Papyrological Sources Research Articles

‘Problems’ at School: Mathematical Testimonies from the Fayum in the Roman Period

Abstract The common association between the teaching of numbers and basic arithmetical operations, on the one hand, and the earliest levels of linguistic-literary education, on the other, is a datum on which interpreters of Greek papyrological sources are now essentially agreed. A more controversial and less often considered question is whether, in these same ‘scholastic courses’, this basic knowledge also encompassed geometrical and metrological calculations in the form of ‘problems’ (which are typical of the papyrological mathematical tradition). Only a few witnesses to the latter type of texts in Greek have characteristics that would most likely associate them with instructional contexts. The four oldest of these date between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD and are of proven or hypothetical Fayumic provenance. Although they are few in number, these witnesses attest to certain practices in the teaching of mathematics, at least in this historical-geographical context, which are worthy of note.

Rain Gutters in Ancient Egyptian Private Houses: Papyrological and Archaeological Evidence

The subject of this study is a papyrus containing interesting information about drainage – namely the so-called ‘Legal Code of Hermopolis West’, known in both Demotic (P. Mattha – third century BC) and Greek versions (P.Oxy. XLVI 3285 – second century AD) – and the terminology contained therein in relation to water drains. It aims to determine what type of water these regulations applied to. To this end, the information obtained from papyrological sources is juxtaposed with what we know about drainage thanks to archaeology, especially models of houses (from the Middle Kingdom). This comparison reveals that ancient Egypt had a centuries-old tradition of draining rainwater through long, open, U-shaped gutters, even if their existence might seem unnecessary in this country at first glance.

Riverbank Marketplaces in Ptolemaic Egypt

Abstract This article examines Ptolemaic papyrological sources (Demotic and Greek) indicating the existence of marketplaces located next to the river during this period, which have so far been completely overlooked in the discussion on Egyptian markets. It focuses particularly on the location of marketplaces and their relation to settlements and the markets’ setting – whether they were surrounded by farmland or by buildings, and of what type. This analysis points to the highest parts of the riverbanks as the most likely location of marketplaces. Additionally, the article contains terminological remarks regarding the terms for the marketplace and the Nile in both Demotic and Greek.

"For each time I remind myself of you, neither do I eat, nor do I drink, but I cry": family relations of Roman soldiers according to papyri

The unique conditions of everyday life as well as special military traditions and mentality made family relations of Roman soldiers quite specific. Besides, the "marriage ban" or the lack of legal recognition of marriage contributed to the difficulties of militaries’ family life. Nevertheless, according to the data of epigraphy and papyrology, family played a key role in the life of Roman militaries. In this paper, the author's attention is focused on the information provided by papyrological sources. The object of the study is the papyrological letters of Roman soldiers to relatives. The subject of the study is the feelings and emotions of soldiers expressed in letters in relation to their family. The author also notes some practical issues of military family life, in particular, the problem of placing family members of a soldier on the territory of a military camp. Among the results of the study, it is worth noting the special sentimentalism of soldiers' letters revealed by the author. This feature should not be considered as a mere formality. The large numbers of emotional phrases are explained by the context of the era when most of people began to reflect on their duties and everyday being. In particular, they thought about the proper relationships between parents and children, husband and wife. Interestingly, one of the moral obligations in the relationships between close people became the presence of love. Moreover, this love should have been expressed in letters. Thus, despite the influence of the military ethos and other factors on the marital life of military personnel, the latter remained part of Roman society, for which family relations were one of the main values.

