Ancient manuscript of Greek poet discovered in Vatican Library

Published: 2003-12-05

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In what the Vatican termed an "exceptional discovery," scholars in the Vatican Library found a manuscript containing nearly 400 verses of the ancient Greek poet Menander. Half the verses belong to a well-known comic play by Menander, but the other half are new -- perhaps part of an unknown work. Menander, who wrote in the fourth century B.C., is considered the comic genius of the ancient Greeks. The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, announced the "sensational" find Dec. 5, saying the manuscript came to light a few days earlier. It said the Greek pages were found in a manuscript that had originally been copied in a ninth-century Syrian monastery. The pages were discovered and identified by Francesco D'Aiuto, a young scholar who has worked for several years on Greek manuscripts at the Vatican Library.

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