Acritic Songs

The Acritic songs (Greek: Ακριτικά τραγούδια — frontiersmen songs) are the heroic or epic poetry that emerged in the Byzantine Empire probably in the 9th century. The songs celebrated the exploits of the Akrites, the frontier guards defending the eastern borders of the Byzantine Empire. The historical background was the almost continuous Byzantine-Arab conflict between the 7th and 12th centuries. Against this background several romances were produced, the most famous of which is that of Digenis Acritas, considered by some to signal the beginnings of modern Greek literature.