The Epigraphy of Ptolemaic Egypt ed. by Alan Bowman and Charles Crowther

Reviewed by: The Epigraphy of Ptolemaic Egypt ed. by Alan Bowman and Charles Crowther Brian Muhs (bio) The Epigraphy of Ptolemaic Egypt Alan Bowman and Charles Crowther (eds.) Oxford University Press, 2020. xxviii + 353 pp. $115.00 hardcover. This volume provides a welcome introduction to and survey of Greek epigraphy from Ptolemaic Egypt (332-30 BCE). It is a collection of chapters on various aspects of Ptolemaic Greek epigraphy that originated from a conference held in 2016, and it accompanies a separate Corpus of Ptolemaic Inscriptions that collects and publishes new editions of the Greek inscriptions discussed in the volume. The focus on the Ptolemaic period distinguishes the volume and the corpus from previous corpora, which [End Page 211] frequently combined Greek inscriptions from the Ptolemaic, Roman and other periods, and which were frequently restricted to specific regions of Egypt or to specific inscription types. This focus allows the chapters in the volume to explore the unique characteristics of Greek inscriptions under Ptolemaic rule. The chapters employ a variety of methods of categorizing and analyzing inscriptions, including language (monolingual Greek or multilingual), provenance (the Greek cities of Naukratis, Alexandria and Ptolemais, or the Egyptian countryside), media (Greek or Egyptian-style monuments), genres and types (foundation deposits, sacred dedications, and metrical texts), dedicants (soldiers and private associations), and methodology (content or palaeography). Most chapters employ statistics to provide overviews of the sets of inscriptions that they discuss, along with individual case studies to provide illustrative details. The editors have ensured that there is no unnecessary repetition of case studies between chapters, though their sets of inscriptions frequently overlap. Together the chapters effectively provide a survey of Ptolemaic Greek epigraphy, albeit with variable degrees of granularity. One interesting feature of Greek epigraphy from Ptolemaic Egypt is that it developed alongside a flourishing indigenous Egyptian epigraphic tradition. This feature means that the title of the volume is misleading. The use of the definite article in 'The Epigraphy' suggests that it covers all of the epigraphy of Ptolemaic Egypt, but the volume and the corpus are explicitly focused on Greek epigraphy and not the more numerous and extensive Egyptian-language inscriptions in Hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts from Ptolemaic Egypt. Language-restricted corpora do have their uses and some of the chapters in the volume explore them, such as Alan Bowman's chapter on Greek inscriptions of the cities of Naukratis, Alexandria, and Ptolemais, Kyriakos Savvopoulos's chapter on royal dedications from Alexandria, Simon Hornblower's chapter on Greek metrical texts, or Charles Crowther's chapter on Greek palaeography. Fortunately, other chapters in the volume investigate the ways in which Greek and Egyptian epigraphy interact, such as Rachel Mairs's chapter on multilingual inscriptions, and Dorothy Thompson's chapter on foundation deposits, in which Greek and Egyptian language inscriptions alternate and complement one another. Still other chapters acknowledge the entangled relationship between Greek and Egyptian epigraphic habits in Ptolemaic Egypt while remaining focused on Greek inscriptions, such as Willy Clarysse's chapter on Greek texts on Egyptian-style monuments, or Christelle Fischer-Bovet's chapter on Greek inscriptions dedicated by soldiers from diverse backgrounds in a variety of social contexts including Egyptian temples. [End Page 212] Another interesting feature of Greek epigraphy from Ptolemaic Egypt is that it exists alongside abundant documentary texts in both Greek and Demotic, while similar papyrological sources have rarely survived elsewhere in the ancient world. One chapter in the volume directly studies the relationship between epigraphic and papyrological sources, namely Willy Clarysse's chapter on inscriptions and papyri. Mario Paganini's chapter on Greek inscriptions dedicated by private associations in the Egyptian countryside also draws on the numerous references to private associations in documentary texts. Supratik Baralay's chapter on Hellenistic sacred dedications observes that individuals with Egyptian names rarely commemorated sacred dedications to Egyptian gods in Greek language inscriptions except in the Fayum and suggests a link to the high proportion of individuals with Greek names found in documentary texts from the Fayum in relation to taxation and the census. In summary, this volume provides a valuable introduction to Greek epigraphy in Ptolemaic Egypt. It describes the various types of Greek inscriptions, and several different approaches to studying them...

The Beautiful Festival of the Valley in the Graeco-Roman Period: A Revised Perspective

The pharaonic Beautiful Festival of the Valley has already been studied extensively by various scholars. However, no adequate research has hitherto been carried out into the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. This paper proposes what the final phase of the festival would have looked like and argues that it did not merge with the Decadal Festival, as became the opinio communis. The Graeco-Roman archaeological data from the Theban necropolis were plotted in GIS (ArcGIS 10.7.1) to determine that these finds can still be linked to the processional paths used for the Valley Festival, as was the case in older periods. The indications provided by the spatial distributions together with papyrological sources and landscape analysis support the hypothesis that the Valley Festival continued to be celebrated into the Graeco-Roman Period.

