Boo:r 01 which had the same le:vel as the p;receding chamber;. and the eastern, nl!:Wl, the :floor' level of which was one step higher tU.n that of the other two chambers. Since the middle and, eestem chambers were eombinedto form. the nave, thewall dividing tb.em had to be tom down (its points or iuncture are ,stiU discernible on the north and BO'Q'tb walls o.f the wmple):j a:nd the Boor of the eastern chamber h.ad to be ton, up to reduce it to the 1evel of the rest of the nave and of the' Dllri:hex. Most of' the aneieut fOUlDdation of the eastern naas was removed in the process 01 reeonstruction,

Par,allel to the Borth and south walls of the EI'ec:hth.eum two new waDs 'were

1L. ilt . .' ht I I;L ._.n f' th I . ,"",.~.1 . ~'1!.

U'll .at ng .I. - ang es to tne western waul 0:', ie new -y OODstrU'CUN. nave ~ ~e1 seem

to have held the pillers which separated the nave from, its side &We8~ These pil~ars also doubtless helped hoM up, therool, whi.ch must have been of' wood. Half a dozen ve-ry.small windows were eut into the outer 'walls to light the chmclL On

), Eambros ,(1878). p. 40",

'S,P', Iambros,llittory oj 1M Citg IOJ AltAau during::tM JlidJU.d1U (m Gr,eek). D. ',a {trans. ,of' Grego.rovius).quoted ~yWJQ. Miller (l908),.p. 1'7.

On the P:s.l'tlfm,OIl u: & Christiall, eLurcli:_ K. Hopf (1867). p. IS8. A .. M,onnn-. A~ CA","" ORa:(! (LeiPZlg. 1868). pp.SS40. A .. MidJae1is (1871), pp" 45-.51; M •. L. D'Ooge. f'&': .d~u'qf A.tht:nI (New York. lO(9),pp. 8O'T='~nO; and. 'G.A.Soteriou., .#'iT,. • PfD'~ fW11P- ,",S ·E~Aa&s. I (Ult7). 84 fl. There b very little ,about Chtm;ian Athens in. Leon de Laborde, . .AtMnu au: .xY· •. XY.l'~ ,,·XVll·riklt.I. i:vob. (PiI.ri$,.1854). a bril_tiant work: Ml.dlK'ltbiDg aboutthe:tweUth

,', . .". 'il ·B· ... ·f' 7'~ ""'"'.,," . I' ~ .....J:.. Ji',j~Ll...__ _;t. ..~.. .. (P'_ • '1-)

century !DJ\om' .e ,:um~)Liia • .f.ioU .~ tl .··nm'Ol""'-' !>!' .(.:l~ II~ '1iI~.HIi 'lI~ '_ &rl!;; _DI'.

In, this coooeetion should he cited;. val_bIe article by N. 'H. JI. WestJale'" 'On some ~t Paintiop in cmurebea of Athena: Archa~ u. pt. ] (1888). 1'7S--].88. plates v Im.d VI hi WestJ.ke". article ~uoe two Christian paintings in thePartbellOD. thel'eJa;t~ potitiona of whidt ,1U'e eben itt anaeoom.panyblg dia,gra. (P" 1'76). t.mbros· enthusiastic eatimateof the Parlhenoll ~tup, of which vezy little I'eIP~i (and th .. t ~ith ~ 8ftt'1iI. aDd pwple addit:im:I..!Il) iI.hud.toUiderstamJ~ the:y are much leu akillf:Ull:ye~kd than.·the (IJ.I) longer d:taDt) piintinp from the Cb.mrcb of the ~ed Y" PtmqW(iD the Sto& of BadriaD,). which, are.aJ..o ~p!'Odueed in WHtJakel. art~ .p,lates vm aDd IX from copies ,0.1 the ,~1s 'whiCh the MlrquLs of Bute bad made during •• , in Athemin 1886. shortly .uterwhkh .Uw: origiDaItweJe t.mfort~telJ ~ by ire. "fieMa:rquil (If But:ewrote hi. ,own a.eoount rOE tie .SdUII, ~ VI {"'lib 18Ml.

I .A. MommlieD (),EmS). pp. ~l.

the mnerw&lls .SaeRd pictures 'wer,e di8pla~.and espeeiaUy on the cross wall tha,t shut ott the holy of holies at the east end 01 the nave. Pe'rhaps the most strik.' . d' ,a., ... ~_1 th I 1!.. &I. . ti ·th·- cid" • f·· ",1.. - the

mg, an .ooru.Wl--7 .eeast :uappy, .. tera __ o:n was '_e& .. It~.OD o· [We .apse to ,

east front of the temp IDe. T:o do this it was necessary to do considerable d.anu~ge to the ,eastern portico.

It is assumed that the little temple o,! Athena Nike, was a ehspel in. the Midd1e ,Ages; nothing is known of it. T,lle :Propylaea. had served probably fromthe time,

. . -"-

of ,Justinian as the :fortress of'the Acropolis and apparently as aresidenee, It

seems to have been 'the arcb.bishop,'s house in the earlier Middle .Ages; Cboniates probably lived there, but if the tront. and back porticoes were lell open tu admi.t people to the summit of the Aero:PQIis, the .a:rcn.bishop must have lived. in. v€'ry restricted quarters. It is hard to teU h.ow much of the .Propylaea was waDed up to form rooms, for in 1895 the Italian notary Nieeoln da Martoni saw thirteen. free columns in the P-ropylaea,. which he calls, the Sala, Magna.1 The whole western. end of the Acropolis w.as enclosed by massive walls. and bastions, and the only b:reak in tlhesefortifications seems to,have been thepassage-way Just below the Nike bastion, which thus ftankedthe soleapproach to the Acropolis in such. fashion that the invader's tess; protected right side would he exposed to proj'ectilesh.urled down I:romthe bastian above him. This was, of eourse, theapproved type of mediaeval defense tower construction; in. Greece the principle was as old as the Mycenaean pa.Iace at Tiryns .. In the tw'eHth century, although some Oof' the aneient momrments were gone~the Acropolis was stilla thin,g of surpassing bea.1!l~Y. Indeed" two eentnrles after Micha:el 'Choniares, d.a :Marton:i gazed upon 'the Acropolis, and like many a pilgrim to .A thens before and after him declared, '·.Im.~ possibile videtur' menti hominia quomodo ipsa tam magna hedifieia eonstrui potuerunt. '2

.About the condition of famous buildlOgSin the [ower city _. aswell as about the ,condition of the lower city itseJf-- in 'the twelfth eenturytheremust remain much question. Shortly after' the arrival of Choniates .in At:hens~ Ni.cephorus Pro.souchos. was appointed govemol' of ReUss: and the Peloponnesus. Athens, had long been oppressed, we are given to understand; and the .Athenians expected much o.f Prosouehos, Choniates addressed. a fervent appeal to him, a hope that then at long last, th,e Athenians wereto be heed of the bards hips that weighed upon them, ro~r Proseuehes'e reputation. was excellent, In his diseeurse Choniates represented Athen.s; which had once s'hown forth ,among' the wo:rld'scities Hke the moon in the midst o,f' the stars;, but had now become poor andwretehed, as herseH' addressmgPro.souchos. in plaintive tones,:iHQw ,()pportunely you have rome, most just and gentlest of men, how opportunely you ha:ve come to free and. to. redeem, me from my misfortunes!' Prosollchos could see the terribletoll that

J N·· ... i._ .lI~ 'IU'_-,,_:t'.~I._ --M.,.I;i_' _.t ,~~ .... '..Ji) . . .~. r·- "-'::-41 '-&;,_ .. ('lDn,;·)- "~A_ . ',:teOOw ~ .k~I.UW •. ~,.,. ~.:..- •• u I,I(J, ~ ~iI m cntflUe _.'!n~' ,",,~n. ,In' cnw.'. wv-

651; ',Deinde aetnsimU8 ad c:ad:rQm iptiUJ e1vltaltiS [the Prop1~1.quod ~ JUpra quoddam ilaXO marm,oreo hedifieatum •. m quo culm _ qn" Ida mapa i1il, qua 1UD.t oolumpDe magne xiii. Supra. quaoolum:pnu, ,'lUll\: tra_lougi pedaDUI,trigiata.et supraipsu trabes S'WIit tabule 1JW'mOI'!ee: mq;aUDl ,et mirabile opUI vidctur ."

I Ibid.", .. ,851.

time' had take:D of the ,sometimequeeno!I'citi~ D.OW r,educed,to a ruin, ,smaU and anpeopled, the glory of yesteryear r~gnizable only in heruame and in her rums. Once the :m()th~ of wisdom and thepreeeptrees 0" valor, the eonqneeoe of Persia on land and sea, Athens was now at the mercy ,af p.irates, 'wild. beasts that devour whole cities, men and all, and s.trip to nothinghoth the Iand and the sea:!t Athens had dnnik deep of the cup of htmger~, thirst-and pov:ert;y. '-But 'come now, give DIe your band as I lie upon, the ground, help me in my peril. restore my life as I perish, that I may mseribethe name ot, Prosouehos beside these of Them1stoclles. Miltiades, and the just Aristides .... 'I The appea!to .Prosouchos was not ,entirely without ,effect, as Choniates later .ae-knowl,edged in, a letter to Demetrius Tornik:es, for by action of the Emperor Alexius Jl Comnenus, at the behest, of Proseuehos, not Athens alone, but Emipus (,Euboea) and 'Corinth also secured SIOme .relief' from the banl nscaUty o.f Byzan.tin.e pr-oourators.,1

In ibis address to Demetrius Drimys,w:how88 goviernor of :HeD!as and the Peloponnesus some time ·after Prosouchos, being appointed by And:ron~cu8 I Comnenus probably in 1183,~ Micha.el painted the sam.e dismal picture of Atheu, and .of the ruin of her monuments,

'I see,' he told Drool'S. 'that you eannot look: upon Athens without tears.' Mic'nael did not complain that the city had lost her ancient glory: it had been. a. long time indeed since that was, tak,en from. her. Now she had lost the v'ery form, appearance, and. cbara.'Cter of a ci~y. Her walls had been stripped and demolished:; the homes o:f her people hadbeen razed totheground, and their very sites w[ere under cultivation. He recaDed the destruction of Thebes by the Mooedonian" Time and its. dread a.Uy, envy, had dealt more barbarously with the Athenians than the Persians had done. "Try your utmost,' be invited Drimys, 4but you could not find ,8, trace .of the Heliaea, 'the Peripatos or the Lyceum :!' AD Drimys could see would be the r-oclcyhm of the Areopagus., III the meager remains of the Stoa Poikile,Cbonia.tes declar'e8) sheep were wazing' (I' 't1),.otJo~o,,) 1"

The Agora had become in Choniates' day, like 'the Roman Forum. in the days ofD.BAte amd Rienzi" a campo I'acmno. One thinks of Vergil's: versesto whiCh Time gave a dreadful irony. As E,vander and. Aeneas, som,ecen\:W'ie8 beiforethefOunding of Borae, looked. OVer the few acJICS, thatwere to he the center of the world

pusu.que armenta videbant Bomanoquefol\o etlau.tis mugire Carinis.

