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Original fileThe fragment displays fifteen lines of ancient Greek uncial script inscribed on light brown papyrus. The text covers lines 433 through 447 of Book 8, recording the scene where Zeus returns to the divine assembly and Poseidon unyokes the immortal horses from the chariots. Notable for its clear, large lettering, the artifact represents the primary literary source for Western mythological thought.
Homer's epics served as the foundational 'sacred' texts for the Neoplatonic tradition; philosophers such as Porphyry and Proclus treated these passages as divine allegories containing hidden metaphysical truths. In the Renaissance, this tradition was revived by humanists who viewed Homer as a 'theologus-poeta' whose work anticipated later philosophical and Hermetic insights.
[...]ΑΤΩΝ ΚΑΛ[...] [...]Ν ΠΡΟ ΣΕΝΩΠΙΑ ΠΑ[...] [...]ΤΗΣΙΝ ΕΠΙ ΚΛΕΙΣΙ[...] [...]Ω ΘΕΟΙΣΙ ΦΙΛΟΝΤΕ ΠΗΜΕΝ[...] [...]ΤΗΙΕΙ ΔΗ ΘΕΝ ΕΥΤΡΟ[...]ΚΛΙ[...]ΙΠΠΟΥΣ [...]Η Δ ΕΛΥΚΕ ΘΕΩΝ ΛΕΞ[...]ΚΕΤΟ ΘΩΚΟΥΣ [...]ΠΠΟΥΣ ΜΕΝ ΛΥΣΕΝ ΚΛΥΤΟΣ ΕΝ ΝΟΣΙΔΑΙΩΝ [...]ΜΩΝ ΟΙΣΙ ΤΙΘΕΙ ΚΑΤΑ[...]ΠΕΤΑΣΣΑΣ [...]ΓΕ: Ο Η ΕΠΙ ΘΡΟΝΟΝ ΕΥΡΥΟΠΑ ΖΕΥΣ [...]ΥΠΌ ΠΟΣΣΙ ΜΕΓΑΣ ΠΕΛΕΜΙΖΕΤ ΟΛΥΜΠΟΣ [...]Ω ΜΩΙΟΣ ΘΗΝ Η ΤΕΚΝ Η Η [...]ΔΕ ΠΙΝΙ ΠΡΟΣΕΦΩΝΕ ΟΝ ΟΥΔΕ ΡΕΟΝΤΟ [...]Ω ΗΣΙΝ ΕΝΙ [...] ΕΕΙΦΩΝΗΣΕΝ [...]ΟΤΕ ΤΙ ΗΣΘ[...]Ν Η ΤΕΚΝ Η Η [...]ΜΩΝ ΚΑΤ ΡΑ[...] ΑΜΒΡΟΣΙΗΙ ΚΑΠΗΣΙΝ
Translation
[...] of the good [...] [...] before Senopia [...] [...] upon closing [...] [...] to the gods, friendly, suffering [...] [...] in truth [...] well [...] horses [...] and loosened the gods' [...] seats [...] horses, indeed, the famous one of the Nosidae loosed [...] to whom he places down [...] having spread [...] : where upon the throne wide-eyed Zeus [...] beneath his feet, great Olympus trembled [...] to the muse, indeed, the child [...] [...] and to Pini spoke, whom not even flowing [...] in his [...] spoke [...] when he [...] the child [...] [...] down from [...] with ambrosial [...]
Proclus
Proclus authored extensive Neoplatonic commentaries on Homeric mythology, treating scenes like the Olympic assembly as symbolic of the celestial hierarchy.
Porphyry
In 'On the Cave of the Nymphs,' Porphyry established the standard for esoteric and allegorical interpretation of Homeric texts.
Object
mythological
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 4, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.