A clay tablet discovered during an archaeological dig may be the oldest written record of Homer's epic tale, the Odyssey, ever found in Greece, the country's culture ministry has said.
Posted on 07/11/2018 3:09:09 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Found near the ruined Temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Olympia, the tablet has been dated to Roman times. It is engraved with 13 verses from the poem recounting the adventures of the hero Odysseus after the fall of Troy.
The tale was probably composed by Homer in the late 8th Century BC.
It would have been handed down in an oral tradition for hundreds of years before the tablet was inscribed. The exact date of the tablet still needed to be confirmed, but its discovery was "a great archaeological, epigraphic, literary and historical exhibit", the Greek culture ministry said in a statement.
Excavations to uncover the tablet took three years. The Odyssey is widely considered to be a seminal work in Western literature.
The poem, spanning some 12,000 lines, tells the story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, who spends 10 years trying to get home after participating in the fall of the kingdom of Troy.
The tablet, discovered by Greek and German researchers, contains 13 verses from the Odyssey's 14th Rhapsody, in which Odysseus addresses his lifelong friend Eumaeus.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
A clay tablet discovered during an archaeological dig may be the oldest written record of Homer's epic tale, the Odyssey, ever found in Greece, the country's culture ministry has said.
Photo credit: EPA
DNA clue to origins of early Greek civilization
3 August 2017
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-40791188
How did ancient Greek music sound?
By Armand D’Angour
23 October 2013
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24611454
Perhaps the scrawls of a student practicing his writing.
In those days, they didn’t have ‘snowflakes’.
Awesome.
Nope, they had lava bombs.
Someday in the far future, archeologists will dig up a print of “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” and declare it Homer Odyssey, Oldest extract discovered.
It’s uncommon that ancient literature is preserved that way. Catullus’ poems, I think, were found on a mummy-wrapping.
What typically happens is that the best literary works get passed down from generation to generation, each one treasuring it and making copies upon copies, some of which survive when the original manuscripts do not.
I haven’t seen the film you mentioned but I kinda doubt it will be treasured by generations. :)
They didn't worry about plagiarism, so it kept getting improved down the years.
What will be the Rosetta Stone of technology? Already hard to find VCRs, cassette or 8-track players. Early 16mm videotapes (that have some of President Eisenhower’s speeches, e.g.,) seem all but forgotten.
When you add in the planned obsolescence, I wonder what is the fate of knowledge.
Richard Dawkins imagined a future where smart machines had completely replaced humans, who had died out.
Then when the machines started wondering what their origin was, they couldn't figure it out.
(He used this as an analogy for us humans not being able to figure out our missing link is. Whatever the link between dead matter and self-replicating life in the way past, it seems to be gone now. At least we haven't discovered it.)
Everything is now digital.
The concept I mention was supposedly to be a bit of a joke.
Please see that film if you like Homer’s odyssey.
WOW! What a find!!!
Wow!
Liberal Ralph Stanley was in it.
Who?
It was full of actors. They’re mostly liberals. Clooney was in it. He’s one of the biggest leftists there is.
It’s not a leftist play. It is a well done, made in 2000, circa 1930s era version of Homer’s Odyssey. It has good music to boot. Get a free dvd/ Blu-ray of it at your public library
Fortunately, for the “great” archaeologists and explorers like Schliemann and Cousteau since then, there has been dynamite.
I’ve discovered that Cousteau Heads don’t like to learn what their great environmentalist hero did to the Great Barrier Reef.
Ralph Stanley sang “Man of Constant Sorrow” and “O Death” in the movie. How appropriate!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
