Once Upon A Time In Mystras (2021)

Mystras is especially associated with the two great personalities of the late Byzantine period, the emperor Constantine XI Palaeologus and George Gemistos Plethon. Constantine will always have a special place in the hearts of the Greek people. As for George Gemistos, it can be said that, with his lectures in Florence, he influenced the evolution of the Ecumene. Both of them influenced the period during which modern Hellenism took form.

The most suitable form that serves in my quest to express my approach to Mystras is fiction, which allows for the writing of hypothetical dialogues and description of encounters among the protagonists. I tried to imagine the thoughts of Constantine, as he made his way down from his palace to the Metropolis of Mystras, where he would be crowned emperor. I also imagined his dinner with Plethon and with his friend, George Sphrantzes, the walk the three of them took along the cobbled streets of the castle town, and even the thoughts of Constantine when he found himself on the Catalan ship that took him to Constantinople.