Late Antique Historiography

Patria of Hermopolis

Title(s):
  • Patria of Hermopolis
  • Strasburg cosmogony
Author:
Period covered:
Creation of world
Language:
Greek
State of Preservation:
Fragmentary
Genre:
  • Secular history (patria)
Remarks:
P. Strasburg inv. 481 was published (like P. Strasburg 480) by Reitzenstein in 1903, who highlighted its hermetic content. Bidez (1903: 81-85) suggests that the text may be a mythological introduction to Soterichos' Patria of Oasis. This hypothesis has been rejected by Keydell (1936: 465-467), who attributes the fragment to Hermias of Hermopolis. Wyss (1949: 194) argues that the poem influenced Gregory of Nazianzus, In praise of virginity (Carmen 1), and attributes the work to Antimachus of Heliopolis. In her critical edition, Gigli Piccardi (1990: 26-28) proposes Andronicus of Hermopolis as the author (second half of the fourth century). Livrea (2002: 17-30) considers the fragment to be a part of Soterichus' Encomium of Diocletian. According to Janiszewski (2006: 239), Hermias is the most likely author. It is best to leave the work anonymous.
Edition - Translation:
  • FGrHist 637
  • D. Gigli Piccardi (1990) La 'Cosmologia di Strasburgo'. Florence.
  • BNJ 637
  • L. Focanti (2018) The fragments of the late antique patria. Diss. Ghent - Groningen.
Fragments:
Users:
Sources:
Bibliography:
  • LDAB 5742 (= TM 64515)
  • J. Bidez (1903) 'Fragments nouveaux de Sothéricos?'. Revue de philologie 27: 81-85.
  • L. Focanti (forthcoming) ‘The tetrarchs and the poet: Contextualizing the fragments of Soterichus of Oasis’. In: Les historiens grecs fragmentaires d’époque impériale et tardive, ed. E. Amato - P. de Cicco - B. Lançon - T. Moreau. Rennes.
  • P. Janiszewski (2006) The missing link: Greek pagan historiography in the second half of the third century and in the fourth century A.D. Warsaw.
  • R. Keydell (1936) 'Πάτρια ῾Ερμουπόλεως'. Hermes 71: 465-467.
  • E. Livrea (2002) 'Poema epico-storico attribuito a Soterico di Oasi'. Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 138: 17-30.
  • R. Reitzenstein (1901) Zwei religionsgeschichtliche Fragen nach ungedruckten griechischen Texten der Strassburger Bibliothek. Strassburg.
  • T. Viljamaa (1968) Studies in Greek encomiastic poetry of the early Byzantine period. Helsinki.
  • K.A. Worp (1998) 'A note on the provenances of some Greek literary papyri'. The Journal of Jouristic Papyrology 28: 206.
  • B. Wyss (1949) 'Gregor von Nazianz: Ein griechisch-christlicher Dichter des 4. Jahrhunderts'. Museum Helveticum 6: 177-210.
  • T. Zieliński (1940) 'La Cosmogonie de Strasbourg et l'Égypte byzantine'. In: Sixième Congrès International d'Études Byzantines, Alger, 2-7 Octobre 1939, Résumé des rapports et communications, ed. G. Millet. Paris: 63-64.
  • T. Zieliński (1941) 'La cosmogonie de Strasbourg'. Scientia 70: 63-69, 113-121.