A 1,700-Year-Old Fragment of 'The Odyssey' Found Hidden Among the Pages of a Book

A researcher found a fragment of the Odyssey about 1,700 years old while studying ancient Egyptian texts in a library in the Netherlands.

The small parchment contains verses from Book 12 of the work by Homer and was found among the pages of a book in the collection.

What the fragment of the Odyssey found in the Netherlands says

The discovery was made by Mark de Kreij, a specialist in Greek literature and a professor at Radboud University in the Netherlands.

De Kreij was studying ancient Christian manuscripts when he found a small fragment of parchment among Egyptian and Greek texts.

The researcher recognized some words belonging to the Odyssey by Homer in the material.

“There are so many boring parts in the Odyssey. This turns out to be a really fun passage”, De Kreij told RTV Utrecht.

The fragment recounts a key episode in Odysseus's story

The fragment measures approximately 6.6 by 7.7 centimeters and includes verses from Book 12 of the epic.

The passage narrates the moment when Helios, the sun god, discovers that Odysseus's men have killed and eaten his sacred cattle.

Before reaching Helios's island, Circe had warned Odysseus to avoid that place. However, after surviving Scylla and Charybdis, Odysseus and his men arrive at the island.

After a month of storms and with supplies running low, Eurylochus convinces the crew to kill and eat Helios's cattle.

The sun god then asks the other gods for revenge. Zeus destroys the ship and everyone dies, except for Odysseus.

A pocket-sized copy produced in Egypt about 1,700 years ago

According to Utrecht University, the fragment likely belonged to a parchment codex dated between the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D.