Héctor Herrera Cajas

Born in Pelequén, town located on south of Capital city Santiago,[13] he made his first studies at Hermanos Maristas School from San Fernando, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region.[13] There, he highlighted as outstanding student with drawing skills according to their marks report.[13] Being very young his teaching vocation was already manifested, so that during his last years in school he served as a mathematics teacher in an afternoon establishment.[13]

He moved to Santiago once finished his high-school education and in 1948 he joined Universidad de Chile,[3] when he graduated from there in 1953 as History, Geography and Social Sciences Teacher. Apart his regular and compulsory courses, he devoted interest, time, and enthusiasm towards study of languages, specifically Latin, Greek, German and even Sanskrit.[13] In addition, he became an English, French and Italian fluent speaker.[13] He also was interested in Chinese, Arab and Russian, but he didn't reach to dominate them.[13] His philology studies were decisive in his intellectual training. Around his classes, according José Marín (one of his students and close friend in his life)[14], the etymology of words used to were key in his narration of history.[13] During his undergraduate period, Herrera was notably influenced by teachers like Eugenio Pereira, Mario Góngora,[lower-alpha 2] Juan Gómez Millas or Fotios Malleros.[13]

In 1953, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV) hired him with the goal to organize its then nascent History Institute.[3][15] In 1960, he became PUCV Faculty of Philosophy and Education Dean[2] and, default, Colegio Rubén Castro Rector[2] due to that institution's dependence from Faculty already mentioned.[2]

He continued his studies in Germany (1957–1958), where he visited several universities.[6] On his return, and after having married Mrs. Ivonne Lavanchy, a member of the Fullbright Commission in 1967, he traveled to Washington DC to dedicate to research for seven months at the Dumbarton Oaks, world's most important Byzantine study center.[6] There, he met prominent Byzantinists.[6] The following year, accompanied by his family, he traveled to France, where he obtained his PhD at University of Bordeaux.[6] That year, Herrera was a May 68 witness and, by the way, his epistolary shows how he tenaciously opposed the so-called “Reform” that parallelly was carried out in Chile.[6] This reform was promoted by christian-democrat government of President Eduardo Frei Montalva (DC), whose party was involved in 1968 PUCV Rector Elections. This election had as candidates to Alberto Vial, near to Achitecture, and Raúl Allard Newmann (DC), the future winner. Despite his reform opposition, according Alejandro Guzmán Brito in 2013 Roman Studies Week, he supported Vial through his collaboration with Oscar Godoy, with whom he met in Arica.[16]

Cover of Roman Studies Week first volume published in 1977.

Despite his discomfort in then-rebellious France, he finished his thesis on Byzantine Empire international relations during migration period.[1] This work was published in 1972 in Santiago by Universidad de Chile Center for Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies, being Chile's first work of its kind published as well as in Latin America,[1] which in Marín words: "Its a study of great intellectual rigor, with an impeccable critical apparatus which all existing sources for the subject are cited and commented; in short, its a highest level research which has deservedly placed its author among most important Byzantinists of (20th) century second half".[1] His thesis was the only one work in Spanish language which German historian Günther Weiss included in his specialized bibliographic repertoire. This includes everything relevant that occurred in Byzantinistics between 1968 and 1985. Weiss points out: "On Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies Centre publication in Santiago, scholar Professor Héctor Herrera Cajas presents all the (Byzantine) important diplomatic relations at great migrations time, treated from Persian border to Danube. The text is worked directly from sources and illustrates very well each moment's political background. Byzantine diplomacy oscillates between demand for universality, and harshest, often painful and distressing".[1] It should be noted for other works included in his repertoire, Weiss hardly makes a comment on a few words or, at most, a phrase.[1]

In 1973, at PUCV he released Roman Studies Week which is currently held every one year and has become one of Latin America's most prestigious academic exchange relative to History of ancient Rome.[17] Herrera presented works in each of the seasons of Roman Studies Week celebrated between 1973 and 1997. It occurred the same with Medieval Studies Colloquia, which since 1990 has been held every two years in Chillán.[1] In 1976, the PUCV Federation of Students elected him as "best teacher".[1]

In 1986, XVII Byzantine International Congress' Administrative Committee, held in Dumbarton Oaks, accepted his presentation on "The Steppe Peoples and Byzantine Art Formation: From the Tent to Christian Church", but its author didn't could attend to read it.

In 1989, he was accepted as Chilean Academy of History's Full Member. In 1992, the Government of Greece decorated him as Commander of the Order of the Phoenix in appreciation for permanent work of Greek culture spreading values in our country. In 1995, now officially invited by the Government of Greece, he visited Balkans Peninsula's country, having the opportunity to personally admire the most important Byzantine monuments. During that trip he met Nicolas Oikonomides, then Director of Center for Byzantine Studies in Athens and who, later, would write commendable words of remembrance, which were published in the book Dimensions of Byzantine Culture (1998).

