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Oxyrhynchus Papyri

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Grenfell (left) and Hunt (right) in about 1896
Oxyrhynchus is located in Egypt
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus
Site where the Oxyrhynchus Papyri were discovered
Excavations at Oxyrhynchus 1, c. 1903.

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by papyrologists Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt at an ancient rubbish dump near Oxyrhynchus in Egypt (28°32′N 30°40′E / 28.533°N 30.667°E / 28.533; 30.667, modern el-Bahnasa).

The manuscripts date from the time of the Ptolemaic (3rd century BC) and Roman periods of Egyptian history (from 32 BC to the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640 AD).

Only an estimated 10% are literary in nature. Most of the papyri found seem to consist mainly of public and private documents: codes, edicts, registers, official correspondence, census-returns, tax-assessments, petitions, court-records, sales, leases, wills, bills, accounts, inventories, horoscopes, and private letters.[1]

Although most of the papyri were written in Greek, some texts written in Egyptian (Egyptian hieroglyphics, Hieratic, Demotic, mostly Coptic), Latin and Arabic were also found. Texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac and Pahlavi have so far represented only a small percentage of the total.[2]

Since 1898, academics have collated and transcribed over 5,000 documents from what were originally hundreds of boxes of papyrus fragments the size of large cornflakes. This is thought to represent only 1 to 2% of what is estimated to be at least half a million papyri still remaining to be conserved, transcribed, deciphered and catalogued. The most recent published volume was Vol. LXXXVII, released on 31 August 2023.

Oxyrhynchus Papyri are currently housed in institutions all over the world. A substantial number are housed in the Bodleian Art Library at Oxford University. There is an online table of contents briefly listing the type of contents of each papyrus or fragment.[3]

Administrative texts

[edit]

Administrative documents assembled and transcribed from the Oxyrhynchus excavation encompass a wide variety of legal matters, such as marriages, employment contracts, and censuses. Some of the more notable papyri transcribed so far include:

  • The contract of a wrestler agreeing to throw his next match for a fee.[4]
  • Various and sundry ancient recipes for treating haemorrhoids, hangovers and cataracts.[5]
  • Details of a grain dole mirroring a similar program in the Roman capital.[6]
  • Tryphon and Saraeus:
    • Tryphon, son of Dionysus, and Saraeus, daughter of Apion, a married couple are mentioned in several administrative papyri, detailing their various brushes with legal authorities in Oxyrhynchus.[7]
    • However, before Tryphon married Saraeus, he had a wife called Demetrous, daughter of Heraclides. After their divorce, Tryphon complains to the strategus, Alexander, that she has stolen several of his belongings. The papyrus is too damaged, however, to correctly ascertain what these are.[8]
    • In 37 CE, the couple appears in a marriage contract, almost entirely concerned with Saraeus' dowry. Most surviving marriage contracts keep similar detail on dowries and other assets, in case of divorce.
    • However Tryphon's first wife, it seems, had not forgiven him. The same year as his second marriage, he petitions the strategus again, this time alleging that Demetrous and her mother have attacked Saraeus. The response from the strategus, Sotas, is unknown.[9]
    • In 49 CE, Saraeus was summoned before the strategus as part of a case between her and an employer. She has been contracted as a wet-nurse for a foundling, who had died during her employment. Pesouris, her employer, accused her of kidnapping the child to pose as her own. Paison, the strategus, ruled that the living child was Saraeus', and that in return she must pay back her wages.[10]
    • However, several months, later, Tryphon is petitioning Capito, the praefectus, complaining that Saraeus' former employer is refusing to co-operate with Paison's ruling, and 'hinders [Tryphon] in [his] trade'.
    • In 51 CE, Tryphon files another complaint, presumably to the strategus, that he and Saraeus were attacked by unnamed women in the street.[11]

In addition to detailing the cases themselves, these legal documents provide interesting insight into everyday life under Graeco-Roman occupied Egypt, and are often overlooked beside its pharaonic predecessor. For example, Saraeus' hearing with strategus Paison reveal that courts used the Roman names for year, marked by the reign of the emperor, but maintained the Egyptian months, called Pharmouthi.[12]

Secular texts

[edit]

Although most of the texts uncovered at Oxyrhynchus were non-literary in nature, the archaeologists succeeded in recovering a large corpus of literary works that had previously been thought to have been lost. Many of these texts had previously been unknown to modern scholars.[citation needed]

