Rubric Confusion in SM 96A.24-47: A Fragment of Erotylos' Orphica or a Recipe for a Rotulus Amulet?

SM 96A is a vertical papyrus roll (14 × 86 cm) that dates to the fifth-sixth centuries CE and seems to be dedicated mainly to recipes for amulets or curative incantations. The rubric ηρυτυλος at line 24 introduces a long narrow list of words and it is usually interpreted as Ἐρωτύλος, the name of an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Symbolae Osloenses 2022-12, Vol.96 (1), p.230-242
Main Author: Faraone, Christopher A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brimo
Hekate
hexametrical
hymn
iambic
lists
magical recipe
onion
papyrus
rotulus
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:SM 96A is a vertical papyrus roll (14 × 86 cm) that dates to the fifth-sixth centuries CE and seems to be dedicated mainly to recipes for amulets or curative incantations. The rubric ηρυτυλος at line 24 introduces a long narrow list of words and it is usually interpreted as Ἐρωτύλος, the name of an author quoted in PGM XIII 946-953, from whose Orphika the scribe quotes a long magical word. Another possibility, and one more in line with the fifth-sixth-century CE date of this formulary, is that ηρυτυλος is the Latin term rotulus transliterated imperfectly into Greek ῥυτυλος, which in late Latin refers to a tall, thin roll, usually of parchment, that is scrolled up and down in the mediaeval fashion, rather than side to side, as a typical papyrus handbook.
ISSN:0039-7679
1502-7805
DOI:10.1080/00397679.2023.2184068