UNDER THE SIGN OF THE DISTAFF:AETIA1.5, SPINNING AND ERINNA

Scholars continue to make progress addressing the lacunae in our papyrological sources for Callimachus’ prologue to theAetia, both by lending additional support to old supplements and by discounting others or demonstrating their weaknesses. To the first category belongs the crucial verb at the end of line 5, where, in my view, Callimachus first characterizes the making of his poetry (Aet. 1–6):πολλάκι μοι Τελχῖνες ἐπιτρύζουσιν ἀοιδῇ,νήιδες οἳ Μούσης οὐκ ἐγένοντο φίλοι,εἵνεκε]ν οὐχ ἓν ἄεισμα διηνεκὲς ἢ βασιλ[η⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅]ας ἐν πολλαῖς ἤνυσα χιλιάσινἢ⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅]⋅ους ἥρωας, ἔπος δ᾽ ἐπὶ τυτθὸν ἑλ[ίσσωπαῖς ἅτε, τῶν δ᾽ ἐτέων ἡ δεκὰς οὐκ ὀλίγη.Often the Telchines mutter at my poetry,being ignorant and no friends of the Muse,because I have not completed one continuous poemin many thousands … on kings and …… heroes, but I … my poem only a littlelike a child, though the decades of my years are not few.

Dyeing in texts and textiles: words expressing ancient technology

The complex chaîne opératoire of ancient textile production in various stages has been frequently discussed by textile scholars. According to documentary papyri, textile manufacturing represented the highest taxed industry after agriculture. This emphasises its importance as a significant sector in the ancient economy. A highly specialised branch within the chaîne opératoire is the dyeing industry. Ancient dyers used natural and animal dyestuffs, as well as different dyeing techniques to achieve their colourful results. They were also aware of the specific properties of the different textile fibres. In ancient times, wool and linen were the characteristic materials for manufacturing textiles, but archaeological and papyrological sources further attest the use of cotton, silk and even goat hair. Depending on the particular fibre properties and the natural pigmentation, different results, colours and hues could be achieved. Preserved textiles show that mainly wool was dyed, but there are dyed linen textiles as well.

Antichresis: a comparative study of classical Roman law and the contractual praxis from Roman Egypt

Summary The authors examine how papyrological sources from Roman Egypt written in Greek on antichresis relate to classical Roman law. Antichresis attested in papyrological antichretic contracts had a lot in common with antichresis emerging from Roman dispute resolutions. There was only one substantive difference: in classical Roman law, protection of the debtor was emphasized, whereas in the Greek papyrological antichretic contracts the position of the creditor was favoured. Given the similarities found, the authors conclude that antichretic loan both as an independent legal institution and as a pactum antichreticum was a pan-Mediterranean legal concept.

The Emperor and the Ecumenical Synods of Competitors

This paper offers new insights in the relation between the Roman emperor and the two ecumenical associations of competitors, the xystic synod of athletes and the thymelic synods of artists. These associations defended the interests of first-class competitors in Greek agones, competitive festivals in the tradition of the Olympic Games that were widespread in the Roman empire. Since the earliest studies on the two synods, scholars have maintained that they were a tool in the hands of the emperor with which he could keep the Greek festival world under control. A thorough analysis of both epigraphical and papyrological sources reveals, however, that the synods had more agency than has been previously assumed. This paper argues that they were embedded in a network of reciprocal relationships, in which lobby work and symbolic communication in the context of the imperial cult gave them ample room to pursue their specific professional interests.

