The earliest known Greek papyrus

(Piraeus Museum, MΠ 7449,

8517-8523): Text and Contexts
Ioanna Karamanou

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9
Coordinación y edición: Alberto Nodar – Sofía Torallas Tovar
Coedición: María Jesús Albarrán Martínez, Raquel Martín Hernández, Irene Pajón Leyra,
José Domingo Rodríguez Martín, Marco Antonio Santamaría
Diseño de cubierta: Sergio Carro Martín

Primera edición, junio 2019

© los editores y los autores 2019
La propiedad de esta edición es de Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat
Ausiàs Marc 92-98 – 08013 Barcelona

ISBN 978-84-9191-079-4 (Pamsa)

ISBN 978-84-88042-89-7 (UPF)
Edición digital
http://hdl.handle.net/10230/41902
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword i

Program of the congress vi

Photograph of participants xxi

PART I: Papyrology: methods and instruments 1

Archives for the History of Papyrology

ANDREA JÖRDENS, Die Papyrologie in einer Welt der Umbrüche 3-14

ROBERTA MAZZA, Papyrology and Ethics 15-27
PETER ARZT-GRABNER, How to Abbreviate a Papyrological Volume? Principles, 28-55
Inconsistencies, and Solutions
PAOLA BOFFULA, Memorie dal sottosuolo di Tebtynis a ... Roma e a Venezia! 56-67
ELISABETH R. O’CONNELL, Greek and Coptic manuscripts from First Millennium 68-80
CE Egypt (still) in the British Museum
NATASCIA PELLÉ, Lettere di B. P. Grenfell e A. S. Hunt a J. G. Smyly 81-89

PART II: Literary Papyri 91

IOANNA KARAMANOU, The earliest known Greek papyrus (Archaeological 93-104

Museum of Piraeus, MΠ 7449, 8517-8523): Text and Contexts
FRANZISKA NAETHER, Wise Men and Women in Literary Papyri 105-113
MAROULA SALEMENOU, State Letters and Decrees in P.Haun. I 5 and P.Oxy. 114-123
XLII 3009: an Evaluation of Authenticity
MARIA PAZ LOPEZ, Greek Personal Names, Unnamed Characters and Pseudonyms 124-134
in the Ninos Novel
MASSIMO MAGNANI, The ancient manuscript tradition of the Euripidean 135-143
hypotheses
MARIA KONSTANTINIDOU, Festal Letters: Fragments of a Genre 144-152
MARCO STROPPA, Papiri cristiani della collezione PSI: storia recente e prospettive 153-161
future
ANASTASIA MARAVELA, Scriptural Literacy Only? Rhetoric in Early Christian 162-177
Papyrus Letters

PART III: Herculaneum 179

GIOVANNI INDELLI - FRANCESCA LONGO AURICCHIO, Le opere greche della 181-190

Biblioteca ercolanese: un aggiornamento
GIANLUCA DEL MASTRO, Su alcuni pezzi editi e inediti della collezione ercolanese 191-194
STEFANO NAPOLITANO, Falsificazioni nei disegni di alcuni Papiri Ercolanesi 195-206
ANGELICA DE GIANNI, Osservazioni su alcuni disegni dei Papiri Ercolanesi 207-218
GAIA BARBIERI, Studi preliminari sul PHercul. 1289 219-230
VALERIA PIANO, P.Hercul. 1067 Reconsidered: Latest Results and Prospective 231-240
Researches
DANIEL DELATTRE - ANNICK MONET La Calomnie de Philodème (PHerc.Paris.2), 241-249
colonnes E-F-G. Une nouvelle référence à Hésiode
MARIACRISTINA FIMIANI, On Several Unpublished Fragments of Book 4 of the 250-254
Rhetoric of Philodemus of Gadara
FEDERICA NICOLARDI, I papiri del libro 1 del De rhetorica di Filodemo. Dati 255-262
generali e novità
CHRISTIAN VASSALLO, Analecta Xenophanea. 263-273
GIULIANA LEONE - SERGIO CARRELLI, Per l’edizione di Epicuro, Sulla natura, libro 274-288
incerto (P.Hercul. 1811/335)

PART IV: Paraliterary texts- School, Magic and astrology 289

RAFFAELLA CRIBIORE, Schools and School Exercises Again 291-297

JULIA LOUGOVAYA, Literary Ostraca: Choice of Material and Interpretation of 298-309
Text
PANAGIOTA SARISCHOULI, Key episodes of the Osirian myth in Plutarch’s De Iside 310-324
et Osiride and in Greek and Demotic Magical Papyri: How do the sources
complement each other?
ELENI CHRONOPOULOU, The authorship of PGM VI (P.Lond. I 47) + II (P.Berol. 325-332
Inv. 5026)
EMILIO SUÁREZ, The flight of passion. Remarks on a formulaic motif of erotic 333-341
spells
JOHANNES THOMANN, From katarchai to ikhtiyārāt: The Emergence of a New 342-354
Arabic Document Type Combining Ephemerides and Almanacs

