P.Mich.inv. 4953 / Verso

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About this Item

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Record Details

Inventory Number
P.Mich.inv. 4953
Processing Number
2353
Section/Side
Verso
Image Side
Verso

Background and Physical Properties

Publ./Side
Verso; Recto contains a now nearly illegible account written along the fibers.
Connections
-
Material
Pap
Size
11.5 x 9.3 cm.
Items
1
Lines
1-6
Mounted
no
Negative
Yes
Conservation Status
This medium to dark brown papyrus is broken off to the right, but the text can be easily reconstructed.
Palaeographic Description
The schoolmaster's hand is a moderately skilled semi-cursive characteristic of the middle or late third century A.D; cp. P. Flor. II 148 (= Schubart, Gr. Pal., pl. 50) of 266/267 A.D. Euychides' hand (hd. 2) falters noticeably as he attempts to reproduce these letter forms. By comparison, his signature, which is written in uncial letters, is neat and confident. The style changes much as does that of a "slow writer" when his model changes. It would seem that, in contrast to the semi-cursive before him, Eutychides had in his mind's eye, as a model for his signature, the basic letter forms he had first learned in school. He had now reached that stage in his writing lessons when he was supposed to change the model and proceed from block letters to cursive. The text is written along the fibers.
Status
published
Library
Ann Arbor

Contents

Date
III century A.D.
Origin
unknown
Provenance
unknown
Acquisition
purchased in 1928
Language
Greek
Genre
literary
Author
Euthychides, son of Kalopos
Type of Text/Title of Work
School poem on mythology
Content
The papyrus preserves part of a poem which was put to use as a writing exercise. The format is familiar: a teacher supplies a writing model and a pupil's copy follows. Here the pupil fails to finish his assignment. He stops writing before quite completing to copy the first verse in line 5.
Each of the three complete hexameters in the writing model deals with a different mythological event. The lines are arranged so as to form an alphabetical acrostic. We know of numerous such abecadaria designed to aid in the teaching of various subjects, and one of them closely resembles our text in that it deals with mythological subjects as well. It is recorded in the 'Notebook of Papnouthion", lines 18-37. Formally, it differs from the present poem in three ways. First, it is written in iambic trimeters, rather than hexameters; second, the alphabetic pattern is alpha omega, beta psi, gamma chi etc.; and finally, these pairs of verses, rather than individual hexameters, each treat an incident in myth or legend.
Persons
Althaia,
Meleagros,
Polydeukes,
Amykos,
Perseus
Euthychides, son of Kalopos
Geographica
-
Translation
Lines 1-3: "Althaia killed Meleagros with the pitiless firebrand. Polydeukes prevailed over Amykos, the chief of the Bebrykes. Perseus lopped off the head of the direful Gorgon."

Information on Publications

Publications
Series and Volume Editor Year Pg/Nr Photo SB Preferred Citation Corrections
Diss Daniel RW 1981 100-3 Pl Ic Daniel RW, Diss, 100-3, 1981, Pl Ic
ZPE 49 Daniel RW 1982 43-4 Pl Ic Daniel RW, ZPE 49, 43-4, 1982, Pl Ic

Information on Publications--Further Republications

Further Republications
Cribiore R, Writing, Teachers, and Students in Graeco-Roman Egypt, 1996, p. 206; Here also, she has corrected the ed. princ.'s note that the "text written across the fibers on the back of a fragment" having put the sign -> rightly for both sides.

Information on Publications--Bibliography

Bibliography
LDAB 5338

Cataloging

Cataloger
TC/NL
Year Begin
200
Year End
299

Technical Details

Image Size
3827 x 4089
File Size
2 MB
Record
2353
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2353/4953v.tif

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain. If you have questions about the collection, please contact APIS Help. If you would like to request high-resolution images, please contact the Papyrology Collection. If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact Library Information Technology.

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Portfolios

In public portfolios
Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/apis:2353:4953V.TIF

Cite this Item

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Full citation
"P.Mich.inv. 4953; Verso." In the digital collection Advanced Papyrological Information System (APIS UM). https://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis/x-2353/4953v.tif. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 29, 2024.
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