The Chronographia of George the Synkellos and Theophanes

Abstract

This is an open access title distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. Further information and the complete license text can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/The terms of the CC license apply only to the original material. The use of material from other sources (indicated by a reference) such as diagrams, illustrations, photos and text samples may require further permission from the respective copyright holder.Cover illustration: Vatican City BAV Vat. gr. 1291 f. 47r. Epact table in the Vatican copy of the Handy Tables of Ptolemy. The diagram's outer ring indicates the epact for each year from the 30th year of the Diocletianic era (AD 314) to the 257th (AD 541), counted clockwise in concentric circles starting from the innermost ring. At the center is Selene, the moon, who uses her left hand to drive a chariot drawn by two bulls. The four surrounding medallions present personifications of night and day. Image courtesy of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.

A change of heart? Theophilos on his deathbed

“…Popular sovereign, hated persecutor' Byzantiaka 3, 34, (1983) images, nor yet the recovery of the Church.' 44 Through Theophilos' last action (the kissing of an icon), Theodora secured her husband's post mortem memory, 45 and signalized the end of Iconoclasm. 46 For Theodora it was important that Theophilos should have a positive image: her claim to the throne relied on it, 47 because she needed the support, not only of the iconophiles, but also of the iconoclast party, who would be unwilling to see their emperor condemned.…”