PART V: Scribal practice and book production 355

MARIE-HÉLÈNE MARGANNE, Les rouleaux composites répertoriés dans le 357-365

Catalogue des papyrus littéraires grecs et latins du CEDOPAL
NATHAN CARLIG, Les rouleaux littéraires grecs composites profanes et chrétiens 366-373
(début du IIIe – troisième quart du VIe siècle)
GIOVANNA MENCI, Organizzazione dello spazio negli scholia minora a Omero e 374-381
nuove letture in P.Dura 3
PIERRE LUC ANGLES, Le grec tracé avec un pinceau comme méthode 382-398
d’identification des scripteurs digraphes: généalogie, limites, redéfinition
du critère
ANTONIO PARISI, Citazioni e meccanismi di citazione nei papiri di Demetrio 399-404
Lacone
ANTONIO RICCIARDETTO, Comparaison entre le système d’abréviations de 405-416
l’Anonyme de Londres et ceux de la Constitution d’Athènes et des autres
textes littéraires du Brit.Libr. inv. 131
YASMINE AMORY, Considérations autour du π épistolaire: une contamination entre 417-421
les ordres et la lettre antique tardive ?
BENJAMIN R. OVERCASH, Sacred Signs in Human Script(ure)s: Nomina Sacra as 422-428
Social Semiosis in Early Christian Material Culture
PART VI: Documentary papyri 429

Ptolemaic documents
CARLA BALCONI, Due ordini di comparizione di età tolemaica nella collezione 431-436
dell’Università Cattolica di Milano
STÉPHANIE WACKENIER, Quatre documents inédits des archives de Haryôtês, 437-447
basilicogrammate de l’Hérakléopolite
BIANCA BORRELLI, Primi risultati di un rinnovato studio del secondo rotolo del 448-455
P.Rev.Laws
CLAUDIA TIREL CENA, Alcune considerazioni su due papiri con cessione e affitto 456-464
di ἡµέραι ἁγνευτικαί

Roman and Byzantine documents

EL-SAYED GAD, ἀντίδοσις in Roman Egypt: A Sign of Continuity or a Revival of 465-474
an Ancient Institution?
MARIANNA THOMA, The law of succession in Roman Egypt: Siblings and non- 475-483
siblings disputes over inheritance
JOSÉ DOMINGO RODRÍGUEZ MARTÍN, Avoiding the Judge: the Exclusion of the 484-493
δίκη in Contractual Clauses
FABIAN REITER, Daddy finger, where are you? Zu den Fingerbezeichnungen in den 494-509
Signalements der römischen Kaiserzeit
DOROTA DZIERZBICKA, Wine dealers and their networks in Roman and Byzantine 510-524
Egypt. Some remarks.
ADAM BULOW-JACOBSEN, The Ostraca from Umm Balad. 525-533
CLEMENTINA CAPUTO, Dati preliminari derivanti dallo studio degli ostraca di 534-539
Berlino (O. Dime) da Soknopaiou Nesos
SERENA PERRONE, Banking Transactions On The Recto Of A Letter From Nero To 540-550
The Alexandrians (P.Genova I 10)?
NAHUM COHEN, P.Berol. inv. no. 25141 – Sale of a Donkey, a Case of Tax 551-556
Evasion in Roman Egypt?
ANDREA BERNINI, New evidence for Colonia Aelia Capitolina (P.Mich. VII 445 + 557-562
inv. 3888c + inv. 3944k)
JENS MANGERUD, Who was the wife of Pompeius Niger? 563-570

Late Roman and Islamic documents

JEAN-LUC FOURNET, Anatomie d’un genre en mutation: la pétition de l’Antiquité 571-590
tardive
ELIZABETH BUCHANAN, Rural Collective Action in Byzantine Egypt (400-700 CE) 591-599
JANNEKE DE JONG, A summary tax assessment from eighth century Aphrodito 600-608
STEFANIE SCHMIDT, Adopting and Adapting – Zur Kopfsteuer im frühislamischen 609-616
Ägypten

PART VII: Latin papyri 617

MARIACHIARA SCAPPATICCIO, Papyri and LAtin Texts: INsights and Updated 619-627
Methodologies. Towards a philological, literary, and historical approach to
Latin papyri
SERENA AMMIRATI, New developments on Latin legal papyri: the ERC project 628-637
REDHIS and the membra disiecta of a lost legal manuscript
GIULIO IOVINE, Preliminary inquiries on some unpublished Latin documentary 638-643
 papyri (P.Vindob. inv. L 74 recto; 98 verso; 169 recto)
ORNELLA SALATI, Accounting in the Roman Army. Some Remarks on PSI II 119r 644-653
+ Ch.L.A. IV 264
DARIO INTERNULLO, Latin Documents Written on Papyrus in the Late Antique and 654-663
Early Medieval West (5th-11th century): an Overview