The reader wowd do we11to think of cows lowing in the Boston Common and the Harvard Yard ..

In after year,sMichael was mchide Drimys for his unwillingness to return to Athens; a second, time as governor ·ofthelheme 01 Bellas. 'The grand.oos of Con:'" stantinople were unwilling. he [claimed, even to peep outside the' walls Bn.d pres 'Of the ,capital. The provinces were dramed .of their resourees to keep the city of Constantinople in luxury. They 'were repaid :mpIUage and injustice. What did tlJ.e

t Mich .a Chol!L .• Add"" to'" PmIIor N~.~ S. l!1-18 1(Lam~ I:' l~ 117-148),. it Midi. [Chcm., EfJ'~' i (Lambros, It, 56).

'MiCh. 'Chon, •• :2"0 D~ DR., •• ,5 (I_ .. ",bros. It U;t-I68).

ConstantmopoltanslackPWere netthe wheat :D,eMs of Macedonia, Thr,ace, and Thessaly tiDed fo" them P Was not the wine of Euboea and Pteleum (in PhthiotiS)f of Chios and Rbodes pressed. for tbem,~ Did not Thehan and Corinthian :fingers, weave costly garm,cntsfor themP T:he empire was Uterally mainoo, of its possessions, and they found their way into the imperiai citYt just as ithou:gb whole rivers were lowing intoone grceat sea.1 .But tor A.thens Choniates muld, m.ake nocla.im to the gratitud.e of Constantin,op.l.e.

'C.houiaies ,seems to have known very little about the famoosbuildings in the Agora except. for the Stoa Poikile (if h,e is j,dentify-ing it properly)" whlch is unknown to us today., since it lies to the BartL beneath the Athens-Piraeus Railway. It would be v,ery interestmgto b,ow the state of preservatio.n at the end of the tweHth century of' ~me of the Agorahuildings which were excavated byth,e American Sch.ool fif Classieel Studies in Athens f,romI'9S1 tu 1959and have been reported .. in the fascinating volumes .of He.aperia. Very likely Ch.oniates could not have identified with much. 8CCur.acy whatev,erruins, if .any.w'ere above groundinhls day .. (Wbe~ewere the Stoa of AttaIns, theLongand South Stoas" the Agora OdeioD, theEleusinion~ the Tholos, the Boweuterion, the Metroon" the Temple of ApoUo Patroos, sud th.e Stl)8Basilike? Michael never refers to them. or to' buildings which. we may associate with. them.) In. Chonmies ,. day there must have been more considerable remams of some of th.esebuild.ings than. the .:fIat foundation masonry laid baJle hy the American excavators a lew years ago,

'Ve search in vain. in the extant works of Choniates lor mention of some of the most famous and. impressive remains in A.thens. He uevermentions the f~ mous gates, such as the DipyloR" Aeharni.an" andtheres~ although they figure prominen.tly in much. o.f the literature be 8OOms; to have read.; but perhaps his omission is not so unusual if the ,c:ity waUs were as dilapidated. as he elaims, He never wets to tlle Stoa of Hadrian (uolessthis is what h.e takesto be the Stoa Po ikile)I' the Thwe'1' of the W~:inds~ the Odeum o.f Heredes Attieus, th.eT.b:eater of Dionysus,. the Arch. of Hadrian, the Olympieum" thePhllopapp'Usmonument" or the heuge Stadium. He does not refer 00 the aql.teduct oiHadria.nan.dAntonmus Pius. We learn nothing f:rombim of the remains of the Academy! aUhau.gh herecalls Plato's description ofth.e Academy as the most unhealthful diStrict in Attica.' The eharegic monument of 'Lysicrates he refers to as 'the Iantern of Demosth.enes,' which. is the nrstinownmen.tion of the monument by thls.name .. ' The story that nes behind the rumle, like so much of mediaeval Athens. is lost to. us today.

A}thQughMichael Chonlates stood out for about a quarter of a. (!ent.ury as the hrave p,rotec:-tor ofthe Athenians, be bad finaUy to sueeumhto the v.udy sllper.ior forces of the Fourth Cmsad.er,8under Bonil8ce,Marquis {if MODUerrat, wbo hsdreceived the Kingdom of Th.essalouica. as his share of the wppltng Byzantine empire, Early in 1.204 Michael'.s energy ,saved At.hensfrom. capture by the arch.on1eon SgptU'Os o.f Nau.pliat who. had already 'seducooA:rgos and stolen

I Mich. Chon., FT., 60. t, ~IO (la:mbm'.H, 81.88). IEp. 1st. 8 (n.lts9) .

., Mrob..Chon.~ lnaupf(d: Addu" (E~). 1.4 (I..ambJ!o .. I, 98:; __ lambros' DOte OD.p~

141 )1 ,G-· ... .D'n1'nV·.... ", •. _.:t .. ~":L_ ;1" 'C·IQDft;): ",,,n "~.:II

_. _o!.., ' _L.'--e'."''''' ''''' 1!WVf Q,~ I~ ,II,: .!P'Q'-: '. ~,.

r. ... -. ~.1i.. ,- - - ... ..1._" to .... ·_L~ -:1' broth --N' - tas 1""'11..~- '-~-- ·h - "I . . 'his" -

''-!Urmw, aooa~mb '._'-_ .. ,I.,111~. 8 _ .. -.".1 ,& __ 100 . "'_;UJ.IQ.~, W _0 g ones 10, -r-e.

la.tionship to the vaJ.ian,t ,shepherd, of the Bock at Ath,ens.1 Having failed to take Athens, Sgouros managed to GCalp'y T.'hebes; he t.henpassed on :through. Thermopflaeto LariSsa, where be found tke fugitive Emperor AJexius m Angelus" whose <laugb,ter Eudoxia he received, in. marr~. Although :Sgouros, decid.ed, upon a stan.d ,at Thennopylae against themvading Franks, he dared Ii,at em.uhote :Leora. das andfled back to the Peloponnesus, wheu he ,shut himself up In his stronghold. at Aerocor,inlli. :I Boniface OVmT&n, Phthlotis, Pbocis, Locris, and. Boeotia; he pres'en,tly appea1loo ~fore the walls of Athens; the Proven~a1 troubadour Ramhaut de Vaqueiras has,testified to the brilliance of the campaigm.' Choniares SUl'TeBderedl the city to Bonifaee, Resistance was futUe., AlthQugh his brother Nicetas thougb,t, the city might have been defended against the Chsad_ers~Micllael was not ODe' to len_joy the prospect of Athenae con:t1Ia 'fnunau1n" He withd!rewfroltl the city. Boniface granted Attica as a fief to one of his nobles~ OiliOIl de laB.oche, a Burgundian", who soon was also made Lord. of Thebes and Boeotia" In t.his eonneetion the several versions of the Chronicle of (he Mrne4 gives thrilling account which does not, however, belong to th.e:b.iswry of Athens in the twelfth century, In Clt,ania ... re8 t place a Latin, Berard., wasappo:inted Archbishop 01 Ath~n;!J.In. l!!08llmocen.t mwrote to Berard that the eitadel of fsr~famed Pa.I1a:s hadf~lent and those who had. rnisedaD.mwr tea God. they did. not Jmo-wmigh.t, now come to know Him .. •

With. the Latinoocupalion of Athens the beautiful Church of tlle Panagia, the ancient Parthenon, was plundered;" Micha:e-l's llbmry~ ,collected with painstaking eare in Constantinople and. in. Athen~~ was carelessly scattered by its .new possessors~' l1tith a heavy heart and a light purse Michael wanderedthrough northeast. ern Groocefo.ralmosta year .. He finally settled on the island of Ceos, where likeAdam cast out of Eden, 88 he puts it"he looked willi Jongmgacross the waters of the Saronlc Gulf to the shores of Attica. '1 He spent the last, long year.s of his Jife at Ceos, returning to Athens in 12'1'G for only one brief and perilous visit; be leitin baste, fQ·r he feared himself to become a feast for Latin teelli (rois ll'o.A'.l(o~t ••• ,60000H1! ., • K,o.:r6/J'pwp,(J.}.,1 .He died. about 1222 and is said to have been.buried at St John the Baptist in Ceo.s. The exact site of his grave is no IOllgem-mown, but the mODasteryc:bureh has long R-fVoo. as a public seheol,'

From the years of his resideneeat Ceoshss come about haIl' of his extant cor~ respondence. Duri.Qg these y'ears he refused the repeated invitations of Tbeodore Lascaris and Michael AuwreUmos tor'eside with them. at Nicaea or to become Arehbis'bop of Na.x08.i he also refusedthe invitations of the rugged Tb.eodlore Du-

1 Niceta.a: Choni.a~ U~ c.a:pta:. 8 (Bcm1Ji~ pp. 8OI)--8OS).

t lliid~ ~9 (Drum, pp-.,. 80S-807). I..mm:ol(1878) •. pp. 'oa-:lM·,

• Oacar Schultz..Gora,. k ~ thl trotalQu RamWd'o iii Yaqud,_ ttl .~ BoniJ- 1 4i

M:.....~~~ .... "~'''I ,G' ~-'IN·· ....... (Fl-nl.~'" ~:c""-O). E<ttI :s·.~" ~_'41011' (.p .. 0' see.abo notes 01:1 pp. IS+--

¥~~'~J w' ..... __ '" .>" !Y£I _,,~ ", ' ""'.,II&;i'_U,~t .ll,D!tfO,.:. - -r~ __ " 'or T!t ~ ,_,! '_' r '_' ' __ '_ ,_-,

j(S6)~ "lJmooent In" Ep. 266 (PI. f;l~t IM-Q=.IS60,.

'Mkh. Chon .• Monody Oft lluB~ NiMa C~. :86 (I .. mb~. r, 367),.

I S. P .i[am.bro~ ·~On ibe Ubrary of tIlt!. MetropOlitan of A\hIUl .. MicbMl Amminatus' (ill OrM), A~VI (lmo. sst sqq. Cf. Lambros,. 10 EUttg •• p. d',

1 Mieh .. Chon",Epp. 1St 1· (lall.mJ~ n, lf8}i i21\ '1 (n. 150). • El'. 16~S (ll. 6.-517) .• tAo Mel~Andr08 mad (JfOI (in Gi~), Atheoa. IBSlt p. _.iL.aInbros,l.~ .. P', Q.'. but see the "Addelldum"'appende-d t'O this 8irticie.

