Plato, one of the most influential philosophers in history, was known for his theories on politics, poetry, knowledge, and ethics.
And, thanks to a newly discovered scroll buried on Mount Vesuvius, we now know that the ancient Greek thinker was sharp in his criticism until the end, spending his final moments criticizing the “lack of rhythm” of a slave flutist.
The centuries-old passages detail Plato’s final hours and reveal that the philosopher, who was suffering from fever, had been listening to music and welcoming guests before he died at the age of 80 or 81, around 348 BC.
The scroll, known as the History of the Academy and written by Philodemus, a philosopher and poet who lived in the 1st century BC, has been illegible since its discovery in a large villa in Herculaneum, now known as Ercolano in Italy, in 1750.
Plato (pictured) was known for his theories on politics, poetry and ethics. And, thanks to a newly discovered scroll, we now know that the ancient Greek thinker was sharp in his criticism until the end, spending his final moments criticizing a flutist’s “lack of rhythm.”
The scroll, known as the History of the Academy and written by Philodemus, a philosopher and poet who lived in the 1st century BC, has been illegible since its discovery in 1750 thanks to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (pictured) in the year 79 AD that covered it with meters of ash.
The centuries-old passages (pictured) detail Plato’s final hours and reveal that the philosopher, who was suffering from fever, had been listening to music and welcoming guests before dying at the age of 80 or 81, around the year 348. BC
The papyrus had been buried under meters of ash in the house, believed to have belonged to Julius Caesar’s father-in-law, after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. C. and scholars have spent the last 250 years painstakingly trying to find a way to read its contents. The times reports.
Now Professor Graziano Ranocchia of the University of Pisa and his colleagues have used techniques, including shortwave infrared hyperspectral imaging, which captures variations in the way light bounces off the black ink of the papyrus, to decipher the document.
Professor Ranocchia described the scroll as “the oldest history of Greek philosophy that we possess.”
The professor said Plato’s welcoming of his visitor, referred to in the writings as the “Chaldean guest,” showed that the great philosopher “fulfilled his duties,” adding that “hospitality was sacred to the Greeks.”
The scroll also helped confirm that Plato was buried at the Academy of Athens, which he founded, but adds the detail that the ancient thinker’s resting place was in a designated garden within the university grounds.
He also suggests that Plato was sold into slavery in 404 BC. C. or 399 BC. C., before his popularity skyrocketed, which contrasts with the popular theory that he was sold in 387 BC. C. by the ruler of Syracuse, Dionysius, to restrict the influence he exerted on the people of the tyrant ruler.
Professor Graziano Ranocchia of the University of Pisa said: “Thanks to the most advanced diagnostic imaging techniques, we can finally read and decipher new sections of texts that previously seemed inaccessible” (pictured: carbonized papyri from Herculaneum).
The professor said the full impact of the work would only become clear in the coming years (pictured: newly legible text on a Herculaneum scroll)
Professor Ranocchia added: ‘Thanks to more advanced imaging techniques, we can finally read and decipher new sections of texts that previously seemed inaccessible.
“For the first time, we have been able to read sequences of hidden letters from the papyri that were wrapped in multiple layers, glued together over the centuries, through an unwinding process using a mechanical technique that interrupted entire fragments of text.”
The professor stated that the full impact of the work would only become clear in the coming years.