In 1481, a Byzantine woman in Thessaloniki inscribed an intense, cultured love poem on the tomb of her beloved man, Loukas Spandounes. … Read the post women should express greater, wider-ranging love for men
Cyril Mango’s influential 1980 book Byzantium: The Empire of the New Rome fallaciously describes Byzantine literature and Byzantine anti-feminism. … Read the post Mango on Byzantine literature and Byzantine anti-feminism
Wary of friends, the 11th-century Byzantine nobleman Kekaumenos recognized that a man with seductive skills could readily have sex with another man’s wife. … Read the post Kekaumenos knew seductive skills more potent than emperor’s wealth
Achieving gender equality in military service requires Byzantine novels’ frank and fearless appreciation for women’s comparative advantage in combat. … Read the post recognize women’s combat advantages for military gender equality
Charikles in the Byzantine novel Drosilla and Charikles showed that men must be cunning enchanters and act like scoundrels to ignite women’s sexual desire. … Read the post Charikles redeemed Byzantine novel from romantic simplicity