Greece

Historical Aegean charts, classical antiquities, and maps of Greece.

Archival Category: Country Cartography | Era: 19th Century | Geography: Europe | Holdings: 10 items.

Cataloged Works in this Collection

CARTE DE LA GRECE CONTENANT L'ETAT PRESENT DE L'EGLISE GRECQUE & CE QUI REGARDE LES ECCLESIASTIQUES.
Cartographer / Artist: Henri Abraham Châtelain
Date: c. 1719
Medium: Copperplate engraving
Dimensions: 20.9 x 16.0 inches
Location: Greece
Published in Châtelain's landmark *Atlas Historique*, this comprehensive folio plate combines a central map of Southern Greece and the Peloponnese with elaborate surrounding vignettes and scholarly French text illustrating the hierarchy, vestments, and religious customs of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Ionian Isles and Greece
Cartographer / Artist: J. & F. Tallis / J. Rapkin
Date: c. 1851
Medium: Steel engraving with hand coloring
Dimensions: 13.7 × 9.6 inches
Location: Greece
This finely executed steel-engraved map depicts Greece and the Ionian Islands during the mid-nineteenth century, published by John Tallis & Company in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. The map presents a detailed geographic overview of the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese, and the surrounding island chains across the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Delicate outline hand coloring highlights the administrative divisions, particularly distinguishing the Ionian Islands in soft pink. Framed by Tallis's signature ornate arabesque border, the sheet is enriched with several characteristic vignettes drawn by A.H. Wray and engraved by J.B. Allen. Featured views include the Temple of Jupiter Olympus at Athens, an Ancient War Chariot, Modern Greek figures, and Greek Corsairs off Corfu. Engraved by John Rapkin, this plate is renowned as one of the most decorative 19th-century cartographic depictions of Greece.
Map of Greece with Inset of Candia
Cartographer / Artist: Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co.
Date: c. 1850
Medium: Engraving with original hand coloring
Dimensions: 15.3 × 12.3 inches
Location: Greece
This detailed 19th-century map depicts the Kingdom of Greece alongside the Ionian Islands, the Cyclades archipelago, and parts of the Ottoman Balkans. Published in Philadelphia by Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co. in 1850 for inclusion in 'A New Universal Atlas', the work illustrates the post-independence geopolitical landscape of Greece, highlighting regional districts, topography, coastal topography, and major roads or towns. An inset map in the lower left corner presents the island of Crete, designated under its historical name 'Candia'. The overall visual composition is framed by Cowperthwait's signature decorative foliage border and features bright pastel washes to differentiate administrative regions. An explanation key in the upper right defines symbols for capitals, important towns, and minor settlements across the mainland and surrounding seas.
Carte de la Grece Contenant l'Etat Present de l'Eglise Grecque & Ce Qui Regarde les Ecclesiastiques
Cartographer / Artist: Henri Abraham Châtelain
Date: c. 1719
Medium: Copperplate engraving
Dimensions: 17.0 × 14.4 inches
Location: Greece
This fine copperplate engraving by Henri Abraham Châtelain was published in volume V of his celebrated monumental work, Atlas Historique (Amsterdam, c. 1719). The central panel depicts a detailed regional map of southern Greece, including the Peloponnese (Morea), Attica, and surrounding Aegean islands. Surrounding the cartography are extensively detailed engraved illustrations and French text entries documenting the contemporary hierarchy, vestments, and rituals of the Greek Orthodox Church during the period of Ottoman governance. Visual panels display Orthodox clergy in traditional ceremonial attire, including a Greek priest in sacerdotal robes, subdeacons, and a bishop bestowing a blessing. Lower vignettes capture specific monastic traditions, such as caloyers (monks) ringing church bells suspended from trees—an adaptation under Ottoman restrictions—and a bishop performing the blessing of the waters. The text offers a fascinating European Enlightenment perspective on the condition of Eastern Christianity, detailing ecclesiastical administrative structures, liturgical habits, and social standing under Turkish rule.
Ellas, Seu Graecia Universa
Cartographer / Artist: Johann Laurenberg and Frederik de Wit
Date: c. 1660
Medium: Hand-colored copperplate engraving
Dimensions: 20.5 × 16.9 inches
Location: Greece and the Aegean Archipelago
This magnificent 17th-century map depicts Ancient Greece, the Aegean Archipelago, Crete, and the western coast of Asia Minor. Authored by the German mathematician and historian Johann Laurenberg and published in Amsterdam by Frederik de Wit, the map delineates classical regions including Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, Boeotia, and the Peloponnese, densely filled with Latinized ancient place names. The map serves as a historical reconstruction of the Greek world during classical antiquity, blending geographical precision with humanistic scholarship. In the lower-left corner, an elaborate allegorical cartouche features the goddess Athena (Minerva) clad in armor, holding a shield featuring Medusa and accompanied by her owl, books, and celestial instruments. In the lower-right, a secondary cartouche depicts classical figures flanking distance scales in Italian and German miles. Published during the zenith of Dutch cartography, this work exemplifies the period's synthesis of classical history and decorative art.
Graeciae Pars Septentrionalis
Cartographer / Artist: Guillaume Delisle
Date: c. 1707
Medium: Copperplate engraving
Dimensions: 28.5 × 21.6 inches
Location: Northern Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, Aegean Sea
