Reggiani Nicola

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BMCRBryn Mawr Classical ReviewBMCR 2022.05.07Amministrare e comunicare nell’Egittotolemaico: La funzione delle copie(antigrapha) nella documentazionepapirologicaGiuditta Mirizio, Amministrare e comunicare nell'Egitto tolemaico: La funzione delle copie (antigrapha)nella documentazione papirologica. Philippika, 149. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2021. Pp. x,432. ISBN 9783447116152 €89,00.Review byNicola Reggiani, University of Parma. nicola.reggiani@unipr.itMoving from the papyrological occurrences of the term ἀντίγραφον (“copy”) and of theformulaic phrase ἀντίγραφoν ὑπόκειται (“a copy is subjoined below”), this monographthoroughly studies a particular written communication pattern that was commonly employedfor the exchange of information between the public offices of Ptolemaic Egypt. The focus is onthe typology of the so-called “cascade-letters,” which defines the writing mechanism ofappending copies of letters within other letters, by reproducing them in the same sheet ofpapyrus, often in chronological order.The introduction outlines the framework of the investigation. The author clarifies what conceptof “copy” she is dealing with (the reproduction of a text written by a third person, different frome.g. the concept of “draft”) and which kinds of official documents she will be taking intoconsideration: letters – the typical communicative media of the Hellenistic rulers – but alsoletter-like products like petitions or legal documents, which show some similarities with theepistolary style. Appropriate statements about the state of the art on the discussed topic includereferences to the most recent studies on the material format of letters and letter-like documents,as well as a key reflection on the status of the “copy” in the papyrological field of studies (pp.1-2). Indeed, while papyri almost always come to us as unique witnesses, one-shot instances of ascribal act, the existence of copies of the same text are most relevant from the philologicalviewpoint and deserves a particular attention.The research is diplomatic and administrative at the same time: the writing template isinvestigated with a particular attention to stylistic, textual, visual, and material features as wellas to its actual function in the complex management of Ptolemaic official bureaucracy, with theaim of retracing the intentions for the adoption of the model and the stages of its evolution fromthe III to the II century BC.The III century BC is examined through the most relevant archive ever, that of Zenon (first partof the book), as well as through other homogeneous groups of documents of this period (secondpart): the archive of Kleon, the petitions, legal texts, smaller archives of local officers of theArsinoites, the Oxyrhynchites, and the Herakleopolites. The third part of the volume is devotedto the II century BC through the analysis of petitions, legal documents, official letters amongpublic functionaries, orders of payment, and the internal and external dynamics of the archivesof the κάτοχοι of the Serapeum of Memphis and of Menches, village secretary of Kerkeosiris.The conclusions resume the main points emerging from the philological and historical analysisand interpretation of documents characterized by a multi-layered transmission of notifications.Amministrare e comunicare nell’Egitto tolemaico: La funzione delle copie (antigrapha) nella docume... https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2022/2022.05.07/1 di 2 ven 06 05 2022, 12:45Far from being a mechanical reproduction of the texts, this scribal practice responded in ahandy and effective way to four basic needs of the Ptolemaic administration: (1) the control ofvarious administration sectors by explicating the chronological steps of an order or of anotification; (2) the legitimation of the official hierarchy by underlining the issuing authority;(3) the ethical responsibility of the officers, who needed to express their competence andefficiency; (4) last but not least, the authentication of the forwarded communication.The thoroughness and the completeness of this study, which takes into consideration a verybroad set of key documents from a new perspective, sheds new light on the complex mechanicsof Ptolemaic administration and allows us to better understand the undeniable centrality ofwriting and of the written documents in the state management.Amministrare e comunicare nell’Egitto tolemaico: La funzione delle copie (antigrapha) nella docume... https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2022/2022.05.07/2 di 2 ven 06 05 2022, 12:45

Amministrare e comunicare nell’Egitto tolemaico: La funzione delle copie (antigrapha) nella documentazione papirologica (recensione a: Giuditta Mirizio, Amministrare e comunicare nell'Egitto tolemaico: La funzione delle copie (antigrapha) nella documentazione papirologica. Philippika, 149. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2021. Pp. x, 432. ISBN 9783447116152 €89,00)

https://air.unipr.it/bitstream/11381/2933095/1/recensione%20Mirizio%20Amministrare%20e%20comunicare%20nell%e2%80%99Egitto%20tolemaico%20%28BMCR%29.pdf

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Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Parma