International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

Aleksandar V. Popović
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade, Serbia;
[e-mail]
Use of Greek Mythology in the Letters of Theophylaktos of Ohrid
Theophylaktos, the Archbishop of Ohrid (1050/60 – after 1125) at the end of the 11
th
and the 
beginning of the 12
th
century, is the author of more rhetorical, poetical and theological texts. Here, we 
will devote our attention to his collection of 135 letters, which he sent from Ohrid to various persons.
Most of Theophylactos᾿ myths originate from the works of writers who were included into the 
required reading at school. Consequently, these are, most often, some episodes from Homer᾿s and 
Hesiod᾿s epics, from tragedies, Aristophanes, Herodotus, but also from some less popular authors like 
Lucian or Plutarch. 
Mythos 
is a 
terminus technicus
without which it was not possible to imagine an 
ancient or medieval handbook of rhetoric. In the epistles of Theophylaktos 
mythos
is not simply the 
rhetorical 
ornatus
, but the situation is somewhat more complicated. Almost every reminiscence on the 
myths written down by ancient Greek authors has some hidden message. From the learned addressee 
of the letter, i.e. from its reader, he expected to solve and understand this message with ease.
The myths are very frequent when the Theophylaktos᾿ letter is sent to some person in the high 
position in society. They are almost inevitable in the epistles whose addressees are his friends and 
pupils from the years spent in Constantinople. Consequently, these are the people from whom we 
expect that they had good classical education and were familiar with the ancient Greek literature. 
Inserted into such letters, the myths represent a certain kind of a code-system among the persons 
who have good knowledge of them.
If we pay attention to the context in which the myths were being used, we can notice that they 
are numerous when Theophylaktos is speaking, or should we say complaining, about his Slavic 
flock. Then he is usually comparing himself with the mythical figures who endured great troubles 
and temptations, like Heracles and Odysseus. The negative mythical figures are usually metaphors 
for the Slavs or for the greedy tax-collectors (
praktores
), with whom he was struggling constantly.
Theophylaktos is using Greek mythology in various ways. Most often in the form of quotations, 
here and there slightly altered. Sometimes he extensively retells the whole myth. The mythological 
comparisons and allusions are also numerous. The very mentioning of some mythical personality is 
intended to evoke the whole mythical story, which carries a certain message. One of the epistles is 
especially interesting in this sense. It is striking that there is not even a trace of Christian tradition 
in it. The whole letter (
Ep
. 5, ed Gautier) is in fact setting forth the myth about Heracles᾿ servitude 
at the court of the Lydian queen Omphale. In the figure of Heracles is represented Theophylaktos 
himself, and Omphale is a metaphor for his Slavic flock.
On the ground of mythical fables which we encounter in his letters, it is possible, in certain 
measure, to reconstruct the Theophylaktos᾿ library of classical Greek writers. We have tried, setting 
forth just a part of numerous examples of use of Hellenic myths in the Theophylaktos᾿ collection, 
to represent the wide diapason of the ways in which he is using them. The fact that separates 
Thephylaktos᾿ epistles from the similar texts written by the hand of high dignitaries of Byzantine 
Church is exactly this frequent use of Greek mythology, which, because of that, we have chosen to 
devote our attention to it in this short paper.

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