Greek

[edit]

Several fragments can be traced to the work of Plato, for instance the Republic, Phaedo, or the dialogue Gorgias, dated around 200–300 CE.[13]

Historiography

[edit]

The discovery of a historical work known as the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia also revealed new information about classical antiquity. The identity of the author of the work is unknown; many early scholars proposed that it may have been written by Ephorus or Theopompus but many modern scholars are now convinced that it was written by Cratippus.[14][15] The work has won praise for its style and accuracy[16] and has even been compared favorably with the works of Thucydides.[17]

Mathematics

[edit]
One of the oldest surviving fragments of Euclid's Elements, found at Oxyrhynchus and dated to circa AD 100 (P. Oxy. 29). The diagram accompanies Book II, Proposition 5.[18]

The findings at Oxyrhynchus also turned up the oldest and most complete diagrams from Euclid's Elements.[18] Fragments of Euclid led to a re-evaluation of the accuracy of ancient sources for The Elements, revealing that the version of Theon of Alexandria has more authority than previously believed, according to Thomas Little Heath.[19]

Drama

[edit]
Lines 96–138 of the Ichneutae on a fragment of Papyrus Oxyrhynchus IX 1174 col. iv–v, which provides the majority of the surviving portion of the play

The classical author who has most benefited from the finds at Oxyrhynchus is the Athenian playwright Menander (342–291 BC), whose comedies were very popular in Hellenistic times and whose works are frequently found in papyrus fragments. Menander's plays found in fragments at Oxyrhynchus include Misoumenos, Dis Exapaton, Epitrepontes, Karchedonios, Dyskolos and Kolax. The works found at Oxyrhynchus have greatly raised Menander's status among classicists and scholars of Greek theatre.

Another notable text uncovered at Oxyrhynchus was Ichneutae, a previously unknown play written by Sophocles. The discovery of Ichneutae was especially significant since Ichneutae is a satyr play, making it only one of two extant satyr plays, with the other one being Euripides's Cyclops.[20][21]

Extensive remains of the Hypsipyle of Euripides and a life of Euripides by Satyrus the Peripatetic were also found at Oxyrhynchus.

Poetry

[edit]
P. Oxy. 20, verso
The Heracles Papyrus. (P. Oxy. 2331)

Latin

[edit]

An epitome of seven of the 107 lost books of Livy was the most important literary find in Latin.

Christian texts

[edit]

Among the Christian texts found at Oxyrhynchus, were fragments of early non-canonical Gospels, Oxyrhynchus 840 (3rd century AD) and Oxyrhynchus 1224 (4th century AD). Other Oxyrhynchus texts preserve parts of Matthew 1 (3rd century: P2 and P401), 11–12 and 19 (3rd to 4th century: P2384, 2385); Mark 10–11 (5th to 6th century: P3); John 1 and 20 (3rd century: P208); Romans 1 (4th century: P209); the First Epistle of John (4th-5th century: P402); the Apocalypse of Baruch (chapters 12–14; 4th or 5th century: P403); the Gospel of Thomas (3rd century AD: P655); The Shepherd of Hermas (3rd or 4th century: P404), and a work of Irenaeus, (3rd century: P405). There are many parts of other canonical books as well as many early Christian hymns, prayers, and letters also found among them.

All manuscripts classified as "theological" in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri are listed below. A few manuscripts that belong to multiple genres, or genres that are inconsistently treated in the volumes of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, are also included. For example, the quotation from Psalm 90 (P. Oxy. XVI 1928) associated with an amulet, is classified according to its primary genre as a magic text in the Oxyrhynchus Papyri; however, it is included here among witnesses to the Old Testament text. In each volume that contains theological manuscripts, they are listed first, according to an English tradition of academic precedence (see Doctor of Divinity).

Old Testament

[edit]
P. Oxy. VI 846: Amos 2 (LXX)

The original Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) was translated into Greek between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. This translation is called the Septuagint (or LXX, both 70 in Latin), because there is a tradition that seventy Jewish scribes compiled it in Alexandria. It was quoted in the New Testament and is found bound together with the New Testament in the 4th and 5th century Greek uncial codices Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus and Vaticanus. The Septuagint included books, called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical by some Christians, which were later not accepted into the Jewish canon of sacred writings (see next section). Portions of Old Testament books of undisputed authority found among the Oxyrhynchus Papyri are listed in this section.

