Magic tablet from Pergamon

The Orphic Hymns are a collection of 87 hymns in ancient Greek, addressed to various deities. Attributed in antiquity to the mythical poet Orpheus, they were composed in Asia Minor (in modern-day Turkey), most likely around the 2nd or 3rd centuries AD, and seem to have belonged to a cult community which used them in ritual. The collection is preceded by a proem (or prologue) in which Orpheus addresses the legendary poet Musaeus. The hymns in the collection, all of which are brief, typically call for the attention of the deity they address, describing them and their divinity, and appealing to them with a request. The first codex containing the Orphic Hymns to reach Western Europe arrived in Italy in the first half of the 15th century, and in 1500 the first printed edition of the Hymns was published in Florence. During the Renaissance, some scholars believed that the hymns were a genuine work of Orpheus; later, a more sceptical wave of scholarship argued for a dating in late antiquity. (Full article...)

Wreckage of Thai Airways International Flight 114

• ... that Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was minutes away from boarding an aircraft that exploded (wreckage pictured)?
• ... that L. Whitney Watkins was given the Bull Moose Party's nomination in a 1912 election despite his own opposition?
• ... that a 1915 film about Florence Nightingale was criticised for not mentioning her pet parrot?
• ... that the statue Receiver was repainted in 2013 to match the likeness of NFL player Donald Driver after his retirement?
• ... that actress Jennifer Metcalfe used the experience of her father's cancer in Episode 6465 of the British soap opera Hollyoaks?
• ... that economist Roger A. Freeman questioned the value of college and favored limiting access to it to a select few?
• ... that the children's novel Queenie portrays the early years of the NHS in England?
• ... that painter Nicolino Calyo left Naples after participating in a failed uprising against King Ferdinand IV, then fled Spain following the outbreak of the First Carlist War?
• ... that Class War was held responsible for the poll tax riots?

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
• In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
• An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
• The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
• In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

June 29: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Western Christianity)

Jayne Mansfield

• 1613 – The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of Henry VIII and ignited the roof.
• 1764 – One of the strongest tornadoes in history struck Woldegk in present-day northeastern Germany, killing one person.
• 1950 – The United States defeated England during the FIFA World Cup in one of the greatest upsets in the competition's history.
• 1967 – Actress Jayne Mansfield (pictured), her boyfriend Sam Brody, and their driver were killed in a car accident outside of New Orleans, while her children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay escaped with only minor injuries.
• 2020 – Reddit banned r/The_Donald, a pro-Trump subreddit, for rule violations and antagonizing the company.