7.

Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies on a

papyrus from the collection of the Oslo University
Library 1
POslo inv. 1654 and
Unknown provenance2

5.3 x 3.3 cm

Fourthfifth century AD
Plate VIII

A small papyrus fragment, broken off on all sides.

On the side, of medium brown colour, remains of 6 ll. of text
and small portions of the upper3 and right margin are visible. The text
is identifiable, on account of the heading at l. 1, as an ophthalmic prescription for a kollrion monomeron, an eye-salve purporting to effect
relief after a single day's application. This is the first direct papyrological witness for this type of eye-salve, hitherto known only from the
medical literature and, indirectly, from the pilaria prescriptions on a
Michigan papyrus (see comm. on l. 1). Lines 26, once accommodating
the ingredients and their respective dosages, are so damaged or
sloppily written that the identification of some among the ingredients,
and consequently the identification of the present with known monohemera, is uncertain (see comm. on ll. 23 and 56). Provided that the
proposed identification of the ingredients is correct, the present pre-

Cons.: Oslo University Library (inv. 1654)

Edd.: unpublished
The major part of the research on this fragment was carried out in the course of a twoweeks' research stay at the Istituto Papirologico G. Vitelli in Florence, under the experienced
supervision of Prof. Isabella Andorlini who generously offered expert advice and technical
assistance. I wish to express my gratitude to her as well as to the participants of the seminar of
the Progetto Corpus dei Papiri Greci di Medicina for helpful comments.
1 For books and articles referred to by author's surname and date of publication, see
Bibliography (at the end of this Volume).
2 The fragment, donated to the collection of the Oslo University Library in 1940, originally
belonged to the private collection of the Egyptologist J.D.C. Lieblein, the provenance of which is
unknown.
3 Theoretically however nothing precludes that what now appears to be the upper margin
was once blank space left between the present text and a text written above.

112

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

scription shows some similarity with the composition of the so-called

pilaria salves (on which cf. Youtie 1975, 556ff.).
The side, which is somewhat darker in colour and rougher in
texture, preserves remains of a prescription for an ophthalmic remedy
in dry form. The heading has been partly preserved (l. 1 jhron
fyalmi [` ), followed by sorry remains, mostly ends or middle parts,
of 6 ll. with ingredients and their respective dosages. The remaining
margins to the left of and above the right part of l. 1 and to the right
of l. 5 are tiny. The nature of the ingredients (three metallic and
erica) points towards a remedy for the treatment of either trachoma or
rheumy discharges, cf. Ps.Gal. Introd. 15 (XIV 766.14 K).
The small dosages of the ingredients in both prescriptions may
indicate that the remedies were intended for individual use.
The writing appears to have been executed by one and the same
hand on both sides, although it is difficult to determine with certainty
which side was written first. The neatness of the writing on the side
as opposed to its breaking down especially in the two last ll. of the
side suggest that the former might have been the side written first.
Apart from the general crude impression, individual letters are drawn
in the same manner (cf. h in ll. 1 and 1 , k in ll. 4 and 4 , e in
ll. 4 and 3 , a in ll. 4 and 6 ), although letter forms exhibit a
certain degree of inconsistency, normal for this type of sloppy hand.
The script is an upright semi-cursive, penned at a good pace. Its prime
characteristic is crudity and not fully developed writing skill. This
impression is accentuated by the use of a blunt pen a feature which,
combined with the crudity of the handwriting, makes decipherment
uncertain at places. The scribe was neither at ease when writing note
that at l. 6 he wrote the same letter twice, while at l. 1 he drew an
abbreviation stroke, before he continued to write the word out in full
nor particularly skilled in his handling of the pen, as indicated by a
thick blob of ink in the margin to the right of l. 2 and an ink smudge
at the ends of ll. 5 and 6 . The hand is datable to the 4th or 5th
cent. AD by comparison with PSI I 22 + VIII 988 in Roberts 1955, no.
24a and PBerol 5003 in Seider 1970, pl. XXXIII.
It appears that we are dealing with a single papyrus sheet,
possibly of small dimensions, on either side of which a single person
scribbled prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies4 intended for indi4 A list of ophthalmic prescriptions on papyrus is to be found in Marganne 1994, 174. To

this add: PKell 89 [MP3 2400.1]; GMP I 10 fr. B, col. I, 20ff. [MP3 2394]; GMP I 13 [MP 3 2391.61];

