Byzantine Greek literature

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Byzantine Greek literature

Also known as: Byzantine literature

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June 22, 2026

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Byzantine Greek literature refers to the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, written within or outside the Byzantine Empire. This literature was characterized by a diglossia, where an archaic, classical style was used for formal writing, while a simpler, more vernacular Greek was spoken.1

Key aspects include:
* Archaizing Language: A conscious effort to emulate classical Greek styles, influenced by a strong tradition of rhetoric in education.2
* Christian Influence: A significant portion of Byzantine literature synthesized Hellenic and Christian thought, particularly in the voluminous writings of the Church Fathers.2
* Genre Evolution: While classical genres like drama became obsolete, new forms emerged, including romantic fiction and satire, especially by the 12th century.2
* Vernacular Literature: Towards the later period, particularly after 1453, literature in an approximation of spoken Greek began to flourish, though serious writing largely retained the learned, archaic language.23

Notable poets include Michael Choniates, John Geometres, and Theodore Prodromus.4

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Greek literature
Byzantine literature
Byzantine literature may be broadly defined as the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, whether written in the territory of the Byzantine Empire or outside its borders. By late antiquity many of the classical Greek genres, such as drama and choral…
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Byzantine literature may be broadly defined as the Greek literature of the Middle Ages, whether written in the territory of the Byzantine Empire or outside its borders. By late antiquity many of the classical Greek genres, such as drama and choral…
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classical scholarship
Christian versus classical scholarship
The Arab threat forced the Byzantine Empire to submit to the rule of vigorous but not well-educated emperors, some of whom were religious fundamentalists opposed to the use of images, or icons, which was a central feature of worship in the Eastern Church. The resulting Iconoclastic Controversy was a major…
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The Arab threat forced the Byzantine Empire to submit to the rule of vigorous but not well-educated emperors, some of whom were religious fundamentalists opposed to the use of images, or icons, which was a central feature of worship in the Eastern Church. The resulting Iconoclastic Controversy was a major…
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mirror for princes
Byzantine texts, split between being collections of maxims and examples and providing individualized advice to specific rulers, reflected the situation in eastern Europe for much of the 10th through the 13th century and drew on similar sources of ancient and early Christian thinking about power.
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Byzantine texts, split between being collections of maxims and examples and providing individualized advice to specific rulers, reflected the situation in eastern Europe for much of the 10th through the 13th century and drew on similar sources of ancient and early Christian thinking about power.
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biblical literature
Greek versions
A 13th-century manuscript of Jonah by a Jew is the earliest known post-Hellenistic Greek biblical work. A rendering of Psalms was published by the Cretan monk Agapiou in 1563. A version in Hebrew characters (a large part of the Old Testament) appeared in…
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A 13th-century manuscript of Jonah by a Jew is the earliest known post-Hellenistic Greek biblical work. A rendering of Psalms was published by the Cretan monk Agapiou in 1563. A version in Hebrew characters (a large part of the Old Testament) appeared in…
Read More

Tractatus Coislinianus
Greek theory of comedy found in a 10th-century manuscript (published 1839) in the collection of Henri Charles du Cambout de Coislin. The treatment of comedy displays marked Aristotelian influence, even to the point of paralleling the model offered in the Poetics. The Tractatus is assumed…
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Greek theory of comedy found in a 10th-century manuscript (published 1839) in the collection of Henri Charles du Cambout de Coislin. The treatment of comedy displays marked Aristotelian influence, even to the point of paralleling the model offered in the Poetics. The Tractatus is assumed…
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Karl Krumbacher
…developed the modern study of Byzantine culture. His writings and seminars were the basis for the specialized training of Byzantine scholars from all parts of the world.
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…developed the modern study of Byzantine culture. His writings and seminars were the basis for the specialized training of Byzantine scholars from all parts of the world.
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