Ancient unreadable writings decoded!

[MournSanity]

Text


This could have massive implications. Imagine all the new literature. And what if they find a text that contradicts or disproves the Bible? Crazy discovery!

For more than a century, it has caused excitement and frustration in equal measure - a collection of Greek and Roman writings so vast it could redraw the map of classical civilisation. If only it was legible.

Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

In the past four days alone, Oxford's classicists have used it to make a series of astonishing discoveries, including writing by Sophocles, Euripides, Hesiod and other literary giants of the ancient world, lost for millennia. They even believe they are likely to find lost Christian gospels, the originals of which were written around the time of the earliest books of the New Testament.

I hope this isn't a repost. I know it's been on P&N, but I haven't seen it on ATOT.




EDIT: If this kind of stuff interests you, I found some more interesting links being discussed on Slashdot. Here is Apocrypha on Wikipedia and here is the Lost Gospel of Thomas. Pretty interesting stuff in there.

 

[myusername]

no idea what this is, but looks interesting and I will read it later. tx for link

 

[Goosemaster]

Interesting....

 

[Lonyo]

Well, since I'm either going to Oxford Uni to study Egyptology, or Nottingham to study Claccical stuff, this is great news

 

[Maximus Power]

I thought "Oxyrhynchus Papyri" was the main ingredient
in pimple cream.

 

[datalink7]

This is awesome if it works!

 

[MournSanity]

I wonder if anyone else has an opinion on this.

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: MournSanity
with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek gay and pedophile comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

Wow, how exciting.

 

[Schadenfreude]

Wow! Great!

 

[notfred]

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: MournSanity
with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek gay and pedophile comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

Wow, how exciting.

Wow, how much of an idiot you sound like.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: MournSanity
with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek gay and pedophile comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

Wow, how exciting.

Wow, how much of an idiot you sound like.

Welcome to 12/28/2004.

 

[Trevelyan]

Well, it'd be nice to get another source for this, but uncovering ancient writings is definately exciting!

But I think that people really should take a class in Anthropology of Religion or something, or at least a lof of people need to, before they start with the newly popular voodoo theology. It's simply amazing how many people treat Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code like they are anything but novels or works of fiction with few historical facts.

Seriously, my Anthropology of Religion teacher ripped apart any of the arguements for the speculations that Jesus had a wife, and things like that found in the Da Vinca Code. I think it's funny to embrace something so blindy just because it supports your views, and then turn around and critcize (often times unjustly) other people for doing the same thing. I've had this happen to me several times and it can be very frustrating to talk to people like that.

 

[Trevelyan]

Also, this was posted in P&N: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=52&threadid=1570547

 

[Deslok]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well, it'd be nice to get another source for this, but uncovering ancient writings is definately exciting!

But I think that people really should take a class in Anthropology of Religion or something, or at least a lof of people need to, before they start with the newly popular voodoo theology. It's simply amazing how many people treat Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code like they are anything but novels or works of fiction with few historical facts.

Seriously, my Anthropology of Religion teacher ripped apart any of the arguements for the speculations that Jesus had a wife, and things like that found in the Da Vinca Code. I think it's funny to embrace something so blindy just because it supports your views, and then turn around and critcize (often times unjustly) other people for doing the same thing. I've had this happen to me several times and it can be very frustrating to talk to people like that.

You can start by reading Joseph Campbell
Text

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well, it'd be nice to get another source for this, but uncovering ancient writings is definately exciting!

But I think that people really should take a class in Anthropology of Religion or something, or at least a lof of people need to, before they start with the newly popular voodoo theology. It's simply amazing how many people treat Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code like they are anything but novels or works of fiction with few historical facts.

Seriously, my Anthropology of Religion teacher ripped apart any of the arguements for the speculations that Jesus had a wife, and things like that found in the Da Vinca Code. I think it's funny to embrace something so blindy just because it supports your views, and then turn around and critcize (often times unjustly) other people for doing the same thing. I've had this happen to me several times and it can be very frustrating to talk to people like that.

