Proceedings of the 29th International Congress of Papyrology
eISBN: 978-88-8305-176-0 ISBN: 978-88-8305-177-7 DOI Code: 10.1285/i99788883051760 The 29th International Congress of Papyrology took place from 28 July to 3 August 2019 in the city of Lecce. In the Congress week the papers were presented in thematic sessions, which were accompanied by workshops, panels and posters. A single plenary session was dedicated to the discussion of the Future of Editing Papyri: Aspects and Problems. A total of 285 papers and posters were presented, of which 93 are published here. The works presented at the Congress covered all aspects of Papyrology. Seventeen sessions were devoted to documentary papyri, five to literary papyri, five to Herculaneum papyri, two to juridical papyri, one to archaeology and papyri, two to Palaeography, two to Christian papyri, three to unpublished collections, one to the history of papyrology, one to Islamic documentary papyri, two to magic papyri, two to experimental sciences, two to conservation and restoration, one to Latin papyri, one to new technologies, two to Coptic papyri; two to ostraka and other supports; one to Arabic Papyrology; two to linguistics of the papyri; two to paraliterary papyri. The most relevant innovations came from the sessions devoted to unpublished collections, to new technologies, and to experimental sciences. The plenary session Future of Editing Papyri: Aspects and Problems allowed for profitable discussions about the systems of publishing papyri (including Demotic, Arabic and Coptic ones), the access to collections and, more generally, the future of Papyrology. Full Version >>
Proceedings of the 29th International Congress of Papyrology - Tomo I
Proceedings of the 29th International Congress of Papyrology - Tomo II
Scientific Committee, Organizing Committee and Staff
The article reconstructs the papyrological research activity carried out during thirty years of teaching at the University of Salento, from the foundation of the Center for Papyrological Studies to the establishment of an Archaeological Mission in Egypt.
Otto Gradenwitz und der Kampf für die Grundlagenprojekte
The opening address focusses on the achievements of Otto Gradenwitz (1860-1935), a legal historian who was the founder of the Sammelbuch, Berichtigungsliste, and Wörterbuch, which, with great personal commitment and against all odds, he succeeded in bringing to life. It presents for the first time the evaluation report, on the basis of which Gradenwitz's application for funding to the Prussian Ministry in December 1905 was rejected. His unremitting battle continues to be fought today in order to secure the long-term funding and sustainability of the most fundamental projects in our field.
I governatori dell'Egitto nella documentazione del IV sec. d.C.: una rassegna e un'analisi dei termini e delle espressioni ricorrenti
It is possible to detect some linguistic innovations and peculiar expressions in the documents of the 4th c. A.D., which regard prefects and other governors of the Egyptian provinces. This paper aims to show this vocabulary and its changing and developing through the century, mostly in edicts, letters, petitions and acts of proceedings. This analysis will allow us to find some possible criteria for dating and interpreting this type of documents
Architettura della convivialità nell'Egitto romano e tardo-antico: le evidenze papirologiche
The Roman Banquet as a social phenomenon and the architectural features used for the convivial ceremonies has been widely studied especially concerning the societies in the western part of the Roman Empire and North Africa. Little attention has been paid so far to the convivia in Egypt during the Roman and Late Antique periods. This paper focuses on the study of convivial practices in domestic, public, religious and funerary Egyptian contexts through the analysis of the written sources such as papyri and the comparison with the archaeological remains.
Presentation of the project «Digital Rosetta Stone», a pilot project to align languages (in this case: Middle Egyptian, Demotic, and Ancient Greek) on the base of a new 3D image of the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum. Furthermore, syntax and morphology of the three texts of the decree have been annotated to visualize the languages in a treebanking model, for the first time for Ancient Egyptian.
New Readings in Philodemus' Third Book On Rhetoric
This paper offers some new readings and suggestions on Philodemus' Rh. 3. The focus will be on the second column (Sudhaus' numbering). In addition, two new readings in the third and fourth columns will be presented.
Carte e cartuscelle: nuove proposte di lettura a contratti bizantini da Ossirinco
This paper aims to propose some relevant new readings and minor corrections in Byzantine contracts from Oxyrhynchus.
Comptes de plantes fourragères et de céréales en démotique
The purpose of this article is to introduce the first results on the study of six unpublished demotic papyri, belonging to the Fonds Jouguet (Institut de papyrologie de la Sorbonne). These documents are dated from the Ptolemaic period and are, for five of them, land surveys, the last one is a grain accounting. Beyond grain culture, the documents discuss the fodder plants crops, one of which is extremely rare. Moreover, an unknown toponym is mentioned. This study will contribute to the knowledge of agriculture practices and its organization in the Fayyum.
P.Herc. 1232 preserves the first book of the biographical work Περὶ Ἐπικούρου by Philodemus. It is dated to the 1st c. A.D. on the basis of palaeographical evidence and it was written by two different hands. This situation is not common among the Herculaneum papyri. As the studies by Del Mastro have shown, the presence of two or more different handwritings within the same roll can depend on many reasons: sometimes, the presence of a second hand is due to the restoration of the papyrus; in other cases, – as in P.Herc. 1232 –, the two hands act together taking turns. One of the two hands of P.Herc. 1232 is similar to that of Anonymous XXV, a scribe who cooperates with another scribal hand in at least another Herculaneum papyrus (P.Herc. 1669).
