In search of Western civilisation's lost classics (Herculaneum)

The Australian ^ | August 06, 2008 | Luke Slattery

[decimon]

The unique library of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, buried beneath lava by Vesuvius's eruption in AD79, is slowly revealing its long-held secrets

STORED in a sky-lit reading room on the top floor of the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples are the charred remains of the only library to survive from classical antiquity. The ancient world's other great book collections -- at Athens, Alexandria and Rome -- all perished in the chaos of the centuries. But the library of the Villa of the Papyri was conserved, paradoxically, by an act of destruction.

Lying to the northwest of ancient Herculaneum, this sumptuous seaside mansion was buried beneath 30m of petrified volcanic mud during the catastrophic eruption of Mt Vesuvius on August 24, AD79. Antiquities hunters in the mid-18th century sunk shafts and dug tunnels around Herculaneum and found the villa, surfacing with a magnificent booty of bronzes and marbles. Most of these, including a svelte seated Hermes modelled in the manner of Lyssipus, now grace the National Archeological Museum in Naples.

[decimon]

The last paragraph sours things but it's otherwise interesting.

[decimon]

Papyri ping.

[Young Werther]

One of the tomes has been translated as:

"Sic transit obaminatium quae cum ita sunt!"

[Caramelgal]

The last paragraph sours things but it's otherwise interesting.

I presume you are referring to this?

That sickness, in Epicurean terms, is rampant desire. If the Villa of the Papyri were to contribute nothing more to the 21st century than the taming of consumption, it might help save the planet as well as the soul.

The eruption of Mt Vesuvius had nothing to do at all with any man made activities or any conspicuous consumption in the ancient world as we do, with the great forces of volcanism and plate tectonics (and many other forces of nature beyond our control or influence) today.

Mt Vesuvius blew its top then and many scientists think it will someday again and there is really nothing we can do, or not do, to stop it.

Aside from the human tragedy and the many lives lost long ago, Vesuvius gave us living today, a great gift in that it froze still many slices of every day life from nearly 2,000 years ago. I find it interesting that on a whole and in many ways, they weren't all that different from us living today.

[neb52]

PING!PING?

[SunkenCiv]

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[Dumb_Ox]

Should scholars find the famous lost second book of Aristotle's Poetics, the narrative spring of Umberto Eco's best-selling medieval mystery, The Name of the Rose, the discovery might shift the ground of Western aesthetics.

Romantic but wrong. His belief that Aristotle is much regarded these days is charmingly naive.

I'm more interested in Aristotle's prose works, which have been lost. Only his "lecture notes" have survived.

The Villa of the Papyri is believed to have been owned by Roman statesman Lucius Calpurnius Piso, father-in-law of Julius Caesar.

Does anyone recall the title or number of the letter of Cicero concerning the fellow who wanted posession of Epicurus' house? It's somewhere in Epistolarum ad famliares but I can't remember where. I have the impression that fellow's name was Piso.

[SunkenCiv]

-previously-

In search of Western civilisation’s lost classics
The Australian | 8/6/08 | Luke Slattery
Posted on 08/11/2008 1:45:29 PM PDT by LibWhacker
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2060119/posts

-related-

Scientists use MRI at Kadlec to look at ancient Roman scrolls
Tri-City Herald | Thursday, Jul. 10, 2008 | Sara Schilling
Posted on 07/11/2008 9:39:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2044301/posts

[Thurifer the Censer]

I’ve been hearing about this for the last couple of years but so far no actual documents :(

[SunkenCiv]

There are some out there, or pending publication, I think the links are posted around here somewhere, amid the couple million FR topics... :’)

[SunkenCiv]