On October 6th, 1997, he died[1] of myocardial infarction at Vina del Mar.[1]

The Italian historian, Umberto Laffi, in a condolences letter sent to then PUCV Rector, Bernardo Donoso, stated: "The sad news of Prof. Héctor Herrera death has deeply moved us. His loss is a severe blow to Universidad Católica de Valparaíso and, more generally, to Ancient History in Chile, and leaves a feeling of deep affliction in those of us who were fortunate enough to enjoy its high human qualities on memorable occasions.The Roman Studies Week, which he founded and continued to organize with self-denial and a high concept of value of classic studies for many years, constitute a lasting monument that has our universities linked in a scientific set of profitable relationships and exchanges. The efforts that we will continue dedicating together with pursuit of his work will represent fairest tribute to his memory".[17]

• El mundo del ayer. Manual de Historia Antigua y Medieval para Educación Básica. Ediciones Pedagógicas (1971)
• Las Relaciones Internacionales del Imperio Bizantino durante la Época de las Grandes Invasiones. Universidad de Chile Center for Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies Editions (1972)
• Antigüedad y Edad Media. Manual de Historia Universal, I. Academia Superior de Ciencias Pedagógicas (1983)
• Dimensiones de la Responsabilidad Educacional. Editorial Universitaria (1988)
• Dimensiones de la Cultura Bizantina. Arte, Poder y Legado Histórico. Universidad de Chile Center for Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies Editions and Universidad Gabriela Mistral Editions (1998)
• El Imperio Bizantino. Introducción Histórica y Selección de Documentos. Universidad de Chile Center for Byzantine and Neohellenic Studies Editions (1998)
• Ensayos sobre el Mundo Medieval de Héctor Herrera Cajas. Colección de escritos inéditos, compilado por Leonardo Carrera Airola (2018)

• La Germania de Tácito. El problema del significado del escudo (1957)[lower-alpha 3]
• El Chou-King y la concepción del poder real (1953)
• Acerca del Duelo (1955)
• El problema del significado del escudo en La Germania de Tácito (1957)
• Las relaciones internacionales del Imperio Bizantino (1958)
• El Presente, tiempo de la acción (1963)
• Engaño y desengaño en la historiografía actual (1969)
• Synésios de Cirene. Un crítico del Imperio (1970)
• Dagoberto y Heraclio. Un capítulo de Historia Diplomática (1971)
• La caída del Imperio Romano en Occidente (1976)
• Res privata-Res publica-Imperium (1977)
• San Benito y la formación de Occidente (1980)
• Bizancio y la formación de Rusia (Los tratados bizantino-rusos del s. X) (1982)
• Las estepas euroasiáticas. Un peculiar espacio histórico (1982)
• El sentido de la crisis en Occidente (1983)
• Apelación a la Historia en el De Officiis de Cicerón (1984)
• Los orígenes del arte bizantino, ensayo sobre la formación del arte cristiano (1985)
• Aproximación al Espíritu Imperial Bizantino (1986)
• Temas de Claudiano (1986)
• La Constitución del ámbito cívico en el Mundo Grecorromano (1986)
• Una utopía medievalː la "Orden Nueva" concebida por Joachim of Fiore (1988)
• El totalitarismo como persistencia de la mentalidad primitiva (1988)
• José Ignacio Víctor Eyzaguirre, Historiador (1989)
• Los pueblos de las estepas y la formación del arte bizantino. De la tienda a la iglesia cristiana (1990)
• Notas sobre el significado de la guerra (1990)
• La arquitectura del "Discurso sobre la Historia Universal" de Bossuet (1990)
• Los estudios superiores en Bizancio (1990–1992)
• Los árabes y el Islam (1991)
• La Espiritualidad Bizantina (1993)
• La Doctrina Gelasiana (1994)
• La idea imperial bizantinaː representación y concentración del poder (1995)
• La espiritualidad bizantina en el arte (1995)
• Simbología política del poder imperial en Bizancioː los pendientes de las coronas (1993–1996)
• Príncipe e Imperio en el panegírico de Trajano de Plinio el Joven (1996)
• El Milenarismo en la Historia Antigua y Medieval (1996)
• Fiestas imperiales en Constantinopla (1997)
• Cómo leer a Floro (1998)
• Lo cotidiano, ayer y hoy, aquí y allá (1997–1998)
• Ética y educación. Una reflexión sobre los valores en nuestra sociedad (1998)
• San Benito y el Ordo Romano (1999)