"This volume presents selected Lives of holy men who lived on Mount Athos, the most famous Byzantine center of monasticism; it was often termed simply Hagion Oros, or the Holy Mountain. These vitae provide insights both into the history of monastic development on Athos between the ninth and fifteenth centuries, and the varieties of monastic life practiced communally in large monasteries as well as individually in huts and caves. We have chosen six vitae of five different saints, who were celebrated for their ascetic practices, gift of foresight and clairvoyance, and, in most cases, the ability to perform miracles. Euthymios and Athanasios were also famed as founders of monasteries. We offer two versions of the Life of Maximos the Hutburner, to demonstrate how hagiographic accounts of the same saint could vary, even when composed very close in time. It should be noted that, with the exception of Athanasios of Athos, the cult of these saints was essentially limited to the Holy Mountain, as can be seen by the manuscript tradition; all the surviving manuscripts of these Lives were copied on Athos."--Provided by publisher.