The third cycle (lasting a decade each) of a daily entry from the diary of Samuel Pepys is starting today, 1st January 2023.
From the Penguin edition description:
A collection of scintillating first-hand accounts of Restoration England, from the most tumultuous events to the simplest domestic pleasures. The 1660s represent a turning point in English history, and for the main events - the Restoration, the Dutch War, the Great Plague, the Fire of London - Pepys provides a definitive eyewitness account. As well as recording public and historical events, Pepys paints a vivid picture of his personal life, from his socializing and amorous entanglements, to his theatre-going and his work at the Navy Board. Unequalled for its frankness, high spirits and sharp observations, the diary is both a literary masterpiece and a marvellous portrait of seventeenth-century life.
If anyone is interested in this idea, Adam Nicolson spends a few entertaining pages covering the story of Goliath in his book Why Homer Matters. He makes an argument that the Goliath story is basically a satirical take on the battle scenes in the Iliad.
Your comment piqued my interest and I found this JBL (not sure what their reputation is) article making a case for a surprisingly amount of Biblical intertextuality with Homer. I was familiar with the influence of the Hellenistic culture in the area but had no idea that Homer could have had reach pre-Alexander.
It all depends on when you believe the old testament was written. Some people think it is later than traditionally thought (at least the final composition). This final composition may have happened after Alexander time, when greek culture was already well know over that area.
That’s a good point, and actually was wondering about the timeline of events after I posted. A post Alexander authorship (or enhancements) makes more logical sense.
I think the argument in favor of a more contemporaneous date would that the Hebrews would have to remember the Greek connection hundreds of years later, long after the Philistines became Canaanized. Also I think I remember Judges and Samuel (referenced in article) are among the oldest books in the Bible (don’t know Jewish name for these set of books).
From the Penguin edition description: A collection of scintillating first-hand accounts of Restoration England, from the most tumultuous events to the simplest domestic pleasures. The 1660s represent a turning point in English history, and for the main events - the Restoration, the Dutch War, the Great Plague, the Fire of London - Pepys provides a definitive eyewitness account. As well as recording public and historical events, Pepys paints a vivid picture of his personal life, from his socializing and amorous entanglements, to his theatre-going and his work at the Navy Board. Unequalled for its frankness, high spirits and sharp observations, the diary is both a literary masterpiece and a marvellous portrait of seventeenth-century life.