THE LOST WORLD OF INVENTORS: ATHENAEUS’ SENTIMENTAL HEUREMATOGRAPHY
THE LOST WORLD OF INVENTORS: ATHENAEUS’ SENTIMENTAL HEUREMATOGRAPHY

Summary/Abstract: The theme of the protos heuretes appears frequently in Greek literature. The figure of first finder is depicted, with more or less prominence, in works belonging to various genres and periods. Not attested explicitly in Homer, but common enough in archaic epic poetry, the figure reveals the Greeks’ enthusiasm for creativity and inventiveness. The earliest surviving testimony of protos heuretes-motif in Greek literature is a fragment from the anonymous Phoronis, which describes the Idaean Dactyls as the first to work iron.

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