CYRIL AND METHODIUS. Cyril, also known as Constantine (c. 826–869), and Methodius (c. 815–844) were called the "apostles to the Slavs" because of their religious and cultural contributions to the people of the Danube basin and later to all Slavic-speaking people. Constantine (who took the name Cyril only in the last months of his life) and Methodius were born into a prominent Christian family in Thessalonica, Greece. The brothers learned Greek and probably also Slavic, since many Slavic people had migrated south into their area of Macedonia. After their father's death, Constantine moved to Constantinople. Then only fourteen, he was cared for by the family of a high government official. He later attended the imperial university and benefited from studying with the leading teachers in the region, including Photius, the future patriarch of Constantinople (858–867, 877–888). He became librarian of Hagia Sophia, the leading church in the East...