2025-26

The course starts with a summary of education in Classical antiquity and in Hellenistic and Roman times.  It then deals with the fate of ancient Greek literature in early Byzantium.  The course examines the primary and secondary education system of the Byzantines, the organization of the university of Constantinople (AD 425), the Magnavra Scholē (mid 9th c.), the state Law School (mid 11th c.) and the Patriarchal School of Constantinople (12th c.).  The course both introduces students to the study of Byzantine education and acquaints them with the various literary forms that developed in th

The course deals with the main artistic trends and tendencies in painting in Orthodox lands of eastern Europe and the Middle East. At the same time, it places particular emphasis on the historical and ideological context in which the painters worked, so as to offer an iconographic interpretation of the painting produced during the Ottoman occupation.

The course deals with the political and socio-economic development of the Balkan nation-states from their foundation up to the mid 20th century. It lays particular emphasis on the military clashes, namely the Balkan Wars and the First and Second World Wars, that shaped the status quo,on the predominance and hold on power of the various Communist regimes and on matters of national identity and minorities.