The Derveni Papyrus
Cosmology, Theology and Interpretation

A comprehensive and systematic reconstruction and analysis of the Derveni Papyrus, found in 1962.

Gábor Betegh (Author)

9780521047395, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 November 2007

456 pages, 1 table
22.8 x 15.4 x 22.5 cm, 0.679 kg

'… his work contributes greatly to unravelling its difficulties.' Common Knowledge

This is a comprehensive study of the Derveni Papyrus. The papyrus, found in 1962 near Thessaloniki, is not only one of the oldest surviving Greek papyri but is also considered by scholars as a document of primary importance for a better understanding of the religious and philosophical developments in the fifth and fourth centuries BC. Gábor Betegh aims to reconstruct and systematically analyse the different strata of the text and their interrelation by exploring the archaeological context; the interpretation of rituals in the first columns of the text; the Orphic poem commented on by the author of the papyrus; and the cosmological and theological doctrines which emerge from the Derveni author's exegesis of the poem. Betegh discusses the place of the text in the context of late Presocratic philosophy and offers an important preliminary edition of the text of the papyrus with critical apparatus and English translation.

Preface
List of abbreviations
Text and translation
1. The find
2. The first columns
3. The reconstruction of the poem
4. The interpretation of the poem
5. The cosmic god
6. Cosmology
7. Anaxagoras
8. Diogenes of Apollonia and Archelaus of Athens
9. Physics and eschatology: Heraclitus and the gold plates
10. Understanding Orpheus, understanding the world
Appendix: Diagoras and the Derveni author
Bibliography
Index verborum
Index of passages
Index of modern names
Index of subjects.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500 [HPCA], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]