Archaeologists discover what may be oldest written record of Homer's Odyssey
Odysseus has made yet another pit stop on his journey home from the Trojan War.
Archaeologists' siren song summoned what appears to be the oldest written piece of The Odyssey, Homer's epic about Odysseus' incredibly long trip from Troy to Ithaca, Greece's culture ministry announced Tuesday. After a three-year excavation, a clay tablet engraved with verses from the poem surfaced in ancient Olympia, where the Olympic games were first held.
The tablet is likely from ancient Roman times, and archaeologists plan to pinpoint its date more precisely, BBC reports. The plaque has huge historical significance regardless of its age, the ministry said. In this discovered chunk, the hero talks to his swineherd pal Eumaeus, who has been managing Odysseus' kingdom until he gets back from the Trojan War.
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This tablet doesn't reveal, however, why Eumaeus wasn't incredibly peeved that Odysseus could've returned home earlier if he hadn't spent an extra year hanging with Circe.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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