A..then8 in tAeLakr Twelfth Centu11}

cas "Comncnus't to g<> to Epirus. He was old and his health was poor, and. he much. preferred his island refuge, He came, too, to Iove the island of Ceos and wrote a long poem Theano (457 hexameter verses], in which. he celebraredthe

greatness of Ceos, her cities and herheroes,'

In the Comnenian Benaissa:nce {)t learning and )itera;ture Athens played. no part although her name was revered by classicist scholars o.f the twelftband trurleenth centuries, Cosmas of Aegina" who became Patriarch. of Constantinople in. 1146,snd Brmlanes, later Archbishop O'f Corcyra, both bore the surname .Attiens, an appellative of distinction, it wouldappear*,eve:n~nthe twelfth centuryi in Micba.ers own. day, too. an .Athenian, John, became .ArchbiShop of T.hessaloniea. Tbereare,rnoreover, a few fine manuscripts that bear witness to having been copi.ed in, tweUth ce.~tury Athens, notablya Venetian manuseripteontaining the works o.f 8t Basil, to which G.rego:rovius has ,caned attention in thIs connect]on~~ The local clergy,. howev,er, were attracted neither to a good .life nora.n.inteUectuil one. 'Tbe guardian o.f th.e sacred vessels (cr.KI!VOt,pVXa.E), until Micb.ael transferred his duties to another, had boon blindarnd mite-raw. When Michael removed him, siaee he was obviouslyuna.ble ito keep' a, check on what be eoald not see, he threatened to carry hisprotest to the Patriaech in Censtantinople," Ano;ther priest; at A1th.ens had eheatedhisbroth.er, also a priest" out 01 their £atn.er's PJlopertyand left him in dire want.4 Th.ey were an evil lot, those priests, (01, P;(JX(l'flPOTEPO& .!CA:q p '.I(oi).~!i The .ignoranoo of th,e Aflwni.Ans .s:taggered their archbishop. They w:el'e vety infrequent. ehureh-goers; th.ey were loath. to attend. divine services 'eithe-r in the catb.edral er in the oth.erchureb.es in the ci~y~IIWhen tbey attended his sermons, Michael eomplained, it was chiefly to' chatter amongthemselves.Hls remonstrances that they should not waste their time of prayer in triBingtailk and gossip the Athenians answered with scufBing teet and wandering mindls,,1

But Michael Gb.on:iates' chief~Qve remained Ath.ens. In fact, love of Athens moved han to write verse. scarcely poetry, in .her honor" as he ~play,ed with shadows of the past, ~ and sought to find traces in his; day of Athens' former greatness~ Time, h.e Iamented.had sunk her beauties '.in the depths of oblivion .. ' Cho.oia.ws loved Athens as hion had loved Hera;. he dwelt in Athens, he lamented"but he saw no Athens; anyw.here. The' courts and jurors, the speakers' pl8(tfoFD1s~ the voting and la:w~ma.king,. the .~.eadershl.pandpers:uasive speech of the orators, the councils, the fes.tiv:rus, the b.igh ,commands ·t;)f soldiery on. land and. sea. and the

• '[he text e:,toDe found in :Lambros .• II, S'7~S90.

I V.Gardtllal18en. Grieih~ PalJiogrQphk (Le~pzig, 1879), p. ,Utdted by 'Gregorov.iU8. StaiIJ

.tf:Ulm" ~. (1889),. i27.

I Mim. ChOll" Ep. 21 (Lt.mbros. rr, SI}---84) •.

• E.P. to MicA. ,A,CQm.~ G~ TIlmMw!, 10 (lambros. n, 4J 7}, but se,ePre:face. J MKih. ;ChQlil •• E1 •. 1]6~ 18 (n, _).

I! Micll. Chl)B .. FiI-:" (J4tedu1_D'Ucourl') f6 (ll ...... broi$,. J~ 1HO: ()tr1f yap, d~ ,-b. W~jff'«~ at wPU:WJI """",, o~ kd.VO'~fdf .e j.l!JPo • 1'01>1 ft':~pow9'~tetE •••

'Mich. Chon .. (Fourllt) Homily, 11 (LambJ'Ot. .'" 195)~ 1'~W' !«U.~~1J" Tlcbrlfl'~ .. tip.'P fl&,.,JU, p~ IW,'rGTplfJ. n\;1I. ~. Tis ,dx'i., ·etf ~. ~Allljll:al '1np'T':Tif «.cd ~ .fJh dllll *,CP.~cu fvw .~&s. _>."..,ta.,,,3 .134"". :T"V U ,,.~ • p*p~IU i'll'R')'U'iJI~+-OllS: ~~.

Athena'in the Later ,Twelfth Centuf"I/

207

Mu.se of Athens, the very soul 0,( eloquence - where were ,all these? "The ,lory of

Acth ". h ..... ':h c llC'- T'1''''''fish -,1 ~~l II.., ens,'..." W,' 0.1 Yr""','--t:U. -

Choniates has painted a disma.l picture 01 twelfth, century Athens. Lambros has suggested caution ill accepting it. He: calls, atte~ti,on. to the :fact that 'the Arab geogrepher Idrisi (1158) described Athens as's wen populated city surrounded by gardens and cultivated fieldls.'!; A. littlemorethena decade later the Patriarch Lucas Chrysobcl'ges, (1166) described Attica as 'a prosperous COWl,try' (1fClP€lJialp.w,p xwpa).' .Althou,gh. IChoniates' Jeremiads are doubtless not unexaggerated. and ,although he is sometimes inconsistent in his a.pp,raisaloOf conditions in .Athens, such casual referenoos as those in Idrisi and Chrysoberges, whi1ch show no real knowledge of Athens at .all, eaunot in. a:ny sense constltute re,fu.tation of the abundant testimony of ehoniates that in his day lite in Athens 'was· hard and bare and unhappy. Probably Choniates was not far from the truth when he wrote to BasH K:ama,tems~· we must al.ways make allowancefor'ByzaD.tinc rhetoric·~ that Athens had. beena glorious ,city, but it was no longer alive'. The very nam,e of .Athens wouldha ve perished from the memory '01 men, had not its continued existence boon secur-ed by the valiant deeds of the past. and by famous landmarks, the Acropolis., the Arcoopagus. Hymettus., and Piraeus, which like some unalterable 'work .of nature were beyond the envyand destruc·tion of t:ime.'~

~ The poem (thirty iambic verses) :is, to be fOUl'ld in. Lambeos, n, 89'7-598.

II See P, A. Jauibe-rt. Ge()FfJpkie d" 8d'f'i8i (R'tcueil de fIOlIagca et de mB:m.oiua publi6 pa,' la wcietA de

geqgr:apkiA. Paris. vol.vr), u (l8iO}., p. 2-00. - -

I Lambros, (1878). PP'." 54-5;5.

, Mich" Cbon •• Addt:el8 to ,he Lofjt)tktteBaril Kam~.,. 18 (Lambros. I. SUl).

AD.DEN,DU,M

As indicated above in note 1 on p.18G, Stadtmilller has sho·Yffi that Sp. P.

Lambros was right in maintaining thedate of Michael'sarrival in Athens as:

Archbishop to be 1182' (Stadtmiille.r" op, cit., pp. 279~281)' even though Lambros had misread, after Pittakes and Kirchhoff', the dates of the Parthenon inscriptions which record the deaths of Michael's predecessors Leon Xeros and George Bourtzes (in Corpus inscn'ptio'num gr:aecarumt IV [l877] ~ nos. 9'371 and 93'12)~ whiCh. appeared to indicate that XefOS died. in 1182 and Bourtzes .in 1190, whence:, ,since Xeros' death was thes placed in the year which Lambros, believed Pdichael first came to Athens, Xeros was assumed to have been Michael~s immediate predecessor. A correct reading of the inscriptions, however, reveals George Beurtzes to have died. .in 1160 (and Xeros to have preceded, him.); Bourtzes was thus, Michael"g pre~ decessor, and 1182 is certainlythe date o:fMiChael's coming to Athens .. ;Shortly aher his arrival. in the city, Michael addressedthe praetor Nicephorus Prosoueh, during the joint reign of Alesins n and Androni,rus I Comnenus from May 0:£ 1182 to September of 'tllefoUowin:g year (MiChael speaks of them' together in IUs. A,ddress t,t) NicephtJnl.s Prosouch, 5" ed, Sp .. P. Lambros, I [18.79] ~ p. 143), which makes it clear that he was I'esidiqg in his metropolitan see,at tne vc:ry latest; in September of 1183

208

(Stadtmtiller, op. c:it., pp. :i~'l:, i80). Michael's relerenceto the .Atti.c dialect of hls day which it took him three years to learn comes· in. a letter (J£P~ 18, S·~ ed,

, -

Lambros, n [18801. P .. ") w'bich 'was written in the faD Q,r winter of 1185 (Stadt ..

mnller, op .• cit •• PP" 1M,. 180). Furth.er, Miehaei"sstatement. in ·the Monody Oft·

U' B""!!.- N' 'A"~A Fill. ':_''''.... OD(,"ed-"' if ft ...... b"- , - '8' J:::I'I" QI!8~")' ,""t.-t he 'h' _.J L~~

nU! ~_TOuwr ." _ lCfii.Wr lillon:~, ·au .' C' • ~, ,r08, It ','.n~·1,1 _ ~ - . e. _. IIR.I. ~n

A.rehbbbop of Athens for more than tHirty years DOW obviously meens '-, - as Lambros had ill8is:ted. and from which GregoroviQus, Stadt Atken" I (1889); Ill, bad dissented - "more than thirty yeM,s'" before his: deHveryof the .Mrmmlr, which fixes Nicetas' deathbetween l'!Utsnd 1214-1215 (Lambros. At.hetuTofiJtlrU the End oJth" Twelfth Century {in Greek]. Athens,. 1878, pp, ~; Gre,gorovius-Lambros. H~ oj'the C#y fYJ .A:tkeu [in Greek], Atbens;, 1004, :I~ !T'1- 219; Stadtm.UUer, up'. cit:., pp., 258-U7~ 280-281). FinaUy,after Sta.dtmuller and Johannes Dr,asek~, 'Eustathios und .Michael Akominatos,t N w.e 1cWchlickeZeit'chrift, XXIV (Leipzig, 1918), pp. 4.95-498, oneean possibly see in passages :in Miehael's own works 'evidence of his ba.ving s.hared with the Pama.reh Theodosius the dangers 'Oif the riob in Constantin.ople on. fa MaYt 118~ - Ep. 6t 5--6 (ed •. LaWbIlOS, n, 9) and lnaugural.Add'l'888, 10-11 (1 •. 96). (Dr.iiseke, 0". cit., p .. 4'97, ct. p ... S8, suggeats that Michael may have sueeeeded his: teacher Elliltathlos. as; dean of the ea.thedml church of Santa Sophia when in 1175 the latter left Constantinople to become Archbishop of Thessalonica.)

Shortly alter Micbaers 'o:nl:y visit to Athens about 12],6;. a dozen. yean after his light from the city toward the end of l2D4when the Burgundiana eeeupied the ci.ty.l be left. the island. of Coos (in 1217)~ where he had spent Bum,e tw'elv~e

yean in exile (from the end. of the year l~)t and went ito Eubooa, and from there to the monastery o.f 8t John. the .B.ap·tistin Mountini.tm, the Franki;sh Boudonitza, at the pass. of' Th-ermo.pylae (acc.or,wng to StadtmUUe:r,op.cit., pp. !05- !lOB).. The fortl"ess town of' Boudomtza Was~1 in MicluLt~ltl!l day, th.efief 01 itsreal found.e·r·, Guido Pallavi:eini:, Lord of Boud,o'nitza until his death in Its7 and bailie· lo~f the Latin kingdom. of Salomea in li21-121t: (Chas. BOp'f, Ohroniquea gr,eco~ romaR68 meditu au peru con'nttu, Be.rna, 187:8, p. ·478). MiclJael died at Boudo'nitza~ ~t is allegedebcut the, year' 11!2 (StadtmUIle·r·; op. ,cit'J PP" 205 d. 'flq'., f!56). tThis seems,' says Wmiam Miner in th~s oonnectroD, ~;at least doubtful' (En-gluk Ou.. torical ~" L (l9SS),MO).

