ORTELIUS Abraham, "Ελλας. GRAECIA, SOPHIANI./Abrahamo Ortelio descriptore", 1579-1624. Hand-coloured copper engr. map, depiction of ancient Greece, western Turkey and the Grecian islands based on the influential woodcut map prepared by the great Greek Hellenist and cartographer Nikolaus Sophianos (Νικόλαος Σοφιανός) and printed in Basel, 1545 (or in Rome 1542). The Sophianos map of Greece, was established as a model for the Geographic depiction of Greece, and has been issued for more than 150 years after the first issue, until 1699. This is the first state of the map after the 1545 Sophianos issue, many other maps issued after are based on the current plate. Architectural title cartouche flanked by two mythological figures, and a strapwork scale of miles. Map dim.50x35cm. Two small holes along the plate edge of the upper part, few small brown spots. Zacharakis 2495.