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Introduction

Medical prescription (O.Leid. 2). The ostracon (5.5 x 9.8 cm) is written on the concave side. The mention of breast, palm (?) and wine suggests the fragment should have had some medical content. The document belongs to the Roman period and it is probably assignable to the 1st-3rd cent. AD.

(This papyrus has been digitally edited by Luca Iori as part of the Project "DIGMEDTEXT - Online Humanities Scholarship: A Digital Medical Library based on Ancient Texts" (ERC-AdG-2013, Grant Agreement no. 339828) funded by the European Research Council at the University of Parma (Principal Investigator: Prof. Isabella Andorlini). The digital edition is mostly based on the previous editions (ed.pr. = R.S. Bagnall - P.J. Sijpesteijn - K.A. Worp, O.Leid. 2; corr. R.W. Daniel, "Gnomon" 56, 1984, 416 = BL VIII 520). Revised and commented by Nicola Reggiani in the framework of the PRIN 2017 Project "Greek and Latin Literary Papyri from Graeco-Roman and Late Antique Fayum (4th BC – 7th AD): Texts, Contexts, Readers" funded by the Italian Ministry of Research (P.I. Prof. Lucio Del Corso, University of Cassino; Local Research Unit at the University of Parma, coordinator: Prof. Nicola Reggiani).

Notes

• 1.

  Since καί at the very beginning of a new text is suspect, one might wonder whether θ̣αυ̣μαστόν could be read here instead. θαυμαστόν "wonderful, marvellous" is quite a recurring attribute of medicaments, advertizing their powerful efficacy. See e.g. Orib. Ecl. 83.8.1 θαυμαστὸν πρὸς νομὰς αἰδοίων or Aet. VII 101.88-9 οὕτως ἐστὶ μέγιστον καὶ θαυμαστόν· ποιεῖ καὶ πρὸς τραχύτητας βλεφάρων. Both of these mentioned examples provide a possible clue to supply the following word on the ostracon , i.e. π̣[ρός or π̣[οιεῖ introducing the therapeutic scope of the medicament. Other options are of course possible, e.g. π̣[ολλάκις, π̣[άντως, etc.

• 2.

  Perhaps φοίνικα λάβ̣[ε "take the date(s)" cf. e.g. Gal. Comp.med.loc. XIII 219.10-11 K. φοίνικα δίχα τῆς ἐντεριώνης κόψας ἐπιμελῶς for the use of accusative singular.

• 3.

  Perhaps e.g. δίδου] μετ' οἴνου π̣[ίνειν (cf. Gal. Antid. XIV 203.16 K.), or μετ' οἴνου π̣[ινόμενον (cf. Gal. Simpl. XII 31.9 K., or some other form of the verb πίνω), or μετ' οἴνου π̣[αραπλησίως (cf. Gal. Comp.med.loc. XII 520.15 K.). Another possibility is that μετ' οἴνου ends a recipe and a new one starts with π̣[ (e.g. π̣[ρὸς κτλ. vel sim. ).

• 4.

  It seems to me that α is not followed by a horizontal dash as transcribed by the editors, but it is just the form of α ligatured as few letters before. In medical prescriptions, εἰς can introduce a therapeutic purpose.

• 6.

  γίνονται seems to be out of place in a medical prescription, but consider GMP I 13 , a 3rd-century AD papyrus hosting two recipes for eye-salves, the first of which can be identified with a so-called ἀχάριϲτον (“unmerciful”, a very strong eye-salve particularly diffused in Egypt and well-attested in both medical literature and medical papyri). Gal. Comp.med.loc. XII 749.13-750.11 K. and the papyri attest several variants of the ἀχάριϲτον recipe, the 'standard' Egyptian being composed of seven elements totalling 60 drachmas (cf. I. Andorlini, πολλὰ ἰατρῶν ἐστι συγγράμματα. Scritti sui papiri e la medicina antica , ed. by N. Reggiani, Florence 2017, 53-8). Accordingly GMP I 13 .5 records γείνονται (δραχμαὶ?) ξ as a sort of control check of exactitude (cf. N. Reggiani, Exactitude in Ancient Pharmacological Theory and Practice, with Cases from the Greek Medical Papyri , in The Limits of Exactitude , ed. by N. Bruno, G. Dovico, O. Montepaone, and M. Pelucchi, Berlin-Boston, in press). I do not have a better explanation for the long vertical bar visible on the ostracon. I have some doubts about the reading ἀργ̣( ): μετ’ ἄλ̣λ̣( ) would make very few sense as well.

• 7.

  μικρόν may be an approximate indication of quantity, as e.g. Gal. Comp.med.loc. XII 794.14-15 K. ἢ τῆς μήκωνος τὰ κελύφη λεάνας καὶ ῥόδα καὶ μελίλωτα καὶ σμύρνης μικρὸν μίξας.

• 8.

  The λ most likely belongs to a form of the verbs λεαίνω, λειόω, λειοτριβέω "pound, grind": cf. Hp. Nat.mul. 34.27, 102.6, 103.3 ὁμοῦ λεῖα μίξας; 102.3 ὁμοῦ λεῖα; Mul.aff. 133.200, 172.4, 193.4 ὁμοῦ λεῖα; Gal. Comp.med.loc. XII 628.17 K. ὁμοῦ λεάνας; XIII 64.3 K. ὁμοῦ λεάνας ἀναλάμβανε; 127.4 K. ὁμοῦ λεάνας ἀποτίθεσο; 263.4 K. ταῦτα ὁμοῦ λέαινε; Comp.med.gen. XIII 879.8 K. κόψας καὶ σήσας ἅπαντα ὁμοῦ λειοτρίβει; Rem.parab. XIV 495.14 K. ὁμοῦ λειώσας; Orib. Coll. IX 37.10.1 ὁμοῦ λειοῦται; XL 5.5 ὁμοῦ λείας; Syn. III 12.6.4 ὁμοῦ λελειωμένα; 88.2,3.1 κόψας ὁμοῦ λέαινε; Aet. XIII 6.8-9 ὁμοῦ λειωθέντα καὶ ἐπιτιθέμενα; XVI 34.73 ὁμοῦ λεάνας; Philum. Ven. 8.1.3 ὁμοῦ λεάνας.

• 9.

  Very likely [ταῦ]τ̣α πάν̣[τα with reference to the preceding ingredients, see e.g. [Gal.] Rem.parab. XIV 528.4-6 K. ταῦτα πάντα ἑψήσας ἐν ὕδατι καὶ μίξας μετὰ μέλιτος, ἐλαίου καὶ ἅλατος δίδου εἰς ἐργαλεῖον.