Artefact ID | 836 |
TM ID | TM 62365 |
Findspot (DEChriM ID) | - () | Class | Textual |
Material | Papyrus |
Writing medium | Codex |
Text content | Literary, Subliterary |
Language | Greek |
Archive/Dossier | Archive |
Description | P.Beatty XV; P.Chester Beatty XV; KV83. Papyrus fragments from a codex containing the Apologia of Phileas and Psalms 1-4 with title. The text presents an interrogation of Phileas, the Bishop of Thmouis, by Culcianus, and incorporates a possibly verbatim transcript containing also Psalms 1-4. The trial would have taken place under the Great Persecution. The trial effected his martyrdom, which is described in Eusebius, H.E. 8.9-l0. The artefact consists of a quire of 28 pages, the first halfcontaining the Phileas-text, the second half containing the Psalms (Ps 1.1-4.2). The fragments range from 21 x 14.5 cm to 5 x 4 cm, containing an estimate od 23 lines of text. The nomina sacra are only abbreviated in the text of the Psalms - and they appear in their full form in the text of the Apology. Two other peculiar features appear: the abbreviation of εἶπεν to ει᾿ and the inconsistent ekthesis of the name of the hegemon. The ed. pr. suggests that the text of P.Beatty XV is closer to the court transcript/protocol of the trial, although remaining a literary work, and maintains that the text has a very close affinity to the Latin recension against the more elaborate literary Apologia of P.Bodmer XX (same arrangement: part of the Apology followed by a selection of Psalms). The artefact is (tentatively) catalogued under the Dishna Archive (consisting of the Chester Beatty Papyri and the Bodmer Papyri) according to TM. |
Selection criteria | Literary genre (Hagiographic), Mention of Christian individuals/communities, Nomina sacra, Biblical quote or paraphrase |
Date from | 307 |
Date to | 399 |
Dating criteria | Palaeography. The ed. pr. places the fragments in the 4th c., as the death of Phileas (394 or 306/307) presents a definite terminus post quem. |
Absolute/relative date | Relative date |
Archaeological context | The provenance is unknown. |
Accession number | Dublin, Chester Beatty Library P. Bibl. 15. |