Demetrios Chloros ( el, Δημήτριος Χλωρός) was a 14th-century Byzantine

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, astrologer,

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

and sorcerer who was tried for possessing

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

books. Chloros was a ''

protonotarios The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

'', or secretary of the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

, and former ''

kanstresios The ''kanstresios'' ( el, κανστρήσιος) was an official of the Orthodox patriarchate of Constantinople during the Byzantine Empire. Ranked between a ''protonotarios'' and a ''referendarios'', he supervised offerings. Those who have held ...

'', supervisor of offerings. He was put on trial by the

patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

because he had transcribed texts with content pertaining to magical practices, including the ''Coeranis'', a portion or all of the ''

Cyranides The ''Cyranides'' (also ''Kyranides'' or ''Kiranides'') is a compilation of magico-medical works in Greek first put together in the 4th century. Latin and Arabic translations also exists. It has been described as a "farrago" and a ''texte vivant ...

'', and a notebook of invocations and spells he had compiled himself, suggesting he had access to various

grimoires A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...

. Chloros defended the texts on the basis of their medical value. Other physicians who were witnesses against him called Chloros a disgrace to the art of medicine and said he insulted

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

and

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

by regarding them as magicians.Brian P. Copenhaver, "Magic," in ''The Cambridge History of Science'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006), vol. 3, p. 52
online
and full tex
downloadable.
Chloros was subsequently sentenced to live as a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

under surveillance in the monastery of the Peribleptos. Chloros is known to have vacillated between Orthodoxy and

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The synodal decree that condemned him gives equal weight to recounting his ecclesiastic career and his movements between

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

and the

papal court The papal household or pontifical household (usually not capitalized in the media and other nonofficial use, ), called until 1968 the Papal Court (''Aula Pontificia''), consists of dignitaries who assist the pope in carrying out particular ceremoni ...

. Since other churchmen advertised themselves as knowledgeable occult practitioners, the mere possession of magic texts is not likely to have been the true or primary cause of action against him.Mavroudi, "Occult Science and Society in Byzantium," p 47. Evidence in a later case against a physician named Gabrielopoulos included the discovery at his home of a book of spells by Chloros and the ''Cyranides''. Chloros's notebook was said to be "filled with all manner of impiety including incantations, chants, and names of demons."Greenfield, "A Contribution to the Study of Paleologan Magic," p. 130, citing ''MM'' I, 543–44, no. 292.

Selected bibliography

*Copenhaver, Brian P. "Magic." In ''The Cambridge History of Science''. Cambridge University Press, 2006, vol. 3, limited previe
online
Full tex
downloadable.
*Greenfield, Richard P.H. "A Contribution to the Study of Paleologan Magic." p. 151, full tex
downloadable.
Also published in ''The Occult Sciences in Byzantium'' (La Pomme d'or, 2006), limited previe
online.
*Mavroudi, Maria. "Occult Science and Society in Byzantium: Considerations for Future Research." University of California, Berkeley. Full tex
downloadable.
Also published in ''The Occult Sciences in Byzantium'' (La Pomme d'or, 2006).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chloros, Demetrios 14th-century Byzantine physicians Byzantine clergy Prothonotaries Byzantine astrologers 14th-century Byzantine writers