Artifact overview
Codex Alexandrinus is an artifact (Parchment Manuscript) related to the mythological story named 'Biblical Genesis.' The artifact's condition is Just OK and it is currently located at British Library in London, United Kingdom, catalogued as record number Codex Alexandrinus. The language of the text contained is Ancient Greek (Greek writing system). Its estimated date is 450—499 CE, which is a range based on available data and scholarship. The mythology associated with this artifact includes the Christian belief system and related deities: God and Yahweh.
About this artifact
Basic details
| Type | Manuscript Parchment material |
| Condition | Just OK |
| Date created | 450—499 CE |
| Language | Ancient Greek |
| Writing system | Greek (script) |
| Location | British Library British Library · London, United Kingdom |
| Shelfmark | MS Royal 1. D. V-VIII |
| Digital access | Folio Nos. f.i-r Fully digitized |
| Myth portion | Genesis 1-3 |
Provenience
| Discovery | Alexandria, Egypt Present-day Alexandria, Egypt |
| UNESCO Site | World Heritage Site No. 90 Designated since 1979 |
Museum record data
British Library
British Library · London, United Kingdom
Item specifications
| Museum No. | Codex Alexandrinus |
Mythological contents
Christian Religion
The contents of this artifact may depict or reference the following myths and deities associated with this belief system.
Associated myths and deities
| Myths | Biblical Genesis |
| Deities | God, Yahweh |
The Codex Alexandrinus is one of the oldest manuscripts of the entire Holy Bible, dating back to the 5th century of the common era. It contains a hand-written transcript of the New Testament and Old Testament in the Greek language. It is one of the oldest complete versions of the Biblical Genesis creation myth. The full manuscript is located in London. This is one of four other great uncial codices, or full manuscripts of the Bible. The British Museum in London maintains the document.
Extended artifact data for Codex Alexandrinus
See detailed information about this artifact from the entity that has access to it.
Location description
- British Library London, United Kingdom
Full address: British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London, London, NW1 2DB, United Kingdom
We are the national library of the United Kingdom and give access to the world’s most comprehensive research collection. We provide information services to academic, business, research and scientific communities. Our collection of over 170 million items includes artefacts from every age of written civilisation. We keep the nation’s archive of printed and digital publications, adding around three million new items to our collection every year. We have many books, but we have so much more. Our London and Yorkshire sites have everything from newspapers to sound recordings, patents, prints and drawings, maps and manuscripts. Our inspiring exhibitions interpret these collections and bring their stories to the public.
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Record numbers
| Shelfmark | MS Royal 1. D. V-VIII |
| Digitized record | Folio Nos. f.i-r |
| Artifact access | By request |
| Great Uncial Sign | A |
| Gregory-Aland No. | No. 02/A |
| Soden Mark | δ 4 |
Full artifact data
| Dimensions | 32 × 26 cm (12.6 × 10.4 in) |
Record notes
About these data
| Retrieval date | Dec. 6, 2020 |
| Copyright | British Library |
Render
See a rendering of the artifact in images, text, and other form factors. Where available, a translation is included.
Digital scan
OMNIKA Reader
Good news. This original artifact is digitized and available in the OMNIKA Library.
All texts
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Mythological contents
This artifact contains mythological contents associated with Christian Religion. The main narrative mentioned may be Biblical Genesis, a Creation myth. The deities depicted or mentioned in the artifact may be: God and Yahweh.
Parent belief system
- Christian Religion · MonotheisticHeads up. This Religion belongs to the Abrahamic collection on the basis of shared myths and deities.
Christianity is one of the world's most widely practiced religions. It is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of the Nazarene figure named Jesus. The important text associated with Christianity is the Holy Bible, which is comprised of the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are over two billion people practicing Christianity around the world, making it the biggest (with Islam behind it).
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Associated myth
Biblical Genesis Creation mythNuthsell
God created everything in the course of six days, as follows: (day 1) the heavens and the earth—effectively the entire universe—followed by day and night; (day 2) a dome to separate heaven and earth; (day 3) land, from which trees and plant life is raised; (day 4) sun and moon; (day 5) creatures that dwell in the ocean, and; (day 6) animals and humans (Adam and Eve), modeled in his image. Afterwards, Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Upon eating the apple and gaining awareness, they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden and forced to live out their mortal days on Earth.
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Deities depicted
Artifact condition
The artifact named 'Codex Alexandrinus' is appraised as being in Just OK condition based on how much reliance is placed on other resources to make it complete and readable.
| Condition | Excellent | Just OK | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  | |
| Completeness | More than 80% | 50 - 80% | Less than 50% |
| Fragmentation | Minor | Moderate | Significant |
| Damage | Minor | Moderate | Significant |
| Legibility | Highly readable | Somewhat readable | Unintelligible |
What's a 'joined' artifact?
A joined artifact is one that was originally part of the other and was broken or fragmented at some point in time. Joins are common among clay tablets because they may get broken during discovery and transportation. The join is notated with the + sign. For example, if tablets A000 and Z999 are joined, we would express this relationship by grouping them as A000 + Z999 to indicate they are related.
If the fragments are owned, maintained, and cataloged by separate museums then classifying the join relationship is critical for accurate translations.
Cite this page
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Codex Alexandrinus." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 04 Mar. 2019, omnika.org/stable/25. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
OMNIKA (2019, March 04). Codex Alexandrinus. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/25
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Codex Alexandrinus." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created March 04, 2019. Accessed May 21, 2026. https://omnika.org/stable/25.
