Happy Twentieth of May, 2024

SUNDAY WEEKLY ZOOM - 12:30 PM EDT - Book Review: De Rerum Natura by Lucretius -- Read the post for our December 7, 2025 meeting -- or find out how to attend.

 

    Just yesterday I was reading over the Ethics section of the Wall of Diogenes of Oinoanda, at this website:

    The inscripion

    It is so fascinating how the maxiums of Epicurus are there, and it must have been magnificient in its original form. The phrasing is slightly different on some so it helps with a fuller cognition.

    Very interesting to see Martin Ferguson Smith and the wall in this video released in 2015 (same video was recently posted in other thread by TauPhi):

    Based on Kalosyni's poster, it looks like this month 20th is Oinoanda themed. Instead of wishing you all a happy one, I'll try to make it a bit happier than happy (for those interested in the inscription).

    Please allow me to draw your attention to the article written by Martin Ferguson Smith himself where he meticulously presents last 50 (an then some more) years of the research conducted on the site in Oinoanda. If you decide to take a look, you'll find almost year by year summary of what has been found and what has been published regarding these findings. And to encourage you further, here are two excerpts from the conclusion of this fascinating article. One will make you smile, the other will make you frown.

    Quote

    The number of fragments discovered has much more than tripled, from 88 to 305, and the quantity of text has more than doubled, from about 3,550 words to about 8,000. The length of the known parts of Diogenes’ inscription is now only slightly less than the combined length of Epicurus’ Letter to Herodotus, Letter to Menoeceus, and Principal Doctrines (Κύριαι Δόξαι) [...] (page 22)

    Quote

    [...] I cannot help feeling some disappointment at the continuing lack of a major programme of excavation, clearing, and restoration. If such an operation were to be carried out, it would probably at least double the extent of the known text, and, although it would certainly present challenges, these would be much easier to surmount than any at Herculaneum, for Oinoanda is an uninhabited site, and, as the excavation in 1997 confirmed, the hidden treasure lies at no great depth. (page 22)

    The article is publicly available in full at MFS website (starts at page 6):
    http://www.martinfergusonsmith.com/pdf/CRONACHEERCOLANES.pdf

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