Digenis Akritas

E37105

Byzantine epic poem akrites hero heroic figure medieval Greek literary character

Digenis Akritas is a celebrated Byzantine epic poem and heroic figure of the medieval Greek frontier ballad tradition, depicting the exploits of a border warrior defending the empire’s eastern frontiers.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Byzantine epic poem ⓘ akrites hero ⓘ heroic figure ⓘ medieval Greek literary character ⓘ
associatedRegion	Cappadocia ⓘ Upper Mesopotamia ⓘ surface form: Euphrates frontier
associatedWith	Byzantine military aristocracy ⓘ
centralTheme	border defense ⓘ clash between Byzantines and frontier enemies ⓘ heroic exploits ⓘ
characterType	liminal figure between cultures ⓘ
culturalContext	Byzantine Empire ⓘ medieval Greek culture ⓘ
defends	Byzantine Empire ⓘ eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire ⓘ
form	epic narrative ⓘ
genre	epic poetry ⓘ heroic ballad ⓘ
hasRole	border warrior ⓘ
heroicType	dragon-slaying hero ⓘ frontier warrior ⓘ
heroNameMeaning	of double descent ⓘ two-blooded ⓘ
heroOrigin	mixed Byzantine and Arab descent ⓘ
influenced	later Greek heroic songs ⓘ modern Greek national romanticism ⓘ
language	Medieval Greek ⓘ
literarySignificance	earliest extended epic of medieval Greek literature ⓘ major work of Byzantine vernacular literature ⓘ
motif	defense of family and homeland ⓘ duels with enemies ⓘ heroic death at the frontier ⓘ marriage to a noblewoman ⓘ
narrativePerspective	third-person epic narration ⓘ
partOfTradition	Byzantine poetry ⓘ surface form: Byzantine frontier ballad tradition medieval Greek epic tradition ⓘ
portrays	akrites (frontier guards) ⓘ
preservedIn	multiple medieval manuscripts ⓘ
relatedTo	Byzantine popular poetry ⓘ akritic songs ⓘ
setting	Arab–Byzantine wars ⓘ surface form: Byzantine eastern frontier
studiedIn	Byzantine studies ⓘ comparative epic literature ⓘ medieval Greek philology ⓘ
symbolizes	Byzantine frontier identity ⓘ heroic defense of Christendom ⓘ
timePeriod	Middle Ages ⓘ

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Medieval Greek → hasNotableText → Digenis Akritas ⓘ