This volume is the written result of a symposion with the title "imitatio - aemulatio - variatio" held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences on October 22-25, 2008. It was the purpose of this event (organised by A. Rhoby and E. Schiffer) to deepen the knowledge of the mimetical processes and to highlight new aspects concerning reception and inspiration in Byzantine literature. The volume starts with an introduction which attempts to define the termini mimesis, imitatio, aemulatio and variatio in the framework of Byzantine literature. It is followed by the written version of D.R. Reinsch's opening lecture with the title "Der Autor ist tot - es lebe der Leser. Zur Neubewertung der imitatio in der byzantinischen Geschichtsschreibung" ["The author is dead - long live the reader. On the reevaluation of imitatio in Byzantine historiography"]. The further 23 articles (in German, English and French) deal with different aspects of literary examples in Byzantine literature. Most of the papers refer to Byzantine high level literature (prose and poetry), however, some are also devoted to vernacular literature. Articles on middle-Latin lexicographers and their knowledge of Greek and on metaphors of the Virgin Mary in Byzantine literature and art are of interdisciplinary content. At the end of the volume tables of images and a general index are provided. German text.