PART VIII: Linguistics and Lexicography 665

CHRISTOPH WEILBACH, The new Fachwörterbuch (nFWB). Introduction and a 667-673

lexicographic case: The meaning of βασιλικά in the papyri
NADINE QUENOUILLE, Hypomnema und seine verschiedenen Bedeutungen 674-682
ISABELLA BONATI, Medicalia Online: a lexical database of technical terms in 683-689
medical papyri
JOANNE V. STOLK, Itacism from Zenon to Dioscorus: scribal corrections of <ι> and 690-697
<ει> in Greek documentary papyri
AGNES MIHÁLYKÓ, The persistence of Greek and the rise of Coptic in the early 698-705
Christian liturgy in Egypt
ISABELLE MARTHOT-SANTANIELLO, Noms de personne ou noms de lieu ? La 706-713
délicate question des ‘toponymes discriminants’ à la lumière des papyrus
d’Aphroditê (VIe -VIIIe siècle)

PART IX: Archaeology 715

ROGER S. BAGNALL - PAOLA DAVOLI, Papyrology, Stratigraphy, and Excavation 717-724

Methods
ANNEMARIE LUIJENDIJK, On Discarding Papyri in Roman and Late Antique Egypt. 725-736
Archaeology and Ancient Perspectives
MARIO CAPASSO, L’enigma Della Provenienza Dei Manoscritti Freer E Dei Codici 737-745
Cristiani Viennesi Alla Luce Dei Nuovi Scavi A Soknopaiou Nesos

PART X: Papyri and realia 747

INES BOGENSPERGER - AIKATERINI KOROLI, Signs of Use, Techniques, Patterns and 749-760
Materials of Textiles: A Joint Investigation on Textile Production of Late
Antique Egypt
VALERIE SCHRAM, Ἐρίκινον ξύλον, de la bruyère en Égypte? 761-770

PART XI: Conservation and Restoration 771

IRA RABIN - MYRIAM KRUTZSCH, The Writing Surface Papyrus and its Materials 773-781
1. Can the writing material papyrus tell us where it was produced? 2. Material study
of the inks
MARIEKA KAYE, Exploring New Glass Technology for the Glazing of Papyri 782-793
CRISTINA IBÁÑEZ, A Proposal for the Unified Definition of Damages to Papyri 794-804
EMILY RAMOS The Preservation of the Tebtunis Papyri at the University of 805-827
California Berkeley
EVE MENEI - LAURENCE CAYLUX, Conservation of the Louvre medical papyrus: 828-840
cautions, research, process
PART XII: Digitizing papyrus texts 841

NICOLA REGGIANI, The Corpus of Greek Medical Papyri Online and the digital 843-856
edition of ancient documents
FRANCESCA BERTONAZZI, Digital edition of P.Strasb. inv. 1187: between the 857-871
papyrus and the indirect tradition
 Proceedings of the 28th International Congress of Papyrology, Barcelona 2016
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona 2019) 93-104

The earliest known Greek papyrus (Piraeus Museum, MΠ 7449, 8517-8523):

Text and Contexts*

Ioanna Karamanou
University of the Peloponnese
ikaramanou@yahoo.gr

This paper aims to communicate the results of the research conducted so far on the earliest
known Greek papyrus, which provides the second case of a roll unearthed in Greek territory,
following the discovery of the Derveni papyrus in 1962. In what follows, I shall present the
amount of text which has been recovered and attempt to evaluate its literary and cultural
significance, as well as the overall importance of this finding for papyrological research.
On 13 and 14 May 1981 an emergency excavation in Daphne, Attica (53 Olgas Street), where
the cemetery of the ancient deme of Alopeke was probably situated, brought to light two
tombs in the form of cist-graves. Tombs I and II lie at the same depth, very close to one
another and have exactly the same construction, material and dimensions, which entails that
they were most probably constructed and used at the same period of time. They form a
singular ensemble and could have been a family burial.1
The first tomb contained the skeleton of a person estimated to have died in his or her forties2
and four lekythoi dated between 430 and 425 BCE.3 In the second tomb a papyrus roll was
unearthed along with further writing material (four wooden writing tablets and fragments of a
fifth, a writing case, a bronze ink pot, a chisel and a bronze stylus), musical instruments
(fragments of a harp, of a tortoise shell, which must have been the soundbox of a lyre, and a
wooden aulos tube with mouthpiece), a saw made of iron and nine knucklebones. The
papyrus roll seems to have been put in a leather bag inside a small wooden box for
safekeeping.4 The condition of the skeleton discovered in this tomb, which became known as
‘the Musician’s tomb’, indicates that the deceased must have been a young person in his or
her early twenties.5 The findings of both tombs were taken to the National Archaeological
Museum for restoration in 1981 and were transferred to the Archaeological Museum of
Piraeus in 1996.
Considering that the lekythoi in the first tomb are dated to 430/425 BCE and that the two
tombs are most likely to belong to the same period, then we can deduce that the papyrus roll
could be dated some time earlier than 430/425 BCE (having been written before the death of
the person buried in the tomb).6 Therefore, it constitutes the earliest Greek papyrus
discovered so far. The same holds true of the five wooden tablets, three of which are of

