FOTOGRAFIA DUHOVNICEASCĂ A ZILEI
Which was the Sign of the Byzantium? – Ποιό ήταν το σύμβολο του Βυζαντίου;
Romanian
…În concordanță cu documente istorice care uneori diferă în anumite detalii, în 340 î. d. Hr. Bizantinii dimpreună cu aliații lor, Atenienii erau asediați de trupele lui Filip Macedonianul, tatăl lui Alexandru cel Mare. Într-o noapte deosebit de întunecată și umedă, Filip a încercat un atac surpriză însă manevra sa a fost trădată de apariția unei stele strălucitoare pe cer. Chiar dacă documentele vechi pe care știm astăzi nu amintesc de lună, o tradiție puternică există care spune că, de fapt, în noaptea neagră a apărut semiluna cu o stea în centru. Și de atunci simbolul Bizanțului a fost steaua și semiluna.
Când Constantin cel Mare a mutat capitala Imperiului Roman la Bizantion (numele original a orașului) și la redenumit Constantinopol, a scos steaua și a pus crucea. Și acesta a fost simbolul Imperiului Bizantin (termen convențional folosit din sec. 19 pentru a descrie Imperiul Roman de limbă greacă în Evul Mediu).
Poate că este bine să menționăm că vulturul bicefal a fost, în fact, blazonul armatei imperiale în timpul dinastiei Paleologilor (cca. 1260 – 1453), ultima dinastie ce a condus Imperiul Bizantin. Vulturul bicefal a rămas în istorie asociat cu Imperiul Bizantin pentru că turci, ca și cuceritori ai acestuia, au pus simbolul pe steagul național, scoțând bineînțeles crucea și repunând steaua. Și până astăzi steagul turcesc are semiluna cu steaua în centru.
Cu toate acestea, până astăzi, în Sfântul Munte, singura parte rămasă liberă din Imperiul Bizantin, simbolul acestuia încă dăinuie.
Σύμφωνα με ιστορικά αρχεία που διαφέρουν ως προς τις λεπτομέρειες, το 340 π.Χ., οι κάτοικοι της πόλεως Βυζαντίου και οι σύμμαχοι τους οι Αθηναίοι βρίσκονταν υπό πολιορκία από τον στρατό του Φιλλίπου Β του Μακεδόνα, τον πατέρα του Μέγα Αλέξανδρου. Μια ιδιαίτερα σκοτεινή και υγρή νύκτα, ο Φίλλιπος επιχείρησε μια ξαφνική επίθεση η οποία ανατράπηκε από την εμφάνιση ενός πολύ φωτεινού φωτός στον ουρανό. Παρόλο που ακόμα και οι παλαιότερες γνωστές πηγές δεν προσδιορίζουν ότι ήταν το φεγγάρι, υπάρχει ισχυρή παράδοση ότι όντως ήταν η ημισέληνος και ένα αστέρι. Από τότε, το σύμβολο του Βυζαντίου ήταν η ημισέληνος με το αστέρι…
Όταν ο Μέγας Κωνσταντίνος μετέφερε την πρωτεύουσα της Ρωμαϊκής Αυτοκρατορίας από την Ρώμη στο Βυζάντιο (αρχικό όνομα) και το μετονόμασε σε Κωνσταντινούπολη, αφαίρεσε το αστέρι και έβαλε το Σταυρό. Και αυτό απετέλεσε το σύμβολο της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας (ο όρος χρησιμοποιήθηκε από τον 19ο αιώνα για να περιγράψει την Ελληνόφωνη Ρωμαϊκή Αυτοκρατορία του Μεσαίωνα).
Είναι καλό να αναφέρουμε ότι ο δικέφαλος αετός ήταν στην πραγματικότητα το Αυτοκρατορικό Έμβλημα της δυναστείας των Παλαιολόγων (1260-1453), που ήταν η τελευταία δυναστεία που κυβέρνησε την Βυζαντινή Αυτοκρατορία. Έτσι ο δικέφαλος αετός σχετίζεται με την ιστορία του Βυζαντίου. Οι Τούρκοι, σαν κατακτητές του, έβαλαν το αρχαίο σήμα του Βυζαντίου στην σημαία τους βγάζοντας τον σταυρό και βάζοντας το άστρο. Και μέχρι τώρα η Τούρκικη σημαία είναι το αστέρι με την ημισέληνο.
Όμως, μέχρι τώρα, στο Άγιο Όρος, το τελευταίο ελεύθερο κομμάτι της Βυζαντινής Αυτοκρατορίας, το σήμα του Βυζαντίου υπάρχει…
English
According to historic documents which vary in some of the details, in 340 BCE the Byzantines and their allies the Athenians were under siege by the troops of Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. On a particularly dark and wet night Philip attempted a surprise attack but was thwarted by the appearance of a bright light in the sky. Even when the older sources which we know today doesn’t specify the moon, a strong tradition exists which says that, in fact, in the dark night appeared the half-moon and a star. And since then the sign of the Byzantium was the star with the crescent. When the Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantion (the original name) and renamed it Constantinople, he took out the star and put the cross. And this was the sign of the Byzantine Empire (the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages). Perhaps is better to mention that the two-headed eagle was, in fact, the coat of the Imperial Arms in the Palaiologoi dynasty (c. 1260 – 1453), the last dynasty who ruled the Byzantine Empire. The two-headed eagle remained associated in the history with the Byzantium because aftel the empire’s fall, the turks, as conquerors of it, put the sign on their flag, tooking out the cross and putting back the star. And till now the turkish flag is the star with the crescent. However, till now, in the Holy Mountain, the last free part from the Byzantine Empire the sign of the Byzantium still exists.