Greek Papyri: An IntroductionThis book is written as an aid to the use of Greek or Latin papyri (Latin texts, though not specifically mentioned in the title, are treated throughout on the same footing as Greek). The reader may be textual critic, historian, or intelligent layman whose imagination has been stirred at the idea of making direct contact with the writers of two thousand or so years ago. I hope this guide will help him to find his way about an elusive branch of study, and make his exploration of the originals both more fruitful and more interesting. By setting out what is useful for a man to know before he begins to use these texts, I hope also that I can save him from putting the wrong sort of questions and drawing unjustified inferences. The aim I have had foremost in mind is to facilitate a profitable approach to the originals (in the manner of W. Schubart's Einführung in die Papyruskunde, Berlin, 1918) rather than to summarize and codify the findings of past scholars. - Preface. |
Contents
WRITING MATERIALS AND BOOKS | 1 |
THE REDISCOVERY OF PAPYRUS | 17 |
the organization | 25 |
THE PERSONS WHO OWNED THE PAPYRI | 74 |
PAPYRI AND GREEK LITERATURE | 97 |
TYPES OF PAPYRUS DOCUMENT | 127 |
THE PRINCIPAL EDITIONS OF PAPYRI | 154 |