Greek Medical Papyri II

113

vidual use. The format is known from other medical prescriptions

from Egypt (PGrenf I 52 [MP3 2396]; OBodl II 2184 [MP3 2427]; OBodl
II 2186 [MP3 2429]; OBodl II 2188 [MP3 2431]; PPrinc III 155 [MP3
2379.2] etc.), see Andorlini 2006, 1656. A safe indication that we are
dealing with a single sheet with prescriptions (as opposed to a page
from a codex) is the correspondence of the position of the headings on
either side of the sheet. The loss of the left part of the ingredient lines
notwithstanding, another aspect of the mise en page of the text may be
adduced: on both sides of the sheet the left margin appears to have
been justified, the heading not being set off from the ensuing ingredient
lines. This format is also known from other medical prescriptions on
papyrus (e.g. PPrinc III 155 [MP3 2379.2], a complete papyrus sheet,
measuring only 3 x 6 cm, that preserves one prescription on either
side).
As to the style of the two prescriptions, the parts preserved
indicate that both texts presented a style common in medical recipes
intended for practical execution, consisting of juxtaposed nominal
elements (in the heading as well as the ingredients part) without a
verbal part, see Andorlini 2006, 1601.

<upper (?) margin>

kol`(lrion) mo`no`
` meron
*
[ 4 ] ` (dr.) d
[

max. 7

<margin>
<margin>

] (dr.) *d

[xa]l`ko`
` ` k`ekau`[m(nou) (dr.) .]
5 [ 1 ]o`me` o` !` ` (dr.) *y
<margin>
*
[]m`l
` ou (dr.) b
<margin>

An eye-salve effecting relief within a single day. 4 drs of [x]; 4
drs. of [x]; [x] drs. of burnt copper; 9 drs. of gum arabic (?); 2 drs. of
starch (?).

GMP I 14 [MP3 2400.11]; PHorak 14 and 15 [MP 3 2394.11]; PKln X 410 [MP 3 2400.02]; PAcad
inv. 4.16-28 [MP3 2410.12].

114

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

1. kol`(lrion) mo`no`
` meron. The third letter is a clumsily drawn l (rather than a d)
with its lower right part curving to the left. It is followed by an abbreviation stroke
drawn from left to right instead of the opposite. The term indicating the type of remedy
(kol`lrion) is noted in abbreviated form as it belonged to a technical jargon familiar
to physicians, pharmacists and patients alike and recurrent in prescriptions, see
Andorlini 2006, 15367 (esp. 153 and 1645). If my transcription of the heading is
correct, this is the first direct papyrological attestation of this type of ophthalmic
remedy, the name of which reflects its efficiency, hitherto known from the medical
literature and indirectly, through the three pilaria recipes on PMich inv. 482 [MP3
2379.1] (for a collective table of the monohemera recipes cf. the Appendix to this
edition). The earliest reference by a medical author to kollria monomera is to be
found in the fourth book of Galen's Comp. sec. loc. in the discussion of the treatment of
fyalma (XII 711.615 K), an inflammation of the so-called pipefuk! (xitn or
mn), the outermost tunic enveloping all the other tunics of the eye and connecting it
with its surrounding bone structure. Galen prescribes egg-white combined with
kollria monomera for common cases of this disease not involving severe pain,
inflammation and abundance of secretion (XII 712.168 K). He then proceeds to
describe the effect of this type of eye-salves, i.e. to relieve eye inflammation overnight
(XII 712.183.4 K ok ligki! tata megla! flegmon! pr#nen otv!, ! e!
!pran mn loutr xr!a!yai tn nyrvpon, p d t! !teraa! t kaloumn
nardn kollur, pr! pokat!ta!n te ka tnv!in paleca!yai) and enumerate
their most common ingredients: gum of the acacia tree (kaka), copper flakes (lep!
xalko), burnt copper (xalk! kekaumno!), saffron (krko!), myrrh (!mrna), Indian
lycium (lkion Indikn), castor (ka!treion) and frankincense (libanvt!) (XII
713.104.5 K). Galen offers no prescriptions (with the single exception of the eye-salve
ascribed to an eye-doctor under the name Sergius, XII 751.411 K), but distinguishes
between two basic types of monohemera: (a) the so called trugdh (i.e. thick in
consistency) which contained high amounts of acacia (Cels. med. VI 6.8A [CML I 263
Marx] records the trygodes collyrium attributed to Euelpides) and (b) those which,
while containing little or no acacia, had either copper flakes or burnt copper as their
basic metallic ingredient along with ingredients with moderately astringent, softening
and dissipating action (XII 713.9714.5 K). Five recipes for monohemera are reported
by Aetius in a section entitled Per monohmrvn kollurvn Galhno (Iatr. VII 103 [CMG
VIII.2, 358.60 Oliv.]), allegedly coming from Galen. Some of these recipes bear the
special name phlria, the inclusion of which in the group of monohemera has been
argued for by Youtie 1975, 5568. Of the three prescriptions offered by the Hippiatric
corpus (Hipp. Cantabr. VIII 34, II 136 Oder-Hoppe; Add. Londin. ad Hippiatr. Cantabr.
XVII, II 258 Oder-Hoppe), two coincide with prescriptions cited by Aetius. Alexander
of Tralles in the second book of his Therapeutica reports sixteen prescriptions in a
section entitled Per kollourvn pokrou!tikn ka monohmrvn kaloumnvn on eyesalves called apokroustika (dispelling) and monohemera (ed. Puschmann, vol. II
11.225.10). It appears that the monohemera formed a particularly efficient sub-group
of the apokroustika with greater dispelling and astringent action (ibid., 16.1820 []
epvmen ka per tn kay' teron trpon legomnvn monohmrvn, n dnam! !tin
!xurotra ka mllon xou!a t pokroein ka !tfein ). When, however, Paul
reports individual recipes, he qualifies certain milder apokroustika also as monohemera
(ibid. 13.8ff.).

