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Diogenes 7 (2019) ISSN 2054-6696 ISSN 2054-6696 DIOGENES ISSUE 7 March 2019 An Open-access and Peer-reviewed Journal of Gate to the Eastern Mediterranean (GEM) – Society for the Students at the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham – Diogenes 7 (2019) ISSN 2054-6696 General editors Flavia Vanni Jessica Varsallona Specialist editors Michael Burling Alessandro Carabia Christina Christoforatou Laura Marie Clark Alex M Feldman Marianna Georgouli Vicky Kaisidou Francisco Lopez-Santos Kornberger Stephanie Novasio Joseph Parsonage Anastasia Tantarouda-Papaspyrou Maria Vrij Lauren Wainwright Diogenes ISSN 2054-6696 Birmingham: Gate to the Eastern Mediterranean (GEM), Society for the Students at the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, University of Birmingham Diogenes 7 (2019) ISSN 2054-6696 Table of Contents Articles Reforming the Image of the Philosopher: The Emperor Julian in the Historia Ecclesiatica of Socrates of Constantinople Evan Andersson……………………………………………………………………………………... 2 A historiographical examination of the Byzantine family system under Alexios I Komnenos James Cogbill……………………………………………………………………………………… 17 The silk industry of Middle Byzantine Boeotia Elie de Rosen………………………………………………………………………………………. 30 Supplementum Codex Zacynthius Project: Transcribing the oldest catena manuscript of the Greek New Testament Gavriil Ioannis Boutziopoulos…………………………..………………………………………….49 Excavations at the Athenian Agora. Season 2018 Panagiota Mantouvalou……………………………………………………………………………. 54 Cappadocia in Context 2018. Tülay Yeşiltaş...............................................………………………………………………………..56 A week in the Eternal City Alessandro Carabia……………………………...…………………………………………………..61 The Promotion of Saint Ambrogio in Rienna (Montecorvino Rovella, SA): Results from the Second Research Campaign Margherita Gorini…………………………...………………………………………………………64 Fieldwork Report on the Study of Late Antique Pottery from Dion, Greece Kyriakos Fragkoulis…………………………..…………………………………………………….67 From ‘bastardised language’ into the language of daily life and multiculturalism. My experience in the Greko summer school (Bova Marina, Italy, 30th of August - 5th of September 2018. Francisco Lopez-Santos Kornberger ………………………………………………………………70 This page intentionally left blank 1 Diogenes 7 (2019) ISSN 2054-6696 Reforming the Image of the Philosopher: The Emperor Julian in the Historia Ecclesiatica of Socrates of Constantinople Evan Andersson PhD Student in History, University of California: Santa Barbara Abstract In his Historia Ecclesiastica, Socrates places great emphasis on the role of the Roman Emperors in history and, as a result, comes to pass judgment on their actions. In contrast to his fellow Church historians, Socrates avoids using sectarian differences as a justification for his disapproval of the actions of bad emperors, particularly in his critiques of Emperor Julian. Julian's treatment in the Church history is unusual as Socrates spares Julian direct criticisms of his Paganism but is instead critical of his supposed status as a philosopher. The purpose behind doing this is ultimately to disqualify Julian from being considered a philosopher at all, as part of a larger battle for the Greco- Roman intellectual tradition. Keywords: Philosophy, Historiography, Emperor Julian, Socrates of Constantinople, Imperial Identity, Christianity. Introduction and Historiography In his Historia Ecclesiastica (HE), Socrates of Constantinople charts the fortunes of the Church from the time of Emperor Constantine to the reign of Theodosius II in 439 CE and is a continuation of the first Church history written by Eusebius of Caesarea. Socrates places great emphasis on the role of the Roman Emperors in his history. He explains this decision stating that "since the time the Emperors became Christian, the affairs of the Church have depended upon them."1 As a result, Socrates comes to pass judgment on the actions of not just religious figures, but also of the Emperors themselves. Like other Church historians, Socrates praises the legacy of some Emperors, like Constantine and the two Theodosii, but is more critical of others, like Julian and Valens. However, unlike his contemporaries, Socrates avoids using his confessional differences with his subjects as a justification for his disapproval, particularly in his critiques of Emperor Julian. The Emperor's treatment in the 1 Socrates, 5.pr. My translation henceforth. 