Plotina Augusta: luces y sombras sobre una mujer de estado

En este trabajo, a través de un recorrido por las diferentes etapas de su vida, se reivindica el papel de Plotina Augusta como mujer de estado y no solo como esposa imperial. Para ello se realiza una comparación, desde los distintos puntos de vista de la bibliografía tradicional y reciente, de los datos acerca de su figura procedentes de las fuentes literarias y los documentos epigráficos, numismáticos y papirológicos.The aim of this paper is to analyze, through a biographical tour at different stages of her life, the role of Plotina Augusta as a woman of state and not only as imperial wife. In order to show the different views on her from the traditional and the most recent literature it will be carried out a comparison of the data collected from literary, epigraphic, numismatic and papyrological sources.

ROMAN ARMY IN DURA EUROPOS AND THE SEVERAN PARTHIAN CAMPAIGNS

The article deals with the problem of Roman military presence in Dura Europos in the context of the Parthian campaigns of the Severan dynasty and Roman foreign policy in the East. Due to its geographical position, the town of Dura Europos was quite an important military site in the Seleucid, Parthian and Roman periods. Dura was held briefly by the Romans under Trajan and was later captured by Lucius Verus. Dura was relativaly easy to defend, and that value of the city justified the effort to hold it. In the Roman period, after the campaign of Lucius Verus, the city became a garrison on Rome’s eastern frontier. Very little is known about the first decades of Roman presence in Palmyra. The garrison appears to have been not very large. In the Age of the Severan dynasty, the garrison consisted of the vexillations of the legions that were regularly settled in the province of Syria Coelae. That included Legio IV Scythica and Legio XVI Flavia Firma. The presence of the Legio III Gallica and Legio III Cyrenaica in the city during the years 216 – 220 CE can be strongly connected with the Parthian campaigns of Caracalla. The main attachments in the city were cohors XX Palmynerorum and the vexillations of the legions settled in the province of Syria Coelae. The papyri documents left by the soldiers and officers of the Cohors help us to reconstruct not only the daily life and the economy of the Roman Army in the East, but they also provide us with information about the military activity of its soldiers including the wars against Parthia. The author analyzes chronology of the possible appearance of the institute of dux ripae and states, that the only information about the office of the military command of the region before the 240 CE comes from an assumption that was made by M. Rostovtzeff, who believed that the dipinto from the palace of the dux could be used as a source to date the appearance of that office. Nerveless, the papyrological material finds the earliest mentions about this command only in the 240-s CE. The existing evidence can be used to date this office as by the time of military expeditions of Caracalla and Macrin against Parthia or the other possible variant are the late Severan wars with the Sasanian Persia. The author concludes that the military garrison was increased at the beginning of the third century CE – the fact that was recorded with a number of epigraphical and papyrological sources. The archaeological sources help us to verify this information for we can see how the military camp expanded in that period that was also followed with an amount of building activity in the area. The soldiers that served in the garrison took an important part in Rome’s policy in the East.

A ‘new’ economic history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

AbstractThis article argues that there is a need to develop a ‘new’ economic and social history of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region that is based on exploiting novel sources of data, including (a) primary papyrological sources from the medieval period, (b) primary sources at the region's local archives and European (colonial) archives, and (c) primary sources from the ancient (pre‐Islamic) period. The proposed ‘new’ history of the MENA region must be inter‐disciplinary for two reasons: (a) digitizing and employing these novel data sources in research requires the collaboration of social scientists, historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, demographers and papyrologists, as well as the co‐operation of MENA‐based scholars who have better access to MENA's local archives, and (b) even if these novel sources are digitized, data limitations are likely to impose a constraint on the reach of quantitative analysis and thus necessitate an inter‐disciplinary methodology that combines quantitative evidence with historical analysis.

James G. Keenan / J. G. Manning / Uri Yiftach-Firanko (Eds.), Law and Legal Practice in Egypt from Alexander to the Arab Conquest. A Selection of Papyrological Sources. New York, Cambridge University Press 2014

James G. Keenan / J. G. Manning / Uri Yiftach-Firanko (Eds.), Law and Legal Practice in Egypt from Alexander to the Arab Conquest. A Selection of Papyrological Sources. New York, Cambridge University Press 2014

The anti-usury arguments of the Church Fathers of the East in their historical context and the accommodation of the Church to the prevailing “credit economy” in late antiquity

AbstractThe evidence the Church Fathers offer about the economic practices of late antiquity are often dismissed as empty rhetoric. The aim of this article is first, to examine the historical value of their arguments against usury in the light of papyrological and hagiographic sources as well as οf archaeological findings; secondly, to assess the extent to which the churches and monasteries in Syria and Egypt accommodated themselves to the “credit economy” of late antiquity; and, thirdly, to evaluate the reasons for the church’s compromise with the established credit practices and its impact on the implementation of the Christian redistributive ideals.