Greek Medical Papyri II

115

The so-called authemerum (gr. aymeron) salve, attested through the seals for
kollyria, recovered in the western part of the Roman Empire, is likely to have
represented a latinised version of the monohemeron. It was administered to treat
ophthalmia as well as the on-set of trachoma; cf. CIL XIII.3.II (ed. E. Esprandieu) 10021
no. 4b Cn. Albini Natalis authemerum ad impetus; 10021 no. 23a; 10021 no. 28a
authemer(um) len(e) ex ov(o), acr(e) et aqu(a); 10021 no. 46d; 10021 no. 54 K!mou
aymeron (cf. Nielsen 1974, 5881 esp. 745); 10021 no. 82 penicillum authemer. e x
ov(o); 10021 no. 112 Iuni Tauri authemerum ad epiphor(as) et omnem lippitud(inem);
10021 no. 178; AnEp 53 (1941) no. 85d Dec(imi) Varen(ii) Bitiae authemerum ad
dolo(res).
A survey of the recipes cited by medical authors shows that the most common
ingredients of the monohemera were: calamine (kadmea), copper (xalk!), saffron
(krko!), opium (pion), acacia (kaka), gum arabic (kmmi), tragacanth (tragkanya),
myrrh (!mrnh) and starch (mulon). Less frequent ingredients were: zinc oxide
(pomfluj), copper flower (xlkanyo!/-h), rock-alum (xalkti!), pepper corns
(peprev! kkkoi), honey (mli), white lead (cimyion), Persian gum (!arkoklla),
copper flakes (lep! xalko), spikenard (nard!taxu!), red-iron ore (lyo! amatth!),
Indian lycium (lkion Indikn), juice of the horned poppy (glakion), roses (=da), aloe
(lh) and powdered antimony (!tmmi); cf. Appendix.
The extensive loss of text of the Oslo prescription entails that the presence of
acacia must remain uncertain. The question therefore in which of the two groups
distinguished by Galen the present monohemeron recipe might have belonged cannot be
answered. The presence of the starch points in the direction of the so-called pilaria
recipes (cf. Appendix): Aet. (2), (3) & (4); Alex. Trall. (9) and PMich inv. 482 [MP3
2379.1] (1) and (3), but a secure identification would require the preservation of more
ingredients. The dosages on the Oslo fragment do not match any of the known
monohemera.
2. The available space suggests a max. 5 letters long ingredient. pou and lh!,
both featuring in monohemera prescriptions, possess the required length, but these
ingredients do not usually come first. An abbreviated longer ingredient is also a
possibility.
3. A ca. 7 letters long ingredient has gone missing in the lacuna. Kadma! (l.
kadmea!) and kaka! fit both the available space and the make-up of the monohemera
recorded in medical literature.
4. [xa]l`ko`
` ` k`ekau`[m(nou). Reasons of space suggest the occurrence of an
abbreviation after the lacuna. Burnt copper is mentioned as an ingredient of
monohemera by Galen who specifies that its dosage must be lower in relation to the
other ingredients (XII 713.1213 K). In the monohemera prescriptions cited by Galen,
Aetius, the Hippiatric Corpus and Alexander of Tralles copper burnt and/ or
washed is a recurrent ingredient. Its dosage in these prescriptions is often equal to or
lower than that of the other main ingredients, in accordance with Galen's observation.
The ingredient appears in abbreviated form in other medical prescriptions (e.g. PSI
Congr. XXI 3, II.14 [MP3 2419.2]), an indication of the writer's and the recipients'
familiarity with it, see Andorlini 2006, 160. Burnt copper is mentioned as an ingredient
of ophthalmic remedies already in the Hippocratic Corpus (e.g. Mul. I 102 [VIII 224
Littr]). The pharmaceutical preparation of the copper is described by Dioscorides