* I am most grateful to Prof. Egert Pöhlmann and to Dr Eutychia Lygouri-Tolia for discussing with me details
pointing to the contemporary dating of the two tombs. This paper is an abridged and updated version of
Karamanou (2014) and (2016).
1
See Liangouras (1981); Pöhlmann / West (2012) 9; Pöhlmann (2013) 8; Lygouri-Tolia (2014) 10-11.
2
Pöhlmann / West (2012) 2-3; Pöhlmann (2013) 12.
3
Simon / Wehgartner (2013) 64.
4
Cf. Alexopoulou / Kaminari / Panagopoulos / Pöhlmann (2013) 1243.
5
See Pöhlmann (2013) 13. On the findings of Tomb II: Pöhlmann / West (2012) 2-3; Pöhlmann (2013) 12-14;
Psaroudakēs (2013); Terzēs (2013); Lygouri-Tolia (2014) 7-10.
6
Pöhlmann / West (2012) 3, 9. The date of the harp, which belongs to the ‘spindle harp’ type, could be
consistent with but not conclusive for the dating of the findings of Tomb II, since literary sources attest that this
type of harp was used from the early fifth to the second century BCE; see recently Laywine (2014) 160
challenging Terzēs’ dating of the harp between 430 and 410 BCE (Terzēs [2013] 126).
 I. Karamanou

matching size having holes bored on one of the long sides, which suggests that they formed a
polyptychon.7
From 1981 to 2010 the papyrus from the ‘Musician’s Tomb’ remained unpublished, despite
the initial excitement instigated by its discovery. In 2011 Prof. Egert Pöhlmann and late Prof.
Martin West were granted permission by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture to study the
findings of the two Daphne tombs; research teams were organized (in the fields of
Archaeology, Papyrology, Musicology, Archaeometry and Anthropology) to delve into and
provide a holistic approach to this material.8 The publication of the research output began in
2012 and has continued regularly since then.9
The Daphne roll, whose original size is estimated to have reached 12 cm in height and 3 cm
in diameter, was described upon its discovery as «a shapeless, flattened mass» comprising
several layers pasted together, in consequence of the unfavourable conditions of high
humidity in the grave (see fig. 1).10 It was transferred to the chemical department of the
National Archaeological Museum, where it was kept under high humidity approximating the
conditions in the tomb, so that further disintegration would be avoided. No expert in papyrus
restoration could be found in the Museum, in the Archaeological Service or in the National
Library, and this task was assigned by the Ministry of Culture to the painter and restorer
Antonios Glinos. The fragments were glued on a silk fabric between two sheets of glass kept
0.5 cm apart, so that even the slightest touch of the papyrus with the glasses would be
avoided, as this could cause further disintegration of the fragments. Glinos mounted the
fragments in eight frames and tried to keep joins where possible, without always being able to
preserve their original relative position and to separate the compacted layers.11
Frames 1 (=MΠ 7449), 4 (=MΠ 8519) and 7 (=MΠ 8522) include several hundreds of tiny
fragments arranged in 15-20 rows in each frame and preserving one or two letters at best.
Frame 3 (=MΠ 8518) contains a particularly compact piece (9 cm x 4.5 cm) consisting of
multiple layers pasted together. Frame 5 (=ΜΠ 8520) comprises forty-four fragments, some
of which are medium sized containing remnants of lines of text coming from several layers.
Frame 8 (=ΜΠ 8523) includes a larger piece (3 cm x 4 cm), which was detached upon the
discovery of the roll and also consists of several layers. Frames 2 (=MΠ 8517) and 6 (=ΜΠ
8521) contain several hundreds of small fragments arranged in eight and nine rows
respectively, some of which preserve four to seven letters per line.12 It thus becomes evident
that the legible material does not comprise a continuous text, but it consists of letter-
sequences of five to nine letters per line in the largest fragments.
The legibility of the fragments of the Daphne roll has been attained through imaging
documentation, which was undertaken by Prof. Athena Alexopoulou (Technological
Educational Institute of Athens), who kindly granted me permission to republish her
photographs in this article. Multispectral imaging demonstrated that the ink-traces discerned
between the lines of the text of the fragments placed in frames 5 and 8 are not musical

7
Pöhlmann (2013) 13; West (2013) 74.
8
See Pöhlmann (2013) 11-12.
9
Pöhlmann / West (2012); Pöhlmann (2013); West (2013); Simon / Wehgartner (2013); Psaroudakēs (2013);
Terzēs (2013); Alexopoulou / Kaminari (2013); Alexopoulou / Kaminari / Panagopoulos / Pöhlmann (2013);
Hagel (2013); Lygouri-Tolia (2014); Alexopoulou (2014); Karamanou (2014); (2016); Najock (2015).
10
See Modiano (1981); Pöhlmann (2013) 10.
11
For more detail about the restoration process, Pöhlmann (2013) 9-11; Alexopoulou / Kaminari (2013) 29-30.
12
Pöhlmann / West (2012) 6; West (2013) 79-80; Karamanou (2014) 39, 43, 47.

