The Age of Πειθανάγκη. A Note on Remembrance and Reinvention of Ancient Words under the Komnenoi

Jahrbuch der Osterreichischen Byzantinistik. 2020. Vol. 70. P. 271–288.

Lukhovitskiy L., Zharkaya V.

The article focuses on the historical semantics of πειθανάγκη. It is a postclassical creation with the earliest attestation in Polybius and the earliest conscious usage as an oxymoron in Cicero. In Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium it occurs rarely and means “coercion” or “extortion” — a device used by those in power to force their will under pretense of giving their victims freedom of choice. This meaning became proverbial and found its way into modern dictionaries. After a long period of dormancy, the word became popular under the Komnenoi, but the shades of meaning drastically changed. The idea of half-hinted threat of violence gave place to deception or bewitchment. As a practical device, some writers placed πειθανάγκη within the domain of rhetoric, others — within that of syllogistic reasoning. In the rarest cases πειθανάγκη was associated with the highest philosophy and Platonic truth. Noteworthy, these texts are specimen of Manuel I Komnenos’ imperial propaganda. The survey ends with a discussion of the subversive πειθανάγκη as an essential characteristic of Andronikos Komnenos in Niketas Choniates’ History.

Keywords: Byzantium, историческая семантика, Византийская империя, древнегреческий язык, византийская литература, Ancient Greek, Комнины, Byzantine literature, historical semantics, Komnenoi