Events
News
Events via Email
Home > News and Events > “Mystras: Identities and Perspectives”.
“Mystras: Identities and Perspectives”.
May 20, 2010 9:00
ASCSA, Cotsen Hall, 9 Anapiron Polemou, 106 76 Athens
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
Presented by
Gennadius Library; Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Post-bizantini di Venezia; Research Institute of Byzantine Culture
The kastron of Mystras, on a hill west of Sparta at the foot of mount Taygetos, built by Guillaume II Villehardouin, was transferred to the Byzantines in 1262 after the battle of Pelagonia. Looking for security, the inhabitants of Lakedaimon built a city under the walls of the castle. The city-kastron of Mystras became the seat of the Despotate of Moreas from 1348 to 1460, when it was occupied by the Ottomans.
At this remote place of the Byzantine soil, in the context of the expected tragic end of Byzantium, Mystras flourished as a great centre of letters and arts. In a period of constant military conflicts and intense political contacts, Mystras was continuously looking towards Constantinople from which it received political power, and spiritual and artistic tradition. At the same time, it absorbed numerous cultural elements from the West, and turned to antiquity for a new identity.
The conference attempts to throw light on the three sides of the cultural orientation of Mystras, namely, Constantinople, West and ancient Sparta. This thematic approach will project the complexity of the cultural synthesis achieved at Mystras, the charm of which inspired Goethe the castle in Faust.