The Elite Learning in Byzantium

The Early Byzantium exudes a Christian-Hellenistic duality. The mythologically decorated silverware of Byzantium sets a trap for us, the one of the pagan subject – only to force us to later acknowledge that the nymphs and satyrs were replaced in by revelers of a prosperous proto-Christian world in which the Byzantine elites banqueted and triumphed like the Greek and Roman gods themselves.

The ruling classes of Byzantium were defined by paideia-learning. The young Byzantines learned science in the pagan Hellenistic way based on nature, on things, on the universe, which allowed them to “situate themselves” in the world. They also learned using Graeco-Roman and Christian texts. These “classical” texts not only that offered support for their thought, but also carried a long tradition, and eventually integrated the elite children in a culture shared both with their ancestors and with their contemporaries.

Dionysos Entering the Early Byzantium Dining Scene, Bowl with Dionysiac Procession (Old Dionysos and Ariadne, Male Dancer) © The Dumbarton Oaks

While Christianity prevailed in the Byzantine empire, the Hellenistic influence was also strong to the point of transcending regimes, ideologies and political upheavals. Excerpted and annotated the Graeco-Roman texts were used to erect the solid foundation of that constituted the unique Byzantine culture. The thread of this classical tradition is perceptible in the Byzantine collection of silverware sets of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum.

Brief reminders of the classical texts and their historical development allowed art historians to decode the meaning and role of the mythologically inspired silverware, such as the Bowl with a Dionysiac Procession. The mythological aesthetics of early Byzantine silver-works are rarely ritualistic, reflecting instead the Byzantine elites’ sophistication and their cultural attachment to the myths and texts defining the Graeco-Roman social values system.1This 5th century AC silver bowl adopted neutral revelry motifs, voluntarily reducing the distance between a recently Christianized society and classical Greek culture.

 

Tertullian’s Apology for the Christians 

“… now I see the enormous entertainments, with new names from their extravagance ; …; and I see mines of silver melted into dishes, … I see also theatres in abundance, and all indulgingly covered over.”

 

Going back in the history of teaching in the West, we encounter Greek children learning the Homeric poems by heart and then preparing themselves, by rhetorical training, for the eloquence of the tribune. In various forms, the learning of the ancient Greece stayed with us, while being extended to new conceptions of the world, whether linked to Christianity, such as scholasticism, or characteristics of the modern world, such as scientific thought.

In modern times, the stakes of teaching the “Classics” have continued to shift, but throughout the history of pedagogy in the early Byzantium, the classical texts had an overwhelming position. Mirroring the teachings they received, the elites of the Byzantine empire surrounded themselves with household items underlining the conflicts between their proto-Christian life and their mostly pagan education.

The bishops’ homilies continuously spoke against the duality magic for more than seven centuries until the Council in Trullo (691-692AC), gaining ground slowly but steadily.2 At a first glance the Dyonisian engravings on the Dumbarton Oaks silver bowl seem to support the the thesis of a ritual use. Yet, numerous elements support the bowl’s ornamental value.

The imagery honored the Dionysian festivals, traditionally associated with the immutable spring revival and a trade facilitating change in the Mediterranean winds. Presumably, the spring’s increased food stability encouraged the Byzantines to overlook the patristic fathers’ vehement condemnation of banquets.3, and maintain the Greek festivals’ social traditions of food distribution accompanied by music, dance and theatrical performances.4,5

Technically, the repoussé and chasing require thin walls, creating fragile objects. Indeed, the bowl’s lower register is damaged, preserving only few fragments of panthers and leaves. Lacking a double wall, the bowl presumably held grapes, and enhanced the owner’s financial security.6

Given the gold coinage stability during the early Byzantine Empire, the elites also acquired silver objects to display, or to melt if needed.7,8

The well-crafted main register showcases Dionysos’ biography from his youth to his marriage, and his old age spent in the arms of Ariadne, his wife. The theme of Dionysos’ spiritual evolution betrays a Christian influence.9 The Dionysian procession is altered; gone are the Hellenistic satyrs, masks, flutes, and tambourines.10

The female figures are depicted dancing, reclining partially nude, and serving wine. Horse-pulled chariots and panthers bring in the partygoers. Undeniably, the decoration visually integrates the mythological Dionysian theme with the Byzantine festivities, replacing the nymphs, and ecstatic maenads with banquet or triumph revelers.

The association of dance with intimacy reinforces the Christian prejudice against non-gendered spaces and stigmatizes artists as sexually available.13 The tension between Hellenistic and self-controlled Christian ideals also emerges in the stumbling Hercules and the dancing man holding grapes.14 Resembling a drunk Silenus, the young dancer advances towards Dionysus. His torso twisted in a feminine Salome-like pose suggests an erotic play.

Bowl with Dionysiac Procession
(Male Dancer holding grapes)
© The Dumbarton Oaks

Metaphorically, the bowl exposes the banquets’ ability to efface the emerging Christian conventions and blur the gender boundaries. The profane reality of the Byzantine life, whose abundant manifestations could not easily disappear thwarted for centuries the imperial Christianization plans ultimately spawning a Christian society deeply rooted in the classical culture.

