Reception Radio: Hikanatoi, by Farya Faraji
Rome forever!
We don’t talk enough about Byzantium.
The Byzantines were some of the earliest agents of Greco-Roman reception. They identified themselves as Romans, which makes perfect sense, given that their state began with a partition of the Roman empire into Western and Eastern halves in late antiquity. Byzantine culture grew into something unique, but it retained many ties to the ancient Mediterranean. We owe the preservation of many works of ancient literature, engagement with ancient philosophy, the development of Roman political structure, and more to the Byzantines.
Today’s Reception Radio entry celebrates that long-standing connection between Byzantium and ancient Rome. Farya Faraji, who’s been featured on Reception Radio before, wrote this stirring track to commemorate the Hikanatoi. These were an elite body of the Byzantine army, tasked with defending Constantinople.
Even though it’s inspired by a military group who were active between the 900s and 1100s, long after antiquity, I wanted to showcase this piece here. Hikanatoi draws attention to the Byzantines’ Roman identity, and paints Byzantium as a continuation of Rome. Faraji’s lyrics mix koine, the form of Greek spoken across the Byzantine empire, with snippets of Latin. These Latin snippets are all about the eternity of Rome and the glory of its emperor, while the koine lyrics have a more Christian tone. The instruments and melody borrow ideas from Byzantine music: listen for the chant-like koine vocals near the beginning of the piece. However, this isn’t meant to sound like anything from actual history: it goes for an epic, grandly orchestral feel that wouldn’t be out of place in a film soundtrack. It may have been written purely for fun, but it taps into some early reception of the Roman empire. It’s fascinating stuff, and it’s a worthwhile listen. Hikanatoi was actually my first exposure to Farya Faraji’s music, and sent me down a rabbit hole listening to all his compositions!
Here are the lyrics to Hikanatoi (first a rough English translation, then the original koine Greek and Latin):
(Rough) English translation:
To him who defeated great kings, Alleluia
Rome undefeated, eternal Rome, Rome capital of the world, eternal Rome
To him who defeated great kings, Alleluia
Many years to the emperor
Long live the emperor
Augustus
Rome, capital of the world
In Christ, Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans
To him who defeated great kings, Alleluia
Τῷ πατάξαντι βασιλεῖς μεγάλους άλληλούϊα
Roma Invicta
Roma Aeterna
Roma Caput Mundi
Roma Aeterna
Τῷ πατάξαντι βασιλεῖς μεγάλους άλληλούϊα
Πολαταετιτον βασιλεων
Vivat Imperator!
Augustus!
Roma Caput Mundi!
Έν Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ πιστὸς βασιλεὺς καὶ αύτοκράτωρ Ῥωμαίων
Τῷ πατάξαντι βασιλεῖς μεγάλους άλληλούϊα