Произходът на мотива за небесните митарства в житието на св. Василий нови
The Origin of the Motive of Aerial toll houses according to the Hagiography of St. Basil the Younger

Summary/Abstract: For Byzantium the tenth century is an epoch characterized by an obviously increasing interest about demons and about their role both in visible and invisible world. This interest is observable in many hagiological texts (such as in the lives of St. Phantine the Younger, St. Nikon Ho Metanoeite, st. Paul of Latros, or in the apocryphal Apocalypse of st. Anastasia). Remarkable expression of this phenomenon is the concept of the telonia – by virtue of their position in the air demons are able to block the upward progress of human souls after death in „toll-tax points“, each one dedicated to some deadly sin. This dangerous journey of the soul is s fully developed idea in the Life of st. Basil the Younger (c. 866– 944/952) – a text written in the second half of the same century, which still lacks a complete edition. Although the roots of the concept can be traced at least back to the second century B.C. and its evolution is an important part of the Roman and Byzantine culture, philosophy and politics.

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