![Digenis Akritas Athens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Digenis_Akritas_Athens.jpg)
''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the
Acritic songs
The Acritic songs ( "frontiersmen songs") are the epic poems that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably around the ninth century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akritai, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantin ...
and is often regarded as the only surviving
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
from the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. The epic details the life of the hero, Basil (Βασίλειος), whose epithet ''Digenes Akritas'' ("two-blood border lord" ) refers to his mixed
Cappadocian Greek
Cappadocian Greek ( cpg, Καππαδοκικά, Καππαδοκική Διάλεκτος), also known as Cappadocian or Asia Minor Greek, is a dialect of modern Greek heavily influenced by Turkish, originally spoken in Cappadocia (modern-day ...
and
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
blood. The first part of the epic details the lives of his parents, how they met, and how his father, an
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
, converted to Christianity after abducting and marrying Digenes' mother. The remainder of the epic discusses, often from a first-person point of view, Basil's acts of heroism on the Byzantine borders.
Manuscripts and versions
The Digenes Akrites is an extensive narrative text, although it is not in a pure epic-heroic style. No fewer than six manuscripts have been found dedicated to stories about him. The oldest two are
El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
(or E, 1867 lines) and
Grottaferrata
Grottaferrata () is a small town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, situated on the lower slopes of the Alban Hills, south east of Rome. It has grown up around the Abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, founded in 1004. Nearby comm ...
versions (or G, 3749 lines), from the names of the libraries in which the respective manuscripts are held. While the form (or forms) in which it has survived is not the product of oral composition, it has nevertheless retained a considerable number of features of its oral origins. The common core of the two versions preserved in the E and G manuscripts goes back to the twelfth century. The text of E appears to be closer to the original composition while G represents a version that is heavily marked by learned reworking. Both texts give enchanting descriptions of the life of the martial societies of the border regions of the empire, while in the figure of Digenes are concentrated the legends that had accumulated around local heroes. El Escorial version is the superior of the two in respect of the power and immediacy of the battle scenes and austerity of style. The epic descriptions of the mounted knights and battles are marked by drama, a swift pace and lively visual detail.
There exists an
Old Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...
version of ''Digenis Akritas'' under the title ''Deeds of the Brave Men of Old'' (Дѣяніе прежнихъ временъ храбрыхъ человѣкъ), which is adapted from a line in the Grottaferrata manuscript. The Slavonic version is often called the ''Devgenievo deianie'', but this title is not found in manuscripts. It contains both straightforward translation and free retelling of the Greek version in the Grottaferrata manuscript. It was produced in a bilingual Greek–
South Slavic milieu, probably in
Macedonia under the
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state.
Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...
(14th century) or its successors. It has features suggestive of
oral-formulaic composition Oral-formulaic composition is a theory that originated in the scholarly study of epic poetry and developed in the second quarter of the twentieth century. It seeks to explain two related issues:
# the process by which oral poets improvise poetry
# ...
.
Storyline
The
Arab–Byzantine wars
The Arab–Byzantine wars were a series of wars between a number of Muslim Arab dynasties and the Byzantine Empire between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. Conflict started during the initial Muslim conquests, under the expansionist Rashidun an ...
that lasted from the seventh century to the early 11th century provide the context for Byzantine heroic poetry written in
Medieval Greek
Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...
. The ''
Akritai
The ''Akritai'' ( el, , singular: ''Akritēs'', ) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the Middle East. Their exploits, ...
'' of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
of this period were a military class responsible for safeguarding the frontier regions of the imperial territory from external enemies and freebooting adventurers who operated on the fringes of the empire. The work comprises two parts.
In the first, the "Lay of the Emir", which bears more obviously the characteristics of epic poetry, an Arab
amir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
invades
Cappadocia
Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde.
According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
and carries off the daughter of a Byzantine general. The emir agrees to convert to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
for the sake of the daughter and resettles in the Byzantine Empire ( ''Romanía'', the lands of the
Ρωμηοί ''Romioi'') together with his people. The issue of their union is a son, Digenes Akritas.
The second part of the work relates the development of the young hero and his superhuman feats of bravery and strength. As a boy, he goes hunting with his father and kills two bears unarmed, strangling the first to death and breaking the second one's spine. He also tears a
hind A hind is a female deer, especially a red deer.
Places
* Hind (Sasanian province, 262-484)
* Hind and al-Hind, a Persian and Arabic name for the Indian subcontinent
* Hind (crater), a lunar impact crater
* 1897 Hind, an asteroid
Military ...
in half with his bare hands, and slays a lion in the same manner. Like his father, he carries off the daughter of another Byzantine general and then marries her; he kills a
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
; he takes on the so-called ''apelátai'' (), a group of bandits, and then defeats their three leaders in
single combat
Single combat is a duel between two single warriors which takes place in the context of a battle between two armies.
Instances of single combat are known from Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The champions were often combatants who repres ...
. No one, not even the amazingly strong female warrior Maximu, with whom he commits the sin of
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
, can match him. Having defeated all his enemies Digenes builds a luxurious palace by the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
, where he ends his days peacefully.