I'm taking a class on Jesus right now and the teacher didn't outright say to discount the idea that Jesus might have had a wife.

Then again, it was just in the initial introduction to the class and we didn't really discuss it. He was just mentioning a bunch of different views on Jesus. I'll have to ask him about it sometime after class if we don't get around to talking about it in class.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: MournSanity
Text


This could have massive implications. Imagine all the new literature. And what if they find a text that contradicts or disproves the Bible? Crazy discovery!

For more than a century, it has caused excitement and frustration in equal measure - a collection of Greek and Roman writings so vast it could redraw the map of classical civilisation. If only it was legible.

Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

In the past four days alone, Oxford's classicists have used it to make a series of astonishing discoveries, including writing by Sophocles, Euripides, Hesiod and other literary giants of the ancient world, lost for millennia. They even believe they are likely to find lost Christian gospels, the originals of which were written around the time of the earliest books of the New Testament.

I hope this isn't a repost. I know it's been on P&N, but I haven't seen it on ATOT.




EDIT: If this kind of stuff interests you, I found some more interesting links being discussed on Slashdot. Here is Apocrypha on Wikipedia and here is the Lost Gospel of Thomas. Pretty interesting stuff in there.

The Gospel of Thomas isn't actually any sort of ancient writing, just fyi.

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: MournSanity
Text


This could have massive implications. Imagine all the new literature. And what if they find a text that contradicts or disproves the Bible? Crazy discovery!

For more than a century, it has caused excitement and frustration in equal measure - a collection of Greek and Roman writings so vast it could redraw the map of classical civilisation. If only it was legible.

Now, in a breakthrough described as the classical equivalent of finding the holy grail, Oxford University scientists have employed infra-red technology to open up the hoard, known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, and with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

In the past four days alone, Oxford's classicists have used it to make a series of astonishing discoveries, including writing by Sophocles, Euripides, Hesiod and other literary giants of the ancient world, lost for millennia. They even believe they are likely to find lost Christian gospels, the originals of which were written around the time of the earliest books of the New Testament.

I hope this isn't a repost. I know it's been on P&N, but I haven't seen it on ATOT.




EDIT: If this kind of stuff interests you, I found some more interesting links being discussed on Slashdot. Here is Apocrypha on Wikipedia and here is the Lost Gospel of Thomas. Pretty interesting stuff in there.

The Gospel of Thomas isn't actually any sort of ancient writing, just fyi.

I thought it was from the early second century? That is nearly as ancient as the 4 gospels in the bible currently (late first century).

What would be more interesting, though, would be if they found Q.

 

[bsobel]

I know it's been on P&N, but I haven't seen it on ATOT.

Then its a REPOST jeeez....

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: notfred

Originally posted by: Baked

Originally posted by: MournSanity
with it the prospect that hundreds of lost Greek gay and pedophile comedies, tragedies and epic poems will soon be revealed.

Wow, how exciting.

Wow, how much of an idiot you sound like.

Welcome to 12/28/2004.

Kudos for a non-traditional flame! :thumbsup:

 

[rh71]

how the hell are we supposed to know greek mythology from the real thing anyway ? Something I've always wondered...

 

[Trevelyan]

Originally posted by: Deslok

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well, it'd be nice to get another source for this, but uncovering ancient writings is definately exciting!

But I think that people really should take a class in Anthropology of Religion or something, or at least a lof of people need to, before they start with the newly popular voodoo theology. It's simply amazing how many people treat Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code like they are anything but novels or works of fiction with few historical facts.

Seriously, my Anthropology of Religion teacher ripped apart any of the arguements for the speculations that Jesus had a wife, and things like that found in the Da Vinca Code. I think it's funny to embrace something so blindy just because it supports your views, and then turn around and critcize (often times unjustly) other people for doing the same thing. I've had this happen to me several times and it can be very frustrating to talk to people like that.

