Facsimile of manuscript 05 with the life of Alexander the Great
Facsimile of manuscript 05 with the life of Alexander the Great
The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice offers to the reading public all over the world the byzantine code 05, known as the Romance of Alexander the Great. It is the most extensive illustrated manuscript in the world, including the narrative of Pseudo-Callisthenes (14th cent.). The Greek inscriptions in red ink are accompanied by translations into Paleo-Ottoman script. The 250 miniatures illustrate the most significant events in the life of Alexander the Great. Depicted as a Byzantine emperor-protector, the Macedonian leader fights real enemies, beyond the borders of the empire, but also a supernatural reality, bringing with him the civilizing principles of Hellenism. His epic goes beyond the Greek borders and is considered as an epic of every people, which recognizes in him a sovereign, a righteous judged, a defender of the bright aspects of the world.
By reading the text and looking at its miniatures, the reader is transferred through time and space. The edition is luxurious and fascinating, as is its original, which anyone can admire only by travelling to Venice, at the Museum of Icons of the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies. This facsimile edition of the manuscript allows each of us to enrich his library, not only through a curated edition, but also with one identical to the original.
