Homer's Iliad Pages Found in 1,600-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Burial

Archaeologists in Al Bahnasa, Egypt, have unearthed a 1,600-year-old Roman-era tomb containing a mummy buried with pages from Homer's Iliad. The fragment includes lines from Book 2's 'catalogue of ships,' listing Achaean vessels sent to Troy. Dating from centuries after Cleopatra's reign, the discovery suggests Greek literary papyri served as a 'cultural passport' for social status and financial privilege, possibly guiding the deceased through the underworld. Physicians also credited Homer's work with curative properties, prescribing Book 4 for malaria. The find highlights the veneration of Greek culture in Roman-era Egypt and the enduring power of Homer's epic.