Rediscover with me how our spiritual and cultural ancestors lived more than a thousand years ago in Byzantium - an almost forgotten empire that reaffirmed the power of the feminine, preserved the splendor of antiquity, and endured for nearly 12 centuries in the face of relentless onslaughts by both the West and the East.
Not to mention the atmosphere of cultural revolution, political intrigue and sexual power play.
You could be forgiven for thinking that the Roman Empire fell with Nero, 1600 years ago. And that afterwards Holiness and Piety reigned? Forget it.
The Eastern Roman Empire, more commonly known as Byzantium, spanned the 4th to the 15th centuries. It is the 'missing link' in the chain which ties our modern world to the worlds of the ancient pagans and early Christians.
For the moment this site focuses mostly on the late 9th century. It is one of the largely forgotten turning points in European history where, in the space of a few decades (see my novel page):
- the Slavic tribes emerged from paganism and illiteracy;
- three great women turned back the tide of chauvinism known as Iconoclasm - a paradigm shift in the development of religious thought in the Church;
- a Macedonian/Armenian peasant, his Greek/Viking bride and the young Emperor Michael founded one of the longest-lived and most stable imperial dynasties of all time (yes, that's right, all three!)
- the Moslem invasion of Europe from the East was averted in a big way in Anatolia (though as we all know, this 'only' lasted until 1453 - and probably would have lasted a great deal longer if Constantinople had not been crippled by the Fourth Crusade in 1204)
- and the foundation on which the Church was built split irrevocably through the Pope trying to promote his primacy through falsehood and religious fascism (the latter included misinterpreting the agreed doctrine of the Holy Trinity but was not the primary reason, as is popularly believed, for the break).
So much was different from what we take for granted today that I believe that telling the magnificent tales of this largely overlooked part of world history can help us to understand some of where we are in modern times.
Even more, the tales of suffering and great achievement, mixed with loss, love, murder and survival, over a background of religion and repressed sexuality - in short, power - are fascinating in their own right.