94
 The earliest known Greek papyrus

notation, as suggested in the inventory of the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, but lines of
permeated text from lower layers.13
Α selection of fragments of the Daphne roll (coming from frames 5 and 8) was edited by late
Prof. Martin West, who assigned me to edit the rest of the fragments, so that an overview of
the legible material could be obtained (West 2013, Karamanou 2014). The text of the
papyrus, as well as that of the tablets, is written in the Ionic alphabet often used in Athens
from mid-fifth century BCE onwards, before being officially adopted in 403 BCE.14 The
damaged state of these findings naturally calls for due caution in the process of deciphering
the legible material, not least because the papyrus fragments preserved especially in frames 3,
5 and 8 consist of multiple layers. Though speculation is inevitable, every plausible
supplement attested in literature until 430 BCE (i.e. the terminus ante quem of the writing of
these texts) has been explored and different kinds of word-division have been investigated.
For the purposes of this article, I am drawing attention to those readings which are most
suggestive of the possible character of this papyrus text. The large piece of Frame 8 (=ΜΠ
8523) consists of more than five layers and is partly legible only through multispectral
imaging (see fig. 2). In l. 3 of the fifth layer West read ]π̣ολυ ἰδα[-, which may involve the
epithet ἰδαῖος or the name of the Trojan herald Ἰδαῖος (Il. 3.248, 7.276, 278, 416).15 In the
former case, the adjective may denote s.o./sth. coming from Mount Ida in the region of Troy
(A. A. 311; attached to Paris in E. Andr. 706, Hel. 29, Or. 1364, IA 1289) or in Crete, where
Zeus was nurtured (Pi. O. 5.18; A. Niobe fr. 162.3 R.; E. Cretans fr. 472.10 K.).
Frame 5 (=MΠ 8520) comprises 44 fragments, most of which consist of several layers legible
only through infrared photography; of these West edited frs. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8. Fr. 3 (lower
layer, l. 5: ]αρκηε.c̣ε[) seems to include an adjective in -αρκης,16 which, I suggest, could hint
at ποδάρκης (a formulaic epithet of Achilles: Il. 1.121, 2.688, 20.413) or the proper name
Ποδάρκης (Il. 2.704, 13.693, Hes. fr. 199.5 M.-W.) or adjectives such as ἐξαρκής (A. Pers.
237) or πανταρκής (A. Pers. 855).
In fr. 4 (l. 6: ]τοκυδε̣.[) I would observe that the only possible word-division seems to
preserve the form κύδε̣ϊ̣, which up until that period occurs exclusively in Homer and, as West
noted, could also be a sign of dactylic rhythm.17 I would note here for the first time that this
letter-sequence might conceivably hint at epic formulaic phrasing, as for instance καθέζε]το
κύδε̣ϊ̣ [γαίων, which regularly occurs in the Iliad (1.405, 5.906, 8.51, 11.81). Fr. 5 (upper
layer, l. 6: -]ρανιδηϲ) hints at a poetic patronymic, such as Tευθ]ρανίδης or Οὐ]ρανίδης
attached to Cronus, or perhaps -]ραν Ἴδης.18
My edition has comprised the rest of the legible papyrus fragments, including frame 5, frs. 2,
9-11, frame 2, frs. 1-4 and frame 6, fr. 1. In Frame 5, fr. 2 (fourth layer, l. 2: ]κ̣λε̣ω[) one may
recognize an adverb such as εὐ]κ̣λε̣ῶ[ς or ἀ]κ̣λε̣ῶ[ς or the adjective εὐ]κ̣λέ̣ω[ν (see fig. 3).
Line 3 of this layer provides the letter-sequence ].ργαλ̣[ ; if the ascending oblique before P

13
See West (2013) 80, 83; cf. Inventory (9º Ευρετήριο Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου Πειραιά) 182. On the imaging
documentation techniques applied, see Alexopoulou / Kaminari (2013) 27-28; Alexopoulou / Kaminari /
Panagopoulos / Pöhlmann (2013) 1244-1249; Alexopoulou (2014) 29-30.
14
West (2013) 76, 80. See Threatte (1980) I 27-34.
15
West (2013) 83-84; Alexopoulou / Kaminari (2013) Plate II 8a-b.
16
West (2013) 78-79; Alexopoulou / Kaminari (2013) Plate II 5a.
17
The reading κύδεϊ̣̣ may seem likelier than κυδε̣ε[̣ c proposed by West (2013) 82, since, as he admitted, a
compound epithet ending with ]τοκυδεεc is unattested.
18
West (2013) 82, Alexopoulou / Kaminari (2013) Plate II 6a-b.