  • The first number (Vol) is the volume of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri in which the manuscript is published.
  • The second number (Oxy) is the overall publication sequence number in Oxyrhynchus Papyri.
  • Standard abbreviated citation of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri is:
P. Oxy. <volume in Roman numerals> <publication sequence number>.
  • Context will always make clear whether volume 70 of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri or the Septuagint is intended.
  • P. Oxy. VIII 1073 is an Old Latin version of Genesis, other manuscripts are probably copies of the Septuagint.
  • Dates are estimated to the nearest 50 year increment.
  • Content is given to the nearest verse where known.
Vol Oxy Date Content Institution City, State Country
IV 656 150 Gen 14:21–23; 15:5–9; 19:32–20:11;
24:28–47; 27:32–33, 40–41
Bodleian Library; MS.Gr.bib.d.5(P) Oxford UK
VI 845 400 Psalms 68; 70 Egyptian Museum; JE 41083 Cairo Egypt
VI 846 550 Amos 2 University of Pennsylvania; E 3074 Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
U.S.
VII 1007 400 Genesis 2-3 British Museum; Inv. 2047 London UK
VIII 1073 350 Gen 5–6 Old Latin British Museum; Inv. 2052 London UK
VIII 1074 250 Exodus 31–32 University of Illinois; GP 1074 Urbana, Illinois U.S.
VIII 1075 250 Exodus 11:26–32 British Library; Inv. 2053 (recto) London UK
IX 1166 250 Genesis 16:8–12 British Library; Inv. 2066 London UK
IX 1167 350 Genesis 31 Princeton Theological Seminary
Pap. 9
Princeton
New Jersey
U.S.
IX 1168 350 Joshua 4-5 vellum Princeton Theological Seminary
Pap. 10
Princeton
New Jersey
U.S.
X 1225 350 Leviticus 16 Princeton Theological Seminary
Pap. 12
Princeton
New Jersey
U.S.
X 1226 300 Psalms 7–8 Liverpool University
Class. Gr. Libr. 4241227
Liverpool UK
XI 1351 350 Lev 27 vellum Ambrose Swasey Library; 886.4

Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
(prior to private sale)

Rochester
New York
U.S.
XI 1352 325 Pss 82–83 vellum Egyptian Museum; JE 47472 Cairo Egypt
XV 1779 350 Psalm 1 United Theological Seminary Dayton, Ohio U.S.
XVI 1928 500 Ps 90 amulet Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XVII 2065 500 Psalm 90 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XVII 2066 500 Ecclesiastes 6–7 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXIV 2386 500 Psalms 83–84 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
L 3522 50 Job 42.11–12 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LX 4011 550 Ps 75 interlinear Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4442 225 Ex 20:10–17, 18–22 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4443 100 Esther 6–7 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK

Old Testament Deuterocanon (or, Apocrypha)

[edit]

This name designates several, unique writings (e.g., the Book of Tobit) or different versions of pre-existing writings (e.g., the Book of Daniel) found in the canon of the Jewish scriptures (most notably, in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Tanakh). Although those writings were no longer viewed as having a canonical status amongst Jews by the beginning of the second century A.D., they retained that status for much of the Christian Church. They were and are accepted as part of the Old Testament canon by the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches. Protestant Christians, however, follow the example of the Jews and do not accept these writings as part of the Old Testament canon.

  • PP. Oxy. XIII 1594 and LXV 4444 are vellum ("vellum" noted in table).
  • Both copies of Tobit are different editions to the known Septuagint text ("not LXX" noted in table).
Vol Oxy Date Content Institution City, State Country
III 403 400 Apocalypse of Baruch 12–14 St. Mark's Library
General Theological Seminary
New York City U.S.
VII 1010 350 2 Esdras 16:57–59 Bodleian Library
MS.Gr.bib.g.3(P)
Oxford UK
VIII 1076 550 Tobit 2
not LXX
John Rylands University Library
448
Manchester UK
XIII 1594 275 Tobit 12
vellum, not LXX
Cambridge University Library
Add.MS. 6363
Cambridge UK
XIII 1595 550 Ecclesiasticus 1
Palestine Institute Museum
Pacific School of Religion
Berkeley
California
U.S.
XVII 2069 400 1 Enoch 85.10–86.2, 87.1–3 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XVII 2074 450 Apostrophe to Wisdom [?] Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4444 350 Wisdom 4:17–5:1
vellum
Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
[edit]
Vol Oxy Date Content Institution City, State Country
IX 1173 250 Philo Bodleian Library Oxford UK
XI 1356 250 Philo Bodleian Library Oxford UK
XVIII 2158 250 Philo Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXXVI 2745 400 onomasticon of Hebrew names Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK

