Musurus’ Homeric ode to Plato and his requests to pope Leo X

  • Roald Dijkstra Radboud University Nijmegen
  • E Hermans Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University
Keywords: Musurus, Greek academy, Plato, Homer, crusades

Abstract

This article provides the first philological analysis and interpretation of the ode to Plato written by Marcus Musurus in 1513 in Venice and published as a dedicatory poem in the editio princeps of the works of Plato. Musurus asks pope Leo X to found a Greek academy in Rome and start a crusade against the Ottoman empire to liberate Greece. The article includes the first modern translation of the entire poem since Roscoe (1805).

Author Biography

Roald Dijkstra, Radboud University Nijmegen
postdoctoral researcher, department of classics/department of history

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Published
2016-02-27
Section
Articles