Summary descriptionBased on the sociological theory according to which childhood is a social construction, that is to say that the identity and status of children, and the childhood as a distinct phase of life, were created by society and its views and attitudes towards it, the first chapter (Constructing Byzantine childhood) focuses in the introductory part on the stages of life of Byzantine children from birth to early adolescence and examines the subdivided stages with its specific terminology and characteristics. The chapter will also address issues of birth, baptism, breastfeeding, and weaning as important transitional markers in the lives of Byzantine children, as described in hagiographical sources. I will examine the circumstances of birth, the time and place of baptism, the names chosen and their meaning in Byzantine mentalities, as well as the importance of godparents in the lives of children and in family relationships. The issues of breastfeeding and weaning will be explored in terms of emotional bonds between children and mothers, emphasizing the importance given by hagiographers to this practice on children's development. The second chapter (Physionomics and Personality) focuses on the description of Byzantine children in narrative sources. My goal is to examine how Byzantine authors depicted the physical and psychological characteristics of children in hagiographies. Although in most of the hagiographies considered the authors do not give specific physical descriptions of the children, it is important to know what characteristics were taken into account by the authors when talking about the children. Which child...... middle of paper ...... emotional bonds between children and parents, children and siblings and close relatives. How did Byzantine parents express affection toward their offspring and, accordingly, how did children experience family love and care? What were society's expectations regarding children's attachment to their loved ones? How did Byzantine authors describe the emotional bonds between children and parents, siblings, and other relatives? The chapter will also address the issue of tensions and conflicts between children and their families. My objective is therefore to explore the reasons which generated these conflicts, the way in which tensions are represented in hagiographic sources and how did children and parents cope with these conflicts? How did such tensions contribute to the dynamics of family relationships? The fifth chapter (Children and Religion))