Note e riflessioni sull'inedito Exercitationes in monumenta papyrea di A. Zirardini in vista dell'edizione critica e commento
Within the investigations about the epistolary relationship between Gaetano Marini (1742-1815) and Antonio Zirardini (1725-1785) (Vat. lat. 9060) the present contribution will provide preliminary notes and considerations about the unpublished Exercitationes in monumenta papyrea contained in the ms. Vat. Lat. 9142 (and the Classense Library of Ravenna).
ΜΕΝ solitarium in non-literary papyri: A reconsideration
Previous scholarship has observed that the occurrence of μέν without a corresponding δέ (so-called μέν solitarium) is not an uncommon phenomenon in Post-classical Greek, including non-literary papyri. It has been suggested that such instances are best captured by considering them "elliptically antithetical" ("prospective"). In this contribution, I show that when it comes to the papyri, μέν can be found in other contexts, too. I explain the relatively frequent appearance of μέν solitarium by relating it to the semantic and syntactic extension of the μέν ... δέ construction in the Post-classical period. I conclude by drawing attention to the importance of taking into account social context when describing such a grammatical feature.
Quello che anche la Papirologia deve a Giuseppe Botti (e a Erminia Caudana)
The restoration work on several papyri kept in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale of Florence, along with the study of some documents held in public and private archives, has allowed the examination in greater depth of the patient work carried out by Giuseppe Botti and Erminia Caudana during the translation and restoration of the papyri from the first excavations of the Italian Mission to Egypt at Tebtynis. Among the many papyri donated, of particular interest was my discovery of an unpublished papyrus, also originating from Tebtynis: the Papiro Museo "Egizio" di Firenze, inv. n. P. 10494 (Pap. 6 Teb.).
Hidden Words, Hidden Worlds: The Lexicon of the Documentary Papyri and the «Revitalization» of the Past towards the Future
A thorough lexical study based on the evidence of documentary papyri can be crucial in the effort to throw new light on material and socio-cultural aspects of the ancient world, especially when combined with other sources such as the archaeological artefacts. This integrated and interdisciplinary approach can unlock fresh ways to re-construe the past and leads to reflect on new possible tasks of papyrology in future.
XRF Ink Analysis of Selected Fragments from the Herculaneum Collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli
The most commonly used ink in antiquity was carbon-based, and the main element of carbonized papyrus is carbon, making conventional computed tomography (CT-scanning) of Herculaneum scrolls difficult. However, Roman and Greek inks containing metals have recently been identified in some papyri from Egypt, changing our understanding of ink technology in antiquity. This raises hope that some rolls can be virtually unrolled by CT-scanning. Here we present the results of a preliminary analysis, aimed at identifying scrolls whose ink contains metals.
P.Flor. III 383, P.Flor. 383/a-l e P.Rein. I 49: frammenti di tomoi synkollesimoi da Antinoe
This paper presents the preliminary results of an ongoing research aiming at a complete edition of P.Flor. 383. Only a few fragments were published in the third volume of the Papiri Fiorentini and they were attributed to two tomoi of applications for lease of public land, coming from Antinoe and dating to the years 13th and 14th of Severus Alexander. The original structure and the main contents of these two tomoi are here reconstructed. Moreover, one of the unpublished fragments is joined to P.Rein. I 49 and both are attributed to a third tomos, written both on the recto and on the verso.
The Carbonized Papyri from Bubastos: Current Work on the Unpublished Material
Several papyrus collections hold parts of an archive of carbonized papyri that derive from the administration of the Bubastite nome in the Nile Delta. So far, six long scrolls have been published in the three volumes of the P.Bub. series (1990, 1998, 2016). However, a large part of the material remains unpublished. I report here on my work on this material, with a focus on one large scroll that I am hoping to publish soon.
Some examples from unpublished ostraka from the quarry at Umm Balad (Kaine Latomia) of private letters concerning women and higher class prostitution.
Com. Adesp. fr. 1008 K.-A.: un esempio di prologo innovativo?
Com.Adesp. fr. 1008 K.-A. is a witness of a play from the New Comedy, preserved on the back of P.Strasb. inv. G 53, which was edited by Georg Kaibel in 1899. It partially contains 29 verses in iambic meter by an unknown poet. The text is part of a prologue pronounced by an anonymous character, who has been identified as a god by some scholars: he seems to explain the function of divine prologues in the plays and he gives some information about the antecedents of the plot. This paper proposes to lay some new bibliological and palaeographic groundwork for the dating of the papyrus and for the discussion about evidence provided by the fragment, which could establish the authorship.
The article analyzes the main moments in the history of the editions of the Herculaneum papyri, focusing on the ecdotic systems adopted from time to time. It highlights a significant discrepancy in the use of modern diacritics in the latest Herculaneum editions, such as to confuse the reader, and proposes to establish an organic, uniform and shared system of these signs, which can make the texts of the Villa dei Papiri fully readable.
Alexandrian riots under Trajan: papyrology and history
This paper takes a fresh look at the papyrological evidence on the Graeco-Jewish riots in Alexandria before the Jewish Diaspora Revolt of 116/117. It proposes a new dating under Trajan for the Acta Pauli et Antonini, suggesting that the defendant Antoninus was the Alexandrian ἀρχιδικαστής. Besides, it proposes an identification of the Claudius Atilianus in P.Oxy. XLII 3023 as a Roman official, and possibly a friend of Trajan's, who was tried in Antioch for anti-Jewish violence; his trial and execution, possibly in early 116, may have been connected with the Jewish festival called Yom Tyrianus.