116

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

(Mat. med. V 76.1 [III 45.58 W]) who describes its action as astringent, desiccating,
attenuating, absorbing, cleansing and cicatrising, in particular in relation to affections
of the eye, as well as arresting the spreading of ulceration (ibid. V 76.3 [III 45.176.3
W] dnatai d !tfein, jhranein, leptnein, kata!tllein, pi!p!yai, nakayarein
lkh ka poulon, !mxein t n fyalmo!, tkein t per!arkonta, nom! !tnein
). Galen lists it among the astringents (De alim. fac. I 1 [VI 476.25 K]), but stresses
also its efficiency as a detergent (Comp. sec. loc. IV 1; 5 [XII 701.89 and 720.167 K]).
On burnt copper in medical prescriptions cf. Praux 1956, 1401; Nielsen 1974, 28; on
its occurrence on papyri cf. Gazza 1956, 105.
5. [1 ]o`me` o` !` .` If letter identification is tenable, the word written might have been
[k]`me` o` !` ` (l. kmmev!). The presence of this ingredient here is highly likely as the gum of
the acacia tree (gum arabic) appears to be the most common ingredient of the
monohemera cited by medical writers (cf. Appendix). Its cohesive action which made the
gum an indispensable ingredient of eye-salves is noted by Celsus (med. VI 6.3 [CML I
262 Marx] [...] cummi cum quasdam alias facultates habeat, hoc maxime praestare, ut, ubi
collyria facta inaruerunt, glutinata sint neque frientur while it also has other
properties, the gum has this particular advantage, that when eye-salves made of it have
dried, they are glued together and do not break up). This property, along with its
drying effect, are stressed by Galen (Simpl. VII 40 [XII 34.165.1 K] !ti d jhrantik!
te ka mpla!tik! dunmev! ka dlon ti ka traxuttvn atik; cf. also Aet. Iatr. I
214 [CMG VIII.1, 92.78 Oliv.] and Paul. Aeg. Epit. med. VII 3.10 [CMG IX.2, 245f.
Heib.]). If the identification of the ingredient is correct, it is worth noting that it does
not feature as the last ingredient, as is often the case in other ophthalmic prescriptions
on papyrus, cf. Youtie 1976, 561. On the kmmi in medical recipes cf. Gazza 1956, 77;
Praux 1956, 141; Fournet and Magdelaine in GMP I 14 ad l. 8.
6. []m`l
` ou. The ligature of the m and the u is odd, but the presence of mulon
(triticum sativum) here is very likely. Although the starch is not listed by Galen among
the basic ingredients of the monohemera, it features in four of the prescriptions offered
by Aetius (Iatr. VII 103 [CMG VIII.2, 35860 Oliv.]) and twice in those reported by
Alexander of Tralles (II 15.817 and 23.1925.8 Puschm.). Its preparation is described
by Dioscorides (Mat. med. II 101.12 [I 1756 W]) who asserts its efficiency against
secretions and later by Paul of Aegina (Epit. med. VII 3 [CMG IX.2, 2026 Heib.]).
According to Galen, the starch has a mild desiccating action at the same time as it does
not allow the extra-humours in the tunics of the eyes to dry out totally (Comp. sec. loc.
IV 1 [XII 700.25 K] t mulon ma mn ka jhranein metrv! grthta!, ma d ka
kvl!ai keno!yai di tn xitnvn tn n to! teleoi! ggeoi! atn periexomnhn
grthta perittn ), while Paul attributes to it mild cooling and desiccating
properties as well as a soothing effect in cases of pungent afflictions (Epit. med. VII 3.1
[CMG IX.2, 2067 Heib.] dnamin d xei cuktikn te metrv! ka jhrantikn ka
pra#ntikn tn drimvn). Its employment for the treatment of ophthalmic afflictions is
abundantly attested by the papyri. It features in all three prescriptions for pilaria of
PMich inv. 482 [MP3 2379.1], col. I, 9 and 18; col. II, 29, in two ophtalmic prescriptions
preserved in POxy VIII 1088, col. I, 5 and 10, in the ophtalmic prescriptions in PHorak
15.5, 12 and 23. On the medical use of the starch in general cf. Andorlini 1995, 145 ad
VII 11; Durling 1984, 210 and Durling 1988, 154.

