It is a wholly reasonable assumption that Theodore of Tarsus acquired his knowledge of Latin at Rome, where he spent a number of years before setting off – together with Hadrian, abbot of the monastery of Hiridanum near Naples – for England and Canterbury, where he became archbishop on his arrival in 669. On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to recover anything concerning when and where he acquired his learning in Greek, which was the language and culture of his native Cilicia. His career, and hence the period in which his education took place, spans broadly the seventh century (he was born in Tarsus c. 602 and died in Canterbury in 690); but there is insufficient evidence to state with conviction where he studied, whether in Athens or Constantinople or elsewhere, or to ascertain what course(s) of study he followed. In the absence of any direct evidence, therefore, it is necessary to attempt to reconstruct the intellectual climate of the Greek-speaking Mediterranean world of his time, extending from Constantinople and its eastern provinces to Sicily and Rome in the West. Such reconstruction will help to illuminate the circumstances of his education, even if – given the limitations of our knowledge – it is not possible to attain certainty in any respect.

One fact must be noted at the outset: namely the recognizable asymmetry in the eastern Byzantine world, between Constantinople and the outlying provinces during the period between the late sixth century and the late eighth, in the domain of literary culture, authors and texts.