Stad.tmUllerw peepared a new text. of the ,short Hy~ikon wmoh Michael. sent to the .Emperor Alexins HI by hls seel'e,tary Thomas late in n98 or early in 1199 (Lambros. I. SD'1~ll) .. In. his notes to the obscure last pamgraph of the H1/1H»1iMltikon. StadtmtlBer, op~ t:U."pp. 186; 2'9,~S05, has shown that Michael is Dot eoneern.ed with the bill.etmg of troops in. Attica, but is appealin_gto theEmperur to see to it that holdings in free peasant villages (opoVy1W) are spared. further' encroaeh:ment by well-to-do inhabitants .of the ,ei\y (_'U1';P'IJ",l),'or the absorption of these agrieultllraJ oomm.unities by the local magnates ofA.tticawill be the nUn ·of the! whole dietriet~ Michael affirms ('" &! "GJ" 'pofry",(foIJJi 4.11'&;,).6"" 'ToO «oJ)· ~,"is opiov 2'~ lOT'" Gmlua), if the Emperor does not ,com" to theit.aid~

IV

THE leA T ALANS IN GREE'C'E 1311~1380

Wen night descended on the battlefield of tile Cephissus on Monday, March 15) in the year 1311 ~ the last day of Bursundian gr-eatness in Gr-eece had drawn to a dark and. tragic dose. Never again would a Frankish duke" of Athens disport himself with. confident pride .and rich panoply in a tournament in Greece, as had Guy II de la 'Roche in, the famed Corinthian lists of a. half dozen years before .. In the marshes of the CepbissusWalter of Brienne, Iasr Bur-

do. d' k "r" Ath " "h d . h d " "11 ., '} • d'

I :1-1-,' LI~'-_I ", ,'-, ,'- "1-1-:-' 1,:-, I '~II-:~--I':,-:- ,'-'-'" I I '-'-:'-:-" ,:!:"I',: :,_,','--

gun ran _U e 0, . tnens, '., a .' pens, e wttn, It was ciarmec, seven

hundred knights, and the Catalan Grand Company now took over the duchy of Athens and Thebes I together with the wives of the many Frenchmen they had slain ..

Extensive bibHographle-S of Catalan acllvlty In the Levant in the fburteentn. century, together with muoh related mat~t'ia~. may be found in Ke:nneth M. Settcn, Cata/a" .Domination a/Athen" 13U-1388 (Cambridge, .Mass.,. 19·48), PI' .. 261~30l, and in TheCamb,id.g:e MedieVtlI .Hmory. IV -1 (1966), 9081"'"938. There is an.Qdilt~:f b,bliographical $UIW;,Y in Salva-tere Tramontana. "PAr: lastoria della. ·Compa.gni.a. Cata.l!ana' in Oriente~" NUiOila riris.lll ttoliC4, XLVI (1.962), 58-9S; see also R, .lg,nati.usBums •• S.1f", "The Catalan. C'ol11llpany and the European Powers .• 1305~1311 ,"," Spec.uiu.m:, XXIX (19'54 l, '151-171; At about th.e same tbn~ as the appc-M"lU'Ic¢ (!If th~· Cat.o/an iJomi11.aliana/A thens, which contains {pop •. 286-29U a. discuufon of the, w.ork.sor tbeg.real CataJa:nhistorim. Ant<:lni RubiO. i Uuch(18SS-l937J. the lnstitut d'EiS,tudi.1 Catllilanli~n. Barcelona pubHsbedRl!lhi.<l!'s .Dfpiomatati ,de I'Otient clltD.lb. whichbi,"Sued fmmth.e pr-essl!ttbeend of the y~ar 1947,.and which forms Ii ~and.mark in. the historiQgra:phyofUie Catalanrs in >Greece iU'ld elsewhere, in the l&'Il:m.t i~ the foutteentb ce:ntuzy .. Duling.iIJ scholarlY cafttM:ofolVt'l.f naira ce..:atury Rubi.6 i Uucbpuhlooed some fmtyb(ilo:k.s •. a.:rucles,and m.onqpap,As OR his ,wuAtryme.n in Greece, se~ri!J1 'of which ale, oi.tied below.

Dilring tfuetwe.ncy-five yeats since Catc;1,liln DomiNltwn appeared. various warksb.ave addedsubstantiaUy to, Qu[l/(now'ledge of the Ca.talan sta:tesin Athens and Neopa.tr.as. EspedaHYimportard. ha~ been the stud.IN of RaymQnd J. Loe:l1!e,rl':r;" Q,P •• "Athenes et NWpatr.3s; Regestes et n.otioes pour serrir a I'histo!re des duelles catalans 0 311-1394, ... A~c:hi~um Protrum Pro'edka,rorum~, XXV (1'955), 1'~212. 428c43l;"Athenes et Neoplttt.as;Reges~es et documents POUt selVit' a. ~'hil:talre eccl6sialtique des duclt& ,e.tldal ("1.31 I-I 39.5},·' ibid., XXVIII 095,8), 5:"-91.; and··H~('JspiWie.r$ el Naval'pfs: en Or~ct (1.316- 1383); Re.leI~es. et dOCUt:nellU:' Orlenrol'la Chriftmna perioo'kd" .xxn 1(1956)., 31.9'-360. OtbIC[ pertinent .art!des hy Loene!fu~lvde "Pour ('his-toire du N:lopol!lCscau XIV' side U382-l404),"Eruder byzQ.nrine:l. I (194:3). 1.52:-19'6;. ~~GenbalQgie des abw~ dy:nastes:

168

The Grand Company had first been organized by Roger de Flor of

B- rin disi - 'a' tu .mcoat Templ ar - sh ortly afte ,r' th ·e· tw enty years' W' ar

., __ .. JL:, .... _.~_ ....... , , ... ,1._) ._.' ._'. ' .. IL_· .. _ "".' ..... til-. ..',

between the houses of Aniou and Aragon over possession of the island of Sicily had finally ended. in. the treaty of Caltabellotta (August 31, 1302). Members of the Company had helped maintain the energetic king Frederick II upon the throne of Sicily (' 1296=

venitiens dans I' Archipel (1207-1390)," o.rientalfa Christi.al1tl pe,rlodic(J, XXVI U (1962), 121~.r 12,,322-335; "La. ('h,mnique breve de 1352," .ibid~> XXIX (1963), 331-35,6, and XXX (1964). 39-64; "us Que,rinil, eomtes d'Astypah!:e (l413-1537}~" ibid .• XXX 0'964), 385-391 ;"Une,Page de ].home ZUf.itareladveaux du,ch~sQatal;ans dei Grace (n 386),," Revue des h.ud,tls byzQntin'e.~:, XIV U956),. tS8-168~an.d "La. Chronique breve rnor-eQte de 1423,'" :in Mel'(lnges E~~n.e 'l'issenlnt, 11-1 (Stud! e te;st!l,no. 2.32; Va.ticanC:i:ty, 1.964), :399439. A few of these articles, but lmfo'rt,una.tely not t!Jose in the A.rclliwum Ftatrum P-raedica(Qrum (thel'n!ost important for QUI Yli.rpost), have I'ecernUy been reprinted ill R .. J. Loenerts, Byza.ntil'lll et Fnlnco,G.raecfI,ed.Peter Schre,iner (Rome, 1'970) ..

Among othee r·eoo_n~ wQrli;:;s, mention must be made of Al1toineBon's tllllp(J!rtant.$:tudy of L4 Moret tt(11tiQue.: R,!!'C#ef,ches hlstQriqu1es,. tQPographiques er Qrch~ol()gique$ sur fa princi· pa.uM d'Acha'ie (J2()5~14jO) (2'i!!QIs., Paris, 19'69). Jean Lengnon has written a we.U~known account of L'Empitelatin de Con~tantinopJe et /I!J princ:ip!(JuM d,eMorte (paris, 1.949)., and D. A. Zakythinos, Le .D€lporQt grec de Maree (2vols.,Paris & Athens" 1932·53. R.ev, ed, Varierum, Lo nido!1 , 1975), F~eddy Thiriet has piubll:shedthe extremely tI.seflll Regeste!J des d:elibb1Jtions d:u ~n(jtdeVel'i!fs-e oO-t/.cert:tatlt Ia ROffftU#e (3 vals., Pads and The Hague, ~.9S8-19(1), as well as a very Jieadable book: on La' Romante venitie.rme QU mqyen"age.: Lee DeJt-eloppem'l!nt et l'expioitatinn' du ao.m:aine eO{-<JiJ1wl f)i~nitien (XIP~Xve ~rectal (Piaris, 195'9). The Catalans figure pIomloenUyin Paul Lemerle's unusual monograph on L 'Emi~Qt dAl!yain, BYZQnce et tOccident: Recherches sur "La GelEte d'U'mur PQc-na" (Paris, 1957)1. 'The omice-pe.rpltndng problem of a Catalan duchess of Athens and some '·rnYll~e:do!.l.s documents" was dea]'ed up in J(, M. Setton, "A:rchbISh~opPier.re d' AmeH in Naples il!nd the Affair of Airnon m of Geneva (1363-1364)," Spe~I'U.rn, XXVIII (1'953). 643-69 L WUlIetm de Vries, S.J .,has g~ven us a slJrvey of papa] efforts against schismatk~ and heretics in the fouftee·nth ce'nl!'Ury, in "Die Piipst:e V(lin Avignon und deir chrbtliche Osten,' Ori'entQlia Christiana periodfca. XXX: 0.964).8:5-128. and we may also note the monograph byF .. J. Boehlke. Jr., Pie,re:de Thomas: Scholar, Diplomat, and Crus'Oder (PhUa:d.dphia., 19(6), and that by G.. Ped.alto. Simone A (umano, .monaco distudio. arciw.es'OOoo latina dl Tebe (Brescia, 1968). On. the latter subject,. cf. also K. M. Set.t.on,"Th.e An:hibimop Simon Atumano and the Fall of Thebes to, theN'illvarrese in 1379:' lh'~(Jnt.inl~ch,Ne'U.griechi$che JOhrbi'iec-!ter, xvm U94S-1949.puibl in. 1960), l05~122, wh'ichs;tudy. t.ogethe:r wi:1Jl tbe on~O!l Pi.erre d'AmeU re.fe.uedw above (as. well asa. munbelf (1.£ ,ot:h-er:s). bas j,ust.l!)oon .repdl1ltedin E~(1pe mid the .lelumt in .'the Middle: .Age$ and the RenaismnC'e (London, 1974).