Greek Medical Papyri II

117

side
<upper (?) margin>

jh{( )}ron fyalmi` `[

<margin>

[ka]d`m` a! (dr.) a`
[xalk]t`ev[! (dr.) .]
[xalko] kek[aum(nou) (dr.) `
5

[re]k`h! (dr.) a

<margin>

[nar]to{!}!tx<u>o! (dr.) a
[ 4 ]!` (dr.) `

A dry powder [for ophthalmic use/ against ophthalmia ?]. 1 dr.
of calamine; [x dr(s).] of rock-alum; [x dr(s).] of burnt copper; 1 dr. of
heather; 1 dr. of spikenard; [x] dr. of [x].
1. The third graphic sign is possibly an abbreviation stroke, which the scribe
failed to cancel, although he continued to write the word out in full.
The term jhron (on the place of the accent cf. Herod. De pros. cath. 13 = Gramm.
Graec. vol. III 1.1, 356.14 Lentz and Theogn. Canon. sive De orthogr. = J.A. Cramer,
Anecdota Graeca e codd. manuscriptis bibliothecarum Oxoniensium, II (Oxford 1835,
repr. Amsterdam 1963) 122.911) signifies a remedy in the form of dry, desiccating
powder. Remedies in powder form were employed by both ancient physicians and
veterinarians. The powder was either used as a remedy in itself or as a sort of basis
medicament preserved by the pharmacist and mixed with other ingredients when
necessary to prepare the remedy to be administered, cf. Ps. Gal. Remed. parab. III (XIV
495.8f. K). The overwhelming number of attestations of the word with ending in -ion
post-date Galen, in whose work form jhron is attested only once (in Comp. sec. loc. IX 5
[XIII 297.14 K]). The common form up to Galen's time was jhrn (cf. Hp. Acut. 32 [II 520
Littr] a dry powder used as ophthalmic remedy; Id. Ulc. 13 [VI 416 Littr]; Gal. Comp.
per gen. IV 8 [XIII 728.7 K etc.]). That form continued to be used side by side with
jhron in the post-Galenic medical literature, cf. Orib. Syn. ad Eustath. III 147 (CMG VI
3, 105.1 Raed.) Jhrn kalliblfaron poion nhpoi! mli!ta vs. ibid. 148 (CMG VI 3,
105.78 Raed.) Jhron pr! cvrofyalman ka !kv!in ka !hpedna! ka per!arkmata. The Coptic equivalent is JURON, cf. KSB I 6.33 (VII AD).
The majority of the papyrological attestations of jhron reflect a medicopharmaceutical use: MPER XIII 7 [MP3 2423.5], a jhron dnt(vn) leuk(n) ka
brt(vn), in connection with dental hygiene and care; PAnt III 127.2(a).47 [MP3
2362.4] a jhron kefa|likn =eumatizomnh! | [ke]fal! for application to the head;

