The Study of Historical and Philological Papyrology: Case Studies “New Sappho” and “Newest Sappho” A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Classics University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba Copyright © 2018 by Bianca Lysette Claudio Abstract This thesis investigates how a recently discovered papyrus fragment is analyzed by examining closely two new Sappho papyri found within the last decade, known as the “Newest Sappho” and “New Sappho” respectively. The former consists of a set of fragments discovered in 2014 by Dirk Obbink which contains both the Brothers Song and Kypris Song; the latter denotes another set of fragments including the Tithonus Song, published by Martin Gronewald and Robert Daniel in 2004. The investigation of the new discoveries will be divided into two case studies: the first will be focused on the P. Sapph. Obbink fragment and its Brothers Song, exploring the possibility that the Brothers Song is not necessarily Sappho’s work, but rather an example of an ancient imitation. The second case study will be focused on Sappho’s Tithonus Song, as preserved in P.Köln. inv. 21351+21376. My investigation for this section will proceed first by identifying the actual length of the Tithonus Song – examining where the poem begins and where it ends, and continue by addressing how Sappho interprets old age in her poem. Each of the two case studies will be divided further into two methodologies – a papyrological and philological approach – which will govern my analysis, addressing certain problems and issues that are unique to each find. Evaluation of the two new Sappho fragments will also demonstrate that issues concerning the texts are not isolated to the paleography, history, and content of the documents. My investigation will show that our handling of new papyrological discoveries affects the continued study of Sappho and her lyric works. ii Acknowledgements It would not have been possible to write and finish this thesis without the help and support of the kind people around me, who I am eternally grateful. I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. C. Michael Sampson, for his help, support, and patience throughout the process of writing this master’s thesis. My research would not have been possible without his help in ensuring that I was properly trained in papyrology and giving me the opportunity to look at papyrus fragments first-hand. I would also like to thank the members of my committee: Dr. Mark Joyal, for his advice and guidance in writing my thesis, encouraging me to continue on; and Dr. Peter Miller, for sharing his time to scrutinize my thesis and his suggestions for possible future research topics. I am sincerely grateful to Dr. Lea Stirling and the rest of the professors in the Department of Classics at University of Manitoba, for ensuring that I was prepared to pursue my MA degree and for teaching me the necessary skills in writing a thesis. Finally, I am thankful for the love and unequivocal support of my family and close friends. I am especially thankful for my sister, whose counsel and constant encouragement throughout the entire process has helped me finish my project. iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. iv Table of Figures .................................................................................................................... iv Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 History of the Scholarship ............................................................................................................... 2 The Two Case Studies on New Sappho Fragments ......................................................................... 5 Case Study A: Brothers Song of the “Newest Sappho” ......................................................... 15 Papyrological and Paleographic Study of P. Sapph. Obbink: ...................................................... 21 The Papyrus ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Palaeography .................................................................................................................................... 27 Layout, Corrections, and Ancient Use .............................................................................................. 31 Philological Study of the Brothers Song in P. Sapph. Obbink: ..................................................... 35 Brothers Song .................................................................................................................................... 35 Programmatic ‘Sappho’ .................................................................................................................... 38 Sappho and her Brothers .................................................................................................................. 43 Authorship, Influence, and Overlap ................................................................................................. 49 Case Study B: Tithonus Song of the “New Sappho” ............................................................. 82 Papyrological and Paleographic Analysis of P.Köln. inv. 21351+21376 and P.Oxy. 1787 fr.1: ..... 87 P.Köln. inv. 21351 ............................................................................................................................. 88 P.Köln. inv. 21376 ............................................................................................................................. 97 A Textual Overlap with P.Oxy. 1787 Fragment 1 ........................................................................... 103 Tithonus Song .................................................................................................................................. 107 Philological Analysis of the Tithonus Song: ................................................................................ 118 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................ 132 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................... 140 Table of Figures FIGURE 1: P.KÖLN. INV. 21351, FRAGMENT Α. ............................................................................. 90 FIGURE 2: P.KÖLN. INV. 21351, FRAGMENT Β. FISSURE ON THE FRAGMENT IS INDICATED WITH RED ARROWS. ................................................................................................................................ 91 FIGURE 3: P.KÖLN. INV. 21351 WITH P.KÖLN. INV. 21376 ......................................................... 98 iv Introduction Sappho, a lyric poet from archaic Lesbos, was known for weaving together themes of love and sexuality instead of war and heroism in her lyrics. The Lesbian poet’s renown as a great female lyricist is evident in both ancient and modern responses to her poetry: Plato praises Sappho’s poetic excellence by proposing that she is the “tenth Muse” and Hellenistic poets similarly call her “the Mortal Muse”.1 Numerous ancient authors – Greek and Roman alike – were inspired and influenced by the poetry of Sappho, as is evident in Anacreon’s Poem 358, Catullus’ Poem 51, and Horace’s Ode 4.1. Their works are either near translation of one of Sappho’s poems or an imitation of her work. Scholarly interest in Sappho and her poetry has increased substantially in the past century. Sappho’s compositions challenged the norm of a period in which literary works were authored mainly by men; it is said that she composed up to nine books of lyric poetry in her native Aeolic dialect. But despite Sappho’s prominence, very little of her work survives: only a couple of poems are completely preserved (i.e. frr.1 and 31), a few are relatively complete, and the rest are fragmentary and lacunose pieces. When Edgar Lobel published his edition of P.Oxy. 2289, he remarked how the then recently found Sapphic fragment “cannot be said to add much to our knowledge … [and] brings new darkness”.2 Lobel undoubtedly did not anticipate that another pair of fragments by Sappho would resurface half a century later, one of which incidentally overlaps with the pieces of papyri he once regarded as not having made a substantial difference in the study of Sappho’s poetry. The reason for his reservation is the infrequency of finding comprehensible and authentic ancient literary texts, even more so in the case of discovering new Sapphic fragments. 1 Carson 2002. 2 Lobel (ed.) 1951:2. Lobel’s remarks were directed to fragments 2, 5, and 4 of P.Oxy. 2289 assemblage, which he identifies as texts of Sappho from her Book 1. 1 Philologists specializing in the study of Sappho are always excited by the discovery of unknown Sappho papyri because every new piece of evidence brings them one step closer towards recreating the biographical and poetic history of the poet. Even so, there are still issues that coincide with