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John Lydus and the Roman Past: Antiquarianism and Politics in the Age of Justinian
John Lydus and the Roman Past Antiquarianism and Politics in the Age of Justinian Author:Michael Maas John Lydus, a retired official at Justinian's court in the mid-6th century, is an important, neglected source for the study of the fate of the classical legacy in the newly Christianized Roman empire, Byzantium.Examining his work On Portents, On the Months and On Magistracies, Michael Maas establishes Lydus as a credible witness to... more » the political and cultural milieu in the age of Justinian--at the moment when the state re-historicized itself and its Roman legacy in Christian terms. Within a few generations, addressing antiquity from a non-Christian viewpoint would have been unthinkable. From his place on the edge of this shifting paradigm, Lydus' writings help us to see the emergence of medieval Byzantium through Roman eyes.« less