A New Look at Turin Coptic Codex XVI (CLM 61)
The article offers the preliminary results of a codicological analysis of Turin Coptic Codex XVI (CLM 61) carried out within the framework of the ERC Advanced Grant project "PAThs". It focuses on the codicological description and reconstruction, as well as the typological, textual and formal analysis of the titles, in order to better understand the contexts of production and use of the manuscript.
Aspetti della famiglia "greca" nelle richieste dell'epikrisis di adolescenti nell'età romana: notazioni demografiche e sociologiche
From over some seventy requests for the admittance to various privileged categories, coming from Oxyrhynchus, Ptolemais Euergetis, Hermopolis Magna and Heracleopolis Magna, one can point out some significant aspects, as the Greek part's consistence, the families' composition and the members' role (e.g. the male predominance at Oxyrhynchus), the family compactness or the crisis (as we check at Ptolemais Euergetis), the family endogamy impact (in particular at Hermopolis Magna).
Nouvelles recherches sur les papyrus du "lot Melaerts"
In 1986, with the support of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, the Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire of Brussels bought from M. Fackelmann 70 Ptolemaic papyri, coming from dismantled cartonnages. They are now known as "lot Melaerts". These documents, still mostly unpublished, were first studied by the late Henri Melaerts (1957-2017) and are currently the subject of my PhD dissertation. I will present here some documents alluding to the military in Ptolemaic Egypt.
Una gerarchia delle magistrature civiche in Egitto? Tipologie di fonti e criteri di analisi
The present paper deals with the long discussed question of the hierarchy of municipal offices in Roman Egypt (2nd–3rd century A.D.). It focuses on methodological issues. Firstly, in dealing with honorary magistracies one should distinguish prestige (axioma) from the financial burden and the actual administrative role. Secondly, honorific titulatures, epistolary prescripts and municipal accounts should be examined according to different analysis criteria. In this way one can shed some light on the problem of preminence of the gymnasiarch or of the exegetes among municipal archai.
Inks of papyrus, inks for papyrus: recipes from the Arabic world
The term «papyrus» appears in ink recipes from the Arabic world as either a writing support or a material to be recycled into charcoal. This paper offers an overview of ink recipes, their context and transmission in order to evaluate the mention of «papyrus». The types of ink identified as those prepared for papyrus will also be compared to the types prepared for paper and parchment.
Per la ricomposizione del P.Herc. 89/1301/1383 (Philodemus, Opus incertum)
P.Herc. 89/1383 (Philodemus, Opus incertum) are parts of an unpublished Herculaneum rollbroken roughly in the middle; the upper and the lower portions, separately inventoried and stored, have been recently joined. In this article, I propose to attribute the scorza numbered P.Herc. 1301, which preserves the lower exterior part of a roll, to the roll of P.Herc. 89/1383. The attribution is based on paleographical, bibliological and textual data.
La paleografia del P.Herc. 989 (Epicuro, Sulla natura, libro incerto)
In this paper I show the results of my paleographic research on the P.Herc. 989 hand: these results make me attribute this papyrus to Gruppo D of Guglielmo Cavallo's main paleographic study on Herculaneum papyri, instead of Gruppo A, as shown by the comparison with some papyri belonging to Gruppo D.
Une entreprise problématique: la reconstruction de quelques colonnes centrales de La Calomnie de Philodème (PHerc.Paris. 2)
As usual, our team which has been working on P.Herc.Paris.2 since 2004 is happy to give the last news about its work in progress on Philodemus' On slander. The virtual reconstruction of the scroll open in Naples in 1987 is now reaching the beginning of the second series of 24 columns and always gets harder and harder. Nevertheless, new passages are becoming partly readable: coll. YY, A and D. At the end of the paper, one will find the new and definitive attribution of P.Herc.Paris.1, fr. 43, which in fact belongs to P.Herc.Paris. 2: both « hands » are the same one, the writing of P.Herc.Paris. 1 being very different.
Il P.Herc. 986: un testo etico di Filodemo?
The authors, who are preparing the first complete edition of P.Herc. 986, offer a rereading of fr. 24 Orazi, which was previously published only in part by Crönert. In this fragment, they have recognized a reference to, or a quotation of, Epicurus' thought about comic poetry, with a possible allusion to Menander. This detail, when taken with other considerations, opens stimulating new possibilities for its the interpretation of the text.
Eraclide Pontico e la Pizia nell'Academicorum Historia di Filodemo (P.Herc. 1021, coll. IX-X)
New readings in the βίος of Heraclides Ponticus in Philodemus' Academicorum Historia (P.Herc. 1021) allow a better overview of the death of the philosopher and, at the same time, clarify the peripatetic matrix of the anecdote.
Quittungsformular, Schreibergepflogenheiten und Personalstruktur im Steuereinzug von Elephantine in frührömischer Zeit
Early Roman tax receipts from Elephantine follow specific formulae. Changes in formula reflect changes in the organisation of the collection and of the personel involved. Analysis of the subscription practice during the first century A.D. shows praktores as middle men between tax payer and the bank/treasury; involvement of bank clerks in the first phase up to Vespasian was abandoned after 69 A.D.
The Topography of the Town of Pathyris in the Light of the Current Research
The town of Per-Hathor, also known under its Greek name Pathyris, was occupied since the Predynastic Period up to the medieval times. It is well known for its Ptolemaic papyri, ostraka, and inscribed wooden tablets, which enable scholars to attempt reconstructions of the topography and social life in the settlement. What the previous studies lacked were a detail spatial and archaeological data regarding this area. The Gebelein Archaeological Project was initiated in 2013 and one of its aims is to fulfill this void.