or various 3iflides by AnthO'oy T. luttrell, in additi.oil1l to those cited Lmthe notes to ch.JIpter VIII, below, spedaJiauention shou~d be ,called to the foUawing; ''"The Principality 'of Acilaea in 137'7," Byzantinische Zeitsc-hrift., LVn (1964!), 34!0-34S;"The LaUnso.f Algas and Nauplia. BU~n94." .fa-per: of thelJrilifh SchQol ~r ROmB, XXXIV (fieW$¢ries,vol. xx.~. 1966). 34-=5.5 ; "MalmaniJ the A1iagon.e.se Cmwn 02:82-1.5 3,1).'~ JOf,lnrtJl of the Fuc,ulty of Arts, ROyal Malta Uni.versity. III-I. (196.5)., l~. and "The House of Ara_gonand Ma.lta: 1282-14U;' ibid" IV-2 (970), 1.56,.....1.68; '·Johin. C!antacuzen.u.s And the C-atatans at Consta11lti:nople,"in MQrtinez F~rond(J. Archil1erQ:·MisceUne4 de estudios ded.iClldo$ Q' W memorllt (1968,). pp .. 265-171; ;and "Ve.:nezia e iI pr.h1.dpatQ di Acaia: eecole XIV,'" Studt lienezi:ani. X 0968). 407-4 (4 . .a'.mgel1eral F. Giunta. AiNgO.tll'sie Cattllof1i nel Meditef~ rtJnea' (2vol$;",.Pale:rmQ, 19'53-1959J; C .. E. IDufburcq, L 'Espagn-e cat(llfjne ,et Ie M«h.rib ~ XIIP' et Xlre sii!cles (':aIR., 1966); atIl.d J. A.Robson., '''The Ca.tal:an Fleet aDd Moodsh Sea-p<'lw~[ (1 337~1344),,~' Engluh H.tr,torical R,eview. LXXIV (19.59) •. 386-408. The f~uda]

THE CATALANS IN GREECE.1311~1380

169

1.337), to the great humiliation of pope, Boniface VIU and the Angevine in, Naples. With the advent of peace they needed employment, whichthey found" under Roger's command" in the service of the Byzantine emperor Andronicus n Palaeologus, 1 who hoped to use their strength against the newly risen power of the Ottoman Turks in Asia Minor. In September 1303 Roger de Flor and the chief body of the Company had arrived in Constantinople, having sacked the island of Ceos on the way (August 18, 1303). The Turks in Asia Minor soon felt the heavy force of their arms and ilearned of their prowess, Roger was ambitious, however; and. having married into the imperial family, he became, as themonths passed, an object of not unwarranted suspicion fn the capital. It was feared thathe might prefer the part of a ruler to that of a defender of the empire, At the end of April. 1305 he was murdered by the Palaeologi, but the Catalan Company" which had come to include Turks, in their ranks" held much of the Gallipoli peninsula until June] 307;, thereafter they moved westward rapidly, ravaging Thrace and Macedonia; by the end of August: 1307 they were at Cassandrea in the Chalcidic peninsula;

I· ... th ... , spring 'an' nd summ ter of ~3···0·····8, we find them men acina the m onks

. .11 [_'" '\ro' [~' __ . : ,I', .. __ 'oW, '_" 1_" .' ,it.',', ...~' '. _. t,. _,',,1. ••. ", u. . .II. .m _,' ','. I\.. .

of Mt. Athos; in the spring of 1309 they entered the plains of Thessaly, and a year Iater passedinto the employ of duke Walter I of

wm'ld of latin Greece is dep'.cted. hi DaVid Jacoby, "Les Archontes grecs et la feooame en Moree franque,' Travaux et m:emoires, II (Part!!, 1967)" 421--4:81. Jacoby has :aI50, writbm on "u ''Compagnie catalan.el et l'etat catalan de Grece: QueJques aspects de leur histone," Journa;l des $al.'llnts, 1.9,6,6. pp. 78--103. atlld has pl'()d~ced the most di.scernm.g work. thus far wr.itte:~. on the "Assizes of Romania,' t~e feudal. I,aw rode of Frankish Greece, i·n L.Q' F,t,ooelit,e en Grece medtiJl'ai's: (Paris, and The Hague. 19'71). Although the ·OiJtalmsi~ Athe1TLs, Thebes, and Neopatras lived under 'the "laws of ,Aragon and the customs of Barcelona" '(10'l'i A,ragon,(e v,d consuetudtnes Barchirwnie), iii knowledge 'of the Assizes adds mllu;:b to nne's understanding of the political and ,~ocial eondldens whkh. obt:ailu.ld in the latin state~ ne:.igh.boring,upo.n the; Catalan d:uchi.es ,m.G-reece .. On. such cQ,ndit:io:ns within the-se duchies, see Setton" '~Cabdllin Samely in Greece inthe FoufteenthCienlury • .'" in the dedi,eatory volume, to, the .• ale Basil Laourdas, now tn the press: in Thessalo,nild.

I. The aceeent of Raymond M uaraner, Wh0 was dose to Roger de Flor, makes deal: tha,t the i.mtiathr$ for the OompOliny's e:mployme:l1It by Androni.clJ8 n~ay with Roger, 'who was Duent j;n Greek~CW)fdc(l, clill. CX{;:IX,e:d .. Karn Lanz, ·(:1I10Ili" dCI ed/en' En Ramon MU1'ItaneT [Stutt:g.ut" U44] ~ p. 358; ed, E,. B. [[EnricBog:!l6I. 9 ''I'ol.s. in :2;, VI [Barcelona. 19511. 2'0). At the time of their deparUjre from M,essina ~he Company COEsisted of £ .s00 horse, some 4,000 almo.gav,erf (CasdUa,R; almogd'Wlres), a.nd 1,.000 other footsoldie,r.s, an 'Of Whom were 'Catalans Of Ar~one:s.e (,eh. em, Lam':,. p. 3,61; .E,B., VI, 22;. and cr. eh, CCII.O. They were late,flleinforcedb:y' 300ltorse and 1,000 .a.lmoga:llers (cit. CCXI" Lanz,p. 3,16; E. B.'I' VI.; 4l)~ but after the murder of Roger de Fl!Qr, tbe By'zantines: all~IYkmedro many of t.he Compa~y that only 3,301 men. both. horse and foot, remained (eh, C'CXV,. Lana, p' .. 382.;, E., :8., VI~ 47). ·These number:s were further rw~ced by an enceunter with th.eGelloese~ leaving only 206 heme, a:ndti,:256 foot; according 10 .Muntanet (ch, CCXV', CCXIX. Lanz,. pp .. 38.3,. 386;. E.B •• V[, 4:1~:, S2), but before l,earing Gallipoli !be C.ompaIlYwas, join.ed by a Turkislit {alee of 800 ho:~e and 2,000 foot (,cli. OCXXVIJI; Lanz, p. 405~E. D., VI,16). m1d more Catalans and Aragone.se were subsequently added to their forces.

170

Athens.! They served him for six months against the Greek rulers of Tbessalvand Bpirus and against the emperor Andronicus himself; they won hen ],ands and! castles in southern Thessalyrand when his use for them was done, he sought to dismiss them) .although he still owed them four months' wages" He chose from among them two hundred k nigh: ts and three hundredalmo,gavers; to these he paid what he owed them, gave; them lands, and enfranchised them; the others he ordered to begone. But the Company claimed the right to hold of him, as fiefs, some strongholds which they had taken in southern Thessaly, and which they refused to give up to him) for they had nowhere else to go.

The dulce of Athensand the Catalan Company spent the fall and winter of 1310-1311 in preparation for the struggle which should decide who would go jmd who would. stay. The Company was

2:. The, cruO.Ii'I,Qlogy of the mOYet:nents of tb-e Catalan COUl.pao_y has caused much dim.(;1,I[ty. Roge!r de FlO'r and the Comp.any I:lriv,edin Constantinople SO'ffl!e timein September 1.30:3 (theb artival has often beea, by er.for. referred to tbe seeond half of 1302): thei)!' are declared in a Venetian d!ocum~llt dated September 2"7" 1319,. tohavesaeked the islill.n.d (;If CeQS, Oil their way., en August 1 :8" 1303 (G.. M. Thomas, edt. Dip/omat:ariuflI vene to-.le:llaJ'Iti!tum, I [18810, fepc. 1'9651, no, 76., p. 13:8, and cf. nos, 71, 19, pp .. 149, 163; Rubio, Dip.I., doc. CXl,p .. 135, and cf. doc. cxm.pp .. 131~138) .. The Company had mere 'olle~& fixc:dly encamped in Gal1ipoli by October HM, where t.b,eyremn:airtoo, after the murder of R.Ggel': de Am (April. 30,. no.S). !.uI!HI June 13Q7; a;U the events described in MUl1Ilarner, Cronica, eh, CCXXX-CCXXXY[ (ed, Lanz, pp,407~23;ed, E,n., VI, 7S~-99), took pilacein June, July., and August of 1307 .. Rubiols Dipl., dQcs.[·XLIV, pp .. 1-5.5, is a Rl.ost!o':aluable and oQnveoient M$emb!l.age of documents, concerrdngthe: Co:mpany's eastern expedhion a~d its $M.ly leaders, especiaUy Berenguer de Entenr;a.

The (}reeiks had reason to fear the Catalans, Althougb on Oc,tobe:r 30 •. 1.303, king James: H of Atagon Wf(lte Be!len..gu(tl' ,(:I'e Enten~a arild.~og~r d'e Flor, than~ingthem for their assistance in ru-:.ranginga plojected alliance with ~mpen~.r· An.droniclJs u: 'Pililaeologus (Dip.I., doc, IX,p:p .. 9'"=-11)), the intentions of Rogel de Hot became not unreasonably suspect by the eady sumrner of 1304. when his fiorme[· ern.ployef ki~g Frooefid., II of Sici~y mayhav¢ ent.ertained the. hope of oonqu.edng the By.zant.ine empue (D'~pl .• doc. XI. pp. 11~r2. dating, from. early July 1304: "'[tem faa saber lo dit :Set1l.y,orrey Frederic .•• que dl [enten] sabra Io feit die Romania, <;u es asaber de cQDquerida., •• "), A le:tter of May 10, 1305; written by Enten~a from G.a1lipoli to,Pet6:r Gr.adenigo, doge, of Venice,.rela.tes that "ad preseas glierificamus CUf!l domino impeif3tore [Andronico II Palaeelogc]," and informs him briefly "de statu nostre et hamicidiQ illfwleUlJer fa-ct<l [l.e., Roge,rii]: (I,e mandato eiusd,em dommi im.pe.rat!)ris per Michaelem ,[.IX] (limn e:i.rusdem'· (J Lib,i ,oommemr»it:lli de/1ft republiC4 ,df :Ven€z,lil: Rege&ti, lib.. I, no.. 240. ed .• R .. Predelli, I [Venice, 1876]. 51; publ.ished. in full in Dtpl., doc;, XlV, pp, lS-16J. Thei memmandum pubUslil.ed by Heinrich Finke, A.cta arqgotJ' e:n&ifI. n (Berlin. and Leipzig, 1908), no. 431, PP" 681~86. and reprinted by Rubi.o,Dip.l., doc. xv, pp .. 16=-19'. summarily traces the history of theC'om.pany from Skiily tluougn some of their eas,tem advetlltUl:t'l-S U'ntilEnte:Il:Qa was (::apU.lredby Qe:no~·assisting the emperor. and up,~o the P<I,int where, the C"3.tamns achieved. an obS'Cutev!,ct.()ry over th.e Gl:Ceks a!bout July 1, [305 (on wbiCh see ingencral the ,data in F.rilinzDolg~r. R.egesu;,fI de, Kiziseturkunden del ostrOmifCnel1. Ref.che,', part -4 I[Munich aru1Berlin!, 1960J, nos. 2246, 224:9t 2252, 22S8~ 226,3~ 2268-22,69', 22n, 2273-227'4,2277-2219. 2281-2282, 2285, pp. 3M6, and Roger Sablonier.K.,ieg undKriue,ttum in de.r OdniCl1 des Ramon Murttaner fBeIne:and Frru:tlf1ilrt am M., 19711).

