Rubric Confusion in SM 96A.24–47: A Fragment of Erotylos’ Orphica or a Recipe for a Rotulus Amulet?

Abstract

SM 96A is a vertical papyrus roll (14 × 86 cm) that dates to the fifth–sixth centuries CE and seems to be dedicated mainly to recipes for amulets or curative incantations. The rubric ηρυτυλος at line 24 introduces a long narrow list of words and it is usually interpreted as Ἐρωτύλος, the name of an author quoted in PGM XIII 946–953, from whose Orphika the scribe quotes a long magical word. Another possibility, and one more in line with the fifth–sixth-century CE date of this formulary, is that ηρυτυλος is the Latin term rotulus transliterated imperfectly into Greek ῥυτυλος, which in late Latin refers to a tall, thin roll, usually of parchment, that is scrolled up and down in the mediaeval fashion, rather than side to side, as a typical papyrus handbook.