The territories represented encompass the modern Middle East—including Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Iraq (Mesopotamia, recorded on the map by its ancient name, Babylonia), and the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula. However, the map extends far beyond these borders, embracing an exceptionally broad geographical horizon:
From West to East: It stretches from the coasts of the Eastern Mediterranean (Maris Terranei Pars) and the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus) to the remote lands of India this side of the Ganges (Indiae Intra Gangem Pars).
From North to South: It reaches from the steppes of Scythia and the shores of the Caspian Sea (Mare Hyrcanum) down to the sands of Libya, the Persian Gulf (Sinvs Persicvs), and the southern waters of the Arabian Sea (Erythraeum sive Rubrum Mare).
The map is enriched with cartouches in the Renaissance style, which contain the title and a dedication to Henrico Schotto (Hendrik Schott), an eminent councilor of the city of Anvers, signed by Ortelius himself. Directly above this dedication, an elegant decorative element features two ancient medals depicting the profile of Alexander the Great alongside scenes from his epic, validating the historical content through the lens of numismatics. Furthermore, within the Arabian Sea (in the lower center-right), one can observe the movement of the fleet of Nearchus, Alexander’s admiral who was commissioned to explore the maritime route from the Indus to the Euphrates.
The lower left corner is occupied by a large rectangular inset that breaks geographical continuity to offer a detailed, idealized perspective view of the Siwa Oasis, entitled Iovis Ammonis Oraculum.
This inset commemorates the pivotal episode of 331 BCE, when Alexander crossed the Libyan desert to consult the oracle of Zeus Ammon, where he was proclaimed the son of the god. Ortelius reconstructs the sanctuary not as a ruin, but as a majestic, quadrangular Renaissance fortified citadel, complete with crenellated walls, ramparts, interior gardens, and a central domed temple. In the surrounding area, minuscule human figures in classical attire and tall trees convey the concept of a fertile oasis reclaimed from the desert.
The map is densely annotated with Latin textual notes (lemmata), transforming its consultation into a literary journey grounded in the texts of Quintus Curtius Rufus, Arrian, Plutarch, Pliny, and Strabo. Among the most fascinating notes visible on this specimen are: The Caspian Sea (Mare Hyrcanum): A central note recalls that, according to the opinion of Arrian, this sea communicates with the Ocean. The Erythraean Sea (Erythraeum for Rubrum Mare): A lengthy text in the lower center explains that the origin of the name is not derived from the color of its waters (as was commonly believed), but from the mythical King Erythras. It further mentions a wealth of forested islands and the presence of pearls, as described by Pliny and Solinus. The Brahmans and Gymnosophists (Brachmanes, qui et Gymnosophistae): At the extreme eastern frontier (India), the map highlights the presence of the “naked” Indian sages—ascetic philosophers who fascinated Alexander and his chroniclers due to their detachment from worldly goods.
The Parergon (from the Greek for “subsidiary work” or “addition”) originally began in 1579 as an appendix of a few historical maps attached to Ortelius’s main atlas, the Theatrum. However, Ortelius’s passion for archaeology, numismatics, and classical texts drove him to develop this work independently. The Parergon thus became a standalone historical atlas, a masterpiece of sacred and profane geography. Within its pages, geographical boundaries served to illustrate the journeys of Saint Paul, the Roman Empire, Homer’s Odyssey, and the monumental campaigns of Alexander the Great. The 1624 edition printed by Moretus represents the spiritual and scientific testament of this vision, blending the geometric precision of the Anvers school of cartography with the sophisticated taste of the Late Renaissance.
Abraham Ortelius (1527–1598) Born in Anvers, Abraham Ortelius is widely considered the father of the modern atlas. Trained as a map illuminator and a dealer in books and prints, his career shifted toward scientific cartography following a pivotal meeting with Gerardus Mercator in 1554. The Theatrum Orbis Terrarum: In 1570, he published the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first atlas in history to feature maps of uniform format accompanied by descriptive texts. The work achieved monumental success, being reprinted forty-two times and translated into seven languages. Intellectual Contributions: Ortelius was a pioneer of intellectual ethics, systematically citing the sources for his maps. In 1575, his renown led to his appointment as the Royal Geographer to Philip II of Spain. Remarkably, he anticipated the theory of continental drift by three centuries, hypothesizing as early as 1596 that the Earth’s landmasses were once joined together. Legacy: Ortelius passed away in Anvers in 1598, leaving behind a profound legacy that would define European cartography for generations.
