Omero / Cephalaeus - Ilias - 1550

RARA ILIADE IN GRECO – EDIZIONE UMANISTICA RENANA, SPLENDIDO FRONTESPIZIO XILOGRAFICO
THE GREAT POEM OF ACHILLES AND THE WAR OF TROY - IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
Important sixteenth-century edition of Homer’s Iliad in Greek, printed in Strasbourg in 1550 by Wolfgang Cephalaeus, the Latinized name of the printer Wolfgang Köpfel. The volume preserves in the original language the poem that constitutes one of the absolute foundations of Western literature: the war of Troy, the wrath of Achilles, the duel with Hector and the fate of the Greek and Trojan heroes become, through Homer, archetypes destined to influence poetry, theater, philosophy, and the visual arts for more than two thousand years. Of notable charm is the grand frontispiece within a rich figurative woodcut frame, a refined testament to German book-arts in the mid-16th century. The Greek editions of Homer were essential tools of humanistic culture, because they allowed scholars and students to confront directly the ancient text without the mediation of a Latin translation. The present copy also preserves ancient ownership marks and ex-libris, evidence of its long collecting history.

WHY TO BUY
HOMER IN GREEK – 1550! The foundational text of Western epic in its original language.
SPLENDID WOODCUT FRONTISPIECE! A large figurative frame with strong Renaissance impact.
ILIAD! Achilles, Hector and the war of Troy in one of the most influential books in the history of culture.
FIFTEENTH-CENTURY HUMANISTIC! A genuine scholarly tool for studying Greek language and literature in the Renaissance.

MARKET VALUE
Sixteenth-century Greek editions of the Iliad hold strong appeal for collectors of classics, philology, history of the Renaissance, and early typography. Complete, well-preserved copies typically fall in the €1,200–2,500 retail range, with higher values for unusually fresh copies, wide margins, or provenance from prestigious origins.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Pp. (2), 20 nn., 554, 6 nn., (2). Contemporary full parchment binding with manuscript title on the spine, with tears and signs of wear. Magnificent frontispiece within a wide figurative woodcut frame. Woodworm at the inner margin with loss of part of the text in some fascicles. Humidity staining and other conservation flaws. The name of the publisher has been rubbed away both at the frontispiece and at the colophon. Paper ex-libris on the front flyleaf and ancient handwritten ownership notes on the initial leaves. Pages may show browning, foxing, stains, and halos compatible with age. As with all old volumes, minor defects or restorations not expressly mentioned are possible.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Homerus.
Ilias.
Argentorati: apud Vuolfgangum Cephal., 1550.
Text in Greek language.
Pp. (2), 20 nn., 554, 6 nn., (2).
Frontispiece within a large figurative woodcut frame.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Homer is the foundational figure of Greek literature and, through the Iliad and the Odyssey, one of the authors whose influence on Western culture is deepest. Traditionally placed between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, he is surrounded by a nearly legendary aura: in antiquity his homeland, his biography, and even the nature of the composition of the great poems attributed to him were debated. The Iliad recounts a focused episode of the last year of the Trojan War, concentrating on Achilles’ wrath and its consequences for the Achaean army. Around this narrative core Homer builds a universal meditation on glory, honor, war, friendship, fate, and death. Characters such as Achilles, Hector, Priam, Agamemnon, Helen, and Odysseus became archetypal models of European culture. In the Renaissance the rediscovery of Greek brought humanists directly back to the Homeric text, freeing it from dependence on medieval Latin translations. Editions like the Strasbourg one of 1550 were thus not merely literary books but true instruments of the philological renaissance of classical culture.

RARITY
Sixteenth-century editions of the Iliad in Greek possess a higher level of interest than ordinary vernacular or Latin translations because they directly attest to the spread of Greek studies in the humanistic Europe. Printing a Greek text required specific types, skilled compositors, and a relatively small educated audience. The Strasbourg edition of 1550 is particularly attractive for its grand framed frontispiece and for the significance of Wolfgang Cephalaeus’s workshop. The present copy is not a luxury edition and shows significant material defects, but it preserves the charm of a true sixteenth-century Greek volume used and owned over the centuries, as documented by the handwritten notes and ex-libris.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
The Iliad is one of the founding texts of European literary civilization. Its influence extends from Latin epic to medieval poetry, from the Renaissance to Neoclassicism and to contemporary literature. The poem is not merely a tale of the Trojan War, but a profound meditation on the human condition: Achilles is torn between a long, obscure life and an early death accompanied by eternal glory; Hector fights knowing the fate of his city; Priam confronts the assassin of his son to obtain the body. In the Renaissance the possibility of reading these pages directly in Greek represented a fundamental intellectual conquest. The spread of Homeric editions in the original language contributed to the development of classical philology, the formation of scholars, and the redefinition of European humanistic education. The Strasbourg 1550 edition fully belongs to this era of direct rediscovery of ancient sources.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, H-759.
VD16, repertories of German editions of the sixteenth century.
USTC – Universal Short Title Catalogue.
Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres.
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares et précieux.
Hoffmann, Lexicon Bibliographicum sive Index Editionum et Interpretationum Scriptorum Graecorum.
Repertori bibliografici dedicated to Greek editions of Homer and to the humanistic typography of Strasbourg.