New Testament

[edit]
Papyrus 𝔓1: Matthew 1

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri have provided the most numerous sub-group of the earliest copies of the New Testament. These are surviving portions of codices (books) written in Greek uncial (capital) letters on papyrus. The first of these were excavated by Bernard Pyne Grenfell and Arthur Surridge Hunt in Oxyrhynchus, at the turn of the 20th century. Of the 127 registered New Testament papyri, 52 (41%) are from Oxyrhynchus. The earliest of the papyri are dated to the middle of the 2nd century, so were copied within about a century of the writing of the original New Testament documents.[22]

Grenfell and Hunt discovered the first New Testament papyrus (𝔓1), on only the second day of excavation, in the winter of 1896–7. This, together with the other early discoveries, was published in 1898, in the first volume of the now 86-volume work, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri.[23]

  • The third column (CRG) refers to the now standard sequences of Caspar René Gregory.
  • 𝔓 indicates a papyrus manuscript, a number beginning with zero indicates vellum.
  • The CRG number is an adequate abbreviated citation for New Testament manuscripts.
  • Content is given to the nearest chapter; verses are sometimes listed.
Vol Oxy CRG Date Content Institution City, State Country
I 2 𝔓1 250 Matthew 1 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
U.S.
I 3 069 500 Mark 10:50.51; 11:11.12 Frederick Haskell Oriental Institute
University of Chicago; 2057
Chicago
Illinois
U.S.
II 208=1781 𝔓5 250 John 1, 16, 20 British Library London UK
II 209 𝔓10 350 Romans 1 Houghton Library, Harvard Cambridge
Massachusetts
U.S.
III 401 071 500 Matthew 10-11 Harvard Semitic Museum; 3735 Cambridge
Massachusetts
U.S.
III 402 𝔓9 250 1 John 4 Houghton Library, Harvard Cambridge
Massachusetts
U.S.
IV 657 𝔓13 250 Hebrews 2–5, 10–12 British Library London UK
VI 847 0162 300 John 2 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York U.S.
VI 848 0163 450 Revelation 16 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York U.S.
VII 1008 𝔓15 250 1 Corinthians 7–8 Egyptian Museum Cairo Egypt
VII 1009 𝔓16 300 Philippians 3–4 Egyptian Museum Cairo Egypt
VIII 1078 𝔓17 350 Hebrews 9 Cambridge University Library, Cambridge Cambridge UK
VIII 1079 𝔓18 300 Revelation 1 British Library London UK
VIII 1080 0169 350 Revelation 3–4 Robert Elliott Speer Library
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton U.S.
IX 1169 0170 500 Matthew 6 Robert Elliott Speer Library
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton U.S.
IX 1170 𝔓19 400 Matthew 10–11 Bodleian Library Oxford UK
IX 1171 𝔓20 250 James 2–3 Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, Princeton Princeton
New Jersey
U.S.
X 1227 𝔓21 400 Matthew 12 Muhlenberg College Allentown
Pennsylvania
U.S.
X 1228 𝔓22 250 John 15–16 Glasgow University Library Glasgow UK
X 1229 𝔓23 250 James 1 University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois U.S.
X 1230 𝔓24 350 Revelation 5–6 Franklin Trask Library
Andover Newton Theological School
Newton
Massachusetts
U.S.
XI 1353 0206 350 1 Peter 5 United Theological Seminary Dayton, Ohio U.S.
XI 1354 𝔓26 600 Romans 1 Joseph S. Bridwell Library
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas U.S.
XI 1355 𝔓27 250 Romans 8–9 Cambridge University Library Cambridge UK
XIII 1596 𝔓28 250 John 6 Palestine Institute Museum
Pacific School of Religion
Berkeley
California
U.S.
XIII 1597 𝔓29 250 Acts 26 Bodleian Library Oxford UK
XIII 1598 𝔓30 250 1 Ths 4–5; 2 Ths 1 Ghent University Library Ghent Belgium
XV 1780 𝔓39 250 John 8 Museum of the Bible Washington, D.C. U.S.
XV 1781=208 𝔓5 250 John 1, 16, 20 British Library London UK
XVIII 2157 𝔓51 400 Galatians 1 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXIV 2383 𝔓69 250 Luke 22 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXIV 2384 𝔓70 250 Matthew 2–3, 11–12, 24 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXIV 2385 𝔓71 350 Matthew 19 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXXIV/LXIV 2683/4405 𝔓77 200 Matthew 23 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XXXIV 2684 𝔓78 300 Jude Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
L 3523 𝔓90 150 John 18–19 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4449 𝔓100 300 James 3–5 Sackler Library
Papyrology Rooms
Oxford UK
LXIV 4401 𝔓101 250 Matthew 3–4 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXIV 4402 𝔓102 300 Matthew 4 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXIV 4403 𝔓103 200 Matthew 13–14 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXIV 4404 𝔓104 150 Matthew 21? Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXIV 4406 𝔓105 500 Matthew 27–28 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4445 𝔓106 250 John 1 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4446 𝔓107 250 John 17 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4447 𝔓108 250 John 17/18 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXV 4448 𝔓109 250 John 21 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXVI 4494 𝔓110 350 Matthew 10 Sackler Library
Papyrology Rooms
Oxford UK
LXVI 4495 𝔓111 250 Luke 17 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXVI 4496 𝔓112 450 Acts 26–27 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXVI 4497 𝔓113 250 Romans 2 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXVI 4498 𝔓114 250 Hebrews 1 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXVI 4499 𝔓115 300 Revelation 2–3, 5–6, 8–15 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXVI 4500 0308 350 Revelation 11:15–18 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXI 4803 𝔓119 250 John 1:21–28, 38–44 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXI 4804 𝔓120 350 John 1:25–28, 33–38, 42–44 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXI 4805 𝔓121 250 John 19:17–18, 25–26 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXI 4806 𝔓122 4th/5th century John 21:11–14, 22–24 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXII 4844 𝔓123 4th/5th century 1 Corinthians 14:31–34; 15:3–6 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXII 4845 𝔓124 4th/5th century 2 Corinthians 11:1-4. 6-9 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXIII 4934 𝔓125 3rd/4th century 1 Peter 1:23-2:5.7-12 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXIV 4968 𝔓127 5th century Acts 10–17 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXXI 5258 𝔓132 3rd/4th century Ephesians 3:21–4:2, 14–16 Unknown Unknown Unknown
LXXXI 5259 𝔓133 3rd century 1 Timothy 3:13–4:8 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXXXVII 5575 late 2nd century Syncretistic:[24] portions of Matt 6, Luke 12, Thomas 27

