At the beginning of the 9th c. George Syncellus began to write a universal chronicle, the second part of which was completed by the monk Theophanes. According to Byzantine tradition this monk was Theophanes the Confessor. But 10th-century sources note that this Theophanes was the grandfather or greatuncle of the emperor Constantine VII, which is historically impossible. This prompted P. Speck to invent “another Theophanes”, who lived during the second half of the 9th c. and was the editor of the (...) Chronicle of Theophanes. The hypothesis turns out to be unfounded and untenable. Also untenable and unrelated to the sources is the hypothesis of C. Zuckerman that the author of the Chronicle is another Theophanes who lived at the same time as the Confessor. This study, after an analysis of sources, proves in both cases that they are historical phantoms. (shrink)

La fouille des thermes de l'agora d'Argos a donné un sceau d'un certain Menas, stratège du thème de Céphalonie, dont le nom de famille est inconnu. Le sceau date de la fin du IXe ou du début du Xe siècle.

Suppose COVID-19 is the runaway tram in the famous moral thought experiment, known as the “Bystander at the Switch.” Consider the two differentiated responses of governments around the world to this new threat, namely the option of quarantine/lockdown and herd immunity. Can we contrast the hypothetical with the real scenario? What do the institutional decisions and strategies for dealing with the virus, in the beginning of 2020, signify in a normative moral framework? This paper investigates these possibilities in order to (...) highlight the similarities and, more importantly, the differences that exist between utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. Analysis shows that the hypothetical scenario can never be fully compared to the complex multifactorial nature of the real world. But if a comparison is attempted, the most obvious difference between the two governmental strategies is the concept of duty within the Kantian perspective. Ultimately, it is a matter of comparing freedom and life. Attributing a moral “priority ticket” to one or the other can be analysed through interpersonal aggregation. (shrink)

Der großformatige, luxuriöse Band ist die englische Fassung des im gleichen Jahr erschienen griechischen Werkes mit dem Titel: Mιϰϱογϱαφίες των Βνςαντινών Χειϱογϱάφων τον Πατϱιαϱχείον Ιεϱοσολύμων. Der Autor stellt in diesem Buch 23 illuminierte Handschriften des griechisch-orthodoxen Patriarchats in Jerusalem vor, die vom 11. bis zum 15. Jh. datieren.