alexISS wrote:And I spoke about preservation, not translation
Again more from Vryonis who actually has expertise in this area:
http://archaeology.kiev.ua/pub/vryonis.htm
"In order to comprehend the nature of Byzantium as a world civilization we must broadly sketch the map of its diffusion and the processes by which its civilization expanded and influenced other societies and peoples. The culture of Byzantium was hybrid in its development, being formed about the axes of ancient Greek language, literature, philosophy, science, medicine, art, and education. Its politico-legal institutions represent a fusion of Hellenistic and Roman ingredients. The second element, and it remains fundamental, was Judaic monotheism, which formed the basis of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek tradition was maintained in Byzantium from the time that its capital was built in Constantinople in 324-330 until the conquest of that city by the Ottomans in 1453. The heritage of Greek learning and letters was perpetuated through a system of education that emerged from the Greek world in late antiquity and which was crystallized in Alexandria. This educational system was spread throughout the empire, and the representatives of local urban, provincial, and central government were largely trained in this system. The school curriculum thus guaranteed the survival of the kernel of the Greek authors and texts: Homer, many of the lyric poets, the dramatists, historians, philosophers, mathematicians, physicians, and scientists. Only that part of the classical heritage survived which had been incorporated into the school textbooks. This remained the basis of education in Byzantium until the Ottoman conquest."