Eκτροπη: A Corrigendum to the Editions of the London Papyrus 130 and Terminological Observations

Abstract

The correct reading of P. Lond. I 130, lines 35-36, is not χ̣ρ̣ονος [τη]ς̣ τροπης but χ̣ρ̣ονος [ε]κτροπης, ‘time of birth’. With this correction, the author’s line of thought and his textual layout on the papyrus gain clarity. P. Lond. I 130 is now the earliest attestation of the astrological term ??????? (‘birth’). The following analysis of the history of this technical term shows that it probably goes back to the pseudepigraphic writings of ‘Petosiris’ (late 2nd c. BCE), and that it is primarily employed in opposition to ????? (‘conception’). It is further asked why astrologers coined a new yet semantically vague technical term for ‘birth’ although several gynaecological terms were already available, and argued that ??????? has important metaphorical connotations.