An Interview with Nadia Makuc

Woman with brown hair faces the viewer and smiles — Nadia Makuc

What is your role in the Connecting Histories: The Princeton and Mount Athos Legacy project?

As a digital imaging specialist, I capture images of the photo negatives taken by Weitzmann and then edit them so that they can be archived and studied digitally. So far, I’ve digitized images of manuscripts from Lavra, Hilander, Iviron, Dionysiu, Esphigmenou, and Panteleimonos.

What year are you in your education? Have you chosen a major? If you have, what is it and why?

I am a sophomore who just recently declared Classics as my major! I really enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of the study, and I’ve fallen in love with the languages of Latin and Ancient Greek. I’m also minoring in Medieval Studies though, as my interests lie in Classical transmission and manuscript studies in the Medieval West and Byzantium.

What have you learned about Mount Athos, archives, or photography since working for this project? Has anything surprised you?

I’m grateful to have been able to see such a broad sample of manuscripts and get a sense for recurring themes and styles. While there are a lot of similarities among different manuscripts and even in between monasteries, there will be the occasional drawing, font, or format which sticks out as unique, as if begging to be studied! It’s cool to see my own interests line up with Weitzmann’s, indicated by him having taken photos from multiple angles or a close-up – I feel like I’ve come to know the photographer too just by seeing his photos.

A page from a book shows an illustration of Christ blessing while standing in a chalice — Esphigmenu Codex 262 3v

What is one of your favorite works of art that you have seen during this experience so far and why?

There are so many ornate borders and quirky creatures which I’ve found fascinating, but I think one of my favorites has to be an illumination of Jesus Christ in a chalice, as if a faithful would be drinking the man himself. It is not a usual motif, but evidently the artist took liberty with drawing an interpretation of the real presence of Jesus in communion.

Coffee or tea?

Generally tea, though I’ll never turn down a Greek freddo espresso.