Oxyrhynchus papyri
Quick Summary
The Oxyrhynchus papyri are a collection of ancient manuscripts discovered at Oxyrhynchus, an ancient capital in Upper Egypt. These papyri, dating from approximately 250 BCE to 700 CE, are primarily written in Greek and Latin, but also include texts in Egyptian demotic, Coptic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic.1
The collection is significant for containing religious texts, such as early New Testament copies and apocryphal books like the Gospel of Thomas, as well as lost masterpieces of Greek classical literature. Discoveries include works of lyric poetry, writings by Pindar, and plays by dramatists like Menander and Callimachus, alongside numerous prose works. The study of these papyri is a key part of papyrology, the interpretation of ancient documents written on papyrus, which provides invaluable insights into the ancient Mediterranean world.12
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