Byzantium in Early Modern Athonite Legends

Among the written sources concerning Mount Athos, various legends preserved in manuscripts dating from the 16th century and later stand out as testimonies to the ongoing process of remembering and identity formation of its monks during that period. Most of these legends were preceded by an oral phase that reached well into the Byzantine period; thus Byzantium, in its many aspects, is represented in these narratives, which are diverse in content, style and purpose. The paper will examine how Byzantium—both as a state and a society—is presented in these legends, and what factors explain the prominence of such references during the Early Modern period on Mount Athos.