The Nuremberg Chronicle ■ Geocentric view of the
universe, including the four elements (air, fire etc) and the hierarchies of
cherubims and seraphims, leading to God. The heavenly chorus of angels ■ The text describes
different ancient Greek theories of creation before dismissing them for the
biblical account found in Genesis. The woodcut, however, critiques the text's
view of the Greek theories as ancient errors by reinstating the most important
Greek concept, that of hyle, the primeval matter from which all things are
formed (the stylized gothic letters at the center of the woodcut spell 'YLE').
The artist of this illustration, in fact, has literally made the Greek idea of
hyle central to the creation story ■
