Some scholars don’t like the name ‘Byzantium’. They think that it isn’t historical because no one used it in the duration of the empire. Instead, the people under the command of Constantinople called themselves ‘Roman’. This lecture asks the question: should we abolish the name ‘Byzantium’ and use ‘the east Roman empire’ in preference? The answer depends on (i) how widespread you think words like ‘Romanía’ were, (ii) how negative you think the name ‘Byzantium’ is anyway, and (iii) how much do you mind suppressing Greek identity by perpetuating the superior prestige of Romans over Greeks? For many, it’s hard to see Greeks as Romans. The reason that ‘Roman’ was preferred from the time of the first Christians is that ‘Greek’ was aggressively stigmatized as heathen. The lecture concludes that ‘Byzantium’ is ideologically sounder than the terms proposed to replace it.

BIO
A/Prof. Robert Nelson is a Principal Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He trained in art history at La Trobe University, with an MA in Baroque Art and a PhD in Hellenistic Art. Robert taught in Art, Design, and Architecture at Monash University, where he became Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies.

His most recent books include A History of Inspiration (Routledge, 2022) and A Visceral History of Bread: From First Nations Australia to Byzantium (Museum of Innocence, Mildura, 2023), as well as a collection of verse titled Eclogues to Polixeni. Robert was the art critic for The Age and the scene painter for Polixeni Papapetrou.

Event Details:
When: Thursday 29 May 2025, 7pm
Speaker: Dr Robert Nelson
Seminar: Should we reject Byzantium?
Where: The Greek Center (Mezzanine, 168 Lonsdale St, Melbourne)
Language: English