The world's oldest surviving copy of Homer's Odyssey, known as the Manchester Odyssey, has gone on public display for the first time at the John Rylands Library in Manchester. Created in Ancient Egypt around 1,700 years ago, the fragile sheepskin manuscript is the earliest known version of the epic poem.
Ancient Manuscript Inspires Modern Blockbuster
The artefact has helped inspire Christopher Nolan's star-studded retelling of the homecoming tale, which hits cinemas this weekend. The film stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Tom Holland, and Robert Pattinson. Dr Jeremy Penner, a curator at the library, said: "It's incredibly cool. It's incredibly old, but there's something very modern about it."
The manuscript, written on around 200 pages of sheep skin, contains the full 12,000-line poem. It is estimated that the hides of 20 to 30 animals were used in its production. The poem was already around 1,000 years old when this copy was transcribed, possibly by a student scribe, as evidence of corrections and annotations suggests it was well-read.
Provenance and Journey
The Manchester Odyssey was sold to the John Rylands Library by bibliophile James Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford, in 1901. He had dispatched archaeologists Grenfell and Hunt to Egypt in the late 19th century with £250 to buy artefacts for his family library at Haigh Hall in Wigan. They acquired the manuscript at an antiquities market in Cairo, already in fragile condition, with crumbling pages stored in envelopes and a cigar box to protect them from moisture.
Enduring Power of the Odyssey
Dr Penner explained the enduring appeal of the story: "That's the beautiful thing about myth. It doesn't exist except in its retelling. In Emily Wilson's translation, the opening line is 'Tell me about a complicated man, muse.' Odysseus is a complicated person, but it's because of that he speaks to so many different people. The humanity of it is just so apparent. It teaches you how to be a human being."
John Rylands director Professor Christopher Pressler said: "Its journey marks a bold reimagining of the library's world-class collections, placing the Odyssey and other landmark manuscripts at the heart of an entirely new visitor experience exploring the history of literature itself."
The Manchester Odyssey is now on display at the John Rylands Library on Deansgate, Manchester.
