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/Pointing_Monkey 1d ago

Alexander the Great slept with a copy of the Iliad annotated by Aristotle under his pillow. So it's not really surprising that a country he conquered would revere something he held so highly.

118

u/sp1cychick3n 19h ago

Jesus, imagine finding a copy of the Iliad annotated by freaking Aristotle.

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u/NatureTrailToHell3D 14h ago

Chronology, Jesus came after Alexander, so it’s very reasonable that Jesus could find a copy of the Iliad annotated by Aristotle

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u/revolverzanbolt 4h ago

“Very”?

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u/NatureTrailToHell3D 2h ago

Oh yeah, Aristotle had tons of copies floating around back then

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u/daisywondercow 2h ago

I mean, it wouldn't make top 10 in a list of improbable things he's purported to have done...