Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 229 (P. Oxy. 229 or P. Oxy. II 229) is a fragment of the ''

Phaedo ''Phædo'' or ''Phaedo'' (; el, Φαίδων, ''Phaidōn'' ), also known to ancient readers as ''On The Soul'', is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the '' Republic'' and the '' Symposium.'' The philosophica ...

'', a dialogue by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, 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

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

(Department of Manuscripts, 786) in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

.P. Oxy. 229
at the Oxyrhynchus Online

Description

The document was written by an unknown copyist. It contains part of the text of the ''Phaedo'' (109 C, D). The measurements of the fragment are 170 by 49 mm. The text is written in a small cramped

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 breathing and accents. There are two lines at the top in a cursive hand, which appear to be a heading. It does not have any remarkable textual variations. The occasional corrections were inserted after the writing, possibly by the original scribe. 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

229 __NOTOC__ Year 229 (Roman numerals, CCXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Cassius (or, less frequentl ...

2nd-century manuscripts 3rd-century manuscripts British Library collections Dialogues of Plato {{OxyrhynchusGR-stub

Description

See also

References