Inside Roman Libraries: Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity

349 Pages·2014·3.37 MB·English

by  George W. Houston

Inside Roman Libraries
STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF GREECE AND ROME
Robin Osborne, James Rives, and Richard J. A. Talbert, editors
Books in this series examine the history and society of Greece and Rome from approximately
1,000 BC to AD 600. The series includes interdisciplinary studies, works that introduce new
areas for investigation, and original syntheses and reinterpretations.
Inside Roman
Libraries
Book Collections and Their Management in Antiquity
GEORGE W. HOUSTON
The University of North Carolina Press(cid:2)Chapel Hill
This book was published with the assistance of the H. Eugene and Lillian
Youngs Lehman Fund of the University of North Carolina Press. A complete list of books
published in the Lehman Series appears at the end of the book.
© 2014 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Kimberly Bryant and set in Miller types
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on
Library Resources. The University of North Carolina Press has been a member
of the Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Jacket illustration: Marble relief of a doctor reading, from a fourth-century
sarcophagus (detail on front of jacket; full image on back of jacket). Gift of
Mrs. Joseph Brummer and Ernest Brummer, in honor of Joseph Brummer, 1948
(48.76.1). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image from
Art Resource, New York, © The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Houston, George W.
Inside Roman libraries : book collections and their management
in antiquity / George W. Houston.
pages cm — (Studies in the history of Greece and Rome)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4696-1780-0 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4696-1781-7 (ebook)
1. Libraries—Rome—History—To 400. 2. Manuscripts (Papyri)—Collectors and collecting.
3. Manuscripts, Greek (Papyri)—Italy—Herculaneum (Extinct city) 4. Manuscripts,
Greek (Papyri)—Egypt—Bahnasa. 5. Books and reading—Rome. I. Title.
Z722.H68 2014
027.037′63—dc23
2014017087
18 17 16 15 14!5 4 3 2 1
For Jean
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Contents
Preface, xiii
Abbreviations, xv
Introduction, 1
1. Assembling a Collection, 12
1.1. Introduction, 12
1.2. Make Yourself a Copy of a Manuscript, 13
1.3. Have a Slave Make a Copy for You, 14
1.4. Buy a Ready-Made Text from a Dealer, 16
1.5. Presentation Copies, Gifts, and Purchases from Friends, 17
1.6. Borrowing Copies of Books from Friends, 18
1.7. The Public Libraries, 20
1.8. Finding Exemplars in Dealers’ Collections, 21
1.9. Evidence of Care in the Preparation of Texts, 23
1.10. Write Your Own Book, 26
1.11. Buying Part or All of a Preexisting Collection, 28
1.12. Bequeathing and Giving Collections, 30
1.13. Confiscations of Entire Libraries, 31
1.14. Book Collections as Booty, 34
1.15. Conclusion, 37
2. Lists of Books Preserved on Papyrus, 39
2.1. Introduction, 39
2.2. Book Lists on Papyrus, 40
2.3. Indicators of Real Collections, 41
2.4. Characteristics of the Lists on Papyrus, 43
2.5. Working with the Lists: Problems and Payoffs, 45
2.6. List 1: A General Collection, 49
2.7. List 2: A Focused Collection, 53
2.8. List 3: A List That Emphasizes the Physical Nature of the
Rolls and Other Objects, 57
2.9. List 4: A Specialized Collection in an Informal Inventory with
Several Unique Features, 60
2.10. List 5: A Book List That May Come from a Municipal,
Institutional, or Very Large Private Library, 67
2.11. Lists 6–8: Brief Descriptions, 71
2.12. Reflections of the Processes of Producing and Acquiring, 75
2.13. Personalities of Collections, 78
2.14. Speculating on Sizes, 80
2.15. Possible Indications of Physical Arrangements, 83
2.16. Conclusion, 84
3. The Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, 87
3.1. Introduction, 87
3.2. The Villa of the Papyri, 87
3.3. The Manuscript Collection: Greek Authors and Works, 90
3.4. The Manuscript Collection: Latin Authors and Works, 97
3.5. Estimating the Size of the Collection, 98
3.6. Assessing the Nature of the Collection, 101
3.7. The Book Rolls as Physical Objects, 105
3.8. Paratextual Material in the Villa Papyri, 111
3.9. The Useful Lifetimes of the Papyri, 120
3.10. Possible Histories, 121
3.11. Conclusion, 125
4. The Book Collections of Oxyrhynchus, 130
4.1. Introduction, 130
4.2. Grenfell and Hunt’s First Find (Discarded Late Third Century AD),
133
4.3. Analysis of the Manuscript Collection Represented by Grenfell and
Hunt’s First Find, 139
4.4. Breccia + Grenfell and Hunt’s Third Find (Discarded ca. AD 300),
143
4.5. Sarapion alias Apollonianus, 145
4.6. Breccia + GH3: Contents of the Collection, 146
4.7. Breccia + GH3: The Physical Characteristics of the Book Rolls, 150
4.8. The Collection of the Family of Aurelia Ptolemais (Discarded
Probably in the Period AD 300–320), 156
4.9. Grenfell and Hunt’s Second Find (Discarded ca. AD 400), 158
4.10. Physical Condition of the Manuscripts in the Second Find, 162
4.11. Content of the Collection Represented by the Second Find, 167
4.12. Collection of Astronomical Texts Perhaps Owned by an Astrologer
(Discarded Fourth or Fifth Century AD), 171
4.13. Conclusion, 173
5. Spaces, Storage, Equipment, and Art, 180
5.1. Introduction, 180
5.2. Boxes and Containers, 180
5.3. Shelving, 183
5.4. Purpose-Built Structures: The Libraries at Ephesus and
Timgad, 189
5.5. Furniture and Equipment, 197
5.6. Embellishments and Art, 207
5.7. Sculpture, 209
5.8. Conclusion, 214
6. Personnel and Their Activities, 217
6.1. Introduction, 217
6.2. Basics: Cicero, the Library in the Temple of Apollo, and the Library
in the Portico of Octavia, 217
6.3. What Did the Lower-Level Staff Do?, 224
6.4. The Emperor’s Collection, 232
6.5. The Commissioners of the Imperial Libraries, 238
6.6. The Commissioner and the Slaves a Bybliotheca, 242
6.7. Troubles in the Libraries, 246
6.8. Conclusion, 251
Conclusion, 253
Appendix 1. Lists of Books on Papyrus: Greek Texts, English
Translations, and Commentary, 265
Appendix 2. Checklist of Books in the Collection of the Villa of the
Papyri, 280
Appendix 3. Catalog of Manuscripts in the Breccia + GH3 Find, 287
Bibliography, 297
Index of Ancient Sources, 319
General Index, 323