Only One Illuminated Manuscript From Antiquity Depicts the Iliad

The Ambrosian Iliad Illuminated Manuscript

Photo: The Kress Foundation via The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0 Unported License)

With all the buzz around Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey, one question comes to mind: what about the Iliad? Although the epic is one of the most famous and widely studied pieces of literature in the Western world, it hasn’t been adapted as much or had as much visual interpretation compared to other classics. There have been artworks that showcase specific scenes or moments from the Iliad, but few attempts have been made in this day and age to showcase the epic in its entirety.

So, if the Iliad is such a compelling piece of literature, why are there not that many visual adaptations for it? This is likely due to the classic’s sheer length and complexity, which would extend long past appropriate run times for visual media like film or television. Instead, we should perhaps look to antiquity–more specifically, a nearly 2,000-year-old artifact that does what modern creatives may be intimidated by.

The Ambrosian Iliad, also known as Ilias Picta, is one of three surviving illuminated manuscripts from antiquity depicting classical literature, and the only one to recount Homer’s epic. The manuscript was created in the late fifth or early sixth century C.E., either in Constantinople or Alexandria, and has enraptured audiences since its creation. It contains 52 different illustrations accompanying the epic’s text, in what scholars believe to be one of the earliest examples of manuscript illumination.

Many of the illustrations show the names of places and characters, but some are perhaps more “illuminating” than others. As Kurt Weitzmann writes in his book, Late Antique and Early Christian Book Illumination, the illustrations also “show a considerable diversity of compositional schemes, from single combat to complex battle scenes.” The breadth and variety of these depictions, in Weitzmann’s mind, imply that Homer’s epic had already accrued an extensive history and undergone multiple stages of development by the time the Ilias Picta came into fruition.

The Ambrosian Iliad’s illustrations depict the epic in all its phases, from early disagreements between Agamemnon and Achilles to iconic scenes like Patrcolus’ sacrifice and Hector’s death at the hands of Achilles. The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database has scans of all these exquisite drawings on view on its website. Other visual interpretations of Homer’s works can also be found there, from a selection of more recent periods ranging from the 15th to even the 19th centuries.

As these classical epics make their rounds in the cycles of reinterpretation and reimagining, the Ambrosian Iliad is an intriguing reminder that some of the most powerful visual adaptations of these ancient stories may already lie in the past, waiting to be (re)discovered.

To see all the illustrations from the Ambrosian Iliad, visit the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database.