 | Belisarius: Encyclopedia II - Belisarius - Belisarius in fiction
Belisarius - Belisarius in fiction
Belisarius was featured in several works of art before the 20th century. The oldest of them is the historical treatise by his very own secretary, Procopius, the Anecdota, commonly referred to as the Arcana Historia or Secret History, it is an extended attack on Belisarius and Antonia, indicting him as a love-blind fool and his wife as unfaithful and duplicitous. Later works include the 17th century poem by Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, Beliar, the John Oldmixon drama The life and history of Belisarius, who conquer'd Africa and Italy, with an account of his disgrace, the ingratitude of the Romans, and a parallel between him and a modern hero, the 18th century drama by William Philips Belasarius (1724), the novel Belisarius by John Downman (1742), the novel Bélisaire by Jean-François Marmontel (1767), and the 19th century opera, Belisario, by Gaetano Donizetti.
The life of Belisarius was the subject of the historical novel Count Belisarius (1938) by noted classical scholar Robert Graves. This book, ostensibly written from the viewpoint of the eunuch Eugenius, servant to Belisarius' wife (but actually based on the history by Belisarius' former secretary Procopius), portrays Belisarius as a solitary honorable man in a corrupt world, and paints a vivid picture of not only his startling military feats but also the colorful characters and events of his day (such as the savage Hippodrome politics of the Constantinople chariot races, which regularly escalated to open street battles between fans of opposing factions, or the intrigue between the emperor Justinian and the empress Theodora).
Belisarius appears in the alternate history novel Lest Darkness Fall (1939) by L. Sprague de Camp. There he was first the Byzantine opponent of the time traveler Martin Padway who tried to spread modern science and inventions in Gothic Italy. Eventually Belisarius became general in Padway's army and secured Italy for him.
Belisarius is also the main character of the Belisarius series of science fiction novels by Eric Flint and David Drake, an alternate history exploring what might have happened if Belisarius (and a rival) were granted knowledge of future events and technologies. The first three books of this series are available as free ebooks from the Baen Free Library.
In the General series of military science fiction novels by S.M. Stirling and David Drake, the plot draws much from the life and campaigns of Belisarius; the main character, Raj Whitehall, sets out to reunite the planet of Bellevue after the fall of galactic civilization.
Isaac Asimov, who was very familiar with Roman history, seems to have loosely based the character and name of General Bel Riose, "The Last Great General" of the late Galactic Empire in the Foundation Series, on Belisarius.
The only full biography remains The Life of Belisarius (1829 & 1848) by Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl of Stanhope.
Herman Melville playfully assigns the moniker "my Belisarius" to the Samoan Islander first encountered aboard the abandoned vessel "Parki," in his 1849 novel Mardi.
In the space simulator PC game Freespace 2, the Belisarius is a Neo-Terran corvette that is promptly destroyed by a Vasudan destroyer in the first mission.
Other related archives10th century, 1724, 1742, 1767, 17th century, 18th century, 1938, 1939, 19th century, 20th century, 505, 527, 530, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 540, 541, 542, 544, 548, 559, 562, 565, Africa, Alexander the Great, Baen Free Library, Battle of Ad Decimum, Battle of Callinicum, Battle of Dara, Battle of Ticameron, Bel Riose, Belisario, Belisario Betancur, Belisario Domínguez, Belisarius series, Bellevue, Bulgaria, Bulgars, Byzantine Empire, Carthage, Constantinople, Count Belisarius, Danube River, David Drake, December 15, Eric Flint, Euphrates, Foundation Series, Freespace 2, Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, Gaetano Donizetti, Galactic Empire, Gelimer, Herman Melville, Hilderic, Hippodrome, Illyria, Isaac Asimov, Italy, J. Paul Getty Museum, Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Baptiste Stouf, Jean-François Marmontel, John Downman, John Oldmixon, Julius Caesar, Justin I, Justinian I, L. Sprague de Camp, Leptis Magna, Lest Darkness Fall, Louis Legrand, Mardi, Mediterranean, Middle Ages, Milan, Mundus, Naples, Narses, Nika riots, North Africa, Ostrogoths, PC game, Persia, Procopius, Ravenna, Robert Graves, Roman Republic, Roman history, Roman triumph, Rome, S.M. Stirling, September 13, Sicily, Slavic, Slavs, Syria, Temple of Jerusalem, Theodora, Totila, Vandals, Western Roman Empire, Witiges, alms, alternate history, beggar, chariot racing, charity, consul, drama, galactic, injustice, magister militum, military commanders, military science fiction, novel, obolus, opera, poem, science, science fiction, secular saint, space simulator, the General series, time traveler, tsar
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Belisarius in fiction", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
