ABSTRACT
After the collapse of the ancient world, during the Middle Ages and even after the period addressed in this book, Athens continued to be the stuff of legend. It was believed that it had once upon a time been a unique and glorious city inhabited by philosophers and poets, the birthplace of literature and the arts. This legend 1 was fostered by the Constantinopolitan elite with its love for ancient Greek literature, but also in the collective memory of ordinary people, which is known to us mainly from Constantinople. This recollection of the greatness of classical Athens is one more testimony to the continuity between ancient culture and medieval Byzantium.