95
 I. Karamanou

comes from the same layer, it could belong to an A, thus being suggestive of the poetic word
ἀ̣ργαλ̣[έος (‘painful’: Il. 1.589; Hes. Th. 718; Sol. fr. 13.61 W.).19
In fr. 10 (lower layer, l. 1: ]φ̣ρα[) a form of φράζω or the Ionic poetic conjunction ὄ]φ̣ρα
could be detected. Line 3 of the same fragment (].οκ̣λοc[) could provide the ending of a
proper name, such as Πάτ]ρ̣οκ̣λος, Ἵπ]π̣οκ̣λος or Ἐτ]έ̣οκ̣λος, which would be suggestive of a
mythical or poetic theme. In fr. 11 (lower layer, l. 2: ].β̣ιεµ̣ν.[) the letter-sequence could hint
at ὄ]λ̣βι̣ ε regularly employed in invocations (Od. 24.36; Hes. fr. 211.7 M.-W.; Sapph. fr.
112.1 Voigt) or the vocative Ταλθ]̣ύ̣βιε of the name of the Iliadic herald.20
The fragments of Frames 2 (=ΜΠ 8517) and 6 (=ΜΠ 8521) are legible through high
resolution photomacrography enabling the detection of letter-sequences on the surface and
underneath. In Frame 2, fr. 1 (lower layer, l. 3: ].οφυδ̣[) the rare combination of letters could
be suggestive of the Homeric word ὀ]λ̣οφυδ̣[νός (‘lamenting’: Il. 5.683, 23.102, Od. 19.362).
The letter-sequence in l. 3 of the upper layer (]κλεα̣[) may hint at κλέα̣ and its compounds
(e.g. εὐ]κλέα̣, ἀ]κλέα̣, δυσ]κλέα̣), also occurring in fr. 2.2 of Frame 5, or might belong to a
proper name ending in -κλεα, e.g. Ἡρα]κλέα̣, Ἰφι]κλέα̣, Ἐτεο]κλέα̣ (see fig. 4). Heracles’
name may also be read in tablet A2.3 after a possible Hesiodic quotation coming from the
Wedding of Keyx (fr. 264 M.-W.): αὐτόµατοι δ’ ἀγαθοὶ ἀγαθῶν ἐπὶ δαῖτας ἵενται (see fig. 5).
This saying was delivered by Heracles, when he arrived uninvited at the wedding feast.21
In fr. 3.1 (see fig. 6 on the left) the combination of letters might hint at the poetic and mainly
epic form ἔ̣µµο̣̣ρ̣ε (‘to obtain one’s due share’: Il. 1.278, Hes. Th. 414). If the letter-sequence
in l. 2 (]ηνορ̣εc[) belongs to one word, it could provide the second component of epithets,
such as ἀγ]ήνορ̣ες (‘courageous’, ‘arrogant’), εὐ]ήνορ̣ες (‘glorious’), φθισ]ήνορ̣ες,
ὀλεσ]ήνορ̣ες (‘man-destroying’), which are poetic and mostly epic (Il. 2.833, Od. 2.235,
4.622; Hes. Op. 7; Thgn. 399). The reading ]ηνορ̣εc[ could provide a further case of dactylic
rhythm, as in the aforementioned fr. 4.6 of Frame 5.
Fr. 4.2 (see fig. 6 on the right) seems to read ]..φορεδ̣[; the vocative -φόρε of a compound
adjective in -φόρος could be detected (e.g. βουληφόρoς, Θεσµοφόρος, ἀεθλοφόρoς,
πυροφόρoς, τελεσφόρoς). These adjectives mainly occur in poetry until that period (Il. 5.180,
Od. 4.86; Hes. Op. 549; Pi. fr. 37.1 Maehl.).22 In Frame 6, fr. 1.3 reads ]ιδηρεοc̣[ (see fig. 7).
The letter-sequence suggests σ]ιδήρεος̣, which is an Ionic and epic type (see e.g. Il. 5.723,
22.357, Od. 1.204; Hes. Th. 764).23
The legible fragments of the Daphne roll thus display signs of poetic diction. It is worth
pointing out that the possible readings seem to derive first and foremost from epic poetry,
especially from the Iliad, and in certain cases from lyric poets as well; poetic themes
(mythological proper names or patronymics) and ideas (e.g. kleos) also appear to be
represented. The tablets similarly provide hints at the use of poetic style, as West observed,
the most striking of which is the aforementioned possible Hesiodic quotation from the
Wedding of Keyx. The use of poetic diction in this papyrus text would be consistent with the
fact that Greek literary production until 430 BCE was mainly poetic, with the exception of
the Ionian logographers, Herodotus, certain pre-Socratic philosophers and Hippocratic
treatises.24 Furthermore, the artistic activity emerging from the musical instruments would

19
See Karamanou (2014) 44, photograph in Alexopoulou (2014) fig. 9.
20
Karamanou (2014) 46-47; Alexopoulou (2014) figs. 10-11.
21
See West (2013) 77.
22
Karamanou (2014) 39-42; Alexopoulou (2014) figs. 16-17.
23
Karamanou (2014) 48; Alexopoulou (2014) fig. 18.
24
See e.g. Goldhill (2002) 1-9.

