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The Antinoopolis Medical Papyri: a Case Study in Late Antique Medicine

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The Antinoopolis Medical Papyri: a Case Study in Late Antique Medicine The Antinoopolis Medical Papyri: a Case Study in Late Antique Medicine DISSERTATION zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doktorin der Philosophiae (Dr. Phil.) eingereicht an der Philosophischen Fakultät II der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin von MA Francesca Corazza Präsidentin der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: Prof. Dr. Sabine Kunst Dekanin der Philosophischen Fakultät II: Prof. Dr. Ulrike Vedder Gutachter: 1. Prof. Dr. Philip van der Eijk 2. Prof. Dr. Fabian Reiter Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 15. Dezember 2016 ABSTRACT The main aim of my research project was to re-examine the Greek medical papyri from the Egyptian site of Antinoopolis dating between late 3rd up to 7th century AD, discovered mostly in a single area between 1913 and 1914. Antinoopolis offers the potential for putting documents into an archaeological context, and this geographical and chronological consistency facilitates a close comparison between the data preserved in these sources. The interest in Antinoopolis, as far as the medical tradition is concerned, lies in the diverse healing practices attested by documentary, literary and archaeological evidence whose quantity and range is altogether exceptional among Egyptian villages. The objective of my research is both papyrological-philological and cultural- historical. Firstly, I have tried to present the manuscripts and discuss their peculiarities, characteristics and functions. I have sought to improve our understanding of these fragments through the identification of new portions of text, the integration of supplements and a better assessment of their formal arrangement, which resulted in the revised edition of a few outstanding papyri. In addition to this, I have tried to contribute to the evaluation of the general context of this Egyptian community, particularly as regards religious healing practices connected to the sanctuary of Collouthus, and to explore the historical and cultural circumstances in which these texts were used. Finally, my research investigates the development of the codex throughout late Antiquity, which can be observed in a number of respects. One of the most significant concerns how the texts were assembled and presented, namely the interplay between container and content. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Das Hauptanliegen meines Forschungsprojektes war die erneute Untersuchung der aus dem späten 3. bis 7. Jahrhundert n. Chr. stammenden griechischen medizinischen Papyri, die zwischen 1913 und 1914 hauptsächlich an einem Ort in der ägyptischen Stätte von Antinoopolis gefunden wurden. Antinoopolis bietet die Gelegenheit, diesen Dokumenten einen archäologischen Kontext zu geben, zumal die vorliegende geographische und chronologische Kontinuität einen detaillierten Vergleich der durch diese Quellen konservierten Daten begünstigt. Das Interesse an Antinoopolis aus medizinhistorischer Perspektive ist durch die diversen Heilpraktiken begründet, die von den dokumentarischen, literarischen und archäologischen Beweisstücken bezeugt werden, und deren Quantität und Bandbreite für ein ägyptisches Dorf außergewöhnlich sind. Das Ziel meiner Forschung an den Papyri ist sowohl philologischer als auch kulturhistorischer Natur. Erstens habe ich versucht, die Manuskripte wissenschaftlich zu präsentieren und ihre Eigentümlichkeiten, Charakteristika und Funktionen zu diskutieren. Ich wollte unser Verständnis dieser Fragmente durch die Identifizierung neuer Textabschnitte, die Integrierung von Textzusätzen und eine genauere Untersuchung ihrer formellen Struktur verbessern, was zu einer überarbeiteten Edition einiger ausgewählter Papyri führte. Darüber hinaus habe ich versucht, zum besseren Verständnis des allgemeinen Umfeldes dieser ägyptischen Gemeinschaft, besonders in Bezug auf religiöse Heilpraktiken im Zusammenhang mit der heiligen Stätte des Collouthus beizutragen, und die historischen und kulturellen Gegebenheiten zu untersuchen, in denen diese Texte genutzt wurden. Schlussendlich untersucht meine Forschung die Entwicklung des Kodex im Allgemeinen über den Zeitraum der späten Antike, die an verschiedenen Aspekten beobachtet werden kann. Eine der interessantesten Fragen dabei ist, wie die Texte gesammelt und präsentiert wurden, d.h. der Zusammenhang von Aufbewahrung der Papyri und ihrem Textinhalt. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Philip van der Eijk for providing me the opportunity to do my doctoral study at the Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin, allowing me to grow as an academic researcher. I consider it a privilege to have learnt from his expertise. His invaluable advice and constructive criticism increased the readability of my work and greatly helped me to establish the overall direction of my research. I am heartily indebted to Prof. Isabella Andorlini for her careful guidance, rigorous approach, and insightful suggestions. Her genuine concern supported me greatly over the years. This dissertation is dedicated to the grateful memory of her. I also wish to thank the assistance of my second supervisor Prof. Fabian Reiter for taking the time to read my thesis and for his valuable comments. Moreover, my thanks go to the members of the Berlin international research group of the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship Programme “Medicine of the Mind, Philosophy of the Body”, for providing an extremely stimulating environment, for their helpful feedback and generous support. I wish to thank the Gerda-Henkel Stiftung for having funded this work, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for additional support in the first stages. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Daniela Colomo and her staff at the Sackler Library for supplying excellent digital scansions of the Antinoopolis papyri and facilitating my personal inspection of the originals during my research stay in Oxford, and the Egypt Exploration Society for the permission to reproduce the images. Finally, a special thank goes to my family for always being supportive of my choices, and to Nicola for reminding me that interdependence is as important as independence, in work as well as in life: for your care and encouragement, thank you. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER ONE The Antinoopolis medical tradition ................................................ 6 1.1 First excavations and current state of the research ........................................................ 6 1.2 The xenon of Phoibammon ............................................................................................ 8 1.3 Medical genres ............................................................................................................. 12 CHAPTER TWO Examples of late antique medical compilations ........................... 19 2.1 Abbreviating genres ..................................................................................................... 19 2.2 Fragments of Antyllus in P.Ant. III 128 ...................................................................... 28 2.3 P.Ant. III 126 ............................................................................................................... 46 2.4 P.Ant. III 124: a didactic treatise on dietetics .............................................................. 58 2.5 Conclusions .................................................................................................................. 89 CHAPTER THREE Professional, popular and religious medicine in Antinoopolis . 91 3.1 An investigation into medical pluralism ...................................................................... 91 3.2 The cult of St. Collouthus ............................................................................................ 98 3.3 The miracle narratives ............................................................................................... 103 3.4 Iatromagical prescriptions in P.Ant. III 127 ............................................................... 107 3.5 Antinoopolis magico-medical papyri ......................................................................... 134 3.5.1 P.Ant. II 66 ......................................................................................................... 134 3.5.2 P.Ant. III 140 ...................................................................................................... 139 3.5.3 P.Ant. III 132 ...................................................................................................... 145 3.5.4 P.Johnson + P.Ant. III 214 ................................................................................. 152 3.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 154 CHAPTER FOUR The miscellaneous codex .......................................................... 160 4.1 Technical texts and the transmission of medical knowledge ..................................... 160 4.2 Miscellaneous books from Antinoe ........................................................................... 167 4.3 Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 187 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 190 FIGURES .................................................................................................................. 225 TABLES ..................................................................................................................
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