Volume 68, Issue 2

In this paper I try to demonstrate that Callimachusʼ commemorative poem in honour of the deceased queen Arsinoe II capitalizes heavily on the notorious Hellenistic penchant for verbal puns. In addition, it will be argued that etymologic and anagrammatic devices are not only contrived for their own sake, but are part and parcel of the poemʼs meaning contributing to its poetic and ideological agenda.

This article examines the seventeen Greek literary and documentary papyri, in which Aristophanes is quoted or mentioned, and asks how these fragments contribute to our understanding of the early reception of the comedic poet, especially in the Roman and Late Antique periods.

Notes on the text and interpretation of four Ptolemaic documentary papyri: the contract of sale P.Ryl. II 252, the petition P.Tebt.Pad. I 15, and the two naukleros-receipts SB XIV 11868 and PUG III 115.

Discussion of the various poll tax rates in Roman Egypt, which can be reduced to a simple scheme drawn up by the Romans upon their conquest of Egypt. This scheme suggests that in 30 BC the distribution of the population in Egypt was roughly uniform except for the Fayyum (underpopulated) and the western oases (overpopulated), possibly also Thebes (overpopulated). It also suggests that in 30 BC the distribution of the Greek population was uneven, with virtually no Greeks in Upper Egypt, possibly also the oases, and fewer Greeks in Oxyrhynchus than in other metropoleis in Lower and Middle Egypt.

The article presents a couple of textual observations to BGU I 249, a letter from the gymnasiarch Chairemon to his estate manager in Bakchias Apollonios. It also explores the letter’s relationship to BGU I 248, another piece of the correspondence between Chairemon and Apollonios which can be compared for similar content and notable expressions of affection.

The indication of the location of a scar or scars on various parts of a body was used for the identification of persons in a large number of Greek non-literary documents. Facial scars were mentioned most frequently, obviously because they were the most distinguishing feature of the parts of the body that were not usually covered, and one could observe and record them immediately. However, the exact shape and form of these scars was not described, and only the general term “scar” was used. Various diseases and accidental wounds can be understood as having left permanent scars on the body, but mainly, and more specifically, on the head.

Notes on the elucidation of passages in texts from late antiquity obscured by the use of abbreviations and editorial misses, continued from APF 66 (2020) 346-58.

BnF Copte 129 (20) fol. 178 is a codex sheet containing several healing prescriptions. The first text is a fumigation recipe for a gynaecological issue including a prayer to be spoken during this procedure, the second is a prayer for healing deafness referring to Malchus, and the third is an unknown prescription. Editions of these texts are produced and contextualized in this paper, with some older Egyptian, Greek, and later Arabic healing texts taken into consideration.

New edition of a short Christian hymn preserved on papyrus.

This article proposes new readings and interpretative suggestions to Greek and Coptic administrative documents from early Islamic Egypt (7th-8th century).

Εdition of three Coptic accounts (P. PalauRib. inv. 87r, 87v and 448) and three Coptic lists (P. PalauRib. inv. 408 [Coptic-Greek], 393v and 437v) from the Palau-Ribes collection (Barcelona) which can be linked to the Apa Apollo Monastery in Bawit. Despite being in a highly fragmentary state of conservation, we will analyse those aspects and characteristics which suggest that these documents belonged to the internal administration of the monastery.