Homer Odyssey: Oldest extract discovered on clay tablet

BBC ^ | July 10, 2018 | unattributed

[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.

[Mr. K]

AND THEN THEY’LL BOOGIE TO “MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW”

[mad_as_he$$]

Even with this classic?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZtgZ5fHOuU

[CharleysPride]

Amazing. I love all the Greek stuff, but the Odyssey is in a class of it’s own.

Wily Odysseus, faithful Penelope, monsters, trips to the Underworld. Truly the best of the Classics.

Thanks as always for the great posts!

(and of course, those Sirens...Tim Buckley had something to say about that!)

[Cincinnatus.45-70]

Thanks, SunkenCiv!

[P.O.E.]

Awesome film.

I’m a big John Hartford fan from way back.

[YogicCowboy]

I enrolled in an adult poetry class in 2000. We were told Homer and Shelley were not worthy of study, but Shakur was.

I dropped after one session.

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

From the homer keyword:

• Homer Odyssey: Oldest extract discovered on clay tablet [2018]
• 'Homer can help you': War veterans use ancient epics to cope [2018]
• The First English Translation of 'The Odyssey' by a Woman Was Worth the Wait [2017]
• Throne of Homer's hero is unearthed [2016]
• Grave of 'Griffin Warrior' at Pylos Could Be a Gateway to Civilizations [2015]
• Author Says a Whole Culture -- Not a Single 'Homer' -- Wrote 'Iliad,' 'Odyssey' [2015]
• Holy crap! EMC gives Vatican Library 2.8PB to store manuscripts [2013]
• Incredible, Epic Genes: Dating The Iliad [2013]
• Incredible, Epic Genes: Dating The Iliad [2013]
• The Metaphor of the Dawn in The Odyssey [2011]
• The War that Killed Achilles by Caroline Alexander [reviews] [2010]
• Project Troia -- Bronze Age Troy Just Keeps on Growing [2010]
• Greek Archaeologists Claim They Discovered Odysseus' Palace [2010]
• Excavations in Ancient Tegea [2009]
• Archaeologists find suspected Trojan war-era couple [2009]
• 'The Odyssey' and 'The Iliad' are giving up new secrets about the ancient world [2008]
• Ancient Tomb Found On Greek Island [2008]
• Letters to the Crocodile God [2007]
• Greek Archaeologists Discover Rare Example Of 2,700-Year-Old Weaving [2007]
• Engineers To Help Find Homer's Itacha [2007]
• Drill hole begins Homeric quest [2006]
• An epic battle on Homer's gender [2006]
• Odyssey's End? The Search for Ancient Ithaca [2006]
• Palace Of Homer's Hero Rises Out Of Myths [2006]
• Ancient coffin with scenes from Homer's poems unearthed in Cyprus [2006]
• Search Locates Homer's Ithaca [2005]
• Archeologists make historic discovery (Tomb of Odysseus) [2005]
• Philistines at the Gate [2005]
• ART Appreciation "class" #1: Manet and Homer [2005]
• Papyrus Reveals New Clues to Ancient World (New Sophocles, Lucian: More) [2005]
• Cyclops Myth Spurred by "One-Eyed" Fossils? [2004]
• Amazon Warrior Women [2004]
• Scientists Say Warfare Began After People Formed Villages [2003]
• Geologists investigate Trojan battlefield [2003]
• Geologists Show Homer Got It Right [2003]
• Was Troy a Metropolis? Homer Isn't Talking [2002]
• Who Killed Homer? [2002]

[zeugma]

Please see that film if you like Homer’s odyssey.

Or bluegrass

[Vaquero]

[Vaquero]

Definitely Bluegrass.

[SunkenCiv]

Wow, a Tim Buckley reference to boot! Lousy father, dope addict, but both prolific and marvelously creative musician.

The Odyssey Trailer 1997
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2paSWX2hdNI

[SunkenCiv]

In the last ten or so years, digital photography has all but eliminated the commonplace use of film-based cameras, and most of the photos ever taken date from this lovely digital era. Moving pictures of historic events go back to the funeral of Queen Victoria, at least, barely more than a century. The preservation of older source material will only work out due to the use of digital technology and the basically trivial process of its duplication and backup.

[CharleysPride]

Lousy family, addiction and musical talent - quite the trifecta!

Here he is on the ‘Monkees’ with his often covered ‘Song to the Siren’:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMTEtDBHGY4

PS - Armand Assante is perfectly cast. Miniseries was a good, if zany, interpretation I thought.

Happy Thursday!

[SunkenCiv]

:^)