118

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

PAnt III 126a.13 [MP3 2362.3] for the treatment of tonsillitis; MPER XIII 12 [MP3
2422.5] 1 zirion (l. jhron) t monaidvn (l. monzon), 5 zirion t nyurn (l. nyhrn), 1 2
zirion !arkvfgon (l. !arkofgon), 17 zrion apa!xaron (l. pe!xaron), for the treatment
of ulcers. The word also occurs in an order list of commodities datable to the late 3rd
cent. AD (POxy VIII 1142.7 the recipient is asked to buy jhron at a weight of 12 drs.)
as well as in a clumsily penned and for this reason at places difficult to decipher letter
(BGU VII 1668.3) where reference is made to provisions (mostly food and drink),
including rbia p l
` a | jhrin kouain lxana !tefnin (...). In none of these two contexts is
its intended use clear and in the second case the context in which the word occurs needs
further clarification. The alternative form, jhrn, occurs in OBodl II 2186v, 89 [MP3
2429] jhrn !arko`[tikn] (l. !arkvtikn) | ka !unoulouti`[kn] (l. !unoulvtikn), in
connection with the treatment of ulcers. In the Michigan medical codex the term occurs
twice abbreviated (PMich XVII 758 [inv. 21.G.56 and 21.Hv.34 in marg.]), the second
time in connection with the treatment of hard-to-cicatrise ulcers.
An abundance of attestations come from works of medicine, veterinary medicine,
alchemy and astrology. A summary of areas of application followed by a collection of
recipes is attempted by Paul of Aegina (Epit. med. VII 13 [CMG IX.2, 3227 Heib.) in a
section headed per jhrvn ka !mhgmtvn (on dry powders and unguents). There Paul
mentions two main areas of application: (a) lkh, open sores in need of cicatrising, and
(b) affections of the skin. He describes the effect of the former in the following terms: (i)
!arkvtik tn kolvn, assisting regrowth of flesh in the hollow sores; (ii) kata!taltik tn per!arkontvn, arresting the excessive growth of flesh; (iii) kau!tik
ka !hptik, purging and putrefactive and (iv) !xaima, checking the flow of blood. As
for the second group, some have detergent and some drying effect (... t mn =ptei te ka
!mxei ... t d t kefal pro!fretai di t jhranein t pifermenon j at! =ema).
An examination of the instances of the term in the medical and veterinary corpus shows
that the body parts treated by jhra ranged from the head and its parts, to feet affected
by podagra, the bladder, the stomach etc. Jhra for the eyes are listed at: Orib. Syn. ad
Eustath. III 148.12 ([CMG VI 3, 105.7ff. Raed.] Jhron pr! cvrofyalman ka !kv!in
ka !hpedna! ka per!arkmata); the same recipe is given by Paul. Aeg. Epit. med. VII
16.54 (ibid., 346.1ff. Heib.) as jhron pr! jhrofyalman etc.; Aet. Iatr. VII 87 [CMG
VIII.2, 334.3-4 Oliv.] recommends an rbvn jhron met mlito! against the eye disease
aglvc. Orib. Syn. ad Eustath. 1 [CMG VI 3, 3. 123 mentions jhrokollria, partly
related but not identical to jhra. Jhra against diseases of the eyes and the teeth are
reported by Alex. Trall. Therap., vol. II 4547; 49.27ff.; 67.8ff. Puschm.; Leo, Consp.
med. III 19 mentions jhra puknvtik used to heal the eye ailment =u!. A very
interesting collection of jhra for the eye, some labelled jhron fyalmikn are listed in
the treatises of the Hippiatric Corpus (cf. Hippiatr. Berol. XI 52, I 74 Oder Hoppe;
Hippiatr. Paris. 3514, II 56 Oder Hoppe; Hippiatr. Paris. 422 pr! t! n fyalmo!
ol!, ibid. 62; Add. Lond. ad Hippiatr. Cantabr. 19, ibid. 257).
Possible supplements for the missing end of line are: (a) j. fyalmik`[n a dry
powder for ophthalmic use. This construction finds direct support in the recipes from
the Hippiatric Corpus cited above and in PAnt III 127, and is in my opinion the most
likely; (b) j. fyalmik`[n a dry powder administered to those affected by ophthalmia
is also possible in the light of POxy VIII 1088 col. III 63 (pthma drvpikn...); cf.
Gazza 1956, 103 (under i); (c) j. fyalmn a dry powder for the eyes, a parallel for
the construction of the heading being MPER XIII 7.1 j. dntvn (...), cf. also Gazza 1956,

