Acritic cycle , Athens. The names 'Digenis' or 'Akritas' (rarely found together) have long been widespread throughout the Greek-speaking world representing heroes of folk-songs that are particularly popular in
Crete,
Cyprus, and Asia Minor. Before the discovery of the manuscripts, the protagonist of the epic was only known through the
Acritic songs; narrative vernacular songs or
ballads typically in
political verse that originated from the Byzantine period and reflected episodes and characters associated with the epic-romance of Digenes Akritas. Collected primarily from 19th century oral sources, the best of those songs were found on the fringes of Asia Minor, like
Pontus, and Cyprus. In the acritic tradition, the warriors are presented as paragons of elegance and nobility (); they reside in luxurious houses typically on the edges of the Christian world, and sometimes bear names of the Byzantine aristocracy. The Byzantine acritic songs represented the remnants of an ancient epic tradition that appears to predate the epic of Digenes itself. The songs have been subjected to the transformation of up to a thousand years old oral transmission making the identification of historical events and individuals only presumptive. The similarities between the songs and the epic are likely to have arisen as both drew inspiration from a common pool of folk material. Those songs that appear closer to the surviving versions of the epic are more likely to have been influenced by it. The acritic saga appears to loosely draw on four bodies of
Greek myth;
Heracles, the
Argonauts,
Thebes, and
Troy. The fusion of
folklore with Christian tradition is also a typical motif in the works of the acritic cycle. Some recurrent elements include the exploits of particularly endowed warriors, or a speaking bird usually bringing about the desired closure to a troubling story. Fine examples of the Acritic songs that feature prominent Anatolian elements include
The Song of Armouris,
The Son of Andronikos,
Porphyris,
The Bridge of Arta, and more. The most famous episodes of Digenes' life that appear in the acritic songs include the abduction of his future bride (; "The abduction of the general's daughter"), the building of his house (; "Acritas built a castle"), his encounter with the beast (; "The dragon"), and his death (; "
Charon dressed in black"). The hero's dramatic battle with Charon, an element that features prominently in the acritic songs, does not occur earlier in the epic. Politis has interpreted this theme as a symbol of the struggle between the Christian Greek population and its Muslim masters during the Turkish conquests of Byzantines lands.
Imagery Episodes from the Acritic cycle, as well as the epic of Digenes Akritas appear on more than 100 ceramic plates that have been found in various locations, from
Contantinople and
Thessalonica, to
Athens and
Corinth; the oldest of those dating back to the 12th century. A painting on a Corinthian plate depicts Digenes wooing the Amazon Maximo, while a fragment of a plate from the
Ancient Agora of Athens depicts the sword-bearing warrior next to the dragon that has been slain with five darts (,
pente kontaria; a popular theme in the acritic ballads with no counterpart in the epic). 35 of the plates depict the hero wearing a pleated kilt, known as the
podea, and 26 have him killing the dragon. Some of those iconographic elements, like the outfit of the warrior and the heroic deeds, were also attributed to other lesser known
akritai of the folk ballads and, as such, the identification of a depicted hero as Digenes may at times be presumptive. A much more recognizable scene from the epic of Akritas is found at a relief from
saint Cathrine's in Thessalonica showing an armoured figure tearing apart the jaws of a lion; a scene reminiscent of Digenes' youth in the epic.
The epic Historical context and composition . The
Arab–Byzantine wars, the conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and the Arab-Muslim
caliphates that lasted from the 7th century to the early 11th century, provide the historical context for the Byzantine heroic poetry written in Medieval Greek. The Byzantine
Akritai of this period were a military class responsible for safeguarding the frontier regions of the imperial territory from external enemies and freebooting adventurers who operated on the fringes of the empire. Each of the surviving versions give an insight into the lives of the wealthy frontier guards of this period. The first half of the epic reflects personalities and events from 9th- and 10th-century Byzantine history, including references to aristocratic families like
Doukas and
Kinnamos, while the second half appears to be visually timeless.
