Venice Hellenic Institute Codex Gr.5. A bilingual ed. very good+ hardcover (cloth-bound), minor signs of age, with very good DJ, defects on cov, & spine as in image, content near fine. TEXT Greek, English. The Greek "Alexander's Novel" was originally written sometime between the 3rd century BC. and 3rd AD century and is a fantastic narrative of the life and achievements of Alexander the Great. The text was extremely popular during the Middle Ages, both in the West and in the Byzantine Empire, and was translated into the major languages â â of the time. Eighteen manuscripts with the Greek text are preserved, of which the only luxury edition is Codex 5 of the Greek Institute of Venice, a luxurious manuscript containing 193 sheets and 250 images in the majority of the pages. The book is large in size, with pictures (average size 220Ã 160 mm) painted in vivid colors and decorated with gold leaf. (â ¦) Each image is accompanied by an explanatory caption written in red ink so that one can follow the story from the pictures without having to read the text of the novel. The visual details and scenery are Byzantine, thus introducing history into a Byzantine setting and giving Alexander the Byzantine emperor form. For the first time the luxurious manuscript of the Greek Institute of Venice is presented here in faithful reproduction with a translation of the captions into English and Modern Greek. A rare medieval illuminated manuscript on the life and works of Alexander the Great, Codex 5 of the Venice Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and post-Byzantine Studies, has been unveiled in digital form to the public for the first time, in an exhibition organised as part of the 84th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF). According to researchers, the Trebizond Alexander Romance is based on the life of Alexander the Great and gives a detailed account of the events before and during his campaign of conquest, which took him as far as India, where he also carried the ideals and values of Greek thought and science taught to him by his teacher, the Greek philosopher Aristotle. The specific account was the most widely read romance in the Middle Ages and was translated into 30 languages, overcoming boundaries of language and culture to spread throughout the world and act as an inspiration to historians, writers and even play directors. It includes more than 250 illuminated illustrations decorated in gold leaf and an almost cinematic approach to the life of the ancient Macedonian king. The codex was digitized and presented in the exhibition with the title "The legend of Alexander the Great as a Byzantine heritage. The testimony of a Byzantine manuscript." The events of the story are relayed through holograms and 3D projections and the exhibition is to travel throughout the world, with stops in New York, China, Istanbul, Jerusalem. According to the Venice Hellenic Institute's Supervisory Committee President Christos Arabatzis, Codex 5 is unique in the world, since it is the most richly illustrated version of the Alexander romance and has exceptional artistic value. According to Byzantine expert Flora Karagianni, the Alexander Romance appears to be based on an account written by the ancient historian Callisthenes, who had accompanied Alexander on his campaign, shortly after Alexander's death. In the centuries that followed, it spread from Istanbul to the west and from Trebizond to Mongolia, Persia, Sumatra and China – even making its way into Muslim religious texts. "For the Byzantines, especially, Alexander came to have almost mythical dimensions, fighting whole armies, mythical monsters and defeating many Roman and then Byzantine emperors…he was the model of a hero, warrior and hunter," she said. In the mid-14th century, Alexios III Megas Komnenos, emperor of Trebizond, ordered a manuscript with the Alexander romance to be prepared for his personal library and this was then copied and illustrated with four miniature illustrations depicting Alexander's life and works until his death, she added. With the fall of Trebizond to the Ottomans in 1461, the new Turkish owner of the manuscript added notes to each illustration. The manuscript reappeared in the hands of a Venice merchant, Konstantinos Maroutsos, in the early 19th century and from him it ended up in the Greek community.