Byzantium Today: Determining the Place of the Gone World

Abstract

The author of the article considers the perception of Byzantium, the assessment of its role and place in world history by the example of the analysis of historical and cultural studies, fiction and poetry, as well as assesses the contribution of Russian Byzantine studies in the formation of modern ideas about Byzantium. Historical research has long sought to find a fair place in the history of Byzantium, but the opinion of the superiority of the West is still found in the scientific literature. The study of Byzantine art helped to discover homo byzantinus and explore the everyday culture of Byzantine civilization. The article highly assesses the role of Russia in the creation of the modern image of Byzantium and notes the contribution of Russian scientists of the nineteenth – early twentieth century in the formation of ideas about Byzantine civilization. The reflection of Byzantium in European literature is considered on the example of the works of Frank Thiess, Luigi Malerba, Umberto Eco. The author also analyzes the three polar images of Byzantium created by William Butler Yeats, Konstantinos Kavafis and Josif Brodsky.