Introduction

Kallimachos and Chrysorroi is one of three Greek romances from the 13th to 14th century that has survived up until now[1]. It uses common themes from other Byzantium romances, like the inclusion of beautiful, lush gardens and the trope of having the main characters go through numerous trials to finally reunite and be able to express their love[2]. One of those trials that Kallimachos and Chrysorroi must face is the witch. The witch first appears in front of the king who yearns for Chrysorroi, and offers to aid him in removing Kallimachos, so that he could take Chrysorroi for himself in return for many presents given by the king[3]. As part of their plan to achieve this, the witch creates a dragon using her powers that pretends to attack her[4]. Her cries then lure in Kallimachos, who in hero fashion, comes racing in to save who he believes to be a poor, helpless old lady[5]. Once he slayed the witch’s dragon, she runs up to Kallimachos with glee, praising him for defeating the monster she had created, and offered a golden apple as a thank you[6]. Kallimachos puts the apple into his shirt, unbeknownst to the fact that the witch had cursed the apple, so that any person who put the apple “into [their] bosom [would] straightway fall dead”[7]. As he had fulfilled these requirements by putting the apple into his shirt, he collapsed just as Chrysorroi had come down to see what was going on and to greet the woman[8]. It is at this point that the king’s people come to kidnap Chrysorroi and help the witch escape[9].

In this short scene from the story, it seems as if the witch is the antagonist as she keeps two lovers apart with her unnatural powers, however, little criticism is aimed at the king, who enabled the witch to help him by offering status and wealth. In fact, in the end, it is only the witch who suffers to be burned alive, while the king remains relatively unscathed. This raises the question of whether the witch was really the monster in this story or was she simply another victim of the heroes, to greaten their status and of the king, who used her to fulfill his own desires. In that sense, the witch becomes a victim whose story has been skewed to further provoke a fear of women and to become a scapegoat meant to justify the actions of overreaching men[10]. This exhibit will explore and add onto the conceptions of what a witch truly is by comparing the witch from Kallimachos and Chrysorroi with depictions of witches in other medieval pieces from around the world, to see whether the witch is truly a monster or if, perhaps, there is something more to her story making her more of a victim than anything else.

[1] Maschio, Lecture 7, Slide 2

[2] Maschio, Lecture 7, Slide 12

[3] Betts, “Three Medieval Greek Romances”, p. 58-60

[4] Ibid.

[5] Betts, “Three Medieval Greek Romances”, p. 61-62

[6] Betts, “Three Medieval Greek Romances”, p. 62

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid

[10] Goldwyn, “Towards a Byzantine ecocriticism”, p. 76