  1. .Ihor Ševčenko, “ A Shadow Outline of Virtue: The Classical Heritage of Greek Christian Literature (Second to Seventh Century),” in Age of Spirituality: A Christian Literature (Second to Seventh Century),” in Age of Spirituality: A Symposium, ed. Kurt Weitzmann, (New York: Princeton University Press and The Metropolitan Museum, 1980), 55-56,

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/age_of_spirituality_a_symposiu

  1. .Lionel Casson, “Speed under Sail of Ancient Ships,” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 82 (1951): 147, https://doi:10.2307/283426 .
  1. John Chrysostom, “Homily 48 on Mathew,” in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 10, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. George Prevost, rev. M.B. Riddle. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888), rev. and ed. Kevin Knight, New Advent. http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200148.htm .
  1. N. Belknap, ”The Social Value of Dionysiac Ritual,” Revue De L’histoire Des Religions 106 (1932): 575-580.
  2. Eric Csapo, “The Dionysian Parade and the Poetics of Plenitude,” The Department of Greek and Latin at University College London Housman Lectures: 1-5, February 20, 2013, https://www.ucl.ac.uk/classics/sites/classics/files/housman.csapo_.2013.pdf .
  1. Katerina Panagopoulou, “Between Necessity and Extravagance: Silver as a Commodity in the Hellenistic Period,” The Annual of the British School at Athens 102 (2007): 315-318.
  1. Peter Guest, “The Production, Supply and Use of Late Roman and Early Byzantine Copper Coinage in the Eastern Empire,” The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-) 172 (2012): 107.
  2. “The History of Byzantine coinage,“ Dumbarton Oaks, accessed July 22, 2021, https://www.doaks.org/visit/museum/exhibitions/past/coinage-of-the-byzantine-empire/online/Introduction/Frame_Introduction.html . 
  1. David Parrish, “A Mythological Theme in the Decoration of Late Roman Dining Rooms: Dionysos and His Circle,” Revue Archéologique, no. 2 (1995): 325.
  2. “The Mildenhall Bacchic platter,” British Museum, accessed July 22, 2021, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1946-1007-1 .
  3. David Parrish, “A Mythological Theme in the Decoration of Late Roman Dining Rooms: Dionysos and His Circle,” Revue Archéologique, no.2 (1995): 310-311, 316-322, 332.
  4. Orgu Dalgic, “The Triumph of Dionysos in Constantinople: A Late Fifth-Century Mosaic in Context,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 69 (2015): 17-18.
  5. Ruth Webb, “Salome’s Sisters. The Rhetoric and Realities of Dance in Late Antiquity and Byzantium,” in Women, men, and eunuchs : gender in Byzantium, Liz James, (London ; New York : Routledge, 1997) 122-123, 127, 136-137.
  6. “Bowl with Dionysiac Procession,” Dumbarton Oaks, accessed July 20, 2021, http://museum.doaks.org/objects-1/info/36036 .

Acknowlegments

The author thanks Dr. McGuire and Dr. Lodwick of University of California at Santa Cruz for feedback she received on her research.

References: 

  1. Belknap, G. N. “The Social Value of Dionysiac Ritual.” Revue De L’histoire Des Religions 106 (1932): 575-91. Accessed July 19, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23664842 .
  1. British Museum. “The Mildenhall Bacchic platter.” Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_1946-1007-1 .
  1. Casson, Lionel. “Speed under Sail of Ancient Ships.” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 82 (1951): 136-48. https://doi:10.2307/283426 .
  2. Chrysostom, John. “Homily 48 Mathew” In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 10. Edited by Philip Schaff. Translated by George Prevost and revised by M.B. Riddle. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888. Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight, Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/200148.htm .
  1. Csapo, Eric. “The Dionysian Parade and the Poetics of Plenitude.” The Department of Greek and Latin at University College London Housman Lectures, February 20, 2013. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/classics/sites/classics/files/housman.csapo_.2013.pdf .
  2. Dalgic, Orgu. “The Triumph of Dionysos in Constantinople: A Late Fifth-Century Mosaic in Context.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 69 (2015): 15-48. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26497708 .
  1. Dumbarton Oaks. “Bowl with Dionysiac Procession.” Accessed July 20, 2021. http://museum.doaks.org/objects-1/info/36036 .
  2. Dumbarton Oaks. “The History of Byzantine coinage.“ Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.doaks.org/visit/museum/exhibitions/past/coinage-of-the-byzantine-empire/online/Introduction/Frame_Introduction.html . 
  1. Guest, Peter. “The Production, Supply and Use of Late Roman and Early Byzantine Copper Coinage in the Eastern Empire.” The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-) 172 (2012): 105-131. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42678933 .  
  1. Panagopoulou, Katerina. “Between Necessity and Extravagance: Silver as a Commodity in the Hellenistic Period.” The Annual of the British School at Athens 102 (2007): 315-343. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30245253 .
  1. Parrish, David. “A Mythological Theme in the Decoration of Late Roman Dining Rooms: Dionysos and His Circle.” Revue Archéologique, no. 2 (1995): 307-32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41737826 .
  2. Ševčenko, Ihor. “ A Shadow Outline of Virtue: The Classical Heritage of Greek Christian Literature (Second to Seventh Century).” In Age of Spirituality: A Symposium, edited by Kurt Weitzmann, 53-74. New York: Princeton University Press and The Metropolitan Museum, 1980 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/age_of_spirituality_a_symposiu m .
  1. “Chapter VI: That The Romans Are Mighty Praisers of the Antiquity of Their Religion, and Yet Admit of Novelties into It Everyday.” In The Apology of Tertullian, 20-24. Vol. 31 of The Ancient & Modern Library of Theological Literature. 6th edition. Translated by William M Reeve. London and Sydney: Newberry House, 1889. https://www.tertullian.org/articles/reeve_apology.htm . 
  1. Webb, Ruth. “Salome’s Sisters. The Rhetoric and Realities of Dance in Late Antiquity and Byzantium.” In Women, men, and eunuchs : gender in Byzantium, edited by Liz James, 119-148. London, New York : Routledge, 1997.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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