The Ancient Greek Letter That Was Eaten by Mice
Source: GreekReporter.com

Correspondence on an ancient Greek letter that was eaten by mice is certainly one of the funniest anecdotal archaeological findings.
There is also a message scratched on a wooden tablet telling the recipient to kill the person who delivered it. One would have to wonder if the recipient indeed murdered the messenger.
The letter eaten by mice was sent by a man named Epharmostos to his brother Zenon (who is mentioned in another letter that was found) between 257 and 248 BC. It reads: “Greetings. The letter which you wrote to Menon about Kallikon’s money has been eaten by mice. You would oblige me by writing quickly so that Kallikon may not be delayed. Farewell.”
These and other letters of interest can be found in the book Life and Letters in the Ancient Greek World by John Victor Muir.
The book examines the range of correspondence in the ancient Greek world. Translated examples of topics discussed in written form include family stories, foreign news, love, political views, and so on. These letters offer a precious glimpse into the life of ordinary ancient Greeks.
The correspondence ranges from such trivialities as young soldiers who write home about their training and life in the army to the choice of flowers for a wedding. One may also read about more intriguing themes, such as getting rid of baby girls, or inconsiderate advice for someone to overcome the loss of a loved one.
This collection of personal and private letters, others used in administration and government or as vehicles for the dissemination of religious and philosophical ideas, are priceless documents of ancient times. The book portrays what materials were used to write these letters, the manner of delivery, how they survived for almost two millennia, and how they were discovered.
Letter writing in ancient Greece
Letter writing in ancient Greece was not only meant for keeping in touch with friends and relatives or carrying on with business. It was also used to tell stories in prose or poetry, express philosophical or political views, and communicate information.
The earliest reference to a letter in the Greek world is in Homer’s Iliad, written sometime in the 8th century BC when Proetus sent a folded tablet to be carried by Bellerophon. In the 6th century BC, Herodotus describes a series of correspondences between King Amasis and the tyrant Polycrates of Samos around 522 BC.
Letters were most often written with a reed pen and ink on papyrus, which was then rolled up and tied with thread. For official documents, a seal was used to ensure the papyrus could be opened only by the intended recipient. Other less sophisticated writing materials included metal, wood, beeswax, pottery, limestone, or animal skin with the use of a stylus. The oldest physical example of a Greek letter is a trio of thin lead tablets which date to around 500 BC.
The first postal network in Hellenistic times
It was not until the 4th century BC that letter writing became widespread in ancient Greece. There was no post network as such in Classical Greece, but there were messenger ships and specialized messengers (hemerodromoi) to deliver letters. However, the Hellenistic kingdoms established a postal network that was staffed and maintained by the wealthy as a form of tax.
One of the most important sources of information found in ancient Greek letters are those sent by Hellenistic kings, many of which were copied into stone stelae. They are especially useful for their coverage of royal administrations and how Greek institutions and practices were encouraged across the Mediterranean in the states formed after the collapse of Alexander the Great’s empire starting in 323 BC.
Several different types of letters have survived from as early as the middle of the 3rd century BC. Many of these were letters written by unknown private individuals and government officials, ranging from business reports to student letters home. These letters reveal a great deal about the language as well as the social and economic conditions of the times.
Most ancient Greek letters recovered date from the 3rd and 2nd century BC, possibly because of the appearance of the first postal services.
Ancient Greek letters as narratives
Many ancient Greek writers, philosophers, and playwrights included letters in their narratives. Euripides brought letters on stage. Historians included letters as documents. Greek novelists of ancient times added letters, such as those exchanged between long-distance lovers, to their stories and epigrammatists played with the epigram as letters.
By the 2nd and 3rd century BC, imaginative letters became a genre in their own right. Greek writer Alciphron wrote exceptionally good epistolary impersonations, using the language of the lower classes. He collected their letters in anthologies.
Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (c. 170s – 240s AD), called “the Athenian”, was a Greek sophist who emerged as an epistolary master, taking one theme and subtly tweaking it in half a dozen letters to different addressees. His most famous work was Heroicus (On Heroes, 213–214 AD), written in the form of a dialogue between a Phoenician traveler and a vine-tender regarding Protesilaus, the first Achaean warrior to be killed at the siege of Troy, as described in the Iliad. The dialogue is a discussion and critique of Homer’s presentation of heroes and gods.
There were also anonymous writers competing with one another in their particular form of ghostwriting for the rich and famous.
The original article: GreekReporter.com .
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