New Testament apocrypha

[edit]

The Oxyrhynchus Papyri collection contains around twenty manuscripts of New Testament apocrypha, works from the early Christian period that presented themselves as biblical books, but were not eventually received as such by the orthodoxy. These works found at Oxyrhynchus include the gospels of Thomas, Mary, Peter, James, The Shepherd of Hermas, and the Didache. (All of these are known from other sources as well.) Among this collection are also a few manuscripts of unknown gospels. The three manuscripts of Thomas represent the only known Greek manuscripts of this work; the only other surviving manuscript of Thomas is a nearly complete Coptic manuscript from the Nag Hammadi find.[25] P. Oxy. 4706, a manuscript of The Shepherd of Hermas, is notable because two sections believed by scholars to have been often circulated independently, Visions and Commandments, were found on the same roll.[26]

  • P. Oxy. V 840 and P. Oxy. XV 1782 are vellum
  • 2949?, 3525, 3529? 4705, and 4706 are rolls, the rest codices.
Vol Oxy Date Content Institution City, State Country
Early Writings
LXIX 4705 250 Shepherd, Visions 1:1, 8–9 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LXIX 4706 200 Shepherd
Visions 3–4; Commandments 2; 4–9
Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
L 3526 350 Shepherd, Commandments 5–6

[same codex as 1172]

Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XV 1783 325 Shepherd, Commandments 9
IX 1172 350 Shepherd, Parables 2:4–10

[same codex as 3526]