La centralità dei testi nel Kepos: a proposito dei frammenti di lettere di Epicuro conservati nel P.Herc. 1005
In the Philodemus' Πρὸς τοὺς φασκοβυβλιακούς (P.Herc. 1005) there are seven fragments which most likely served excerpta of Epicurus' letters: frr. 81 (ll. 9-12), 82 (ll. 10-11), 109 (ll. 1-3), 110 (ll. 11-14), 111 (ll. 1-15), 114 (ll. 1-14), 116 (ll. 1-13). These fragments came from an extremely demaged portion of papyrus, which needs new papyrological investigation. The analysis of the fragments in light of new readings provides useful elements to define an often-overlooked aspect of the intellectual life of Kepos and the philosophical-cultural context in which Epicurus develops his παιδεία and the circulation of text in the school.
Zur virtuellen Rekonstruktion von Scorza-Stapeln
From the virtual reconstruction of the scorza stacks it appears that the drawings of the Herculaneum papyri contain some additions of letters not read in the original, but supplied on philological grounds.
Intorno a Padre Piaggio. Tra Roma e Napoli (1741-1758)
At the very beginning of the history of papyrology, Father Piaggio deserves to be considered the father figure of papyrus conservation. Testimonies relating to the earlier part of his life can be usefully re-read, and re-assessed in this light.
Tolemeo III dal ritorno in Egitto al decreto di Canopo: tempi e ragioni di due visite nella chora
P.Lond. VII 2056 and P.Tebt. III 748-749 – undated, but attributable to the period 243/242 B.C. – allude to a journey of Ptolemy III in the nomoi Arsinoites and Oxyrhynchites. It has been suggested that this visit to Upper Egypt was part of his maiden trip. Although I acknowledge the plausibility of such hypothesis, for this visit in the chora of Euergetes I would like to suggest another explanation, reconsidering, in addition to the above mentioned three texts, also P.Hib. I 82, 14-22. On the contrary, an evidence of the Ptolemy III's maiden trip is probably to be found in I.Philae I 4. Errata Corrige Nota 20
Σημεῖα per le citazioni ercolanesi di Critolao di Faselide
Analyzing some fragments of the Peripatetic philosopher Critolaus preserved in Herculaneum papyri, the paper shows the importance of formal observations, especially how some σημεῖα can be useful to interpret the text.
Antiochus von Askalon und Heraklitus von Tyros in einer Schülerliste des Kleitomachos? (P.Herc.. 1021, Kol. 25, Mitte)
The contribution provides a new edition of Phld., Ind. Acad. (P.Herc. 1021), col. 25, 20-36. In lines 32-35 the names of Antiochus of Ascalon and Philo of Larissa are restored for the first time. The relative clause referring to Heraclitus of Tyre (ll. 34-36) suggests that we are dealing here with the end of a list of pupils of Clitomachus. Approximately in lines 20-30 other information on Clitomachus might have been given, while also the name of Charmadas occurs.
Some thoughts on the papyrological edition
The papyrological edition has not stopped evolving since the publication of the first papyrus in the 18th century. And, despite the fixing of editorial norms with the Leiden system (1931), it continues to change. It improves at the same time as it adapts to the ever-changing requirements of the historical and philological sciences but also of the academic context. In this sense, it is a reflection of science and its organization. It is therefore not illegitimate to wonder whether certain developments are beneficial and whether certain adjustments would not be profitable.
P.Ryl. III 480: Iustiniani Digesta 28.8.11
New edition of P.Ryl. III 480, here identified as belonging to the 28th book of Justinian's Digest. The fragment, as well as P.Ryl. III 479, comes from a sixth-century papyrus codex that was part of an edition of the Digest in multiple tomes.
P.Herc. 817 provides us with the remnants of an anonymous and anepigraphic poem about the capture of Egypt by Octavian in 30 B.C. In the last years, the surviving fragments have been interpreted as containing a critical text against Augustus. However, a correct reading of the text and, especially, a contextualization of the poem in relation to the motives related with the Augustan ideology, allows to truly understand the author's point of view and his positioning towards the princeps. The author depicts the virtues of Octavian and of his soldiers, characterized positively in terms of fides, potentia, etc. Octavian restrains his soldiers from plundering the city of Pelousios, so that his clementia connects him to Julius Caesar directly.
Open Access to Papyrus Collections and the Future of Editing Papyri
This contribution aims to answer the question «what measures can we take to secure the future of editing papyri?». The main suggestion is to find ways to secure in the long term the survival, updating, and function of already existing and extremely useful traditional research aids, either printed or online.
An Idiosyncratic Homer, Iliad A 361-391 (P.Yale I 4)
A single sheet of papyrus with a 33-line column from the first book of the Iliad which was not fortunate in its scribe, because he often wrote an iota after the long vowels eta and omega, both mid-word as well as word-end. A second mishap occurred for the papyrus when the modern possessor, intent on enhancing the sheet's value, detached a seven-line patch with four to six letters per line from the left side of the papyrus and inserted this into empty space above and to the right, wreaking havoc with the Greek at A 366-372, Thetis' first visit to Achilles.
À propos des interactions entre associations et temples à l'époque gréco-romaine
This paper aims to illustrate how important and numerous were the links between Associations and the temples in Graeco-Roman period. To discuss this issue, the author combines archaelogical datas and textual sources (greek and Demotic).
