Day 2

The second day was dedicated to the early period of the Byzantine Empire. Professor Alexandros Alexakis (University of Ioannina) spoke about the historian and poet Agathias, the contemporary of Procopius of Caesarea, and his way of conceiving history as an antidote to oblivion, closely related to memory, but also to human virtue, in his historical writings and in epigrams.

Dr. Antonio Pio di Cosmo (Catholic University of Cuyo & ISACCL) presented the communication "The memory of the nails of the crucifixion, Helena, and the water. The Christian God and the forces of nature", in which he explored the complex relationship between Christianity and water, seen as an unstable force and metaphor for evil in the episode of the discovery of the cross by Saint Helena. Then followed the section of young researchers: MA Enver Rizvo (University of Sarajevo) and Dr. Dragoș Mîrșanu (Center for Patristic Studies, Archbishopric of Iași) presented their research topics. Enver Rizvo presented the historiographical perspectives of Julian the Apostate's role in creating the identity of the Byzantine Empire, and Dragoș Mârsanu explored the way and motives patriarch Photius comments on the historian Philostorgius in "The Library."