Description
Book SynopsisThis comprehensive study of Michael Psellos, one of the greatest intellectual figures of Byzantine history, offers a survey of Greek rhetoric and autobiography for an audience focused on Greek culture and medieval literatures as well as a wider audience interested in the history of the self, gender and emotion.
Trade Review'This work leads to rich revelations about what Psellos was getting at in his writing, but beyond him, it provides us with subtle and convincing explorations of Byzantine culture, particularly the pervasive importance of ancient and biblical models of ideal behavior for the formation of character and the expression of self. Together with Derek Krueger's Liturgical Subjects: Christian Ritual, Biblical Narrative, and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium (2014), Papaioannou's exploration of Psellos's self-presentation lays the groundwork for understanding Byzantine conceptions of self and identity.' Leonora Neville, Speculum
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. The Professional Rhetor and Theory of Authorship: 1. The philosopher's rhetoric; 2. The rhetor as creator: Psellos on Gregory of Nazianzos; 3. The return of the poet: mimesis and the aesthetics of variation; Part II. Self-Representation: 4. Aesthetic charm and urbane ethos; 5. The statue's smile: discourses of Hellenism; 6. Female voice: gender and emotion; Conclusion: from rhetoric to literature; Appendix: books and readers in the reception of Psellos.
