Papyrus Ashmolean Library (200 – 100 BCE)
Fragment on glauko ̄ma, stating that it is sometimes fatal, and sometimes induced by
injury.
Pack #2344; Marganne (1994) 97–103.
PTK
Papyrus Ayer (70 – 140 CE)
This papyrus contains fragments of a work on mensuration, giving computations of areas
of irregular quadrilaterals, performed by slicing them into triangles (often right) and regular
quadrilaterals, whose more-easily computed areas are summed. The text uses aroura as
an abstract areal unit (not in its Hellenistic sense of a concrete unit of land area); contrast
H A, who uses monas for abstract units (Metr. 1.1, linear and areal; even
volumetric: e.g., Metr. 2.11). Likewise, the papyrus considers a parallelogram to be any
quadrilateral with at least one pair of sides parallel; whereas He ̄ro ̄n follows E in requir-
ing both pairs parallel. Other terminology (koruphe ̄ for the “upper side” of a quadrilateral)
and the procedure are similar to He ̄ro ̄n, Metr. A similar document is P. Cornell inv. 69
(Buelow-Jacobson and Taisbak).
E.J. Goodspeed, “The Ayer Papyrus: A Mathematical Fragment,” AJPhilol 19 (1898) 25–39; A.
Buelow-Jacobson and Ch. M. Taisbak, “P. Cornell inv. 69: Fragment of a Handbook in Geometry,”
in A. Piltz et al., edd., For particular reasons: studies in honour of Jerker Blomqvist (2003) 54–70.
PTK
Papyrus Berol. 9782 (Anonymous in Theaetetum) (45 BCE – 150 CE)
PBerol. 9782 ( papyrus dated to ca 150 CE), discovered in Hermupolis Magna in 1901, con-
tains 75 columns and fragments of a running commentary on P’s Theaetetus. The
extant part starts with preliminary questions about the dialogue and ends with the commen-
tary on Theaet. 153d; fragment C covers 157e4–158a2. The author’s familiarity with
A’ skepticism proves that the commentary was written after 45 BCE. Attempts
to identify the author have failed to convince. The author mentions commentaries on the
Timaeus and the Symposium as other works of his, and promises one on the Phaedo. He shows
familiarity with Middle Platonic doctrines, distances himself from Academic skepticism,
yet avoids radically dogmatic interpretations; he is critical of Stoics and Epicureans. He
uses Aristotelian logical tools (syllogistic, the theory of the definition, the categories), but
not accurately. His mathematical knowledge is rather rudimentary, as appears from his
discussion of Theaet. 147d3–148b2.
Ed.: G. Bastianini and D.N. Sedley, Commentarium in Platonis Theaetetum, in Corpus dei papiri filosofici 3
(1995) 227–562.
Moraux (1984) 2.481–493; ECP 543 – 544, D.N. Sedley; BNP 1 (2002) 712, K.-H. Stanzel.
Jan Opsomer
Papyrus bibl. univ. Giss. IV.44 (100 – 80 BCE)
Discusses the autoplastic surgical repair of mutilation (kolobo ̄ma) of the lips, as in C
7.9.2–5.
PAPYRUS ASHMOLEAN LIBRARY