Tuesday, August 14, 2012

What medium or media was The Odyssey first written on?

Originally, Homer's The Odyssey was intended for oral presentation, and so those experiencing the poem would have listened to a recitation of it, rather than reading it themselves. Even so, the poem was written down for the first time quite a long time ago. It's hard to pin down when this first happened, but rough estimates suggest the poem was copied down between 650 and 750 BCE. Though we don't know for sure what medium The Odyssey was first written on, it's estimated that the poem was originally written on rolls of papyrus, or on specially prepared animal skins (usually called vellum). It's also estimated that, since the poem is quite long, it might have been written on many separate rolls. All in all, though the poem was initially supposed to be presented orally, it's actually been written down for quite some time, which could explain how The Odyssey has proven to be so enduring. 

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