In this introduction to modern Byzantine studies, Alexander Kazhdan seeks to understand the pressures that shaped Byzantine culture and people, including not only the powerful but also the poor, humble, and uneducated. Investigating the past in all its complexity and contradictions, the authors approaches homo byzantinus from various perspectives—position in society, relation to power, attitudes toward material environment, self-image, and image of God—to show what was distinctive about the people of the Byzantine Empire and their civilization. This volume challenges Byzantinists to ask new questions and introduce new methods and perspectives in order to understand how Byzantine society worked and how this understanding can help in appreciating the modern world.