2 Diogenes 7 (2019) ISSN 2054-6696 HE is surprising and gives a sense of ambivalence on the part of the author towards his subject. Socrates eschews direct criticisms of Julian's Paganism but is critical of his supposed status as a philosopher. In this article, I will first explore how Socrates depicts the Emperor Julian by determining the aspects of Julian's reign and personality Socrates criticizes. Next, I will look to investigate Socrates' attitude towards philosophy, as well as the attitudes of those who came before him and those who were his contemporaries. It will be discovered that Socrates admired philosophy and the philosophers whom he felt to be exemplars of the pursuit. Finally, I shall turn to identify what message about philosophy Socrates desired to convey to his readers, and how his portrayal of Julian served this purpose. This will not be a study of the historical Emperor Julian, rather it will investigate the Julian who lives within the pages of Socrates' HE. By doing this, I will determine what Socrates' role was in the larger cultural contest for the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition. Flavius Claudius Julianus Augustus, who reigned first as Caesar then as Augustus, from 355 to 363,2 has received a great deal of focus in modern historiography. Most recently H.C. Teitler's The Last Pagan Emperor (2017) and Susanna Elm's Sons of Hellenism, Fathers of the Church (2012) investigate the relationship between Julian and his Christian subjects. Great biographies abound such as Polymnia Athanassiadi's Julian and Hellenism (1981), Glen Bowersock's Julian the Apostate (1978) and Robert Browning's The Emperor Julian (1975). This is, of course, neglecting those works outside the English language historiography. Monographs by Rosen (2006), Bringmann (2004), and Bidez (1930) are only the most prominent of these. Socrates, on the other hand, has very little ink devoted to him. As far as full treatments go, there is only one: Theresa Urbainczyk's Socrates of Constantinople (1997). The lack of work on Socrates is particularly surprising given the vibrancy of the nested intellectual and political thought within the HE. Socrates is often utilized as a witness but is rarely afforded his own investigation. Especially in the categories of intellectual culture and religion, Socrates' philosophical affinities are often noted, but never scrutinized. The most researchers have investigated regarding Socrates' characterization of Julian is the account's veracity,3 which is certainly an important element to determine, but doesn't answer the question which immediately follows; why does Socrates write what he does about Julian? This article will endeavour to answer this question. "Reckless, Vainglorious, and Easily Detestable" 2 Amm. Marc. 15.8, 22.2, 25.3. 3 David F. Buck, “Socrates Scholasticus on Julian the Apostate,” Byzantion 73, no. 2 (2003): 301-18. 3 Diogenes 7 (2019) ISSN 2054-6696 The Emperor Julian was an easy target for the barbs of Church historians. He was generally reviled by Christians for his conversion to Paganism, hence his contumelious epithet "the Apostate."4 Christians also looked unfavorably upon this last Pagan Emperor for the measures he took to reverse the growing power and influence of Christianity in government and society. Despite this, Julian is acknowledged by Socrates of Constantinople to have taken some laudatory actions, though the other Church historians of the time do not afford the man such a benign treatment. Socrates notes that Julian was a clever politician. When he was Caesar in the West, Julian was under the watch of his military advisors, men chosen by his cousin the senior Emperor Constantius II. Socrates reports that, "Ever since those men took this authority, they regarded their duties rather lazily and as a result the barbarians became stronger. Julian allowed the generals to enjoy their softness and drinking, but made his troops more zealous, by offering a determined reward to whomever kills a barbarian."5 Once he became sole Augustus, Julian immediately "began to look for some way he might get on well with the masses and garner their support."6 Socrates describes the way in which the Emperor secured that support by improving the station of those in Constantinople who were open to supporting him. Though he does not explicitly praise the Emperor for this, Socrates tacitly recognizes that the Emperor was capable of being politically savvy. Though he recognizes some good, Socrates does explicitly criticize the Emperor on a number of occasions. Near the end of book three of the HE, Socrates details the circumstances of Emperor Julian's death in Persian territory. In this passage, Socrates neatly summarizes the aspects of the Emperor's personality which led to his undoing: "These facts indeed did not go unnoticed, that by his temperament he was rendered reckless, by his erudition he was rendered vainglorious, and by his feigned clemency he was rendered easily detestable."7 These three vices are at the core of Socrates' critique of the Emperor and are present throughout the HE. Socrates makes sure to impress
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