ABSTRACT
An evocative rhetorical description of Constantinople and the Church of the Holy Apostles, composed by Constantine the Rhodian in the central decades of the 10th century at the court of emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, constitutes the subject of this chapter. The chapter explores the literary space of this source, to observe the modes in which the author makes use of his own verbal artifices to convey a unique portrait of Constantinople and the church of the Holy Apostles. It focuses on Constantine the Rhodian’s poem and recalls some useful rhetorical notions, to sketch out the essential premise for the understanding of our exploration of the work. Far from being accidental, the cosmic equivalence is reaffirmed throughout Constantine the Rhodian’s work and elaborated into a complex iconic construction. Constantine the Rhodian’s poem is deeply embedded in this historical climate.
