lost texts

[spiphany]

If you could have the text of just one lost ancient work, which one would it be? Why?

[Auberon]

I like the legend of Phaethon, so I would like to see what Euripides did with his version. I believe it exists only in fragmentary form now.

[benissimus]

Ovid's Medea

[thesaurus]

I've got some of these in my attic, but I'm not going to let any of you see them.

[Lex]

What about the one from The Name of the Rose? The second part of Aristotle's Poetics, on comedy, right?

NB: If Thesaurus loans you this book, don't lick your fingers whilst turning the pages!

[annis]

Any one of the ten lost books of Sappho's poems. Ok, maybe not the Epithalamia, but any of the others.

[paulusnb]

Ennius' Annals would be nice. He started Latin poetry, so he is pretty important.

[Cathexis]

I like all the ideas but I can't resist maybe bending the rules to include these "speculative" choices.
If you would allow me to include those Lost Texts that "ought to have been" then,...

1. The Lost "History of the House of the Atrieds" written in Linear B.
(What REALLY happened at the Trojan War).

2. The Lost "Complete Annals of Carthago."
(They must've been literate. Perhaps a Barcid copy survives in some long forgotten Spanish tomb ??)

3. The Lost "Full Report on the Recent Sedition & Execution of Chrestus".
(Official report from Pilate to Tiberius Imperator.)

4. And finally, engraved upon a column topped by a carven-lotus and
found deep, deep in the desert buried under 3200 years of burning sand,

"Being the Judgement upon the Hibiru and their Leader the Traitor-Prince Thutmusa who were
driven by Great Pharaoh Baenre Mery-netjeru [Merenptah] from the lands of Egypt and whom Ra forbids ever to Return."

With Respect,

Cathexis

[Interaxus]

Cathexis:

Perhaps this is what you're looking for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictys_Cretensis

Cheers,
Int

[Nooj]

Any one of the ten lost books of Sappho's poems. Ok, maybe not the Epithalamia, but any of the others.

My pick as well. I'd give an arm and a leg for more Sappho.

4. And finally, engraved upon a column topped by a carven-lotus and
found deep, deep in the desert buried under 3200 years of burning sand,

"Being the Judgement upon the Hibiru and their Leader the Traitor-Prince Thutmusa who were
driven by Great Pharaoh Baenre Mery-netjeru [Merenptah] from the lands of Egypt and whom Ra forbids ever to Return."

I can't really think of one archaeologist who believes that the word habiru, which is a generic/categorical word for nomads and is well attested in NE literature, has any relation to the word Hebrew.

[Cathexis]

Ouch

I didn't expect to be taken so literally for every one.
I'll go away quietly now.

[Nooj]

I didn't mean to be so abrasive! I just thought that if the Exodus really happened, the habiru wouldn't likely be the Hebrews you were looking for. Maybe the Hyskos are the culprits, and memory of such was adapted into an Israelite story.

[aloimonon]

Off the top of my head, here are some contenders, all of which indicate my interest in political history:

a) Cassius Dio, Roman History
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Dio

Photius' appraisal:
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photi ... eca.htm#71

b) Dexippus, Skythika
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexippus

Photius' appraisal:
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photi ... eca.htm#82 (search for Dexippus, link broken)

c) Diodorus, Library of History (EDIT: I meant to say the lost books 6-10, and esp. here 21-40).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodorus

Phtotius' appraisal:
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photi ... eca.htm#82 (search for Diodorus, link broken)

Note that Photius had all of these texts in the 9th century. If I had to choose one, it would be most agonizing indeed. I agree that none of these selections can be said to constitute high literature, but the survival of any of these texts would help us quite a bit. Dio would greatly add to the the late Republican period, as well as the first to early third centuries, while Dexippus would greatly aid us in understanding the poorly documented third century, and finally Diodorus would give us a comprehensive view of the Hellenistic period, which is so poorly documented. I suppose Dio would give us the greatly help, with Diodorus and Dexippus following respectively. So my choice would be Dio.

[Essorant]

I would choose the rest of Statius' Achilleid, lost for the author past away before he could finish his work.

[Scribo]

There are several, didn't the Emperor Claudius compose histories on Etruria and Carthago? That would be amazing. A grammar of Etruscan/Latin...some of Sappho's stuff. Ennius. Euripides' "Achillies" amongst many.

[mingshey]

The record of sound wave originated from the throats of Homer when he recited his epic poems.

Some day one might invent a method to extract memories from the MRI image of the brain of a mummy and investigate one of who might have memorized the epic. (The "Pensieve" from Harry Potter story to come true?)