> Bards pre-literate-times in Greece purportedly could recite Homer's Odyssey themselves after one hearing. Writing destroyed that all. They had amazing memori

> Bards pre-literate-times in Greece purportedly could recite Homer's Odyssey themselves after one hearing. Writing destroyed that all. They had amazing memories, but they couldn't memorize large works like that after just one hearing. There are techniques that allow one to remember information like that, but it still requires effort. Here are two great books on that subject: - The Art of Memory by Frances Yates (covers Greece, Rome, and Europe) - The Memory Code by Lynne Kelly (goes back further into prehistory) And two quick articles about memory feats in ancient Greece[1] and Rome[2]. [1] http://blog.artofmemory.com/simonides-of-ceos-81.html http://blog.artofmemory.com/simonides-of-ceos-81.html [2] http://blog.artofmemory.com/pliny-the-elder-on-memory-5824.html http://blog.artofmemory.com/pliny-the-elder-on-memory-5824.h...