“The Milan Papyrus” – Seminal Discovery of New Hellenistic Verses

Abstract

The publication of some newly discovered poems, probably to be attributed to the Hellenistic epigrammatist Posidippus of Pella, is the most significant recent contribution to the corpus of Greek literature. The sheer amount of the poetry and the light which it sheds on our understanding of the literary period makes it the most important discovery in decades, comparable to the papyrus discoveries of Bacchylides, Menander, and Sappho. Moreover, the text is considered to be the earliest collection of Greek poetry organised on aesthetic principles.