Menander verses rediscovered

A manuscript containing possibly unknown verses penned by the ancient Greek playwright Menander more than 2,000 years ago have come to light at the Vatican Library, the Vatican's newspaper has said.

While half of the 400 verses, copied on to a parchment in the ninth century, appear to be come from Menander's only salvaged play "The Grouch", or "Dyskolos", researchers believe 200 verses could be completely new finds. . .

The verses were discovered by Francesco D'Aiuto, the Vatican Library's specialist in Greek manuscripts. . .

The protagonists of the new verses found at the Vatican Library are an old woman, a newborn child and a girl, according to initial studies, although the details of the plot have yet to unfold, L'Osservatore said.

The manuscript is a copy of Menander's verses written on animal skin and stored in a Syrian monastery before making its way to the Vatican.

From Reuters (no luck in finding the original Osservatore article online).

Posted by David on December 6, 2003 4:02 PM