Locations of events.

For Roman aristocrat Pliny, it wasn’t enough to fulfil his duties obediently, he was thirsty for eternal glory. For this purposes, he created a new literary genre: the letters written for publication. For the humanists, Pliny’s letters were the ultimate example for their intense correspondence.

The field of classical studies was first established in the 19th c. The foundations for the work of scholars such as Mommsen and Curtius were initially laid by teachers like E. Th. Hohler, who produced illustrated introductory books to nudge their knowledge-hungry pupils, who loved pictures, in the right direction.

In 1546, Heinrich Petri printed a luxury edition of the completed work by the Roman scholar Boethius. Boethius once rose to the highest political ranks – only to fall to rock bottom, at which point, he was moved to write his philosophical work ‘Consolation of Philosophy’, which remained a best seller for centuries.

‘When legend becomes fact, print the legend!’ This film quote is very fitting for Rome’s early period. The Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus turned legend to fact, and people believed it for millennia. This edition from 1563 shows how popular his work remained.

Artists in modern Ethiopia are still producing paintings that draw their inspiration directly from Byzantium. This Ethiopian picture bible depicts scenes from the life of Jesus, thus recalling one of the oldest Christian kingdoms in history.