'rHE ,CATALANS IN GREECE. 13U-1380

171

reioined by their five hundred fellows, who preferred the yellow banner with the red bars to the gold and azure of Brienne, 'Thus it came about thatthe Company, with their Turkish allies, met Walter and his Frankish army on the right bank of the river Cephissus, as Muntaner says" "in a beautiful plain near Thebes."? On the, field of battle the duke 'Of Athens and his knights, assembled from most of the Latin states in Greece, displayed the reckless courage of their class; they made a dashing attack upon theenemy; men and horses charged into- prepared ditches; they p.Ued upon one another; they sank into the bogs and marshes, covered with at treacherous sward of green; they were shot down by arrows) ridden down by horses"c1l1t down by knives .. The Frankish losses were fearful; Walter of Brienne was killed; it was a 'catastrophe from which there was to' be no recovery.

French knights had jousted in the plains of Boeotia, and Attica and feasted in great castles on the Cadmea and the Acropolis for more than a hundred years (1204-1311 J, AU this bad now come to. an end, Thebes, the capital of the Athenian duchy, was Immediately oceupied; many' of the Latin inhabitants of the duchy sought refuge on the Venetian island ofEuboea (Negroponte).4 The; great castle of St. Orner (on the Cadmea), then famous :fo:r its frescoes, was taken over by the Company" and. other towns and. strongholdsin Boeotia quick]y followed. The Greek natives of the fortress, town of Livadia admitted the Catalans with a "spontaneity" that bespoke nolove for the French ,and for this assistance some of them received the rights and privileges of "Franks" (Catalans)," except that, as schismatics, they were commonly denied the right to marry Frankish women. Athens was surrendered to the Catalans by the now widowed duchess of Athens, Joan of Chatillon, daughter of 'the constable o:f France, Of the Burgundian duchy of Athens and Us dependencies the family of Brienne now possessed only Argos and Nauplia in the Morea, which their advocate WaUer of Foucherolles beld fO'I them. Attica, like Boeotia, was now a. Catalan possession. and land and vineyards and olive groves which had once been the property of Pericles and Heredes Atticus were owned by Catalan soldiers of fortune ..

3. C..dni~. eh, CCX:l (ed. Lanz, p., 430; ,ed .• E. B •• VI, 107).

4. Dip]., doc. CLXXVI, PP'. 2.21-228" dated Jane 21., 1340;,alld reterdng to th.eraU of Thebes in l3,11.

S. A haUcentUlY later a leuer ,patent of :Frederlck III ,of Sicily, then Catala:n duke or Athens. recalled the event" at Uvad:ia. in 13 i t {J)ipl •• dec, ,CCLXVllI. pp. 3.5 2-l53, where the letter ~s mi:sdated US6;. Leenertz, ;;;Athe!lle~ et Nto'fhl,tr.as.:; Ar:ch. FF. hoed., XXV 11955:1." 117' • no, 63. and cSpc!':CiaUy pp. 194" l'9'9-iOO}. The docll.ment should be dated Jtdy 29; 136,2.

172

M1I.llfltaner has Informed us, with much exaggeration, 6 that, of all the seven hundred knights who had ridden with Walter of Brienne into the battle of the Cephissus in. March ] 3 hi, only two came out alive, Boniface of Verona, "lord of the third part of Negroponte, a very honorable, g:ood man, who had always loved the Company," and Roger Deslaur, through wheseefforts the Catalans had first hired. out their services to Walter, The few thousand Catalans and Aragenese who tookover tbe duchy of Athens lacked a. leader of prestige and rank. They offe.red the perilous responsibtlttv ofgovernin,g them to Boniface of Verona, who felt obliged. to reject their offer, whereupon they turned to their other important captive, Roger Desla.ur. He accepted the proffered post, Muntaner relates, and received therewith the castle 'Of Salona (,'La: Sola)') and the widow of Thomas III of Autremencourt, whose great fief Salona had been until he lost: his life on. the banks of the Cephissus, Roger Deslaur seems to have proved unequal to the task of maintaining the duchy against the Catalans' Venetian enemies In Negroponte and their Frankish enemies in the Morea .. The Grand. Company therefore turned, with reluctance according to Marino Sanudo Torsello,? taking Frederick Il of Sicily. who at their behest appointed as duke of Athens his second son, the infante Manfred, who was then only five years of age. The Company's acceptance of Catalan-Siciliao rule was negotiated by Roger Deslaur early in the year 1312.

An interesting document has survived, containing the articles and conventions whereby jhe v'Corperation of the Army of Franks in Romania," as the Company was officially known" recognized the infante Manfred as their "true, legitimate, and naturallord. n By the common consent and will of the individual members of the Company, duly assembled in council for this purpose, the young. infante and, on his behalfc the king were to exercise all right, dominion" power) and jurisdiction over the members of the Company and their possessions; allegiance tathelr new prince was: an obligation undertaken by them in perpetuity, and in accordance with the, laws of Aragon and the customs of Barcelona .. Frederick U, on behalf of his son, undertook to exercise the dominion, right of governance, and jurisdiction thus granted m strict accord with these laws and customs .. The king and his son were to maintain and defend every member of the Company in such status, 'Office! and fief.as he then heid, although they acquired in. Attica and Boeotia such feudal rights

6. CrO.niC4,ch, CCXL (ed.,. Lane, p. 431;,00 ... E. D.o WoWS).

7. Ep .. XVI, in JaC:qu(!;s Boflgars, Gesr(l Dei per Francos: ('2 vol£. in 1, Hano,v<:r,16,11).,II, 307.

THE CATALANS .IN GREECE, 1311~n80

17.3

and perquisites as obtsinedin thekingdom of Ar,~gon. The lord king declared, for himself and for his son, the royal intention to. rule in accordance wHh these terms, 8 The: king then sent Berenguer Estaii.ol of Ampurias as the young duke's, vi car -general, and when Estafiol arrived in Piraeus with five galleys to take over his command, Roger Deslaur, who had governed the Company for a. year (1311 ~ 1312), retired to his lordship of Salona and. figures no mcre in'jhe history of the Athenian duchy.?

Berenguer proved an able ruler, and under him the Catalans were able to consolidate their position in Attica. and Boeotia. He protected them against the hostility of the Venetians in Negroponte, the Greeks in Thessaly and Epirus, and the Brlenmst retainers in Argos. and Nauplia in the Morea, In 13 1.6 Berenguer died, after prolonged illness and four years of effective service, and the Catalans elected a member of the Company, one William de Thomas, as their captain and vice-regent, 10 until the arrival in Athens of king Frederick II's natural son. Don Alfonso Fadrique of Aragon, who had beenappointed vicar-general for the infante duke Manfred. On November 9~ 1317, Manfred died inTrapam as a result of a. fall from his horse; his younger brother became dukewilliam [Ill of Athens.' ~ Appointed., there fore , as duke Maafred's vicar-general, it was as the vicar of duke William. Il that Alfonso Fadrique was to hold the chief post ill. the duchy of Athens-and after l 319 in jhe duchy of Neopa tras=for about fourteen years, {l317~1330)j,12 during which period the Catalan Company in Greeceenjoyed the height 'Of their power and their security,

The: organization of the new Catalan statein Greece illustrates very wen the medieval theory DCa contract between the rulerand his people, expresslycalled a. contract (capitula et convent/ones) in the first words of the document or IS] 2, l3 The Company remained

8. Dlpt. doc. LUI. pp. 67-0.9, and d. doc. cxxxtu, p. 164, from Mafillo Saolld,o . TbrseHo, Ep. XVI, in &ngars, toe cit;

9. Muntaner, Croni.ca,. eh .. CCXLIl (ed.l..anl., p.433., ed .. E. B., VI, lt l ),

In. cr. Dipl., dQc. LXXXIV,p., 104, a~d Sp. P'. La!11p'fQIS, "E")'l'p~ a~ep6~"a. d( r~p lll:oau.oJ.v(il:1w 'lQ1\op.ta.", TWV ·.A6i'~vWv (Athens, .1.'906; he!.reafter(:~t:edas .Eggnlpna. vol, IU of l.aJl1prQfs: Greek tra:!1lsiation of Gregorovi.us, Geschicht€ du StlJd,( Alhe,1'I 1m Mittelolter. 2nd ed.J. part IV, doc, 104, pp .. 355-356.

IL Setlon. C4t{114~ .l)omination, pp .. 1$-17. Will:iam died August .22, 133.8. Duke Wil.liam I WiliS WilHam deta R(tche (128~ 1287).

12:. Th.t last dear r~fet(tt1ice to AlfouSt1! Fad.l1i.que·s le,nu.r¢ of the chief command in Grewe eemss tn a Venetian document dated March", 1326 (Dipl., doc. CXXX[I. p. 163) although his authorityoontim.led fer some Umetbe;reaJter (Cr. Dipl .• d.ocs. CXX.XIX, CXLI, CXLVI). HJssu(:ces:5Q.f. Nicho·fa$· unciaJ, is: ide:lltifi.ed~ as j)iCilriu~genef'(1li~ on Apri S, 1331 (DI'1'l." doc.