Requests and letters of recommendation: the case of Amyntas in the Zenon archive
Requests and letters of recommendation in Ptolemaic Egypt in the third century B.C. were some effective ways used by Greek immigrants to improve their conditions, to obtain a good job or to solve the problems facing them in their new country. Amyntas, the director of Apollonios Palace in Alexandria, was one of the most influential officials who wrote such requests and letters on behalf of some fellow Greek immigrants.
Jewish names in Egypt in the Early Roman period
In this article I claim that in the Roman period, biblical names used by Jews became very limited in comparison with their variety in the Ptolemaic period. I argue that they are mainly represented by the names of the three patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - and of Jacob's son - Joseph. These four names constitute 73% of all biblical names male Jews used in the early Roman period, before the Jewish revolt in 115-117 A.D.
Le Illustrazioni dei Papiri ercolanesi di Angelo Antonio Scotti
The Accademico Ercolanese Angelo Antonio Scotti, who edited five Herculaneum papyri in volumes IV, VI e XI of the so-called Collectio Prior (Herculanensium Voluminum quae supersunt), also made the partial Illustrazioni (transcripts) of other papyri, which have not been published and are preserved in the Archivio dell'Officina dei Papiri Ercolanesi
Latin in Egyptian Documents between Caracalla and Diocletian
The third century A.D. is known to be a major historical watershed, including Caracalla's Constitutio Antoniniana (A.D. 212), which extended Roman citizenship to almost all the inhabitants of the Empire, and Diocletian's reforms (A.D. 285-305), which inaugurated Late Antiquity. An overview of Latin and bilingual documentary texts on papyrus, ostraka, and tablets produced in Egypt in this century, and a comparison with evidence from the previous and following ones, will lead to some considerations on the spread and significance of the Latin language in this province.
Pierre Jouguet et les fouilles de Ghôran et Magdôla: quelques découvertes récentes dans la collection de la Sorbonne
The reputation of the Sorbonne's collection is partly due to the fragments extracted from cartonnages brought back by Jouguet. Even if this is the primitive part of the collection, it does not mean that it has already delivered all its secrets. Indeed, this oldest part of the collection is still interesting and it generates again many activities for our teams. Moreover, the cartonnages dismantled and the fragments restored since the beginning of the ERC GESHAEM are giving even more elements of study and of reconstitution, in link with the former part of the collection.
Some Thoughts about Succession in Provincial Context
The Roman law of succession was ruled by strict prescriptions set out by public law – strongly linked to status and citizenship. In Roman Egypt, the Idios Logos regularly interfered to enforce the severe separation of classes, applying the special tools of fiscal administration. The remarkable dynamic of privileges and restrictions mirrors changing imperial policy. The present contribution is focused on soldier's wills, on the interaction between Roman law and Graeco-Egyptian legal culture in the light of documentary texts.
Flood of the Nile: New Remarks on P.Michael. 4
P.Michael. 4 (MP3 2271; TM 63404) is a literary description of the inundation of the Nile and its geological consequences in the Canopus area. The aim of this paper is to present some new observations on the most problematic parts of the text delving into predominantly lexicographical peculiarities.
Some thoughts on the Eusyene fragment (P.Oxy. LXXXIII 5356)
The new narrative fragment entitled Eusyene (P.Oxy. LXXXIII 5356) features a named heroine and contains indications of a novelistic plot, but it is too brief and broken to allow more than a faint glimpse into the work to which it belongs. The present paper proposes a number of textual improvements and contributes to the contextualisation of the Eusyene within the large body of Greek fictitious narrative literature by suggesting a parallel text that may hold clues to the broader plot of the new piece and provoke thought about its genre.
P.CtYBR Inv. 1430: Letter from the Heroninos Archive
Edition of P.CtYBR 1430, a fragmentary letter from the Heroninos Archive.
Re-editing SPP III Texts: Challenges, Problems, Results – Five Case Studies
The present paper deals with the new edition of the documents that make up the last part of the third volume of the series Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunden, also known as SPP texts (SPP III nos 573-701). It focuses on characteristic instances of re-transcribing in five receipts for the payment in money, preserved on parchment and dated to the early Arab period of Egypt that are included in this corpus. The proposed readings provide us with information on the text type, the prosopography, the dating and provenance of these texts.
Qualche osservazione sulla Retorica di Filodemo
Thanks to the progress made in the reconstruction of the Herculaneum scrolls and to new readings of the subscriptiones, an attempt is made to define the structure of Philodemus' Rhetoric, transmitted, as is known, by several scrolls.
A fragment of a Greek novel? PMil I 2. 17 revisited
P.Mil. I 2. 17 has been interpreted as a mythical or historical text and even considered as a fragment of Timaeus of Tauromenion. It was labeled by López Martinez, Fragmentos papiráceos de novela griega, 1998 – number 39 of her edition – as valde incertum –. The text is interesting both from a linguistic point of view and for raising a question concerning the literary genre to whom it pertains. The purpose of this paper is to review the text and to deep in the study of its literary genre.
Computational Workout: Division Table as Training Exercises
This paper examines ostraka O.Petr.Mus. 64 and 65 (TM 65801 and TM 113882; second half of the 5th cent., Tentyris?), inscribed with division tables for 31 and 57, respectively. It argues that the tables did not serve as ready reckoners and were not copied after a model text, but rather recorded the results of actual computations performed for the purpose of training numerical skills. To facilitate the discussion, the paper first provides a short introduction to the computation of fractional quotients.