Reshaping the urban space: Bakchias in Ptolemaic and Roman times

The paper focuses on some important results obtained by an integrated approach using archaeological evidence, papyrological sources and different kinds of technologies in order to reconstruct the urban development of the site of Bakchias, located in the north-eastern part of the Fayyum region (Egypt). The Mission of Bologna University has excavated ancient Bakchias at Kom Umm el-Athl for over twenty years. In particular, the latest studies, conducted in partnership with Sapienza University of Rome since 2005, have revealed several new elements which are useful for reconsidering the urban development of the kome. In 2011, a GIS was constructed not only in order to store and manage the large quantity of data collected during these years, but also to analyse and process the information and to optimise the research goals. Indeed, the latest-field activities have brought to light numerous structures, both public buildings and private houses in different sectors of the archaeological area. At the same time, an analysis of the papyrological and epigraphic sources was carried out so as to comprehend the useful information about the spatial content, activities and buildings recorded for the settlement. The research was completed using different surveying approaches. All the data thus obtained were merged together in a GIS environment, in order to collect and manage all the information and to integrate the individual elements in a coherent workflow process. Spatial or distributional analysis of the data relating to the site enabled us to draw a series of thematic and phase maps of the Bakchias site. The execution of these diachronic plans, representing different chronological phases of the town, allowed us to evaluate the historical development of the site and urban plan transformations.

‘IMMUNES’ W ARMII RZYMSKIEJ W UJĘCIU JURYSTY RZYMSKIEGO PUBLIUSA TARUTTIENUSA PATERNUSA

THE ‘IMMUNES’ IN THE ROMAN ARMY ACCORDING TO THE ROMAN JURIST PUBLIUS TARUTTIENUS PATERNUS Summary The article presents the Roman jurist Publius Taruttienus Paternus, who was a praetorian prefect and military commander in the final phase of the Marcomannic Wars, and incorporates an analysis of a passage from Paternus’ Digest (D. 50,6,7). In this passage Paternus described the immunes, a category of Roman soldiers specialising in technical and medical tasks. The authors use legal, numismatic, narrative, epigraphic and papyrological sources.

Supplemento papirologico alle recenti edizioni dei Milesii. Praesocratica Herculanensia VIII

AbstractThis paper provides a complete collection of the papyrological sources concerning the Milesians. Apart from some texts which do not appear in the Corpus dei Papiri Filosofici Greci e Latini (CPF), this collection also takes into account some Herculanean testimonia to Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes which have been forgotten in both the old and most recent editions of these pre-Socratic philosophers. An appendix deals with the alleged references to the Milesians in Book 11 of Epicurus’ On Nature.

Die Perikope von der Hochzeit zu Kana ( Joh 2:1-11) im Kontext der Spätantike

Abstract One focus of the interpretation of the Wedding at Cana ( John 2:1-11) is usually the abundance of wine. The amount of water in the six large jars, which is changed into wine, seems to be enormous. However, the amount is traditionally not put into the context of the average consumption of wine in antiquity. Archaeological and papyrological sources suggest that—in the context of antiquity—the amount seems not to be extraordinarily large. Rather, the amount of wine seems to be sufficient just for a “common household.” This is important for the interpretation of the entire passage: The “abundance of wine” is very often related to the hypothesis that this supposed abundance is to be seen in the context of the attempt to surpass the cult of Dionysos.

A military reform before the battle of Raphia?

Polybius (V 63-65) describes the reorganization of the Ptolemaic army by genos , by age, and the breaking up of the old regiments before the battle of Raphia (217 BC). By comparing his words with the papyrological sources, it appears that the translation of genos as “nationality” is problematic here and that the eponymous officers, who were military commanders, were replaced by new ones at that time.