This finely detailed antique map, titled Graeciae Pars Septentrionalis, was crafted by the prominent Royal French cartographer Guillaume Delisle. The map delineates the northern regions of ancient Greece and the surrounding classical territories, including Illyria, Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, Thrace, Moesia Superior and Inferior, alongside parts of Mysia and Phrygia in Asia Minor. Delisle was celebrated for his pioneering scientific approach to mapmaking, replacing traditional speculative cartography with precise astronomical calculations and rigorous historical source criticism. The geographical scope extends from the Ionian and Adriatic Seas in the west to the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and the Euxine Sea (Black Sea) in the east. Major Aegean islands such as Lemnos, Samothrace, Imbros, Thasos, and Lesbos are clearly charted, as are prominent peninsulas like Mount Athos (Chalcidice). Ancient regional divisions, tribal territories, cities, rivers, and mountain ranges are rendered in Latin nomenclature, offering a comprehensive reference to the geography of classical antiquity. Graphically, the map features a clear distance scale in the upper left corner comparing Greek stadia, Roman miles, and English miles. Outer latitude and longitude borders frame the map with precision. Delisle's elegant copperplate engraving style is demonstrated in the delicate coastline hatching, fine lettering, and balanced spatial layout typical of early 18th-century French cartographic masterworks.
Carte Historique et Geographique de l'Ancienne Grece, avec des Remarques Curieuses pour l'Intelligence de l'Histoire
Cartographer / Artist: Henri Chatelain
Date: c. 1705-1720
Medium: Hand-colored copperplate engraving
Dimensions: 15.8 × 13.6 inches
Location: Greece and the Aegean Region
This refined copperplate engraved map of Ancient Greece was compiled by Henri Chatelain for his celebrated multi-volume Atlas Historique, published in Amsterdam in the early eighteenth century. The map depicts classical Greece, spanning from Macedonia and Thrace in the north down through Epirus, Thessaly, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Crete, and the Aegean Archipelago to the coast of Asia Minor. Regional boundaries such as Attica, Boeotia, Laconia, and Ionia are delineated with delicate hand-colored outlines. Surrounding the cartographic layout are rich encyclopedic sidebars in French detailing the history of classical antiquity. Tables catalog the Greek forces and leaders in the Trojan War, key historical battles, regional ruling dynasties, and celebrated ancient poets, creating an indispensable visual resource for Enlightenment scholars of Greek history.
Cronologie Historique des Rois, et Differents Etats de l'Ancienne Grece, avec des Remarques Curieuses sur l'Histoire Prophane
Cartographer / Artist: Henri Abraham Chatelain
Date: c. 1720
Medium: Copperplate engraving
Dimensions: 19.0 × 15.2 inches
Location: Greece
This monumental historical broadsheet plate originates from Henri Abraham Chatelain's celebrated seven-volume 'Atlas Historique', published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720. The layout exemplifies Chatelain's innovative pedagogical style, integrating classical cartography with extensive chronological tables, genealogical lists of ancient Greek rulers, and historical essays regarding the city-states of Athens, Sparta, Argos, Corinth, and Sicyon. At the upper center of the composition resides a detailed map depicting the Peloponnese, Attica, Boeotia, and Phocis, flanked by dense columns of historical narrative and king lists tracing ancient Greek history from mythological founders to the Roman conquest. Below the central map and text blocks, the lower border features five engraved architectural and topographical views depicting reconstructed plans and perspectives of Ancient Athens, Ancient Thebes, Ancient Corinth, Megara, and Mount Cynthus on Delos. Graphically sophisticated and rich in Enlightenment scholarship, this plate served as both a reference chart for classical history and an elegant example of French-Dutch cartographic engraving from the early eighteenth century.
Turkey III. Containing the Southern Part of Greece and Candia
Cartographer / Artist: Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) / Engraved by J. & C. Walker
Date: 1829
Medium: Engraving with hand coloring
Dimensions: 15.0 × 12.6 inches
Location: Southern Greece, Peloponnese, Cyclades, and Crete (Candia)
This finely detailed early 19th-century map depicts southern Greece, including the Peloponnese (Morea), Attica, the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, and the island of Crete (labeled 'Candia or Kriti'). Published in London under the superintendence of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) and engraved by J. & C. Walker, the map was produced during a pivotal period following the Greek War of Independence when Western European interest in Greek geography and classical antiquity was at its peak. The map features fine line engraving standard for SDUK publications, presenting intricate coastal outlines, topography indicated by shaded hachures, and dual classical and contemporary placenames. A prominent architectural vignette in the lower left corner depicts the 'Aeropolis of Athens', showing the ruins of the Parthenon atop the rocky citadel with hand-colored highlights, adding significant visual and historical charm to the cartographic layout.
Johnson's Austria, Turkey in Europe, and Greece
Cartographer / Artist: A. J. Johnson
Date: c. 1864
Medium: Hand-colored engraving
Dimensions: 25.5 × 16.6 inches
Location: Central and Southeastern Europe
This mid-19th-century double-page map, published by Alvin Jewett Johnson in New York, depicts Central and Southeastern Europe, encompassing the Austrian Empire, Turkey in Europe (the Ottoman Balkans), and the Kingdom of Greece. The map detailed regional administrative divisions, mountain ranges, rivers, major cities, and coastal topography surrounding the Mediterranean, Adriatic, and Black Seas. Regions such as Hungary, Transylvania, Bosnia, Serbia, and Moldavia are clearly delineated in contrasting pastel hand-coloring. In the lower right quadrant, the map features two detailed engraved insets: a panoramic vista of Constantinople illustrating its iconic skyline of minarets along the Bosporus, alongside a navigational chart detailing the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara. Framed by Johnson's signature geometric fretwork and strapwork border with corner star motifs, this map exemplifies mid-century American atlas publishing.