Anna Komnena: Historia, filosofía y feminismo sui generis

María Elena García-Peláez

doi:10.22201/fesa.26832917e.2026.8.1.557

Authors

María Elena García-Peláez Panamerican University (MX) https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1002-3898

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22201/fesa.26832917e.2026.8.1.557

Keywords:

Byzantine women, George Tornikès, Alexíada, epistemic injustice, philosophical canon

Abstract

Anna Komnena, author of Alexíada, is considered the first European woman historian. Nevertheless, her name is not well known among philosophical societies, and it remains unknown to the general public. This essay explores some possible reasons why she is a subject of epistemic injustice. Among those reasons are internal causes in her work, such as the seemingly overwhelming emotional twists and turns, her possible lack of objectiveness, and externalities like being a woman; as well as, the accusations of her excessive ambition and profound hate. Finally, it is proposed by the reevaluation of the condolence letter of George Tornikès that she be taken more seriously within the philosophical canon.

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Author Biography

María Elena García-Peláez, Panamerican University

She is a research professor of the Facultad de Filosofía in Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in that university. Her master’s thesis on philosophy, from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), "Acerca de los supuestos biológicos de la Política de Aristóteles" was recipient of the Norman Sverdlin award in 2008. She earned her PhD in Filosofía in that university. She was dean of the Facultad de Filosofía in Universidad Panamericana from 2013 to 2023.
She has collaborated and led different research projects. She is author of the book El anhelo femenino de eternidad. Reproducción y embriología en las obras biológicas de Aristóteles, in the International Aristotle Studies, Verlag Karl Alber, Baden-Baden, 2026 collection; and she co-edited the book Voices and Echoes of Early Greek Philosophy in the Beiträge zur Altertumskunde, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, 2024 collection.

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