Utrecht University discovers 1,700-year-old Odyssey manuscript fragment

A rare 1,700-year-old manuscript fragment of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ has been discovered hidden within the pages of a book at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The fragment, which dates back to approximately 300 AD, was identified by Dr. Mark de Kreij, a professor of Greek at Radboud University, while he was examining a collection of early Christian documents.

The small piece of parchment, roughly the size of a playing card, contains text on both sides. It depicts a scene from the 12th rhapsody, where Odysseus’s crew consumes the sacred cattle of the sun god, leading to divine retribution. Researchers believe the fragment may have been part of a small, portable ‘pocket edition’ used in the Faiyum Oasis of Egypt.

This discovery is highly significant as there are only about 30 such surviving fragments of the ‘Odyssey’ worldwide. The fragment’s survival is attributed to its location in the middle of a codex, a section typically better protected from wear and tear than the outer edges of a book.