British Library; Inv. 224 London UK
LXIX 4707 250 Shepherd, Parables 6:3–7:2 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
XIII 1599 350 Shepherd, Parables 8
L 3527 200 Shepherd, Parables 8:4–5 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
L 3528 200 Shepherd, Parables 9:20–22 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
III 404 300 Shepherd
XV 1782 350 Didache 1–3 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
Pseudepigrapha
I 1 200 Gospel of Thomas Bodleian Library
Ms. Gr. Th. e 7 (P)
Oxford UK
IV 654 200 Gospel of Thomas British Library; Inv. 1531 London UK
IV 655 200 Gospel of Thomas Houghton Library, Harvard
SM Inv. 4367
Cambridge
Massachusetts
US
XLI 2949 200 Gospel of Peter? Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
L 3524 550 Gospel of James 25:1 Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
L 3525 250 Gospel of Mary Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
LX 4009 150 Gospel of Peter? Ashmolean Museum Oxford UK
I 6 450 Acts of Paul and Thecla
VI 849 325 Acts of Peter
VI 850 350 Acts of John
VI 851 500 Apocryphal Acts
VIII 1081 Gnostic Gospel
II 210 250 Unknown gospel Cambridge University Library
Add. Ms. 4048
Cambridge UK
V 840 200 Unknown gospel Bodleian Library
Ms. Gr. Th. g 11
Oxford UK
X 1224 300 Unknown gospel Bodleian Library
Ms. Gr. Th. e 8 (P)
Oxford UK
[edit]
  • Four exact dates are marked in bold type:
three libelli are dated: all to the year 250, two to the month, and one to the day;
a warrant to arrest a Christian is dated to 28 February 256.
Vol Oxy Date Content Institution City, State Country
Biblical quotes
VIII 1077 550 Amulet: magic text
quotes Matthew 4:23–24
Trexler Library; Pap. Theol. 2
Muhlenberg College
Allentown
Pennsylvania
U.S.
LX 4010 350 "Our Father" (Matthew 6:9ff)
with introductory prayer
Papyrology Room
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford UK
Creeds
XVII 2067 450 Nicene Creed (325) Papyrology Room
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford UK
XV 1784 450 Constantinopolitan Creed (4th-century) Ambrose Swasey Library
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
Rochester
New York
U.S.
Church Fathers
III 405 250 Irenaeus, Against Heresies Cambridge University Library
Add. Ms. 4413
Cambridge UK
XXXI 2531 550 Theophilus I of Alexandria
Peri Katanuxeos [?]
Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
Unknown theological works
XIII 1600 450 treatise on The Passion Bodleian Library
Ms. Gr. Th. d 4 (P)
Oxford UK
I 4 300 theological fragment Cambridge University Library Cambridge UK
III 406 250 theological fragment Library; BH 88470.1
McCormick Theological Seminary
Chicago
Illinois
U.S.
Dialogues (theological discussions)
XVII 2070 275 anti-Jewish dialogue Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
XVII 2071 550 fragment of a dialogue Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
Apologies (arguments in defence of Christianity)
XVII 2072 250 fragment of an apology Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
Homilies (short sermons)
XIII 1601 400 homily about spiritual warfare Ambrose Swasey Library
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
Rochester
New York
U.S.
XIII 1602 400 homily to monks (vellum) University Library
State University of Ghent
Ghent Belgium
XIII 1603 500 homily about women John Rylands University Library
Inv R. 55247
Manchester UK
XV 1785 450 collection of homilies [?] Papyrology Room
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford UK
XVII 2073 375 fragment of a homily
and other text
Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
Liturgical texts (protocols for Christian meetings)
XVII 2068 350 liturgical [?] fragments Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
III 407 300 Christian prayer Department of Manuscripts
British Library
London UK
XV 1786 275 Christian hymn
with musical notation
Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
Hagiographies (biographies of saints)
L 3529 350 martyrdom of Dioscorus Papyrology Room
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford UK
Libelli (certificates of pagan sacrifice)
LVIII 3929 250 libellus from between
25 June and 24 July 250
Papyrology Room
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford UK
IV 658 250 libellus from the year 250 Beinecke Library
Yale University
New Haven
Connecticut
U.S.
XII 1464 250 libellus 27 June 250 Department of Manuscripts
British Library
London UK
XLI 2990 250 libellus from the 3rd century Papyrology Rooms
Sackler Library
Oxford UK
Other documentary texts
XLII 3035 256 warrant to arrest a Christian
28 February 256
Papyrology Room
Ashmolean Museum
Oxford UK
Other fragments
I 5 300 early Christian fragment Bodleian Library
Ms. Gr. Th. f 9 (P)
Oxford UK

