Professor Edith Hall

It's quite remarkable, just the cultural longevity. I mean, one of the reasons for that, though, was that once it was actually written down, this is what happened in the middle of the 8th century, it became the absolutely standard fare of ancient education for then more than 1,000 years.

It's quite remarkable, just the cultural longevity. I mean, one of the reasons for that, though, was that once it was actually written down, this is what happened in the middle of the 8th century, it became the absolutely standard fare of ancient education for then more than 1,000 years.

It's quite remarkable, just the cultural longevity. I mean, one of the reasons for that, though, was that once it was actually written down, this is what happened in the middle of the 8th century, it became the absolutely standard fare of ancient education for then more than 1,000 years.

So we know, for example, that young Athenian aristocratic boys were expected to know it off by heart, the whole thing off by heart. I mean, it's just incredible history. but they were expected to know top by heart if they had a good education. And that remained so throughout the Roman Empire all the way through

So we know, for example, that young Athenian aristocratic boys were expected to know it off by heart, the whole thing off by heart. I mean, it's just incredible history. but they were expected to know top by heart if they had a good education. And that remained so throughout the Roman Empire all the way through

So we know, for example, that young Athenian aristocratic boys were expected to know it off by heart, the whole thing off by heart. I mean, it's just incredible history. but they were expected to know top by heart if they had a good education. And that remained so throughout the Roman Empire all the way through

This meant it survived in numerous manuscripts in Byzantium when it was lost to the West for about a thousand years, between about 400 CE and pretty much when the Turks invaded Constantinople in the middle of the 15th century. But thank heavens, enough manuscripts before that happened and they destroyed half the libraries.

This meant it survived in numerous manuscripts in Byzantium when it was lost to the West for about a thousand years, between about 400 CE and pretty much when the Turks invaded Constantinople in the middle of the 15th century. But thank heavens, enough manuscripts before that happened and they destroyed half the libraries.

This meant it survived in numerous manuscripts in Byzantium when it was lost to the West for about a thousand years, between about 400 CE and pretty much when the Turks invaded Constantinople in the middle of the 15th century. But thank heavens, enough manuscripts before that happened and they destroyed half the libraries.

enough manuscripts had been got out to Italy to mean that they rolled off the printing presses pretty early on in the history of printing. So by around 1550, there were hundreds of printed copies and people were very energetically beginning to translate it, not just into Latin, because then the lingua franca was Latin, but quite early into modern languages.

enough manuscripts had been got out to Italy to mean that they rolled off the printing presses pretty early on in the history of printing. So by around 1550, there were hundreds of printed copies and people were very energetically beginning to translate it, not just into Latin, because then the lingua franca was Latin, but quite early into modern languages.

enough manuscripts had been got out to Italy to mean that they rolled off the printing presses pretty early on in the history of printing. So by around 1550, there were hundreds of printed copies and people were very energetically beginning to translate it, not just into Latin, because then the lingua franca was Latin, but quite early into modern languages.

And as soon as that happened, everybody started doing operas and paintings and plays and parodies. And it became once again an absolute staple language. of certainly upper-class education. That's why it's as big as it is. Actually, until quite recently, it wasn't as big as the Odyssey. If you actually think quantitatively, in terms of world culture, there were far more versions of the Odyssey.

And as soon as that happened, everybody started doing operas and paintings and plays and parodies. And it became once again an absolute staple language. of certainly upper-class education. That's why it's as big as it is. Actually, until quite recently, it wasn't as big as the Odyssey. If you actually think quantitatively, in terms of world culture, there were far more versions of the Odyssey.

And as soon as that happened, everybody started doing operas and paintings and plays and parodies. And it became once again an absolute staple language. of certainly upper-class education. That's why it's as big as it is. Actually, until quite recently, it wasn't as big as the Odyssey. If you actually think quantitatively, in terms of world culture, there were far more versions of the Odyssey.

The Odyssey was exported all over the planet by the Jesuits and things like that. The Iliad did not make so much of an impact, but it just had a quite astonishing revival in the 21st century and I think is now absolutely as familiar as the Odyssey for the first time since antiquity.

The Odyssey was exported all over the planet by the Jesuits and things like that. The Iliad did not make so much of an impact, but it just had a quite astonishing revival in the 21st century and I think is now absolutely as familiar as the Odyssey for the first time since antiquity.

The Odyssey was exported all over the planet by the Jesuits and things like that. The Iliad did not make so much of an impact, but it just had a quite astonishing revival in the 21st century and I think is now absolutely as familiar as the Odyssey for the first time since antiquity.

Yes, it's an entire encyclopedia of their civilization and values. I think they were written down because of Greek colonization. So not many people really did know them completely off by heart. If you were going off to found, as they were in the Archaic Age, the 8th, 7th, 6th century, to found colonies on the far northern coast of the Black Sea or in Marseilles or in Egypt or

Yes, it's an entire encyclopedia of their civilization and values. I think they were written down because of Greek colonization. So not many people really did know them completely off by heart. If you were going off to found, as they were in the Archaic Age, the 8th, 7th, 6th century, to found colonies on the far northern coast of the Black Sea or in Marseilles or in Egypt or