The 1809 “Monophyllo” of Alexander by Rigas Velestilnis-Ferraios

in Alexander the Great, Greek Revolution 1821, Modern Macedonian History / by Admin / on September 19, 2008 at 1:48 am /

The Alexander Flyer/Leaflet originally published in 1797 by Rigas Velestilnis-Ferraios and republished 11 years after his death in 1809 . It is written in Greek (left side) and French (right side) and describes the life of Alexander the Great ‘leader of the Greeks’. Here is the English translation:

Writing at the top:
‘This engraving represents the busts of Alexander and those of his generals based on that of an Oriental red agate stone found in the Royal Court of Vienna. The four side panels represent:
1) His triumphant entry into Babylon
2) The defeat of the Persians at the Grannicus River
3) The total defeat of Darius and,
4) The family of this defeated king at Alexander’s feet.’

Writing at the bottom:
‘Alexander was born in 356 BC, studied philosophy under Aristotle, first proved his valour and military skills at Chaeronea under the command of his father, and succeeded him on the throne of Macedonia at age 21. Renowned as the leader of the Greeks, in 333 he gathered all his forces against Persia and destroyed that empire in Asia and in Africa joining it to his own empire. Many important cities even today owe their existence to him. He died at the age of 33 after having reigned 12 years.’

1809

The 4 busts of his generals ‘The Diadochoi’ (The Heirs) to his throne are also depicted. From top right to top left their Greek names read: ‘Antigonos’, ‘Kassandros’, ‘Ptolemaios’, and ‘Seleukos’.

From the book: Macedonia, Macedonian Struggle, Greece-Macedonia 4000 Years, by Konstantinos Douflias, first published in 1992 by Aegean publications, page V (Greek Edition).

By Christos