08-07-2010, 07:19 PM
Small part of a review "The Passion of the Greeks: Christianity and the Rape of the Hellenes" by Evaggelos G. Vallianatos:
Also an interesting remark in the review on page 7:
Quote:An edict of Zeno, published in 484,
reads thus: ââ¬ÅBishops and government agents should find and punish teachers of Hellenic studies. They should not be allowed to teach, lest they corrupt their students. But,
above all, Bishops and government officials should put Greek teachers out of business,
bringing the ââ¬Ëimpietiesââ¬â¢ of Hellenism to an end. No one shall leave a gift or bequeath
anything to Greeks or to schools and other institutions supporting the ââ¬Ëimpietyââ¬â¢ of Hellenism.
All previous legislation against the ââ¬Ëerrorââ¬â¢ of the Greeks is reaffirmed.ââ¬Â
Vallianatos comments on the imperial order that brought an end to the Olympics as
follows:
Here was a millennial tradition of athletic competition for arete (courage, virtue,
equality before the law, goodness, manliness, nobility and excellence) started by
Herakles, son of Zeus and the Greeksââ¬â¢ greatest hero, and Theodosios, thinking like a
barbarian, brought it to an end.
The Olympic agon (contest) was much more than a struggle between outstanding
men for physical excellence. It was, above all, a Panhellenic honoring of the gods.
It was an extraordinary effort to rein in the Hellenesââ¬â¢ passions for war and bring
them together from all over the world for the celebration of their common culture.
The overwhelming idea behind the Olympic contest was political. The Olympic contest
was an effort to build a Panhellenic polis and commonwealth, a united Hellas
under democratic governance. The Olympic agon was also building better and
nobler human beings. And yet the Hellenesââ¬â¢ greatest athletic contest and celebration
of national identity were buried . . . by a barbarian king who knew no better than
listening to the fanaticism of his Christian advisors.
The destructive work of Theodosius against the Greeks and their culture continued
by his successors and, with real zest, by Justinian, who closed down the schools of
philosophy in Athens in 529 and ââ¬Åbrought barbarism to Greece.ââ¬Â According to John
of Ephesus, ââ¬ÅIn 546 Justinianââ¬â¢s agents discovered several illustrious and noble men,
grammarians, sophists, and doctors, who were worshiping the Greek gods. The government
of Justinian tortured, beat, flogged, and imprisoned these men who then rushed
to denounce each other. Some of them admitted their ââ¬Ëfalse beliefsââ¬â¢ and became Christians.
One of these rich and powerful men, Phokas, committed suicide in prison rather
than face Justinian, who ordered that he ââ¬Ëbe buried like a donkey.ââ¬â¢ ââ¬Â Together with the
pagan Greeks, the Jews were targeted. For instance, St. John Chysostom considered
them, long before Hitler, as a ââ¬Ådisease that had to be eradicated.ââ¬Â
Chapter 9 is titled ââ¬ÅWhat Has Athens to Do with Jerusalem?ââ¬Â The question has
been borrowed from Tertullian, a Christian fundamentalist and bigot, who represented
an extreme version of Christianity. He expressed deep suspicion and hatred of Hellenic
philosophy, which he considered the seedbed of heresy...
http://mq.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/19/1/97
Also an interesting remark in the review on page 7:
Quote:He iscritical of Polymnia Athanassiadi who, following the line of St. Gregory, sees in Julian a
fanatic man and ââ¬Åthe very incarnation of evil.ââ¬Â3
Banda Bahadur paid back the Muslims in their own coin, if only other Hindu rulers were like him...

