Byzantine Culture
[Image source: http://www.qub.ac.uk/ibs/skylitzes.jpg]
Byzantine scholars
preserved Greek philosophy and
literature, Roman political and legal ideas, and Christian
theology (religious
teachings).[Image source:
http://www.hyperbooks.com/images/scribe.jpg]
The Byzantines also created new
art forms and spread the
religion of the Eastern
Orthodox Church into eastern
Europe.[Image source:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Cyril-Methodius.jpg]
Although Byzantine society was divided into a hierarchy of social groups, there were
few barriers preventing a
person moving from one group to
another.[Image source:
http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE10BX.HTML]
The family was the
center of social life for most
Byzantines.[Image source:
http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE8AX.HTML]
Marriage was supported by the Church and government as a sacred institution.
[Image source: http://www.pallasart.com/pics/BM016-B.jpg]
Divorce was difficult to
obtain, and the Church
generally forbade more
than one remarriage.
[Image source http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE9DX.HTML]
Byzantine women were
expected to live partly in
seclusion, so rooms were set aside in homes and churches expressly for
their use.[Image source: http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE8CX.HTML]
Some women became well-
educatedand were influential
in the government.
[Image source: http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE8B
X.HTML]
Several women
governed as regents
(temporary rulers).
[Image source: http://www.siue.edu/COSTUMES/PLATE10CX.HTML]
A few women even
ruled outright as empresses.
[Image source:http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/europe/Theodora.jpg]
Most Byzantines made a living through, farming, herding, or working as labourers.
[Image source: http://courses.washington.edu/drama416/images/byzantine/byzantine4.jpg]
Constantinople, which was the site of a natural crossroads for trade, thrived on commerce.
[Image source: http://www.sbceo.k12.ca.us/~vms/carlton/constantinople5.jpg]
Constantinople’s busy harbour was called the Golden Horn.
The Golden Horn was
often full of ships bearing cargoes from around the
world.[Image source:
http://www.callisto.si.usherb.ca/~croisade/IMAGES/flotte.jpg]
Ships loaded with cargo sailed between the Mediterranean and Black seas.
[Image source: http://www.artsales.com/Ancient%20Ships/Mercha33.gif]
Byzantine merchants traded agricultural goods, furs, and
slaves from northern Europe . . .
[Image source: http://www.ucalgary.ca/HIST/tutor/imagemid/hanseatic.gif]
. . . for cloves and sandalwood from the East Indies, pepper, copper, and gems from India,
and Ceylon, and silk from China.
[Image source: http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/exhibit/trade/trade_routes.jpg]
The major Byzantine industry was weaving silk.
[Image source: http://www.accd.edu/pac/humaniti/1301_tc/xornelas/Mvc-006l.jpg]
Some Eastern Orthodox monks
smuggled silkworm eggs out of China
inside of hollow bamboo canes and brought
them to Constantinople.
[Image source: http://www.usc.edu/isd/locations/science/hancock/nathist/pasteur.gif]