CLUJ, pp. 196 fr.), •

13. Dipl., do(:, UU. p, 67,

114

legal owner of the lands whic,h they had won and now held. by righ.t. of conquest, butseeking perhapsa more constitutional basis for their auth ority I and further protection in time of need, they had surrendered to and received back from the Catalan duke In Sicily their fiefs and offices in the Athenian duchy ... Thegrand enfeoffment of 1312, however, whereby the duke was obliged to confirm the distribution of Iands and offices which the Company had already effected among themselves, was largely theoretical, for it was they whogranted the ducal domain to him. rather than he who granted their fiefs to them. From the time of their early establishment in Greece the Company possessed written Articles or Statutes. (Capitula), an actual constitution, composed. in Catalan and largely based upon the Constitutions of Catalonia and the Customs of Barcelona, The text of the Statutes of the' Company (els Capitols de La Companyl'a) has unfortunately not survived, although here and there ,3 fragment appears in the documents, most notably the article prohibiting landed gifts and testamentary bequests to the church. 14 To important documents the chancellor of the Company affixed the, Company's own seal, which depicted St. George slaying the drag,on.15

The duke appointed the vicar-general, the chief executive of the duchy, who swore fealty to the duke in Sicily, and upon his arrival in Athens or Thebes took. an oath before representatives of tile Company to discharge fhe duties of'his office properly, in accordance with the Statutes of the Company. The duke quiekly ucquired, however, the right of appointment to the chief military post in the Catalan state, that of marshal of the duchy ~ or after 1319, when Don Alfonso Fadrique added the duchy of Neopatras to that of Athens, marshal of the duchies, But fhe highest offices in the state were

14. See Dipl,. doc. CC.X.CIV. p" 38:2~ dated Jutlt 8, 1367; neteals« doc. CCCXCI, pp. 416....-471; and tl. doc. CDXXXIU. p. 508 .. (Landed property and j;eudal tevem.les were to be reserv;ed tor gents (J'ar111eswbo. col!.lld defend t.llie$itatle,.)

IS. A copy of this seal, frun'! the collection of Ceunt Pi.erre de VlrY; was published by Gustave Schb.lmbe.[~et" "Le Sceau de la compagnie des rourless eatalans a. GalUpoli,. en 13'0.5," Comp.tts-rendus de I'Academie des i~scrlptions et bell€S!·lettre'S (Pali,s). 1925, pp .. 131-137; AnloUlri de: i'1nsJitut d'e$tudi~ catalans. VU U92J-I926), 302-304;. and Gusta.ve Schlumb~r:ge1l:. Fe.rdi.nand Cha.lat'ldoll,and Ad!'ie.l1 Blancnet •• eds., Sig.itlograp'h.ie de l'Oriem /illin (Pads, 194!.3).pp. 20g~209. MuntaruM. ('rdnicG,. eb, ccxxv (ed. Lanz. p, 397; ed E .. B., VI, 66), relOl!t;es.thaJt after R:oger de Flor's death the Coltllpany had made agreat seall:.lpon which. wll!'srepresentoo 10 be!U1uimt mon:s:eny" $(1IUJor:di and bearIng the inscription Se,gell de' fit host dels .frllncs qui reg.nen .fo regnede: Macedonia (a:nd fOI Ml!.lrlit:aner's idea of Macedollia.~. lbtd. ,ch. CC X IV. Lanz .• p'p. 31'9~ 380. E. It, VI,4445).. The copy (If the seal extant bears tb.e official title (!If (he Company .fa.miliat to I,.IS fwoo papal!1!ndwyal docu.ments, Felix .Fram:orum exe.,,'Cit~in .RofNlnie part.ll)'us {notfin.ibll~11 CQmor,Qn.~,on .... :kic;b see JaoobY'j "La Compagnie cataLa"e:' JOUfmtl des savants, 1966, piP. 80-;8,7,9'3 fL. who beUeves,lhatthis seal must. be da.t,e6aner 1312.

THE CATALANS IN GREECE. 1311~ 1380

17.5

reserved, f.or the most part, for the Catalans themselves, including the 'Office of marshal, which, whether by royalsppoinrment or not, was apparently held for almost two generations (untH 13547) by the important family of the Novelles,

Thebes, was the capital of the Athenian dUCJ1Y. 'The Catalans in Athens conducted various Iocalaffairs as a municipal corporation with their own civil and military officers and with their 'Own syndics? aldermenvand municipal council. The city of Neopatras was the capital of the northern duchy, wi th,in the boundaries of which were located the important castle and town of Zeifounion (in Catalan Ia Cit6)~ theancient Lamia. A captain presided over the city of Ne:Qpatraa.and a castellan commanded the garrison in the castle, Conditions in Neopatras, owing to Us semi-iselstionin the north, were unique, and authority resided not only ultimately but directly in the sovereign duke in Sicily Of, after 1379, in Aragoa-Catalonla, The duchy of Neopatraspossesses far less history than that of Athens,

It is difficult to make validgeneralizations concerning the administration of the municipalities or town corporations in the two duch-

- -

ies=Athens, Thebes, Livadia, Siderokastron, and. Neopatras=but they

aU belonged tothe royal domain. Greeks served on the municipal councils in Athens, Livadia, and Neopatras, The; Assizes and. Customs of Romania, which were presumably the feudal law of Burgundian Athens, gave way in 1311 to the Customs of Barcelona, which. thereafter formed the basis of public and private law in the Athenian duchy as in Catalonia, and the high. court of the Frankish baronage was replaced by the court of the vicat .. general, which was located in Thebes. Disputed cases were adjudicated by appeal in the royal court in Sicily .. After 1355, as: we shall see" the duke of Athens was also, in thepersorr of Frederick Ur, the king of Sicily; this increased the ducal dignity if not the ducal power. The duke commonly nominated the veguers and castellans in the chief towns and fortresses in the Athenlan duchy; and on the surface the Catalan feudatoriescthe municipalities, and even the clergy possessed fewer rights ofprivate jurisdiction than had their Frankish predecessors.vlhe royal act of appointment to or removal from office, however" was: often not: the: royal will, and again and again in the troubled .ni:story of Catalan Athens the Sicilian roy a] duke had no alternative but to accept the accomplished fact with. which he was: firmly presented by his loya~. subjects across the sea.

'The Catalans had made their entrance into the Latin politics of Greece as unseemly intrudersvand they were at first unpopular with

176

almost everyone in continental Greece and the Morea=emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus and his imperial governor of Mistra (then the father of the future emperor John vm Cantaeuzenus); the Greek ruler John n Ducas "Comnenus" of Thessaly and his relative, the despoina Anna of Epirus; the Frankish barons in Achaea, vassals of tile, absentee prince"PhiUp I of Taranto, among them the Briennist retainers in Argos and Nauplia; the Venetianbailie in Negroponte and the Venetian feudatories in the Archipelago; as. well as the pope in Avignon, the vigilant guardian of Latin legitimacy in the Levan tas elsewhere, AU these looked forward to the collapse of the Company of Catalan cutthroats holding sway in Boeotia. and Attica .. They had long to wait The Venetians were the" first to become reconciled to the Company), or at least resigned to the Catalan occupation of the Athenian duchy, Since the Catalans had long been enemies of the Genoese and, after the murder of Roger de Flor, enemies also of the Byzantineemperor, the Venetians had looked upon Catalan activities in the L-evant with no particular concern from] 303 to 1.31J9~ 131 Q, but when the Catalans finally settled in southern Thessaly and the Athenian duchy, acquired. allies among the Turks, and displayed a marked penchant for piracy, the Venetians in nearby Nesroponte bad reason for apprehension, This change in the republic's attitude toward the Catalan Company was first markedly demonstrated in a treaty negotiated at Constantinople on November ll, ] 310, between emperor Andronicus II and envoys. of Peter Gradenlgo, the doge of Venlce. a treaty that was to last for twelve years. The Venetians undertook, among other articles of agreement, not to go into Byzantine territories held by the Company" still in. Thessaly inthe employ of duke W.alter of Brienne, although trading rights: between the empire and. the republic were to be reestablished in the terri tones in question after the withdrawal therefrom of the Catalans.l''

Although in April 1.315 ~ in connection with the Moreote expedition. of the infante. Ferdinand of Majorca, king Frederick II of Sicily had occasion to ask the doge, John Soranzo, for friendship and devotion from Venice, 11 the Venetians in Euboea found Frederick 's subjects in Thebes and Athens rather deficient of friendship and devotion toward them. Soranzo must have been interested to learn from Manaut of Hainautt, widow of Louis of Burgundy, who had proteetedher claim to the principaUty of Achaea by his victory over Ferdinand of M.ajorca at Manolada in EUs {on July 5, 1316), that

16, D·' ".'" ·di -. 'X'ILVI . ,. 5·6· '-5 '8' ,(.ft IA.,.· -, ':'i',,"~~.. .' D· .;~. - ~ - -J·.c -. - -et -Ie: -- ,t· _ .. - I

..1".. .•. QC, _ .. '.' pp... ' ... ·.1WKiI m .. U!!I.Imas, .. ¥".OI'nQ.t:tnum ven_·.~. _~It mum, •

m. 46,. pp. S2IT.).

17. Dipl., doc. LXXV, Pf.· 9Z-93.

THECATAt.,ANS INGREECE •. 13U-1380

171

even as she wrote (in March 1.317), some two thousand Catalans from the Athenian duchy were in the city of Negroponte: ~~We make known to your highness. that, owing: to the dissension which has existed between Messer Andrew Cornaro [Venetian lord of Carpathos and of a. "sixth" of Euboea] and Boniface of Verona. [who held Carystus and a "third" of the island J and the understanding reached between your bailie of Negroponte fMichaelMorosini~ 1316-131 7] and Messer Andrew Cornaro, the said Messer Andrew has made peace and an accord with the Catalan Company in the duchy of Athens-and has introduced intothe city of Negroponte all told more than 2.,000 of the Company on horne and foot ... ." The island and city were thus in danger of falling to the Catalans, which would be a. grievous loss to Venice and ,3, peril to Mahaut, She urged the doge to see to the removal o.fthe Catalan force from the island, and to instruct the bailie tomake neither pe-ace nor an agreement with the intruders. She also requested the doge to direct Andr-ew Cornaro to break off his entente with the Company, which he already regretted .. Speed was. necessary to deal with this emergency, "and you know wen, my lord, that those people in the Company win maintain neither faith nor honesty with you nor with us nor with anyone in the whole world .. '·'18

A year later, on March 17, 1318, John of Gravina, prince of Achaea through his "marriage ,., to the unhappy Mahaut of Hainault, wrote to Soranzo complaining of Don Alfonso Padrique's offenses against both the Angevins and theVenetians in Negreponte;'? On the following day both king Robert: of Naples. and prince Philip of Taranto, brothers of John of Gravina, sent similar letters to the doge,iO who replied on April 13 expressing his gratitude for this interest in Vene Han affairs; but even before having received the royal letters, the republic had had news from Greece concerning Don Alfonso Fadrique's activities, An envoy had already been sent to king Frederick II of Sicily, Don Alfonso's father, and the republic hoped that the king would himself put a. peaceful and tranquil end to their

18 .. Dipl .. , doc. l.XXXYI,. pp. 105-106; Louis. de Mas Liude, Mela·ltges hbto,rique&. m (Pari:s;. 1,88:0). no. [V, pp. 32-34 (Docu.me:nt:s .irl.~di.ts sur l11istoirc de Franoe); Loenertz, Arclt FF. Ptued., XXV"no. 5, p·.I04;.Ka.rl Hopf', ··"Geschic:h~eGdocbl'!nlan.ds .. ,.,'· in Ersoh and GrUber'. Allgemeine e.1icyklopudie, LXXXV (1867), 413:a (repr .. New Y.o:rk, 1'960, I, 341a). rather fanciful. :Mahaut caDs the Catalans <$.Ia Campagl1e des CasteUail1$ (Castilians!] ,qui sunt en dUC3llme de Sta:b~es (AthelllSl "'; liter letter was dated at Andra.vida Ma:rch 28 (of U17). Bo·nif!u::(! 'of VeronlcUed before May 8. 1318 «l)Ip:l •• doc. XCI:V ,pp .. 1 U-U4l. pres:um!libly ilil.the lat.e fa.l!lI of 13 n 1.

