The Odyssey and Hering Medical Correspondence Collection

PI

Version: 12 (current) | Updated: 12/16/2025, 12:35:31 AM | Created: 12/16/2025, 12:21:30 AM

Added description

Description

The Odyssey and Hering Medical Correspondence Collection

Overview

This digital repository brings together two distinct thematic groups: (1) the first four books of Homer’s Odyssey (Books I–IV), each presented as an English‑language transcription, a machine‑readable entity‑extraction file (relationships.json), and a PINAX metadata record; and (2) a single historical document – the “Archivzetel Beilage” supplement to the Correspondenzblatt of the Academy of Homeopathy (1900), scanned as a JPEG with OCR text and linked to its own relationships.json and PINAX record. The collection is organized according to the content‑based re‑grouping described in the accompanying reorganization‑description.txt.

Background

The Odyssey is the foundational Greek epic traditionally attributed to Homer (c. 8th century BCE). The four books included here cover the opening episodes of the narrative: the divine council and Telemachus’s challenge (Book I), the assembly of Ithaca and preparation for a voyage (Book II), Telemachus’s visit to Nestor at Pylos (Book III), and his audience with King Menelaus in Sparta (Book IV). Each book has been digitised for scholarly use and enriched with a JSON‑encoded entity map to support computational literary analysis.

The second group originates from the German‑language homeopathic community at the turn of the 20th century. The “Archivzetel Beilage” records proposals for systematic distribution of clinical extracts, case notes by C. Hering and G. H. Bute, and logistical details of the Academy of Homeopathy’s publishing program. The material is in the public domain and reflects contemporary practices in medical archiving and homeopathic theory.

Contents

  • Odyssey Book I–IV groups (four sub‑collections): each contains
    • * `book_0X.txt` – full English transcription of the respective book; * `relationships.json` – list of extracted entities (characters, deities, places, objects) with unique identifiers; * `pinax.json` – bibliographic metadata (creator = Homer, language = English, subject headings, geographic tags).
  • Hering Correspondence group:
    • Scanned JPEG page of the Correspondenzblatt* supplement (≈ 445 KB) with OCR‑generated German text; * `relationships.json` linking the document to entities such as “academyofhomeopathy,” “homeopathic_remedies,” and relevant place names; * `pinax.json` providing title, creators (C. Hering, G. H. Bute), date (1900), language (German), and institutional context.
  • Master files: a global `relationships.json` enumerating all entity codes used across the collection, a `reorganization-description.txt` explaining the thematic grouping, and a top‑level `pinax.json` summarising the entire collection.

Scope

The collection spans two disparate domains: (a) the mythic world of The Odyssey (circa 800 BCE), covering mythic locales such as Ithaca, Olympus, Pylos, and Sparta; and (b) early‑20th‑century German homeopathic practice (1900), focused on the Academy of Homeopathy’s archival and publishing activities in Germany (with references to towns such as Altenau and Northampton). Subject coverage includes Greek epic poetry, literary analysis, digital humanities, medical correspondence, homeopathic remedies, and archival methodology. Materials are limited to the four specified books of the epic and the single homeopathic supplement; later books, commentaries, or unrelated medical documents are not included.

Relationships

Extracted Entities (18)

Metadata

Title
The Odyssey and Hering Medical Correspondence Collection
Type
Collection
Creator
HomerC. Hering
Created
1900
Language
en
Subjects
The Odyssey, Greek epic poetry, Telemachus, Medical correspondence, Academic archives, Literary analysis
Place
Ithaca, Pylos, Sparta
Source
PINAX

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v12 (current) · 12/16/2025, 12:35:31 AM
    "Added description"
  • v11 · 12/16/2025, 12:34:23 AM · View this version
    "Updated extracted entities list (32 new)"
  • v10 · 12/16/2025, 12:25:29 AM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v9 · 12/16/2025, 12:22:47 AM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 5 groups"
  • v8 · 12/16/2025, 12:22:46 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KCJ8KGK95X1RDKVY6148568W"
  • v7 · 12/16/2025, 12:22:46 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KCJ8KGBQB1V6MR59M698FAP6"
  • v6 · 12/16/2025, 12:22:46 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KCJ8KG3XYTYWMZA8EWQJ3D64"
  • v5 · 12/16/2025, 12:22:46 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KCJ8KFR8PMETX8QZ031NX4CZ"
  • v4 · 12/16/2025, 12:22:45 AM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KCJ8KFFWMYSVB73ZRX54B962"
  • v3 · 12/16/2025, 12:21:58 AM · View this version
    "OCR: Updated 1 refs"

More versions available (pagination not yet implemented)

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

The files have been organized based on their content into thematic groups. The primary grouping is by the books of The Odyssey they represent (Books 1-4), as each contains distinct narrative sections of the epic. The remaining file, which contains medical correspondence and notes, stands as its own group due to its unrelated content. All files fit logically into these groups without overlap.

## Groups Created

- **Odyssey_Book_1**: Files containing content from Book I of The Odyssey, focusing on the gods' council and Telemachus' challenge to the suitors.
- **Odyssey_Book_2**: Files containing content from Book II of The Odyssey, detailing the assembly of Ithaca and Telemachus' preparations for his journey.
- **Odyssey_Book_3**: Files containing content from Book III of The Odyssey, describing Telemachus' visit to Nestor at Pylos.
- **Odyssey_Book_4**: Files containing content from Book IV of The Odyssey, covering Telemachus' visit to King Menelaus and the suitors' plot against him.
- **Hering_Correspondence**: Files containing correspondence and notes related to C. Hering's medical observations and academic archive proposals.

Parent

↑ 01KCJ8H6GVMDEWQK0EJGYN2CWN

Children (5)