Introduction
Surgical catechism (P.Gen. 111). The papyrus scrap (6,25 x 11,5 cm), written on the verso across the fibres (the recto preserves a sale contract), contains a selis of 22 lines; upper, lower and right-hand margins are lost. Nicole (ed.pr.) supposes that the papyrus could have contained two or three selides, observing the text written on the recto. Two supralinear strokes marking abbreviation are easily visible at ll. 7 and 18. At l. 20, another supralinear stroke over β as an abbreviation for δισσῶς; there is a syllable added supra lineam (πα\ρὰ/) and a diaeresis upon the ypsilon of ὕλην (both at l. 20). The text, excerpt from a school book, belongs to the genre of erotapokrisis (question-and-answer treatise) and deals with definitions of different medical terms (l. 4 κ[οπή] 'cutting', l. 6 ἀποδορά 'peeling of the skin', ll. 9-10 διακέντησις 'piercing through', l. 13 διαραφή 'sewing up', l. 18 σλπηνίον 'pad of linen'). Each question is marked with eisthesis (ll. 4; 6; 9; 13; 18); another question could have been written at l. 22. The content is paralleled by the Cirurgia Eliodori (Paris. lat. 11219, IX century): see Marganne 1986. The hand is round informal with some cursive elements, easily legible; the papyrus could be dated to the end of the II or the beginning of the III century AD. (This papyrus has been digitally edited by Francesca Bertonazzi 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 (M.-H. Marganne, La chirurgie dans l’Égypte gréco-romaine d’après les papyrus littéraires grecs, Leiden New York Köln 1998, 85-95 (ed.alt.); J. Nicole, APF 1 (1903), 1-3 (ed.pr.).)
DCLP transcription: 63819 [xml]
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1[ -ca.?- ] Traces ca. 3 characters[ -ca.?- ]
[ -ca.?- ]νυποεπακ[ -ca.?- ]
[ -ca.?- ] - ca.9 - [ -ca.?- ]
τί ἐστιν κ[οπή;]
5[ἡ τῶν] σωμάτων τ̣ο̣μή.
τί ἐστιν ἀποδορά;
[ἡ δι]ὰ τόνων καὶ ὑμένω(ν)
[σωμ]άτων διάστασις.
τί ἐστιν διακέντη-
10σις;
[στε]νὴ(*) διὰ βελόνης τῶν
[σ]ωμάτων τομή.
τί ἐστιν διαραφή;(*)
[δ]ιακέντησις διὰ βελό-
15[ν]ης καὶ ῥάμματος ἢ μί-
[τ]ου διαφερομένου κατὰ
[π]ολλὰς ἐπειβουλάς.(*)
πόσα[ι] διαφοραὶ σπληνίω(ν);
[τ]ὰ τῶν σπληνίων διαφέ-
20[ρ]ουσι β· ἢ(*) πα\ρὰ/ τὴν ὕ(*)λην,
[ἢ καὶ](*) [π]αρὰ τὸ σχῆμα.
[ -ca.?- ](*) τὴν ὕλην;
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Editorial History; All History; (detailed)
© Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Notes
- 2.
νυποεπακ could be a new adjective ὑποέπακρος, similar to ἔπακρος ('sharp, pointy') used by Hippocrates to define a kind of μότοι ('tampons'): cf. Morb. 2.61.3 (7, 96.4 L).
- 6.
ἀποδορά ('peeling of the skin') according to Nicole is an hapax. Contra Marganne cf. Agathin. ap. Orib., Coll.med. 10.7.18 (CMG 6.1.2, 51.20-2 Raed.).
- 13.
διαρραφή ('sewing up') is attested in Sor. 3.40.2 (CMG 4, 119.9-10 Ilberg) only; for use of διαρράπτω ('sew through') cf. Gal. In Hipp.Off.Med.comment. 2.8 (18B 746.1 K); Archig. ap. Orib., Coll.med. 47.13.5 (CMG 7.2.1, 257.20-2 Raed.).
- 15.
ῥάμμα ('fastening by sewing, suture') cf. Hp. Off. 8 (3, 294.6-296.1-2 L); Dsc. Eup. 1.200.3 (3, 227.25 W); Gal. In Hipp.Off.Med.comment. 2.7 (18B 740.10-4 K) and II 10 (18B 752.3-5 K).
- 16.
διαφερομένου ('pushed through') cf. Hp. Edip. 5.21 (5, 220.14-5 L).
- 17.
ἐπιβολάς means here 'sewing two edges of a wound'; cf. Gal. meth.med. 6.6 (10, 452.16 K); Aret. 3.8.6 (CMG 2, 48.24-5 Hude).
- 20.
abbreviations β’ and α’ correspond, according to Nicole, to δισσῶς and πρῶτον respectively.