As part of the prolegomena to the edition of the Hypotheseis in Euripidis fabulas (CLGP I. 2. 5. 2), the dissemination of the "narrative hypotheses handbook" in the school of various grade, as a basis for writing exercises and as a diegematic model, is examined.
The Power of Light: Λύχνος in the Ritual and Religious Life of Graeco-Roman and Byzantine Egypt as evidenced by Greek papyri and ostraka
The aim of this paper is to give insight into the religious significance of oil lamps in Graeco-Roman and Byzantine Egypt through the examination of the surviving Greek papyri and ostraka as well as the sources of Greek and Latin literature. Firstly, we place emphasis on the terms denoting this artifact (λύχνος, λυχνία etc.), as well as the ritualistic process of its lighting (λυχναψία, λυχνοκαΐα). Another section is devoted to the particular role of λύχνοι in Egyptian rituals (worship ceremonies, burial practices etc.) and the continuation of their significance from the pagan era into the Christian.
Tony Harrison's The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus as post-colonial criticism
Tony Harrison's play The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus has been considered in the secondary literature from the point of view of dramatic impact, classicism and social criticism. In this paper, I propose that a major, but overlooked, theme of the play is that of colonial exploitation in the practices that shaped the study of the classical past, and suggest that it can be used as a valuable guide to decolonizing papyrology.
L'utilisation de l'encre rouge dans les papyrus littéraires grecs et latins
Considered as a remarkable practice (except in magical and documentary papyri), the use of red ink in Greek and Latin Literary Papyri is nevertheless attested in Greek and Latin literary papyri, either for writing or for drawing lines and decorative elements. The present article will endeavour to understand the modalities of this scribal practice.
Demetrius Laco, On Poems II (P.Herc. 1014): A New Ordering of the Fragments and New Light on Alcaeus
P.Herc. 1014 contains Demetrius Laco's On Poems II. In the 19th century, the order of the pieces was disturbed and consequently, editions have published a disordered text. The recovery of the original numeration of the papyri via Hayter's numeration allows a clearly understanding of the topics discussed in the treatise, In addition, I provide some new readings of columns near the end that contain a fragment of Alcaeus (358 Voigt = Libermann).
Mary, Michael and the Twenty-Four Elders: Saints and Angels in Christian Liturgical and Magical Texts
This paper offers an overview of the role of saints and angels in Christian liturgical and magical texts based on the evidence of the papyri. It shows that whereas late antique liturgy had a predilection for the saints and it turned to angels relatively late, magical texts displayed a prominent interest in angels and their names. Among the magical texts, those in Greek were more ready to invoke saints; the Coptic ones preferred holy figures associated with numbers (e.g. the twelve apostles).
The Cynopolite Nome in the Delta … Did it really exist?
The key issue of this paper focuses on the specific question of whether a "lower Cynopolite Nome" existed in the Egyptian Delta – as well as the well attested "upper Cynopolite Nome" in the Heptanomia – under the Roman rule, or not. This issue has been raised through the various interpretations by scholars of the relevant papyrological documents in which these geographical locations occurred. The paper is an attempt by the researcher to clarify this argumentative question through a comprehensive study of the related documents and previous interpretations and reaching a more convincing conclusion – from the view point of the researcher – to this controversial issue.
Falsificazioni "genuine" nei disegni di alcuni Papiri Ercolanesi
In this paper I present the results of my research on twelve fragments of P.Herc. 1077: I recently discovered five drawings of these fragments in differently numbered drawings dossiers and now I show some textual innovations that these drawings bring.
Per la ricomposizione di rotoli ercolanesi scorzati
Many of the scrolls from the Villa dei Papiri were opened through the so-called scorzatura and are consequently divided into fragments which received different inventory numbers. Working on these scrolls requires close attention to the question of the original position of the scorze. In addition to the already established methods, further elements will be analysed, which can be especially useful in cases where the loss of material during or after the opening of the scorze hinders the immediate availability of the necessary data.
Hipponax and Ancient Greek Scholarship (P.Oxy. XVIII 2176): a commentary with marginal and interlinear notes
The works of Hipponax were carefully analysed and studied by ancient Greek scholars. The richness of the papyrological documentation reveals a high number of glosses, interlinear notes and also part of a full commentary (P.Oxy. XVIII 2176). The hypomnema was copied in a neat upright semi-angular bookhand and it is possible to date it around the end of the 1st or the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. It shows remarkable similarities with a group of fragments ascribed by scholars to the so-called Scribe A19.
A Cry for Help. A New Letter from the Yale Collection
The new text is a private letter, in which the writer sends a cry for help describing himself as naked. I discuss the distinctive uses of γυμνός and show how this word changes from its literal sense into a more abstract meaning.
Shared histories: New Work in British Museum and British Library Collections
Since their formal separation following the British Library Act of 1972, the British Museum and British Library have largely taken separate paths. Several recent collaborations have aimed to study papyrological material across both institutions, addressing one or more of three strands of enquiry, 1. knowledge gained through systematic documentation of collections, 2. archaeological findspot and provenance revealed through object study and archival research, and/or 3. the cultural context of production and use.
Ritual Ingredients, Folklore, and the Meaning of Invisibility
A range of ingredients are used in the invisibility rituals from the PGM. This discussion will explore the nature of these ingredients and lay out some of the folklore surrounding them, using Graham Anderson's definition of folklore as «anonymously transmitted culture». In doing so it will outline some of the ritual antecedents to these rites in Pliny's Natural History. Moreover, it will consider what the ingredients and analogic nature of such rites can tell us about their conception of invisibility itself.