Greek Medical Papyri II

119

102 (under c), is possible if the graphic sign following the m is taken to be an
abbreviation stroke, cf. the third graphic sign. In this case, the last visible letter would
belong to a new word further qualifying fyalm(n). Whatever the appropriate
supplement, there is little doubt that we are dealing with the prescription for the
preparation of a dry powder for use as an ophthalmic remedy.
2. [ka]d`m``a! (l. kadmea!). The calamine, a zinc oxide, is a metallic ingredient
employed frequently in ophthalmic remedies. Its astringent, cicatrising and detergent
action is noted by Dioscorides (Mat. med. V 74.2 [III 38.1114 W] dnamin d xei
!tuptikn, koilvmtvn plhrvtikn, kayartikn =uparin. parempl!!ei d ka
jhranei ka jipo, ka !tllei t k!arkmata, ka t kakoyh tn lkn poulo; on
its use against specific affections of the eye, cf. Dsc. Eup. vel Simpl. I 44.1 [III 167.4ff.
W]). The same properties are mentioned by later medical authors: cf. Gal. Simpl. IV 5
and IX 3 (XI 634.4ff. and XII 21921 K, esp. 220.13ff. K; Id. Comp. sec. loc. IV 1 (XII
704.310 K); Aet. Iatr. II 57 (CMG VIII.1, 173.38 Oliv.); Paul. Aeg. Epit. med. VII 3.10
(CMG IX.2, 219.49 Heib.). Cf. Gazza 1956, 102; Praux 1956, 140. Here it occupies the
first place in the ingredients' list, as is often the case in medical prescriptions recovered
on papyrus, cf. Youtie 1975, 559 ad l. 1.
3. [xalk]t`ev!. The rock-alum is a metallic ingredient with warming, mild
astringent, cicatrising and detergent action. According to Dioscorides, in ophthalmic
remedies the rock-alum is employed in burnt form, in combination with honey, cf. Dsc.
Mat. med. V 99 (III 69.1770.5 W) dnamin d xei !tuptikn, yermantikn, !xarvtikn,
tn per kanyo! ka mmata pokayartikn: !ti d tn metrv! !tufntvn. ()
kekaumnh d pr! t fyalmik mllon xrh!imeei lea !n mliti, tetulvmna
blfara ka traxa potkou!a, !rigg! te arei n kollourou !xmati ntiyemnh; cf.
also Gal. Simpl. IX 3 (XII 228.107 and 241.82.5 K) and Id., Comp. sec. loc. IV 1 (XII
701.610 and XII 721.12 K); Aet. Iatr. II 78 (CMG VIII.1, 177.6ff. Oliv.); Paul. Aeg.
Epit. med. VII 3 (X); 16.1 and 17.1 (CMG IX.2, 271.57; 334.45; 347.168 Heib.).
Oribasius lists the rock-alum among the ingredients which remove moisture from the
eyes (Coll. med. XIV 45.4 [CMG VI 1.2, 217.22ff. Raed.] p d tn fyalmn gra!an
gei ...), cf. also ibid. XIV 57.1 and 61.2; XIV 57.1 [CMG VI 1.2, 226.15ff.; 231.258;
289.1825 Raed.]. The ingredient is not infrequent in medical recipes on papyrus, cf.
PHorak 14v.8 [MP3 2394.11] (in an achariston); MPER XIII 8.30 [MP3 2422.7] (in a
remedy against fistulous abscesses or ulcers) and MPER XIII 12.2 and 18 [MP3 2422.5]
(in a pair of dry powders). On its nature and properties cf. Nielsen 1974, 367; Fischer
1982, 1212.
4. Perhaps [xalko] kek`[au(mnou) with the last part of the adjective abbreviated.
On this ingredient cf. comm. on l. 4 .
5. The remains of the first visible letter after the break resemble very much the first
k in the line above and indicate the presence of rekh, heather (erica arborea). Galen
(Comp. med. sec. loc. IV 1 [XII 703.8 K]) lists the seeds of the heather among the
astringents. According to him, mild astringents are efficient in cases of ophthalmia as
well as in almost all other affections as ulcers, pustulae and secretions. It is a frequent
(yet dispensable) component of the eye-salves called xri!ta (cf. Andorlini 1981,
1011 and 15) and rikhr, for a recently published example of which see GMP I
13.69 [MP3 2391.61], cf. Hanson ad ll. 67. On erica in the papyri cf. Gazza 1956, 81;
on erica in medicine cf. Praux 1956, 137.