You can start by reading Joseph Campbell
Text

I'll have to pick up some of his books. I will admit I have a bias that I'm more interested in Western religions than some of the more localized, tribal ones. The few books in my class are pretty good. Josh McDowell's The New Evidence is a great book that covers a lot of Christian apologetic work. It's real thick though so I'm only 1/5 of the way through it, but it's a great resource to have.

 

[Trevelyan]

Originally posted by: datalink7

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well, it'd be nice to get another source for this, but uncovering ancient writings is definately exciting!

But I think that people really should take a class in Anthropology of Religion or something, or at least a lof of people need to, before they start with the newly popular voodoo theology. It's simply amazing how many people treat Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code like they are anything but novels or works of fiction with few historical facts.

Seriously, my Anthropology of Religion teacher ripped apart any of the arguements for the speculations that Jesus had a wife, and things like that found in the Da Vinca Code. I think it's funny to embrace something so blindy just because it supports your views, and then turn around and critcize (often times unjustly) other people for doing the same thing. I've had this happen to me several times and it can be very frustrating to talk to people like that.

I'm taking a class on Jesus right now and the teacher didn't outright say to discount the idea that Jesus might have had a wife.

Then again, it was just in the initial introduction to the class and we didn't really discuss it. He was just mentioning a bunch of different views on Jesus. I'll have to ask him about it sometime after class if we don't get around to talking about it in class.

Well, I don't know who your professor is but I wouldn't exactly call my professor a conservative one. He taught at UMass for 8 years Not that that matters or anything, but basically the guy has a pretty impressive resume and I trust his judgement on things like this.

Check out his activites here: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/murray/

And also, just looking at all the evidence for the theory... I just find it rather weak. I don't think it would've mattered if Mary was married to Jesus, but I just find no reason to accept that conclusion because the evidence simply doesn't justify it. To me, it's on the same level as those "we didn't go to the moon" fox specials. Sure, a lot of people will buy into it for some time, but ultimately it's just a fad. No sensible people believe that anymore, althought I would wager you'd find a few here in ATOT

 

[IAteYourMother]

Damn... this is awesome

 

[datalink7]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan

Originally posted by: datalink7

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Well, it'd be nice to get another source for this, but uncovering ancient writings is definately exciting!

But I think that people really should take a class in Anthropology of Religion or something, or at least a lof of people need to, before they start with the newly popular voodoo theology. It's simply amazing how many people treat Holy Blood, Holy Grail and the Da Vinci Code like they are anything but novels or works of fiction with few historical facts.

Seriously, my Anthropology of Religion teacher ripped apart any of the arguements for the speculations that Jesus had a wife, and things like that found in the Da Vinca Code. I think it's funny to embrace something so blindy just because it supports your views, and then turn around and critcize (often times unjustly) other people for doing the same thing. I've had this happen to me several times and it can be very frustrating to talk to people like that.

I'm taking a class on Jesus right now and the teacher didn't outright say to discount the idea that Jesus might have had a wife.

Then again, it was just in the initial introduction to the class and we didn't really discuss it. He was just mentioning a bunch of different views on Jesus. I'll have to ask him about it sometime after class if we don't get around to talking about it in class.

Well, I don't know who your professor is but I wouldn't exactly call my professor a conservative one. He taught at UMass for 8 years Not that that matters or anything, but basically the guy has a pretty impressive resume and I trust his judgement on things like this.

Check out his activites here: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/murray/

And also, just looking at all the evidence for the theory... I just find it rather weak. I don't think it would've mattered if Mary was married to Jesus, but I just find no reason to accept that conclusion because the evidence simply doesn't justify it. To me, it's on the same level as those "we didn't go to the moon" fox specials. Sure, a lot of people will buy into it for some time, but ultimately it's just a fad. No sensible people believe that anymore, althought I would wager you'd find a few here in ATOT

My professor

He didn't say what he thought one way or another, just said it was a theory out there and that we'd discuss it at some point. We haven't yet.

 

[mobobuff]

That's pretty cool .