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 The earliest known Greek papyrus

also suggest that at least a part of the text of the Daphne roll was written in poetry rather than
prose.
From a papyrological viewpoint, it is worth exploring the circumstances of preservation and
the particular features of the Daphne roll in comparison with the two other early papyri, that
is, the Derveni and the Timotheus papyrus. Unlike the notably humid environment in which
the Daphne roll was discovered, the Derveni papyrus was found carbonized among the ashes
of a funeral pyre in a rich cemetery close to the ancient town of Lete, about twelve km north
of Thessalonica. Its carbonization saved the roll from putrefaction, as the fire evaporated the
humidity from the papyrus fibres. Twenty-six columns have been reconstructed in the editio
princeps, leaving 113 fragmenta incertae sedis.25 The text comprises an allegorical
interpretation of a cosmogonical poem attributed to Orpheus, which provides the earliest
exegetical commentary in the Greek scholarly tradition.26 The eschatological implications of
the initiatory ritual described in this text would suit a funerary context. Moreover, the
proximity of the tomb to the shrine of Demeter and Persephone, who was revered in Orphic
mysteries as the mother of Bacchus (Dionysus), might suggest that the deceased could have
been an initiate.27
The challenging task of unrolling the Derveni papyrus was undertaken by Anton Fackelmann,
an expert in the treatment of the charred scrolls of Herculaneum. Fackelmann decreased the
friability of the carbonized roll by applying fresh papyrus juice and managed to separate the
layers through the application of static electricity. The fragments were placed between nine
glass plates, and their original position was established only after high quality photographs
were taken.28 Hence, the Derveni papyrus was preserved thanks to its carbonization,
protecting it from rotting like the Daphne roll, and thanks to the significant expertise
provided in the restoration process, due to Fackelmann’s previous unrolling of the
Herculaneum papyri. Conversely, the particularity of the preservation of the Daphne papyrus
in a very humid environment and the absence of a precedent case, which could have guided
the restoration process, considerably decreased the effectiveness of its restoration and, in
turn, the legibility of its text.
Unlike the two papyri discovered in Greece under unusual circumstances, the papyrus of
Timotheus’ Persae was preserved in a good condition thanks to the dry climate of Egypt
protecting organic material from decay. The papyrus was found to the north of a wooden
anthropoid sarcophagus at Abusir in 1902 along with remains of a sponge, of an iron scraper,
of a leather bag and a wooden object.29 The sponge may not necessarily suggest that the
deceased was a scribe, since no further writing implements were discovered, and sponges
were also employed to prepare corpses for burial.30 The leather bag is another interesting
finding, in that it may be paralleled to the leather pouch in which the Daphne papyrus appears
to have been kept. The text consists of six irregular columns preserving more than 250 lines
of Timotheus’ nomos written without division into kola, which is typical of pre-Alexandrian

25
See Kouremenos / Parássoglou / Tsantsanoglou (2006) 62-125 and plates 1-30; Janko (2016); Kotwick (2017)
68-103.
26
See Laks (1997) 121-142; Janko (2001) 2-3; Obbink (2003) 177-188; Betegh (2004) 92-135; Kouremenos in
Kouremenos / Parássoglou / Tsantsanoglou (2006) 19-59, 143-272; Bernabé (2007) 99-130; Piano (2016)
passim.
27
See Tsantsanoglou (1997) 110-117; Most (1997) 131-134; Tsantsanoglou in Kouremenos / Parássoglou /
Tsantsanoglou (2006) 4. For the initiatory character of the Derveni text, Obbink (1997) 40-54; Calame (1997)
74-80; Betegh (2004) 349-359; Graf (2014) 75-84; Piano (2016) 5-58.
28
See Kapsomenos (1964) 3-6; Fackelmann (1970) esp. 145; Betegh (2004) 59-60; Tsantsanoglou in
Kouremenos / Parássoglou / Tsantsanoglou (2006) 4-7.
29
Borchardt (1902) 47; Hordern (2002) 64 and n. 170.
30
See Von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff (1903) 4; Hordern (2002) 64-65.

97
 I. Karamanou

papyri.31 In both the Timotheus and the Derveni papyrus paragraphoi are employed to
signpost a new section and the quotation of the Orphic poem respectively.
The hand in all three papyri is upright and bilinear. It resembles the style of epigraphic
writing, to judge especially from the square E, the epigraphic form of Z and Ω and the four-
barred Σ. Τhe script in the Daphne papyrus is small and well-formed indicating a skilled hand
(see the alphabet provided by West 2013 in fig. 8). The height of the letters is about 2 mm.
Similarly, the writing style in the Derveni roll is elegant, unlike that in the Timotheus
papyrus, which is less elaborate.32
The contents of a papyrus and the contexts of its discovery (i.e. location, accompanying
objects, etc.) might shed light on the qualities of the person who owned it. In the case of the
Daphne findings, the rich collection of musical instruments and writing implements could
yield insight into the activity of the person buried with these objects.
Our evidence suggests that this young person was well acquainted with music and poetry.
The vocabulary which seems to have been used in this papyrus text mainly derives from
Homer –pre-eminently from the Iliad, as I observed above– and in certain cases also from
Hesiod and the lyric poets, namely from those very poems which formed the ‘canon’ of the
‘old’ Athenian education. We know that mousikē (‘music with poetry’, that is, poetry,
singing and playing a musical instrument), which along with gymnastikē (‘physical training’)
constituted the two branches of the ‘old’ Athenian education, involved a close interaction
between music and literacy: the pupils were taught to read and write, to memorize poems and
to set poetry into music, to mention but a few sources, such as the Aristophanic passages
from the Clouds (964-968) and the Banqueters (frs. 232-233.1-2 K.-A.).33 This interplay
between music and poetry in the ‘old’ Athenian education is well attested in the iconography
from 500 to 430 BCE presenting papyrus texts used for the musical recitation of poetry in
educational contexts. It is noteworthy that in the school scenes of the well-known Douris cup
(Berlin F2285) almost all of the writing implements and musical instruments discovered in
the ‘Musician’s Tomb’ are depicted, with the exception of the harp.34 The same writing
implements along with a lyre are depicted in the earlier Spina kylix of the Adria Painter
(Museo Archeologico di Ferrara, inv. nr. 19108), whereas in a cup fragment attributed to
Onesimus a youth is seated holding a papyrus roll, which evidently contains a poem of
Stesichorus played on the aulos by a bearded man (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum G
138.3,5,11).35
Due to space limits I focused on the papyrus, but it is worth stressing that the tablets, which
also display signs of poetic diction, are similarly written in a small, elegant and skilled hand
(see the letter-forms drawn by West 2013 in fig. 9). The Hesiodic line possibly occurring in
tablet A2 was widely quoted by authors acknowledging its proverbial validity (see B. fr. 423
Sn.; Cratin. Pylaia fr. 182 K.-A. and Pl. Smp. 174b) or for parodic purposes (see Eup.
Chrysoun Genos fr. 315 K.-A.). Likewise, it is worth raising the question whether the poetic,
especially the Homeric vocabulary, which appears to have been employed in the papyrus,

