The Necessity of Prophecy in Byzantine Culture: Forms and Functions of Prophecy in the Byzantine Tradition
The Necessity of Prophecy in Byzantine Culture: Forms and Functions of Prophecy in the Byzantine Tradition

Summary/Abstract: This chapter surveys the ways in which the Byzantines used prediction of the future to add value and significance to past and present events, phenomena and decisions. The central and inclusive place of prophecy - distinct from though related to divination and scientific prognostication - in Byzantine cultural life is demonstrated by the multiple duality of the modes in which it circulated: biblical and classical, prophetic and oracular, oral and written, material and verbal, rational and irrational, spontaneous and contrived. It is suggested that prophecy was not only an option but also an imperative for both the makers and the narrators of Byzantine history.

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