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
**Armenian Cypriots
**Greek Cypriots
**Maronite Cypriots
**Turkish C ...
legend has it that he grabbed hold of the
Pentadaktylos
The Kyrenia Mountains ( el, Κερύνειο Όρος; tr, Girne Dağları) is a long, narrow mountain range that runs for approximately along the northern coast of the island of Cyprus. It is primarily made of hard crystalline limestone, w ...
("Five Fingers") mountain range north of
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
in order to leap to
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. The mountain range, as the name suggests, resembles five knuckles sprouting from the ground.
The tale of Digenes continued to be read and enjoyed in later centuries, as the text survives in various versions dating to as late as the 17th century. The epic tale of Digenes Akritas corresponds in many ways to a cycle of much shorter
Acritic songs
The Acritic songs ( "frontiersmen songs") are the epic poems that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably around the ninth century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akritai, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantin ...
, particularly from Anatolia,
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, some of which survive until the present day. In the later tradition Digenes is eventually defeated only by
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, in the figure of
Thanatos
In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appe ...
/
Charon
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon (; grc, Χάρων) is a psychopomp, the ferryman of Hades, the Greek underworld. He carries the souls of those who have been given funeral rites across the rivers Acheron and Styx, which separate the wo ...
, after fierce single combat on "the marble threshing floors". Thanatos had reportedly already wrestled with
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
. The Greek-Canadian composer
Christos Hatzis
Christos Hatzis ( el, Χρήστος Χατζής; born 1953) is a Juno Award-winning Greek-Canadian composer. Many of his compositions are performed internationally, and he is a professor at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto.
Early ...
has used this text as the basis for a portion of his "Constantinople".
The story of Digenes Akritas, defeated by Death personally, was used as a basis of a Russian
bylina
A ( rus, были́на, p=bɨˈlʲinə; pl. ) is an Old Russian oral epic poem. Byliny narratives are loosely based on historical fact, but greatly embellished with fantasy or hyperbole. The word derives from the past tense of the verb '' ...
(a folk ballad) about
Anika the Warrior
Anika the Warrior (russian: Аника-воин; from gr, ἀνίκητος, "unbeatable, unbeaten") is a Bogatyr, a knight errant character of Russian fairy tales. According to a "universally known religious ballad", he was a violent and sacrile ...
.
[Эолова арфа: Антология баллады, Москва, "Высшая школа", 1989, , page 625]
Form
The ''Digenes Akritas'' is written in
Early Demotic Greek and is composed in fifteen syllable
blank verse
Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and P ...
. Rhyming occurs rarely.
The poem does not diverge from the standard
political verse
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
of popular Byzantine literature. Each line holds its own and every hemistich is carefully balanced. The poem flows, is cadential, with no cacophonies with very scarce sound repetitions.
Below is an excerpt from the translation of the Escorial manuscript, lines 32-55, by
E. M. Jeffreys (pp. 240–3):
See also
*
Georgios Grivas
Georgios Grivas ( el, Γεώργιος Γρίβας; 6 June 1897 – 27 January 1974), also known by his nickname Digenis ( el, Διγενής), was a Cypriot general in the Hellenic Army and the leader of the Organization X (1942-1949), EOKA ...
, leader Greek Cypriot War of Independence
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
Mavrogordato, John.
Digenes Akrites'. Oxford, 1956. The Grottaferrata version with parallel English translation.
*Beaton, Roderick and
David Ricks (edd.). ''Digenes Akrites: New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry''. Aldershot:
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, 1993. . Articles by
Magdalino,
Alexiou,
Jeffreys Jeffreys is a surname, which may refer to:
People: (See also the common variants Jeffries and Jefferies)
* Alec Jeffreys (born 1950), British biologist and discoverer of DNA fingerprinting
* Anne Jeffreys (1923–2017), American actress and sing ...
,
Mackridge and others.
*Beaton, Roderick. ''The Medieval Greek Romance''. London:
CUP
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
, 1996. (hardback), 0415120330 (paperback). Much improved 2nd ed. Good discussion of the ''Digenes Acrites''.
*Jeffreys, Elizabeth. ''Digenis Akritis''. Cambridge:
CUP
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
, 1998. (hardback). Escorial & Grottaferrata versions with parallel English translation.
*Bartikyan, Hrach. "Armenia and Armenians in the Byzantine Epic," in ''Digenes Akrites: New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College London)''. David Ricks (ed.) Brookfield, Vt.: Variorum, 1993 .
Further reading
Vasilief, A History of the Byzantine Empire - The Macedonian epoch (867-1081)Includes an extensive discussion of the Digenis Acrites
*Hesseling, D. C. ''Le roman de Digenis Akritas d'après le manuscrit de Madrid'', 1911–1912, 537pp.
*
Bartikyan, Hrach. "Замeтки o Византийскoм эпoce o Дигeнce Aкpитe." ''Византийский временник'', т. 25, 1964.
*Legrand, Émilie. ''Recueil de chansons populaires Grecques, Paris'', 1904, 23pp.
{{Authority control
Epic poems in Greek
Greek literature
Acritic songs