Sherlock Holmes s loutnou a císařskou pečetí

The aim of this paper is to present a popular trilogy written by the contemporary Greek novelist and highly respected Byzantinist Panagiotis Agapitos (born 1959). His novels The Ebony Lute (2003), The Copper Eye (2006), and Enamel Medusa (2009) are set in ninth-century Byzantium and combine the elements of historical and crime fiction. The article focuses in particular on the character of the central protagonist of the trilogy, Leon, and offers a comparison with other great fictional detectives. It also reveals the role of byzantine sources in the writing of the trilogy, and the way in which the author worked with them in order to create an impression of authenticity with respect to the atmosphere of the period.