Papadopoulou, Ioanna, and Leonard Muellner, eds. 2014. Poetry as Initiation: The Center for Hellenic Studies Symposium on the Derveni Papyrus. Hellenic Studies Series 63. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ebook:CHS_PapadopoulouI_MuellnerL_eds.Poetry_as_Initiation.2014.
Chapter 3. Democritus, Heraclitus, and the Dead Souls: Reconstructing Columns I–VI of the Derveni Papyrus [*]
Università dell’Aquila
Democritus and the First Lines of Column IV
[ . ]ου ε . [. . . . . . . . . ὥ]σ̣περ φυσι̣κ̣[ὸς μετ]ὰ̣ δίκης ἐ̣ὼν
ὁ κείμ[ενα] μετα̣θ̣[εὶς] μὲν ἃ εὐχα̣[ῖς χρὴ] ἐκ̣δ̣ο̣ῦναι,
μᾶλλ[ον ἃ] σ̣ίνεται [ἢ ὡ]σ̣ ἀνημμέ[να εἰς] τ̣ὰ τῆς τύχης π̣[ῶς
4οὐκ εἴ̣ [α λα]μμάνει̣ν̣; ἆρ’ οὐ τα̣ῦ̣[τα κρατεῖ ο]ὐ̣δὲ κόσμος; {58|59}
- The first line of the column is actually immediately above the line identified by KPT as the first.
- The fragment F 14 in fact belongs within a G section.
The first point presents no problem since, as we saw above, the editio princeps fails to recognize that the actual first line of every column is directly above the line it misidentifies as the first.
Heraclitus, the Persians, and Column IV 7–14
κατ̣[αστρέ]φ̣ει τὰ ἴδ[ι]α, ὅσπερ ἴκελ̣α̣ [τῶι ἱερο]λόγωι λέγων [
“ἥλι̣[ος περιό]δ̣ου κατὰ φ̣ύσιν ἀν̣θρω[πηΐου] εὖρος ποδός [ἐστι
τὸ μ̣[έγεθου]ς̣ οὐχ ὑπερβάλλων εἰκ̣[ότας οὔ]ρους ε[ὔρους
ἑοῦ· εἰ δὲ μ]ή, ̓Ερινύε̣[ς] νιν ἐξευρήσου̣[σι, Δίκης ἐπίκουροι
10 ὑπερ]βατὸμ ποῆι κ[
]α̣ι̣ θύο̣υ̣[σι
Π]έ̣ρ̣σ̣α̣ι̣ θύο̣υ̣[σι(ν)
κ]ατ̣ὰ̣ τ̣ὰ Δίκης [μέτρα (?)
γὰ]ρ̣ [ἀ]μήνιτα κ[
Thus, taking into account the interest in Iranian ritual practices and the entities to whom they were addressed, the sacrificers must be Persian people. [7]
comes to light in line 14 thanks to one more tiny unplaced piece, H 66, that can in fact be placed below I 80 and H 8. [8] The outline of the higher right edge of H 66 matches with that of the lower left edge of H 8. Also, the two pieces share the {62|63} sigma and tau of ἐστί. As to the deciphering of the letters of H 66, ε̣ς̣ has been already recognized by the first editors (KPT, 120) and can be taken as certain, but the sketch of the preceding ΩΝ also seems retraceable (KPT, pl. VIII, detail).
The Souls of the Right Ones and the Beginning of Column VI
ἐπ̣[ωιδὴ δ]ὲ̣ μάγων δύν[α]ται δ̣αίμ̣ο̣νας ἐμ[πο]δ̣ὼ̣ν̣
γι̣[νομ]έ̣ν̣ο̣υ̣ς μεθιστάν̣αι…
Bibliography
Footnotes