OPES – Oslo Papyri Electronic System

Background and Physical Properties

Material:

Papyrus

Connections:

–

Size:

10.7 x 21.0 cm

Lines:

63: 22 (col. i), 41 (col. ii)

Publication side:

Recto (Verso:blank)

Palaeographic description:

Tidy, upright, rather small uncial hand. Carefully written copy. No ligatures. The letters stand close to each other, so that some letters reach up to the letter following. Occasionally cursively drawn letters (beta, epsilon, mu). Vertical and diagonal stroke ends marked with serifs and/or finials. Medium pen. Black ink. Assigned by Rudberg in the ed.pr. to the 3rd century CE.

State of preservation:

Lightly colored papyrus. Fragment from a roll with remains of two columns of text. The original upper edge is preserved. Straight left break, possibly coinciding with a kollesis (right over left?), and straight right break, possibly along a stress line. Top margin (above col. ii): 2.8 cm. Intercolumnar space: 1.1 cm. In col. i, only the very ends of 22 lines are preserved, while in col. ii the ends of the lines are missing. There are lacerations throughout the fragment, and in col. ii there is a large hole covering the beginnings of ll. 20-33, along a possible stress line. A substantial piece is missing from the lower part (specks of ink are discernible on the fibres below the last visible line) and the lower margin. Lines 13-15 in col. i are completely absent in an area of loss of the top papyrus layer. A vertically placed strip of darker papyrus (dimensions of 0.8 x 3.2 cm, starting 2.6 cm from the top and 1.2 cm from the left edge) was added to mend a gap that runs between the two columns. The back is blank.

Content

Date:

IIIrd century CE

Origin:

Unknown

Language:

Greek

Genre:

Literary

Author:

Homer

Title / Type of text:

Iliad 6.196-224, 236-276 / Epic Poetry

Content:

The fragment contains Iliad 6, 196-200; 202; 204-207; 211-216; 219-224 (column 1) and 236-276 (column 2). Overall, the text is of standard type with variants for Il. 6.246, 250 and 263. Scribal errors in ii.31 and 32 (= Il. 6.266-7). Corrections have been added above the line in col. ii (a single letter in l. 2 = Il. 6.237; an entire word in l. 31 = Il. 6.266). Acute in ii.13 (= Il. 6.248) and ii.18 (= Il. 6.253). Apostrophe in ii.18 (= Il. 6.253), organic diairesis in the dative of the name Zeus in ii.22, 24, and 31 (Il. 6.255, 257 and 266). Various stops and stigmai are scattered throughout the fragment. The ink used for the punctuation is of somewhat lighter colour than the ink used for the text.

Subjects:

Iliad Homer Epic poetry Literature

Named people:

–

Named places:

–

English translation:

–

Provenance:

Unknown

Acquisition:

Purchased from Maurice Nahman through a consortium including the British Museum, and the Michigan, Columbia and Oslo universities (listed as box IV. 48 in H.I. Bell’s report).

Acquisition year:

1923

Editions

• Rudberg, G., Symbolae Osloenses 3, 1925, pp. 20-25, picture: Pl.1
• Eitrem, S. and Amundsen, L., P.Oslo II, 1931, pp. 3-5 (no. 7)

Further Literature

Catalogues

TM 60877 / LDAB 2006 / M-P3 00783.000 / Allen-Sutton-West, Ilias P189 (=West, M. L. (2001). Studies in the Text and Transmission of the Iliad. (p. 95.) München)