Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 231 (P. Oxy. 231 or P. Oxy. II 231) is a fragment of the '' De Corona'' by

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pr ...

, written in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. It was discovered in Oxyrhynchus. The manuscript was written on

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

in the form of a roll. It is dated to the second or third century. Currently it is housed in the

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

(Add. Ms. 4050) in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

.P. Oxy. 231
at the Oxyrhynchus Online

Description

The document was written by an unknown copyist. It contains part of the text of ''De Corona'' (227-229) by Demosthenes. The measurements of the fragment are 920 by 730 mm. The text is written in a medium-sized informal

uncial Uncial is a majuscule Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. (1996) ''Encyclopedia of the Book''. 2nd edn. New Castle, DE, and London: Oak Knoll Press & The British Library, p. 494. script (written entirely in capital letters) commonly used from the 4th to ...

hand. It uses punctuation, which is due to the original scribe. There are no remarkable textual variations. It was discovered by Grenfell and

Hunt Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...

in 1897 in Oxyrhynchus. The text was published by Grenfell and Hunt in 1899.

References

231 2nd-century manuscripts 3rd-century manuscripts Manuscripts held by the University of Cambridge {{OxyrhynchusGR-stub

Description

See also

References