Byzantium and the Modern Imagination: Patterns of the Reception of Byzantium in Modern Culture, Masaryk University, Brno, September 12–14, 2018
The imagery of Byzantium in popular discourse is a culturally and historically constructed notion. As has been noted, the very name “Byzantium” is both a retronym and an exonym, and scholars today very often insist on using a more proper description – “The Eastern Roman Empire”. Writers, playwrights, musicians, and politicians throughout centuries constructed their own versions of Byzantium, which depended on local artistic or political needs. In many cases these constructed versions had very little to do with the “historical” Byzantium. Yet, at the same time, academic discourse might – and did – influence the imagery of Byzantium in the popular imagination. During the conference we would like to discuss these imaginary visions of Byzantium, including the intersections of popular and academic images of Byzantium.