# 161. The politics of ignorance between theology and imperial power, with Lea Niccolai

An episode of [Byzantium & Friends](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1480963005), 22 Oct 2026, 59 min.

Audio: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/8fns26hgd83c5wbj/LeaNiccolai.mp3

A conversation with Lea Niccolai (University of Cambridge) on the challenge faced by emperors and theologians who claimed authority on the basis of their religious positions while simultaneously admitting that the truth about God lay beyond reach. How did they cope with this self-professed ignorance or deploy it as an asset in polemics, e.g., against heretics who presumed to know too much? The conversation is based on Lea's contributions to a forthcoming volume, co-edited with Giulia Maltagliati and entitled Not Knowing in Classical Antiquity: Discourses of Ignorance in the Greco-Roman World (Cambridge University Press).

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