Researchers have discovered new passages on a papyrus scroll that was buried under layers of volcanic ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The passages shed light on the last hours of Plato – a key figure in the history of Western philosophy.
The research showed that the scroll contained a groundbreaking story about the Greek philosopher’s last night. That evening he listened to music played on a flute by a Thracian slave. He criticized the slave for her lack of rhythm, even though he had a fever and was dying at the time.
Plato – known as a follower of Socrates and mentor to Aristotle – died in Athens around 348 BC. Until now, it has always been said that he is buried somewhere beneath the Academy of Athens, and the coded words on the scroll now suggest as much. He is said to have designated a place in the gardens of the world’s first university.
Finally, the researchers were also able to find out that Plato was actually sold into slavery on the island of Aegina. Historians could only surmise that until now.
Technology
The research results were presented at the National Library of Naples by Professor Graziano Ranocchia from the University of Pisa. “Thanks to the most advanced imaging diagnostic techniques, we are finally able to read and decipher new parts of texts that previously seemed inaccessible,” he said. “For the first time – through an unrolling process using a mechanical technique that disrupted entire text fragments – we were able to read series of hidden letters from the papyri that had been folded into multiple layers and stuck together over the centuries.”
The scroll was found in 1750 in a villa in Herculaneum, an ancient Roman beach town near Pompeii. Historians assume that the scroll would have belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. Several researchers and scholars have tried to decipher the scroll, without success. Ranocchia expects to find much more information in the role in the future.
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