| An unpublished version of the Story of Ptocholeon is preserved in a manuscript dating to the second half of the 18th century discovered in Venice. Other versions of the same texts are contained in codices in Paris, Vienna, Vytina and Naples. The work belongs to the category of moralising poems. It describes the adventures of a rich old man who fell into poverty, was sold to the king as a slave and proved his ability in determining the nature of horses, precious stones and people, thereby winning his freedom. The versions vary as to their content, title and language. The unknown poet adapts the oriental legend of the “Wise traveller and the bastard Sultan”, without, however, fully adjusting it to Greek reality. The new version is published with brief notes. |