From Alexandria to Babylon: Near Eastern Languages and Hellenistic Erudition in the Oxyrhynchus Glossary (Studies in the Recovery of Ancient Texts 4)

202 Pages·2009·1.37 MB·English

by  Francesca Schironi

Francesca Schironi
From Alexandria to Babylon
≥
Sozomena
Studies in the Recovery of Ancient Texts
Edited
on behalf of the Herculaneum Society
by
Alessandro Barchiesi, Robert Fowler,
Dirk Obbink and Nigel Wilson
Vol. 4
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
Francesca Schironi
From Alexandria to Babylon
Near Eastern Languages
and Hellenistic Erudition
in the Oxyrhynchus Glossary
(cid:2)
(P.Oxy. 1802 4812)
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
(cid:2)(cid:2)Printedonacid-freepaperwhichfallswithintheguidelines
oftheANSItoensurepermanenceanddurability.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Schironi,Francesca.
From Alexandria to Babylon : Near Eastern languages and
HellenisticeruditionintheOxyrhynchusglossary(P.Oxy.1802
(cid:2)4812)/FrancescaSchironi.
p. cm. (cid:3) (Sozomena. Studies in the recovery of ancient
texts;vol.4)
“TheOxyrhynchusGlossarythatistheobjectofthepresent
study was previously published by Arthur S. Hunt as
P.Oxy.15.1802”(cid:3)Introduction.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-3-11-020693-7(hardcover:alk.paper)
1. Semitic languages(cid:3)Lexicography(cid:3)Manuscripts. 2.Ma-
nuscripts, Greek (Papyri) (cid:3) Egypt (cid:3) Bahnasa. 3. Bahnasa
(Egypt)(cid:3)Antiquties. 4.Oxyrhynchuspapyri. I.Hunt,Ar-
thurS.(ArthurSurridge),1871(cid:3)1934. II.Title.
PJ3075.S45 2009
4831.028(cid:3)dc22
2009005184
ISBN 978-3-11-020693-7
BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek
TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutsche
Nationalbibliografie;detailedbibliographicdataareavailableintheInternet
athttp://dnb.d-nb.de.
(cid:2)Copyright2009byWalterdeGruyterGmbH&Co.KG,D-10785Berlin.
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V
A Enrico, in ricordo di P. e P. M.
VI
VII
Preface
In 2004, Dirk Obbink offered me the opportunity to work on some new
fragments belonging to the glossary preserved in P.Oxy. 1802. It was then
that I became fascinated with the document’s peculiar Near Eastern words
and quotations from many Hellenistic historians and ethnographers. An
enthusiastic curiosity gave me the courage (or the foolhardiness) to
plunge into the most varied and challenging topics, from ancient Greek
lexicography to Iranian dialectology, from Aristotelian scholarship to
Aramaic script. After finishing the edition of P.Oxy. 4812, I decided to
continue studying the entire glossary and to prepare this edition with
commentary. I am sure that further improvements will be necessary, es-
pecially in the areas furthest from my background– in particular, points
related to Akkadian and Persian languages and civilizations. Still, I hope
that this new edition with commentary will be a first step towards en-
couraging an interest in this unique document that provides evidence
for cultural exchange between Greeks and the Near East during the Hel-
lenistic age.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dirk Obbink, not only for
giving me the opportunity to work on such an interesting text, but above
all for his guidance and help throughout these years– with this papyrus,
with other papyri, and with many other aspects of academic life.
I am also indebted to many other scholars for their help with different
aspects of this research. Stephanie Dalley and John Huehnergard helped
me immensely with Akkadian and with many problems related to Semitic
linguistics. Elizabeth Tucker and Oktor Skjaervo were indispensable
in explicating Persian and Iranian languages and culture. Many of the
entries in the Oxyrhynchus Glossary would have been left with no com-
mentary had these four scholars not patiently dealt with my continual
naïve questions. Albert Henrichs, Monica Negri and Trevor Evans read
the entire manuscript and gave me very useful suggestions. Adrian Bivar,
Paul Kosmin, Anna Morpurgo Davies, Nino Luraghi, Greg Nagy, Filip-
pomaria Pontani, Philomen Probert, and Giuseppe Ucciardello made
helpful comments on specific points. Sabine Vogt, the editor at Walter de
Gruyter, was always ready to help and suggest improvements throughout
VIII Preface
the publication process. The Loeb and Clark funds helped defray publi-
cation costs. I would also like to thank all the participants from the work-
shop on Megasthenes and Berossus held in autumn 2007 for the inspiring
and lively discussions. Of course, all the mistakes are mine.
I dedicate this book to Enrico. He has been wonderfully close, sup-
portive, and patient in a way I would have never thought possible. I thank
him for this, and for all the rest.
F.S. Cambridge, MA, November 2008
IX
Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. The Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3. Content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1 Dialects and Foreign Languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2. References and Quotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4. Dating and Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1 The Pergamene Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.2 The Alexandrian Hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5. Near Eastern Glosses and the Problem of Their Acquisition . 20
5.1 The Languages of the Oxyrhynchus Glossary. . . . . . 20
5.2 Acquisition and Transcription of the Glosses . . . . . . 23
6. The Oxyrhynchus Glossary and Greek Glossography. . . . . 28
6.1 Glossography and Dialectology in the Hellenistic
Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.2 Glossography and Dialectology on Papyrus. . . . . . . 30
6.3 The Unique Value of the Oxyrhynchus Glossary . . . . 39
7. Authorship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
8. Edition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
9. Commentary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
10. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
10.1 Problems in Editing the Oxyrhynchus Glossary. . . . . 132
10.2 The Oxyrhynchus Glossary and Greek Glossography. . 133
Old and New Numeration of the Oxyrhynchus Glossary
Fragments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Secondary Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147