19. lJipl~. doc. L.XXXIX,pp. 108-1.'09.

20. DipI~. doc'S. XC. X~CI. i'p. l09~IIO. K.ing Robert WfotJe again om Ju;ne, 24 (ibid., dee, XCVII. 1'1'. 116-1111.

problems, If it shouldprov,e otherwise, the letter ends serenely, the republic intended to do what might be pleasing to God and the honor of the state, and in the interests of Robertand his brothers. 11 Thesignoria of Venice was much concerned with the affairs of the Catalan Company throughout the spring of 131 R In Aprilrepresentatives of the constable Gaucher of Chstillon and. his daughter, the dowager duchess of Athens~ presented. a petition to the doge; lhey sought a large loan and :ships enough to transport four or five hundred knights and a thousand or more infantry to Negroponte or to Nauplia, The doge replied that the Briennist feudatories in Argos. and. Nauplia were newallied with the Catalan Company, and since their own vassals were not loyal, their proposal would only entail a vain expenditure of men and money.22

On May 8 pope John XXII wrote the doge and republic ofVenice, urging the expulsion of the Catalans from the island of Euboea, where Don Alfonso held the fortress towns of Carystus and Larmena as his wife's dowry ... The pope claimed that Don Alfonso aimed at the occupation of the 'entire island and, which was quite true, that he had Turks in his employ; the Venetians should expel the Catalans not only from Euboea, but from the duchy of Athens also) in which business, the; pope indicates, his beloved son king Robert of Naples had some interest.P On June 18~ 1318~ Don Alfonso himself wrote a. letter from Athens to Francis Dandolo, the captain and bailie of Negroponte, expressing his astonishment that Catalans: from the

21. Dipl •• doc. }{cell. p. l"ll. The principality 'of Acha.ea was much thI>eat!Mlledi by th.e Oreeks ,of Mistra:., who in 13 20o¢cCupiod the Arcadian. castles of Akovaor Matagriio:.IJJ, .l:l,ear the mode'll"! Dimit:sana,. and Karytalna., which QverlOQks the valley of the Alphe:us. They also sei:zed. the fQrtress of St. QeoJge between Mistra and Ka:rytailla (:cf. A. More.l-Fatio.ed!., Llbro' de Jo~ leooos [Geneva, l;8S.S] j pau. 641-654, pp .. 14(}-143; J~.nLong~on" ed, ChM.r1'lque de MOfee [Paris, 1911], p:p .. 4(l14--4®5, cbro,n. table; !lind R. 1 .. Lcenertz, "La crn:()ll!iqueb~ve mo!iote de 1423,." in .M~/fln;ge.s: Eligene Tiss1tml'$t .• 11-1, 403. 413~14) ... Kln,gRiobelt of Naples, who, wasthen Uvingin AV.ignon., was much eencerned with. the recovery of lands lost to the 'Greeks and with thep[~t:ectian of those being aua~ked by the CatabnsaM Turb. G, M. Monti, Nuo~i studi angio.i~i (Trani, 1 '9 37). pp. 612--6,29,. has publishedeigbt .relevant document!! dated frmn July 18 to NQvember 10, 1321. TheG-reeks had tak!en Matagri£oll.,. Karytaina., and ~t. George,bllt(!11l July 1:8 (1 321 ).kin!!i Robtctt seemed to fhj_nk that Don Alfo~ F.adrique "'witli. that. di:wa] Company" bad se.izt<l these thl:iCC plaees (Monti. (}P~ cit,p. 62,6). On Octcdbe:r t, 1322. pope John XXI[ wrote the latin patriarch Nicholas and. archbishQPWiliiam F~anJ::ipani of Paha.s, c:xcariati:ng".Alt:omo the caplam and the other leaders. ,. ·of the Grand Com.pany •... waiting damnably in the darkness andsllooow of death," w&.o hadibeen atta.ckingth.e principa]i.ty of AcJlaea: the patriarch and the ucalbimop were to rn*e the Gral!d. Company ,caU a bilt to, their crlm.m.al actmtyby the appli(:ation o:fe.x:[esias.tical. censure (JJipL. doc. C'X.X, pp. 148-149. misdated by Rubio i Uucll). So far, i.t must be admitted. this had proved I. rather inefi'icac\ious weapon .•

2:2. D.ipi." d.oc.. xcm.pp'. I.n-l U.

23 .. Dipl ... doc. XCIV, pp .. 113-.114. OnIDQID. AlfoD.$O·;& marriage. see below, p. l85.

ras CATALANS IN GREECE, .t311-1380

179

Athenian duchy had been guilty of depredations against the Venetians, "with whom we have a truce and are at: peace." He promised an investigation and the punishment of the offenders; he desired peace with the Venetians, of whom, however, he was clearly suspicious.14

Aninterestmg report of June 26, 1318, sent to the doge of Venice by Dandolo, concludes with the news, "On June 21 at about the hour of vespers we learned from a trustworthy sourcethat a. ship of 48 oars has beenarmedat Athens. It is to carry two ambassadors of Don Alfonso, [chosen] from among his better people, to tile [Greek] empercrvand it is. to leave Athens tonight. We have also learned from the same reliable Informant that another shipis being armed at Athens, which is to take lanotherl two am bassadors of Don Alfonso ... with. two Turkish ambassadors into Turkey. They are going to enlist a.good]y number of Turks, from 1 ,000 to' 1,500 .... ":25

Diplomatic representations were made to Don Alfonso Fadrique and to his father Frederick n of the harm which Catalan cors airs and their Turkish allies were doing to Venetian commerce and of the ultimate consequences of Venetian hostility to the Catalan. Company. on September 2, ]318, king Frederick II of Sicily answered the several grievances detailed by the Venetian envoy of whom the doge had written the Angevinprinces; Frederick had probably warned his son to becareful some; time before this, but the SJiciUan archives are .very fragmentary for this period. The king refused to recognize as infractions of the peace or: as unjust the acts charged in most of the complaints made against his son Alfonso, and hisreplies to the Venetian envoys are full of Catalan enmity toward the Angevin lords of Achaea, 26, But with the Venetiaas til.€; king of Sicily desired amicable relations. aad the settlement of differences existing betweenthem, andhe appointed envoys to treat with. the doge and republic of Venice "to achievea final peace and concord. o.r along truce between the republic of Venice, hercitizensand subjects, and Alfonso and the Catalan Company.~!2'

24. Dipl. , doc, xcv ,pp. 114--11 S. Catalan pir.aey was W1ceasi1l8. b.owev·cr., among the islands of the: .Mchipelago (cl.Dipl" docs. XCV.l, C-cU),; see W.Hey,d. Histoue du com71'rerce du LeWJnt.trans. FUfCY Raynaud. I (repr ... 1967).538.

25.. Dipl .. , dee, x:cvm. p, 119. Catal!ans1oops (WIChetae) bad been ena ra.id to' Eu.ooea. and a fleet (wmat:q) had just attacked Cassaoorea ,on the Thermaic Gulf.

26, .Dipl., doc. CIU, pp. 124-121; Thomas, DtpWmatll'ium~neU)J~J!(jntinum> I. no .. 64. 1'1;1'. 110--11.3;, cf. Sefton. Catalan Domi.nation, p. 34.

27. Dipl:. doe. CPI, FIll'. 121~128; 'l1u:n:nas. DiplomatQriumllene.to·l~ntinum. r, no. 66.

PP.o. 113--114. De Vcn.etilan oon.dl:oons of peaceprese.nted to' the Sicilian envoys in the early winter of 1318 mdthe: doge"s. statement of terms, fo]' the :en¥o;n to t:ak.e liO Fredml¢k Uare

Suchapeace was finally established t after detailednegotiatiens, on June 9, 1319, when a. six monthsazreement was reached, at a. conference in Negroponte, between Don Alfonso and the whole Company on the one hand and on the other the bailie Francis Dandolo, his, councillors, and the feud a] lords of Euboea, John die Neyer of Maisy, Peter dane Careen, Andrew Cornaro, and Bartholomew II Ghisl-The Catalans bound themselves to disarm their trading vessels and to arm no others in the Saronie Gulf or elsewhere in places bordering upon the island of Euboea; vessels with 'Oars they agreed to, draw up on land, a plank was to be removed from the bottom of each hun, Hand the tackle of the vessels themselves should be stored on "the Acropolis." Such unarmed merchantmen as were then sailing from the port of Livadostro (" Rivadostia") might be main tamed ~ for Livadostro was in the northeast corner of the Corinthian Gulf, whence the Catalans could neither harry the islands of the, Archipelago nor combine in raiding sorties withtheir friends and allies the Turks.26 This treaty, if strictly adhered to, must have been most detrimental to trade with Sicily I M.ajoma~ and Barcelona. The Venetians; however, always jnsisted on its terms. The treaty was renewed on May 11,. 1321.2:9' It was renewed again at a meeting held in Thebes on April 5, 1331 .. 30 In all three treaties the Company held itself Hable to a fineo- of 5,000 hvperpers for the violation of its pledges, while to the treaties of 1321 and 1.331 a half dozen clauses or more were added to the specific effect that the Catalans should conclude no newalliances with the Turks and should not aid them in attacks upon the island of Euboea or the Venetian possessions in the:

Arehipelago;" These agreements, were renewed from time to tim e in the yeara fhat fonowed.With each decade that passed the Catalans became rather more reliable, and although. relations between the Catalans in the Athenian duchy and the Venetians in Negroponte sometimes degenerated intoa.etual warfare, a.t the termination of each suehperiod of armed conffict the Venetians always insisted upon the Catalans' nevermaintairung armed vessels in the harborof n.:... .. . 32-

rtraeus,

pr.inted i!n.D(pl.,. docs. CV1. eVil. pp .. 129-13,I,and in Thomas, op. cit., I,. n()s .. 66. 61. pp .. 11 S~ 11. '1. The doge insisted that the ClI.tahms oouMinot maintain vessels equipped with oars (ligna ,(1 remu) in the Atbenian dlWhy (Rubio, Dipl •• p. ]:30}.

28 .. The tex.t of the tr-eatyof June 9, 1319,. has often been print,ed,mostrecently In

Rubi6's, Diptomatari. doc, CIX"pp. U2~134. 2.9. Dipt,doc~ eXVI,. pp. 141.-144.

30... D.ipl.. doe. 'CLlIl, pp .. 196-200.

31. Dipl. d()CS. CXVI •. p. 142, and! CLlH.p. 19'8.

32 .. As intbe iDtcr,esUn;g. and wtru.ctive treaty of July 25, 1.36.5 (D.ipl .• doc .. (JCLVm .• pop.