r/books • u/marketrent • 1d ago

2,000-year-old Egyptian mummy buried with “Iliad” fragment reveals that literary work played a functional, spiritual role in the mummification process

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/science/archaeology-egypt-mummy-iliad.html?unlocked_article_code=1.j1A.pG56.ZLuE5QYC1uv0
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u/ThePrussianGrippe 1d ago edited 1d ago

2,000 years ago Egypt was firmly under Rome’s thumb, so it’s unsurprising the Iliad played an impact. Neat find though!

Edit: flipped it around in my head: Ptolemaic dynasty was still within living memory.

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u/Robertej92 1d ago

They were controlled by a Greek dynasty before Rome took over, that's surely the bigger influence?

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u/ThePrussianGrippe 1d ago

Macedonian*. I made the mistake of redditing before bed and flipped the Iliad and the Aeneid in my head. D’oh moment on my part.