The evidence of published papyrus fragments for the text of fifth century drama at Athens

Abstract

The aim of this work is to provide a comprehensive and documented catalogue of the published papyrus texts from Graeco-Roman, Egypt which coincide with extant mediaeval sources of Fifth Century Athenian Drama. To facilitate comparison, the papyrus evidence is accompanied" by a parallel modem recension; for the fully extant dramas the Oxford Classical Texts of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes have been, used and for the "fragmenta" the texts of Nauck (ed. altera) and Kock. The evidence of the papyri has been presented' as a simple transcript or "Abschrift". This form allows the continued use of one standard parallel text irrespective of the deviations of individual papyri from the textus receptus. At the same time prejudicing suppletions are avoided', and editorial symbols reduced to a minimum. Variant readings of the papyri and mss, and characteristic features of the papyri are recorded in the apparatus criticus. Significant textual material is discussed: in the commentary. All new variants and readings of the papyri which support existing presumptive variants have been noted, and, if necessary, evaluated. Where the surviving evidence indicates that the papyrus text diverged from the mediaeval mss tradition editorial reconstructions have been considered; im at least four instances the differences appear to be less extensive than hitherto assumed. Certain corruptions in the papyri indicate the previous existence of readings not extant in the mediaeval mss; the probable nature of such lost variants has been explored. An index of new variants is appended, and the frequency of these analysed in selected plays of differing mss representation. It is apparent that papyri of the Romans and Byzantine periods maintain a fairly constant standard, and any appreciable increase in the proportion: of new variants in these papyri may normally be associated with peculiarities in the later transmission of individual plays. The proportion of new variants in texts immediately before the Alexandrian recension is three times greater than in the subsequent papyri, indicating the need for greater reserve in the consideration of Ptolemaic variants.