A rare 1700-year-old papyrus fragment belonging to Homer's 'Odyssey,' one of the greatest masterpieces of ancient Greek literature, has been discovered at Utrecht University Library in the Netherlands. The small fragment, found by researcher Mark de Kreij from Radboud University while examining ancient Egyptian texts, is part of a pocket-sized book produced in Egypt around 300 CE. The discovery has generated significant excitement in the archaeology world due to the unique insights it offers into the dissemination of literature and the development of early book formats in antiquity.
The Wrath of the Sun God
Measuring just 6.6 by 7.7 centimeters, roughly the size of a playing card, this small papyrus fragment contains one of the epic's most thrilling passages [1]. The discovered verses recount the events following Odysseus's men killing and eating the sacred, immortal cattle of the Sun God Helios. These tragic moments, where all of Odysseus's crew perished in a storm sent by Zeus at the behest of the enraged God Helios, were among the favorite passages for ancient readers.
Seventy Years of Misidentification
Researchers indicate that this valuable document is actually a fragment of a papyrus codex originating from the Fayum Oasis in Egypt, dated to the 3rd or 4th century CE. This artifact, which had remained unnoticed in the Utrecht University Library archives for approximately seventy years due to mislabeling, is one of only a few dozen similar codex fragments to have survived to the present day worldwide [2]. These portable books, comparable in size to a modern e-reader in antiquity, are estimated to have been carried by the elite or travelers of the time [2].
The secret behind this papyrus's remarkable preservation is thought to be its central position within the pocket-sized book, protected by the surrounding pages [3]. Researcher de Kreij is preparing to publish his extensive study on Greco-Roman texts, including this discovery, as a book soon. This rare find once again highlights the millennia-long journey of Homeric epics across the Mediterranean basin and humanity's shared cultural heritage.