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Professor Nickolaos Gonis from University College London, in a film from the British Arts and Humanities Research Council on Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project.
  2. ^ World Archaeology Issue 36, 7 July 2009
  3. ^ Search by table of contents; "Oxyrhynchus Online Image Database". Imaging Papyri Project. Retrieved 25 May 2007. A listing of what each fragment contains.
  4. ^ Jarus, Owen. Live Science. 16 April 2014.
  5. ^ Sharpe, Emily. Armchair archaeologists reveal details of life in ancient Egypt. The Art Newspaper. 29 February 2016.
  6. ^ Rathbone, Dominic. Documentary of an event organised by the Hellenic Society in association with the Roman Society and the Egypt Exploration Society. 28 April 2012.
  7. ^ Brewster, Ethel H. (1927). "A Weaver of Oxyrhynchus: Sketch of a Humble Life in Roman Egypt". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. 58: 132–154. doi:10.2307/282908. JSTOR 282908.
  8. ^ Grenfell, Bernard P.; Hunt, Arthur S. (1906). "Papyrus Cattaoui". Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete. 3 (1). doi:10.1515/apf.1906.3.1.55. ISSN 0066-6459. S2CID 202510388.
  9. ^ Bernard P. Grenhell and Arthur S. Hunt (1899). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri part 2. p. 305.
  10. ^ The Oxyrhynchus papyri. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. 1898.
  11. ^ Bernard P. Grenhell and Arthur S. Hunt (1899). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri part 2.
  12. ^ The Oxyrhynchus papyri. London: Egypt Exploration Fund. 1898. pp. 79–81.
  13. ^ Bernard Pyne Grenfell; Arthur Surridge Hunt (1898). "The Oxyrhynchus papyri". p. 187.
  14. ^ e.g. Goligher, W. A. (1908). "The New Greek Historical Fragment Attributed to Theopompus or Cratippus". English Historical Review. 23 (90). Oxford University Press: 277–283. doi:10.1093/ehr/xxiii.xc.277. JSTOR 550009.
  15. ^ Harding, Philipp (1987). "The Authorship of the Hellenika Oxyrhynchia". The Ancient History Bulletin. 1: 101–104. ISSN 0835-3638.
  16. ^ Meister, Klaus (2003). "Oxyrhynchus, the historian from". In Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth Antony (eds.). Oxford Classical Dictionary. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866172-X.
  17. ^ Westlake, H. D. (1960). "Review of Hellenica Oxyrhynchia by Vittorio Bartoletti". The Classical Review. New Series. 10 (3). Cambridge University Press: 209–210. doi:10.1017/s0009840x00165448. JSTOR 706964. S2CID 162707716.
  18. ^ a b Bill Casselman. "One of the Oldest Extant Diagrams from Euclid". University of British Columbia. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
  19. ^ Thomas Little Heath (1921). "A history of Greek mathematics". Oxford, The Clarendon Press.
  20. ^ West, M. L. (1994). Ancient Greek Music. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press at the Oxford University Press. p. 281. ISBN 978-0198149750. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  21. ^ Sophocles' Ichneutae was adapted, in 1988, into a play entitled The Trackers of Oxyrhynchus, by British poet and author Tony Harrison, featuring Grenfell and Hunt as main characters.
  22. ^ Eberhard Nestle, Erwin Nestle, Barbara Aland and Kurt Aland (eds), Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition, (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 2001).
  23. ^ Philip W Comfort and David P Barrett. The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers Incorporated, 2001.
  24. ^ Wallace, Daniel B. (4 September 2023). ""Sayings of Jesus" papyrus (P.Oxy. 5575) now published". Daniel B. Wallace.
  25. ^ Kirby, Peter. "The Gospel of Thomas", Early Christian Writings. Retrieved June 30, 2007.
  26. ^ Barbantani, Silvia. "Review: Gonis (N.), Obbink (D.) [et al.] (edd., trans.) The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Volume LXIX. (Graeco-Roman Memoirs 89.)" (2007) The Classical Review, 57:1 p.66 Cambridge University Press doi:10.1017/S0009840X06003209
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