South Coast Senior College Class- Byzantium — The 1,100-Year Empire That Time Forgot with Louis Salome.

Founded in 324, Byzantium is also known as the Byzantine Empire, the Roman Empire in the East, a Greek Empire, and the heart of Orthodox Christianity. Byzantium began in antiquity, stretched through all thousand years of the Middle Ages, and ended where it touched the Renaissance. Byzantium sat between the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Persian and Arab Empires, directly under the Russian Empire, and among the contentious European powers that followed the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium’s queen city of Constantinople in 1453. Rich in literary and artistic innovation (think mosaics and architectural treasures), and brutal in devising singular methods of warfare (Greek Fire), the Byzantines were unmatched in commerce. Among its powerful leaders, Byzantium also had its feminist moments. This class will help us understand how and why the West evolved as it has. Instructed by Lou Salome, Lou is the author of “Violence, Veils, and Bloodlines: Reporting from War Zones in Europe, Asia, and Africa”. He earned a BS from the College of the Holy Cross and an MA from Boston College. He is a retired COX Newspapers reporter who has covered the conflicts in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. Online registration is required. To do this, please visit: https://south-coast-senior-college.coursestorm.com or call South Coast Senior College at 274-3105. Wednesday, October 11, 18, & 25 12:00-2:00 PM. The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library is located at 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport. For further information, please call 967-2778 or visit our website at www.graveslibrary.org.