The paper sheds new light on the popularity of the nine Muses and their names in Greco-Roman Egypt. Questions raised are: How popular are the names of the Muses, and if so, in which nomes and at which period? Is there any archaeological evidence outside Alexandria for the Muses, and in which form do the Muses appear?
Da Omero a Menches a Munazio … Uno sguardo ad alcuni papiri inediti da Tebtynis da un progetto dell'Università di Parma
This contribution introduces the project "Fragmentary Voices from the Past: Editing Unpublished Papyri from Graeco-Roman Egypt" held at the University of Parma with the aim of editing a volume of the Tebtunis Papyri (P.Tebt. VII). The history of the project and a selection of relevant texts – Homeric and other literary papyri, documentary papyri also (but not only) related to famous people like Menches, komogrammateus of Kerkeosiris, or Lucius Munatius Felix, prefect of Egypt – are preliminarily presented.
Was verbirgt sich hinter dem Ninos-Roman? Ein Blick auf die Rückseiten der Berliner Fragmente
P.Berol. 6926 A and B, two large fragments of a papyrus roll, contain parts of the famous Ninus-Romance on the recto. They were published in 1893 by Wilcken and have since then been most extensively studied and several times republished. The verso instead has not come under any scrutiny since the times of Wilcken. The contribution presents first results of an attempt to decipher the pretty cursively written accounts contained on the verso sides and especially to find hints regarding chronology and provenance as well as other pieces of information which might contribute to potentially contextualizing the papyrus.
Alleviating death: Consolatory expressions in the Greek mummy labels from Roman Egypt
In this paper, I pursue to study the Greek version of the bilingual (Greek and Demotic) mummy labels from Roman Egypt. I detect expressions of salutation and condolence, which the writers of the tags addressed to the dead. The aim of the study is to place the consolatory devices among the other kinds of the ancient Greek consolatory literature, and reveal any links between the phrases of condolence and the social and religious status of the deceased and the writers of the mummy tags.
Lexicographie Papyrologique de la vie matérielle <Lex.Pap.Mat.>
After six years since its beginning, the research project Lex.Pap.Mat. is here analyzed. It wants to enlight both the typology of lexicographical investigation and its target relating to the material culture in the documentary papyri. So, after a chronological list of the main meetings and results achieved, the method and the goals of researching are here described, as long as the typology of the researches already concluded.
I papiri del "Romanzo di Calligone": aspetti stilistici e topoi romanzeschi
This article deals with topical motifs of ancient novel that can be identified in the two papyri of Calligone novel published to date (PSI VIII 981 and P.Oxy. LXXXIII 5355) and with some aspects of intertextual allusiveness, with the aim of highlighting new elements for understanding the general plot of the novel and its contextualization within the literary genre of the ancient novel.
In this paper I review the various possible reconstructions for fr. 1. 20 Voigt and the Kypris poem and argue that there are analogies for complete structures between the two poems. Discussing the various proposed reconstructions, I survey the formal characteristics of the Lesbian verb system. Against this background, I suggest a new restoration at the end of verse 2 in the Kypris Poem in the light of a reading that has been proposed for fr. 1. 20 Voigt.
P.Ant. I 27, tra i più antichi codici dell'orazione Sulla Corona di Demostene
P.Ant. I 27 is a single parchment leaf that contains 49-56 of Demosthenes' De Corona. This specimen, published by C. H. Roberts in 1950, shows several features that justify a new analysis, first of all its accurate layout and its calligraphic majuscule. So, P.Ant. I 27 represents a good example of an early codex, that proves to be a luxury product capable of containing great portions of text.
Unveiling Emotions in Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri
The present study introduces a fascinating new theme in magic studies: it explores how humans experienced and expressed emotions while performing magical acts, focusing on their manifestations in various Graeco-Egyptian magical recipes and activated texts, which - although heavily formulaic in structure and in form - offer many opportunities for exploring the manifold influence of emotions on human behaviour.
Family Archives from Elephantine. The Evidence from the Ostraka
The majority of Greek ostraka from Egypt, and from Elephantine in particular, are tax receipts. The huge number of names which come up in these texts provide the opportunity to reconstruct family archives enhancing our knowledge of various aspects of the prosopography and sociology of Elephantine. Two small families are documented here through one already known, and three newly published ostraka from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Temples in Decline? The Egyptian Priesthood under Roman Rule
I argue here against the narrative that the Egyptian priesthood «suffered» under Roman rule and, in consequence, «declined markedly» in the 3rd century A.D. In contrast, I point out that Romans were keen to protect priestly privileges, and that the economic condition of temples is difficult to reconstruct. A closer look at the body of evidence further shows that a general «decline» of the Egyptian priesthood under Roman rule cannot be stated, as our material is primarily limited to just few temples at the edges of the Fayyum.
This paper presents the edition of three Coptic letters on potsherd ostraka. Although the content of each ostrakon is different, they are all mentioning a visit. The sender of the first ostrakon asked the recipient to visit him for a certain task while the sender of the second ostrakon mentions that the recipient will not come again to visit him. In the third ostrakon, the sender mentions his previous visit to the recipient.
Oleificatori al servizio del vescovo di Ossirinco. Un'analisi di PSI inv. 3031, 10-14
A forthcoming PSI papyrus (inv. 3031), a business letter coming from 4th century Oxyrhynchus, features the first papyrological witness of Pelagius, head of the Oxyrhynchite bishopric from 325 to 347 A.D. Alongside with a text section (ll. 13-10) by which we can ascertain the bishop's activities were somehow related with bread baking, and by adding that this bread baking could possibly be linked with the Easter's celebrations (l. 20), the letter testifies that the bishop can also rely on some skilled oil-makers, who appear to be directly dependent on the bishop himself (ll. 11-14). This paper aims at understanding who these oil-makers at the service of Pelagius are and whether they are members of the local κοινὸν τῶν ἐλαιουργῶν.
