Oxyrhynchus

Ancient Greco-Roman town west of the Nile on the left bank of the Bahr Yusuf in Middle Egypt, best known for its papyri texts. Oxyrhynchus was a regional capital which was reasonably prosperous in the Roman period, and developed into a church and monastic center during the Coptic period. A large number of fragmentary papyri were written or copied and these texts are now of central importance in the reconstruction of the manuscript tradition of a number of major classical authors, including Homer, Pindar, and Aristotle. Also included are previously lost works or sections of works, such as Menander and Callimachus. They were uncovered, first by B.P. Grenfell and A.S. Hunt (1897-1907), and later by Italian scholars early in the 20th century. The papyri - dating from about 250 BC to 700 AD and written primarily in Greek and Latin but also in demotic Egyptian, Coptic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic - include religious texts (e.g., miracles of Sarapis, early copies of the New Testament, and such apocryphal books as the Gospel of Thomas) and also masterpieces of Greek classical literature. The works of the so-called Oxyrhynchus historian were also found.

An ancient Egyptian town some 11 km west of the Nile on the left bank of the Bahr Yusuf, best known for its papyri texts. Oxyrhynchus was a regional capital, and derives its name from the fish (Greek oxyrhynchus: ‘sharp-nosed’) with which the locally worshipped deity of Seth was associated. Little is known of the town itself save that it seems to have been reasonably prosperous in the Roman period, and developed into a church and monastic centre during the Coptic period. Peculiarly favourable local conditions contributed to the preservation of a large number of fragmentary papyri, mostly carrying Greek texts, that had been written or copied from the Hellenistic period onwards. These texts are now of central importance in the reconstruction of the manuscript tradition of a number of major classical authors, including Homer, Pindar and Aristotle. Also included are previously lost works or sections of works, as with Menander, and previously unknown authors, such as the so-called Oxyrhynchus Historian. There are also local administrative documents and a number of scientific tracts, some with illustrations.