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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID1667
TM IDTM 35624
Findspot (DEChriM ID)28   (al-Bahnasā)
ClassTextual
MaterialPapyrus
Writing mediumSheet/roll
Text contentDocumentary
LanguageGreek, Latin
Archive/DossierDossier
Description

P.Oxy. XVIII 2194, P.Oxy. 18 2194: Letter from Theon to Pascentius with Biblical quotations 
This bilingual letter (25 x 9.5 cm) in 13 lines contains quotations from the Old Testament. The author Theon was most probably a priest, writing to a «serbos» Pascentius with a request to help a third party, a veteran Paul. A quotation used is reminiscent of Ecclesiasticus 12:2 (l. 6–7).
In terms of structure, the letter begins with a quotation in Latin, continuing with a greeting followed by another Biblical quotation on charity, then coming to the central topic of the letter. The address on the verso is written in Latin.

Selection criteriaLiterary genre (Biblical), Christian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian onomastics
Date from375
Date to425
Dating criteria

Palaeography; the ed.pr. dated it to the 5th/6th c. Blumell 2008 jointly considers the three letters by Theon (P. Oxy. 18 2193 and 2194, P. Köln 4 200) to be late 4th/early 5th c.

Absolute/relative dateRelative date
Archaeological context

Found in al-Bahnasā (Oxyrhynchos) during the excavations of Bernard Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt between 1896 and 1907. Both P. Oxy. 18 2193 and 2194 are Graeco-Latin letters from Theon to Pascentius.

Accession number

Oxford, Sackler Library, Papyrology Rooms P. Oxy. 2194

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Lobel, Edgar, Colin H. Roberts and E. P. Wegener. 1941. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part XVIII (P. Oxy. XVIII). London: Egypt Exploration Society. 154-155, No. 2194. 

Additional bibliography
• Blumell, Lincoln. 2008. “Reconsidering the Dates of Three Christian Letters: P.Oxy. XVIII 2193, 2194, P.Köln IV 200 and a Reference in the ‘Historia monachorum in Aegypto’.” Archiv für Papyrusforschung (AfP) 54(2): 219-223.
• Blumell, Lincoln H. 2012. “A Potential Source for the Latin Preface in P.Oxy. XVIII 2194.” Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (ZPE) 183: 72-74.
• Blumell, Lincoln H. and Thomas A. Wayment. 2015. Christian Oxyrhynchus: Texts, Documents and Sources. Waco TX: Baylor University Press. 589-593, No. 157.
• Bruckner, Albert and Robert Marichal. 1975. Chartae Latinae Antiquiores. Facsimile-Edition of the Latin Charters Prior to the Ninth Century. Part V. The United States of America I. (ChLA 5). Dietikon-Zurich: Urs Graf. 28-29, No. 291.
• Cavenaile, Robert. 1958. Corpus Papyrorum Latinarum. Lieferung 1. (CPL). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 376, No. 271.
• Cugusi, Paolo. 1992. Corpus Epistularum Latinarum. Papyris Tabulis Ostracis servatarum. I. Textus. (CEL). Papyrologica Florentina. Volume XXIII. 261, No. 244.
• Cugusi, Paolo. 1992. Corpus Epistularum Latinarum. Papyris Tabulis Ostracis servatarum. I. Textus. (CEL). Papyrologica Florentina XXIII. Firenze: Gonnelli. 261, No. 245.
• Dorandi, Tiziano and Pierre Gasnault. 1997. Chartae Latinae Antiquiores. Facsimile-Edition of the Latin Charters Prior to the Ninth Century. Part XLVII. Addenda. (ChLA 47). Dietikon-Zurich: Urs Graf. 24, No. 1411.
• Marichal, Robert. 1950. “Paléographie précaroline et Papyrologie (1). II. L'Écriture latine du Ier au VIIe siècle: les Sources." Scriptorium 4 (1950). 116-142: 128, No. 186.
• Rupprecht, Hans-Albert and Joachim Hengstl. 1988. Sammelband Griechischer Urkunden aus Ägypten. Sechzehnter Band. Drittes Heft. (Nr. 12720–13084). (SB 16). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 477, No. 12990.
• Seider, Richard. 1978. Paläographie der Lateinischen Papyri in drei Bänden. Band II,1. Tafel. Zweiter Teil. Literarische Papyri. Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann. Tafel XXXIV, No. 59a, 59b.
• Sijpesteijn, Pieter Johannes. 1994. “Apphus and Pascentius: servi dei tempore.” Archiv für Papyrusforschung (AfP) 40: 69-70.
• van Minnen, Peter. 1993. “Notes on Texts from Graeco-Roman Egypt.” Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik (ZPE) 96. 117–122: 120.

Authors
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023
Suggested citation
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1667", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1667
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