The Exposition of Advising Chapters is the only text bequeathed to us by the pen of the Beloved Deacon. This work, which was addressed to Emperor Justinian I (527-565), was widely disseminated during the Byzantine period, utilized from the Renaissance era as a manual for teaching the Greek language in the West and in the Danubian principalities, translated into numerous languages (Bulgarian, Latin, Church Slavonic, English, French, German, etc.), and influenced more than any other Byzantine text the political thought of the peoples who came into contact with the Byzantine Empire.

This concise work clearly reveals the fundamental principles of political thought among the Byzantines in the 6th century regarding the virtues of the ideal ruler and the ideal way of exercising royal power. This volume includes the original text of the Exposition of Advising Chapters and the first rendering of the work into Modern Greek. With the introduction and extensive interpretive comments that accompany the text, the work of the Beloved Deacon is fully contextualized within the historical and political framework of his time, the issue of the dating of the work is examined from a new perspective, and the enduring value of the text becomes apparent.

Konstantinos Paidas was born in 1974. He studied Greek Philology (specialization in Byzantine and Modern Greek Philology) at the Department of Philology of the University of Crete. He continued his studies at the Department of Greek Philology of Democritus University of Thrace, where he completed his doctoral dissertation, which concerns Byzantine mirrors of rulers from the early to the middle period. He has collaborated with reputable and international scientific journals (Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Byzantion, Zbornik Radova, Ελληνικά, Σύμμεικτα, Βυζαντινά, Βυζαντιακά, Νέα Εστία, Παρνασσός, etc.) and has published studies related to Byzantine historiography and chronography, Byzantine rhetoric, the political theory of the Byzantines, Byzantine law, popular Byzantine literature, and Modern Greek literature.

He is a member of the Greek Committee of the Association Internationale des Études Byzantines, the Hellenic Paleographic Society, and the Hellenic Historical Society. In the past, he taught Byzantine Philology at the University of the Peloponnese and the University of Patras. He is an Assistant Professor of Byzantine Philology at the Department of Philology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. His independent works include: 1) The theme of Byzantine “mirrors of rulers” of the early and middle period (398-1085), Athens 2005. 2) The Byzantine “mirrors of rulers” of the later period (1254-1403), Athens 2006. 3) Introduction to Byzantine Poetry. Secular poetry, religious poetry, and hymnography, Athens 2006. 4) Two advisory texts to Emperor Leo VI the Wise, [Byzantine Literature Texts, 5], Athens 2009. 5) Pseudo-prophets, magicians, and heretics in Byzantium in the 14th century. Seven unpublished speeches by Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople, [Byzantine Literature Texts, 6], Athens 2011. 6) The Homilies on Gregory by Patriarch Callistus I of Constantinople, [Byzantine Philosophy and Theology, 1], Athens 2013. 7) Serta Byzantina. A collection of Byzantine studies, Athens 2014. 8) Beloved Deacon's Exposition of Advising Chapters. Admonitions to Emperor Justinian I, Athens 2017.