Il sistema di abbreviazioni dotte nei commentari e nei testi di studiosi
The so-called "learned abbreviations" system has long been recognized in the context of paraliterary texts, because this articulated system is found precisely in commentaries or in scholarly books. If the system as a whole is known and its functioning has been described in some editions of single texts, however, a global approach and a specific discussion on this interesting aspect of ancient writing practice is lacking. My paper aims to deepen the data on papyrus in which this system is used, addressing some crucial points.
The British Library's Coptic manuscripts collection
An overview of the British Library's Coptic manuscript holdings, providing snapshots of recent initiatives that have included digitisation of Coptic material, and collaborative research.
Some Remarks on Women's Social Life in Roman and Late Antique Egypt: Religious and Social Celebrations
The aim of the paper is twofold: first to elucidate the role of women in the participation and organization of various religious and social celebrations in the society of Greco-Roman Egypt, with regard to their legal and economic status, and second to discuss how the interaction between different cultures and social traditions could affect women's everyday life. My focus is on the papyrus documents dating from the time of August onwards which are more pertinent to the study of women's social life, such as private letters, invitations and various lists and accounts.
Continuity and Discontinuity of the Sciences in the 5th to the 10th Centuries A.D.
The question of continuity and discontinuity is addressed with four case studies on the disciplines of astronomy, medicine, alchemy, and mathematics. Astronomy disappeared from papyrological records for three an a half centuries from papyrological records. The same holds for alchemy which disappeared for at least four centuries. Literary and archaeological sources point to a longer survival of astronomy at Alexandria for about a century. Medicine survived on a very basic and practical level. The same can be said of mathematics.
Adoption practices in Late Antique and Byzantine Egypt
Details regarding adoption in Egypt (in relation i.e. to age and status of those being adopted, adoptive candidates, their motives etc.) can be found in extant adoption/fosterage contracts dating from the fourth century A.D. onwards. This study concentrates on the clauses contained in adoption/fosterage contracts and examines the reasons dictating the compilation of a written contract in Late Antique and Byzantine Egypt.
The British Library holds one of the largest collections of Greek ostraka outside Egypt. The paper presents the history of the collection from its beginnings in the early 19th century up to its present status, surveying the various attempts to catalogue it from early facsimiles to digitized images. It highlights the crucial importance of cross-institutional collaboration for future research on the collection with examples of successful projects.
An unpublished petition from the Sorbonne collection
The GESHAEM project is a scientific research initiative which aims at enhancing the knowledge of the administration of Ptolemaic Fayyum. Its goal is also to restore and study both the cartonnages and the papyri, in Demotic and in Greek, kept in the "Fonds Jouguet Fouilles", stored at the Institut de Papyrologie of Sorbonne Université in Paris. In one cartonnage from Magdôla, a Greek petition to an official (hypomnêma) has been discovered and inventoried as Inv. Sorb. 2855, which bears a new name for a toparchês in the Fayyum: Philonautês.
Romans in Egypt before the Constitutio Antoniniana: When, Where, and Why?
The Roman presence in Egypt is traced from before the Roman conquest by focusing on people with Roman names. The majority were to be found in Alexandria, and most were (the descendents of) Roman freedmen. A sizeable number owed their Roman names to service in the Roman army, but they are overrepresented in the evidence from the chora. By the time of the Constitutio Antoniniana there may have been 300,000 Romans in Egypt, two thirds of them in Alexandria.
De nouveaux documents dans le «dossier» de Dionysodôros (Arsinoïte, IIIème s. avant J.-Ch.)
The aim of this paper is to present 6 unpublished papyri belonging to the Fonds Jouguet (Institut de papyrologie de la Sorbonne). They are opisthographoi, written in Greek and Demotic head to foot and belong to the same administrative roll. The Greek texts are part of the archives of a well-known oikonomos, Dionysodoros in charge of the Meris of Polemon in the Arsinoite Nome (c. 230 B.C.). We will study their links with the other papyri of the same « dossier » to establish a better view of the career and function of Dionysodoros.
The Amathous Curse Tablets (British Museum inv. 1891, 4-11) and PGM VII (British Library Pap. 121): Evidence for Ritual Exchange Between Egypt and Cyprus
Discovered in the late 19th century and subsequently acquired by the British Museum, the cache of over 200 lead and selenite tablets from Cyprus is one of the largest archives of curses from antiquity. Three features of the cache suggest connections with magical texts known from Egypt, including PGM VII: references to a «muzzling deposit», the use of charaktêres, and an invocation to Chthonic deities. This paper analyzes these elements to explore the mechanisms by which magical knowledge may have been transmitted in the Mediterranean.
An Assemblage of Coptic Magical Texts on Leather and Their Traditional Context (P.Brit.Mus. inv. no. EA 10122, 10376, 10391, 10434, 10414)
Report on the re-edition of an assemblage of Coptic magical texts on leather manuscripts from Byzantine or early Islamic Egypt, possibly from the Theban region, now in the British Museum. Select new readings and proposals for interpretative context, in the history of pre-modern religion and magic and in the practice of the ancient collector(s) of the manuscripts, are presented.