120

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

6. l. nardo!tx<u>o! (For d > t, cf. Gignac 1976, 80). Perhaps the scribe had in mind
the anomalous nominative formation nardo!txo! (cf. Gignac 1981, 79 7 a.1). The
faint remains of the three first visible letters suggest that the scribe ran out of ink and
refilled his pen after the first !. He then redrew the same letter and continued with the
rest of the word.
The spikenard or valeriana (Nardostachys jatamansi) is a vegetal ingredient with
warming, desiccating and diuretic action (cf. Diosc. Mat. med. I 7, esp. I 7.3 [I 12.11ff.
W]; Gal. Simpl. VIII 13 (XII 84.1185.3 K). It is the basic component in a group of eye
salves called nardina. Dioscorides recommends their use in cases of purulent blepharitis
(Mat. med. I 7.4 [I 12.17ff. W] poio!i ka pr! t! n fyalmo! mud!ei! tn blefrvn
...). Cf. also Gal. Comp. med. sec. loc. IV 1 (XII 701.15702.14 K); Paul. Epit. med. VII
16.1.14ff. (CMG IX.2, 334.910 Heib.). On its occurrence in medical papyri cf. Gazza
1956, 8990; Fournet 1994, 319 ad l. 23.
Appendix
Recipes for monohemera in the medical corpus and the papyri
Galen (Comp. sec. loc. IV 7 [XII 751.411 K])
kadmea! kek. ka peplum.
!podo pomflugo! peplum.
xalko kek. k. peplum.
krkou
pou
kaka!
kmmev!

d
d
d
b
b

Aetius (Iatr. VII 103 [CMG VIII.2,

360.13; 39; 912; 125 Oliv.])
(1) (2)5 (3)6 (4)7 (5)
kadma!
xalknyou
xalktev! pt!
pou
peprev! kkkoi
mlito!
kmmev!
cimiyou

kd i
ib
ib
ib kd
kd
a
kd ib
mh

kd

ih

y
kd

h
e

b
h

5 Kollrion phlrion.
6 Eteron phlrion Antvneno!.

7 Eteron phlrion kalo!in !unkdhmon.

Corp. Hippiatr. (vol. II 136

and 258 Oder Hoppe)
(1)
(2)
(3)
og. g
og. a
og. a
og. a
ka
og. a
og. g

a
g

Greek Medical Papyri II

kaka!
mlou
tragaknyh!
xalko
!mrnh!
krkou
pomflugo!
!arkokllh!
lepdo!
nardo!txuo!
lyou amattou
lukou Indiko

kd
ib
ib
g
g
a

h
y
y
a
g
a

g
d
h
d
g

121

b
b
b

b
a
a
a
b
a

b
a
d
d
d

PMich inv. 482 (MP3 2379.1)

(1)
(2)
kadmea!
cimiyou
xalko
lep! xalko
!mrnh!
pou
kaka!
tragaknyh!
mlou
kmmev!
peprev!
krkou

kd
kd

a
d
d
b
h
h
kd

(3)

h
mh
b

i
mh
g

d
kd
k
ib
ib

g
kd
ib
ib
ib

b
a

Alexander Trallianus (Therap. II [vol. II 11ff., ed. Puschmann)

Apokroustika

!arkokllh!
glaukou
krkou
tragaknyh!
pou
=dvn

(1)8

(2)

a
a
a
a

ih
h
ib
a

ie9

(3)

h
z
b

(4)
d
h
b

(5)
og. b
og. d
og. a
og. a/d
atarke!10

8 Heading: Kollorion pokroon metrv! monomeron. (...)

(6)

(7)

d
h
b
a
e

a
a
a

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

122

nardo!txuo!
kmmev!
mlou
!mrnh!
lh!

b
h

b
ie
a

og. a

Monohemera
(1)
xalko kek.
kd
kadmea!
i
po mkvno! h
krkou
h
!mrnh!
h
kmmev!
h/m
pou
kaka!
nrdou Indik!
!tmmev! pefrugm.
lh!
kaka! kirr!
nardo!txuo!
lukou Indiko
kaka! kmmev!
laou palaio
to farmkou
cimiyou
mlou
tragaknyh!

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)11

i
k

i
i

d
i
d

d
h

h
h

i
k

b
b

i
d
kd
g
kd

(d)
i

b/ib

d/a
d

d/a
a/a/
/k
lb

kd
h

University of Oslo,
Dept. of Philosophy, Classics,
History of Art and Ideas

kd
d
h
b
ib

a
i

g
ib
g

h
ge
a/
b
a
d/b
l
/
ib
ib

A NASTASIA M ARAVELA-SOLBAKK

9 =. paln.
10 =. xlvrn xulo.
11 Heading: Allo t phlrion kalomenon [II 2324].

VIII

Oslo University Library (inv. 1654)

7. Two prescriptions for ophthalmic remedies

(A. Maravela-Solbakk, 11122)