Research Catalog

Title

Constantine of Rhodes, on Constantinople and the Church of the Holy Apostles / with a new edition of the Greek text by Ioannis Vassis ; edited by Liz James.

Author

Constantine, of Rhodes, active 10th century.

Publication

Farnham, Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, c2012.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• James, Liz
• Vassis, Ioannis.

Description

xii, 250 p. : ill., map, plans; 24 cm.

Summary

Constantine of Rhodes's tenth-century poem is an account of public monuments in Constantinople and of the Church of the Holy Apostles. In the opening section of the work, Constantine describes columns and sculptures within the city, seven of which he calls 'wonders'. In the second part of the poem, he portrays the Church of the Holy Apostles, offering an account of its architecture and internal decoration, notably the mosaics, seven of which are also depicted as 'wonders'. On one level, the poem offers an account of what was visible, a sense of city topography and, in the case of the Apostoleion, a vital description of a now-lost building. But it cannot be read as a straightforward description. Rather, Constantine's work offers insights into Byzantine perceptions of works of art. The monuments Constantine decided to portray and the ways in which he chose to describe them say as much, if not more, about the social and cultural milieu in which he operated as about the actual physical appearance of the monuments themselves. Further, the poem itself, as it survives in one fifteenth-century manuscript, raises questions: is it, in its current form, a single poem or is it made up of a compilation of Constantine's writings? This book supersedes the two previous editions of the poem, both dating to 1896, and provides the first full translation into English of the text. It consists of a new Greek edition of Constantine's poem, with an introductory essay, prepared by Ioannis Vassis, and a translation by a group of scholars headed by Liz James. Liz James also contributes a commentary and an extensive discussion of the two distinct parts of the poem, the city monuments and the Church of the Holy Apostles"--P. [4] of cover.

Subject

• Art > Istanbul > Poetry
• Byzantine poetry
• Hagioi Apostoloi (Church : Istanbul, Turkey) > Poetry

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. [223]-242) and index.

Language (note)

• Poem in Ancient Greek with English translation on facing pages.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Preface -- Section I. The poem: Introduction to the Greek edition / Ioannis Vassis -- Text and translation / edition by Ioannis Vassis ; translation by Vassiliki Dimitropoulou, Liz James and Robert Jordan -- Index nominum, Index verborum notabilium -- Commentary on the translation / Liz James -- Section II. Constantine of Rhodes's poem and art history / by Liz James: The poet and the poem ; 'A partial account of the statues of the city and its high and very great columns': Constantine's account of Constantinople ; The church of the Holy Apostles: fact and fantasy, descriptions and reconstructions ; In conclusion.

ISBN

• 9781409431671 (hardcover : alk. paper)
• 1409431673 (hardcover : alk. paper)
• 9781409431688 (ebook)
• 1409431681 (ebook)

LCCN

^^2012013760

OCLC

782995897

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library