31
For the text and interpretation of the Persae, see Janssen (1989); Hordern (2002). On the preservation of this
papyrus, Janssen (1989) 9-13; Hordern (2002) 62-73; Roemer (2007) 88-89.
32
On the letter-forms in the Daphne papyrus, see Pöhlmann / West (2012) 6-7 and West (2013) 80; for those in
the Derveni roll as compared to the Timotheus papyrus, Kapsomenos (1964) 7-9; Turner in Kapsomenos (1964)
15; Turner / Parsons (19872) 92.
33
See Marrou (1956) 41-43; Beck (1964) 117-122; Robb (1994) 183-192; Morgan (1998) esp. 47-50, 53-54;
Ford (2003) 24-27; Carr (2005) ch. 5.
34
Cf. West (2013) 75; Lygouri-Tolia (2014) 19-21.
35
See Immerwahr (1964) 18-20; Booth (1985) 275-280; Pöhlmann (2009) 43-46. For further iconographic
evidence, Immerwahr (1964) 18-26, 37-43; Beck (1975) esp. 14-22 and pl. 9-15; Pöhlmann (2009) 39-48.

98
 The earliest known Greek papyrus

derives from a poetic composition adopting epic style or comprising Homeric quotations. The
latter practice was at times applied by poets up until that period; for instance, Simonides (fr.
19.1-2 W.) stresses the authority of Il. 6.146, but also brings forward his own position
towards a piece of traditional wisdom.36 This kind of reception could bear cultural
significance, being a yardstick for the evaluation of the author’s education and ideology.
In conclusion, the importance of the Daphne roll emerges from its prominence as the earliest
known Greek papyrus, in conjunction with its probable poetic character and notable
circumstances of preservation. Moreover, the papyrus alongside its companion writing
implements and musical instruments could offer further evidence for the intrinsic relation
between poetry and music in the third quarter of the fifth century BCE, thereby forming
indicators of the Athenian educational and cultural milieu.

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36
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Tables37

Fig. 1. The state of the papyrus before restoration (photograph in Pöhlmann 2013, 16, pl. I 2)

Fig. 2. ΜΠ 8523 (Frame 8) infrared (photograph by A. Alexopoulou; see Alexopoulou / Kaminari 2013, 44, pl.
II 8b)

37
All photographs are published by permission of the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus.

101
 I. Karamanou

Fig. 3. ΜΠ 8520 (Frame 5) infrared (photograph by A. Alexopoulou; see Alexopoulou in Alexopoulou /

Karamanou 2014, 31, fig. 9)

Fig. 4. ΜΠ 8517 (Frame 2) high resolution photomacrography; enlarged detail (photograph by A. Alexopoulou;
see Alexopoulou in Alexopoulou / Karamanou 2014, 36, fig. 16)

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 The earliest known Greek papyrus

Fig. 5. Tablet A2, infrared (photograph by A. Alexopoulou; see Alexopoulou / Kaminari 2013, 48, pl. II 12a)

Fig. 6. ΜΠ 8517 (Frame 2) high resolution photomacrography; enlarged detail (photograph by A. Alexopoulou;
see Alexopoulou in Alexopoulou / Karamanou 2014, 37, fig. 17)

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 I. Karamanou

Fig. 7. ΜΠ 8521 (Frame 6) high resolution photomacrography; enlarged detail (photograph by A. Alexopoulou;
see Alexopoulou in Alexopoulou / Karamanou 2014, 37, fig. 18)

Fig. 8. The letter-forms on the papyrus drawn by West (2013) 80.

Fig. 9. The letter-forms on the tablets drawn by West (2013) 76.

104