Figuring Eros in Byzantine Fiction: Iconographic Transformation and Political Evolution

Abstract

Eros's conniving nature in conjunction with his sadistic temperament is the single most important attribute of his character-indeed, it remains intact after some 800 years of iconographic and literary evolution. In medieval Byzantium Eros emerges as a formidable sovereign, toying with his subjects' desires as he asserts his cosmic dominion from the grounds of his utopian castle. This remarkable transformation reveals a rich discourse on the merits of sovereignty-a discourse that raises significant questions about the dynamics of Byzantine imperial commissions and the paradoxical role of court intellectuals as sovereign propagandists and political critics. In linking the role of Byzantine intellectuals in the aftermath of political upheaval to the figurations of sovereignty showcased in Byzantine fiction, the author reveals an ambitious interplay of literary and political interests that calls into question the view of Byzantine intellectuals as dutiful followers of powerful patrons.Πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀδούλωτος εἰς ἐρωτοκρατείαν, πᾶς ποθοακατάκριτος νὰ μὴ ἐγνωρίζῃ, ἀγάπην, ἂς ἔνʼ παρέξω ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς τῆς ʼΕρωτοκρατείας· ἂν δέ καὶ θέλῃ νὰ ἐμπῇ νὰ ἰδῇ καὶ τὴν αὐλήν του, ἂς ὑπογράψῃ δοῦλος του καὶ ἂς γίνεται ἐδικός του.Every man who has not submitted to Eros's sovereignty who has not been driven by passion to feel desire, let him remain outside the courtyard of Eros's domain. Yet if he wishes to enter and examine [Eros's] court, let him subscribe himself as servant and give himself [to Eros].

The Jeweled Castle of the Dragon

“…He travels first by ship to the islands of Ethiopia; thenceforth he makes his way through lands inhabited only by lions and then by terrible elephants, and eventually arrives at his destination, described as the furthest part of the inhabited world. Across a river and a bridge 22 For the role of Eros in the Byzantine romances generally see Cupane 1973/1974, 2016, Christoforatou, 2011, Agapitos 2013 Velthandros and Chrysantza ll.240-739. For the text see Cupane 1995:215-305; for a translation, see Betts 1995:5-30.…”