Where the Line is Drawn: Trauma and Narrative in the Histories of Agathias (original) (raw)

This paper proposes a radical departure from previous studies of Agathias, an under-studied Late Antique author who offers us a unique perspective of the 6th century when we consider the milieu in which he wrote his Histories. Agathias, this paper argues, exhibited signs of trauma from the news of constant warfare in Italy and the Caucasus and the barbarian raids on Constantinople, all of which he tried to process and resolve by creating a narrative, which was filled with inconsistencies and moralizing tangents. Agathias’ Histories is more than his impartial and accurate retelling of events; it is his attempt to make sense of his trauma with the written word