Smithsonian Magazine · People & society

Ancient Odyssey Fragment Discovered in Dutch Library

A researcher has found a 1,700-year-old parchment fragment from a copy of Homer's 'The Odyssey' hidden within a collection of early Christian manuscripts at Utrecht University Library in the Netherlands.

The three-inch, Greek-inscribed fragment contains verses from a fourth-century copy of the epic poem, which chronicles Odysseus's ten-year journey home after the Trojan War. The parchment was discovered among Egyptian texts, purchased by the university in the mid-20th century.

Mark de Kreij, a Greek language and literature expert, identified the fragment as an excerpt from Book 12 of 'The Odyssey,' describing the moment the sun god Helios discovers Odysseus's companions have eaten his sacred cattle. This event leads to Zeus destroying Odysseus's ship and crew.

The fragment was likely part of a pocket-sized edition of 'The Odyssey' owned by someone in Egypt's Fayoum Oasis around 300 CE. Such ancient fragments are rare, with only about 30 dating to the third or fourth century.

The oldest known 'Odyssey' fragment, dated between 285 and 250 BCE, is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another significant early copy, the 'Manchester Odyssey,' also dates to the third century and was inscribed in Egypt.

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