Asia Minor is regarded as the origin place of the story. Based on details of geography and titulature, the general worldview as presented in the whole text is confirmed to predate the
Turkish presence in the peninsula. The original composition of Digenes Akritas, judging by its themes, including the eventual Arab-Byzantine reconciliation, may date to a later period than the
Song of Armouris (11th century), in which the features of oral epic composition also appear more marked. The most possible date of its composition is the 12th century during the revival of interest in
ancient Greek romance which, in turn, gave rise to the genre of
Byzantine romance. During this time, there seems to have been a conscious effort to employ
classical literary genres as objects of imitation (
mimesis), with the most striking revivals being that of ancient romance and epic poetry. Though the Byzantines never stopped reading
Homer, poetic composition in epic style fully resumed in the 12th century, when the
Ptochoprodromic poems to
John II represent the earliest medieval attempts to celebrate the exploits of an emperor in Homeric style. The text of
Digenes Akritas appears in line with 12th-century literary trends, bearing thematic affinities with contemporary romances and linguistic and metrical affinities with the Ptochoprodromic poems.
Storyline , Athens.|232x232px The work comprises two parts; the first part, the "Lay of the Emir", bears more obviously the characteristics of
epic poetry and narrates the story of Digenes' parents. In the historical region of
Cappadocia of the Byzantine Empire (,
Rhomanía), a certain
Doukas prince named Andronikos and his wife Anna, who already had five sons, prayed for a daughter. When their daughter Eirene was born, the soothsayers foretold that she would one day be carried away from the empire by an Arabian
emir. From a young age Eirene was put in a palace and grew surrounded by a company of guards and nursemaids. One day when her father was away at an expedition, Eirene left the palace with her maids and went for a picnic in the countryside. At the time, a young prince of Syria named Mousour who had invaded Cappadocia found the princess and her companions and carried them away. When her five brothers became aware of the incident, they left the empire in search of their sister. Outfought, the emir surrendered to the brothers and confessed his love for Eirene promising to became a Christian if they allow them to marry. Mousour was eventually baptized and, after their marriage, Eirene gave birth to their son who was named Basil (,
Basileios) Digenes Akritas. . Artwork on a silver bowl showing Digenes Akritas playing a
rota for his wife Eudocia. The second part of the work begins with the development of the young hero and his superhuman feats of bravery and strength. As a boy, Digenes goes hunting with his father and, like young Hercules, learns to defeat wild animals unarmed; he kills several animals with his bare hands, including a lion and two bears. As a young man, he takes on the so-called
apelatai (), a group of freebooting bandits –sometimes enemies of the
akritai–, and then defeats their three leaders in single combat. Growing up, Digenes falls in love and elopes with Eudocia (), the daughter of a Byzantine general and, after he manages to defeat his persecutors –Eudocia's brothers and their soldiers– he marries her. Living with his new family on the borders of the empire, he pacifies the region by hunting down bandits. His strength became notorious throughout the empire. The Byzantine emperor himself pays a visit to Digenes to witness his accomplishments and physical strength. Digenes narrates in first-person of his previous adventures, including an instance where he rescued his bride from a
dragon. In his duel with the amazingly strong
Amazon warrior Maximο, Digenes defeats his opponent, but she eventually gets him to engage with her in an
extramarital affair. Having defeated all his enemies and brought peace to the borders, Digenes builds a luxurious palace by the
Euphrates where he ends his days peacefully.
Local traditions " which was thrown in Paphos by Digenes, according to Cypriot folklore. Historically, the island of
Cyprus served the Byzantine Empire as a stronghold during the Islamic expansion and had a key role as a border between Christian and Islamic cultures. The island's geographic location turned it into an important center of production and revision of Byzantine heroic songs. Cypriot heroic folk songs have had significant impact in preserving the island's Byzantine culture over time and are today a valuable resource for scholars to obtain a better understanding of the Byzantine society and folk beliefs. Digenes, whose strength was often elevated to supernatural status, was recognized in local Cypriot and
Cretan traditions as the protector of the islands; legend has it that Digenes would grab hold of the
Pentadaktylos mountain range north of
Nicosia leaping over to
Anatolia and then to Crete in pursuit of
Saracen raiders. The peak of the Pentadaktylos ("Five Fingers") mountain range was said to represent the imprint of Digenes' hand, while his footprint was said to be visible on the
Psiloritis mountain in Crete. According to another legend, Digenes once threw a large rock across Cyprus to keep off the invading Saracen ships. The rock, that was hurled from the
Troodos mountains, landed in
Paphos at the site of
Aphrodite's birthplace, that is known to this day as
Petra Tou Romiou ("Rock of the Greek"). == Form ==