[Text]
⟨?⟩ γλ]αφυ̣ρ̣ό̣ς τι̣ς ἐστιν οὗτος· ο̣ὐκ ἐγὼ ’λ̣[εγον;
κ]αί πρ̣αγ̣μ̣ατοκοπεῖ Φανίας ὁ διδάσ̣[καλος.
ἄπ]αντ̣ά̣ γ’ἄν τις ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐλπίσ[αι
⏒ – ] ̣ ̣το̣ς ἡμῖν αὑτ̣ὸν οὐ̣ τ̣ί̣θη̣σ’ἴσον
ΦΑΝΙΑΣ ἑόρα̣κας;
ΠΑΡΜΕΝΩΝ εἶδον.
(Φ) ὦ πολυ̣τίμητο[ι θεοὶ (5)
καὶ φ[ί]λ̣τατε Ζεῦ Σῶτερ, ὡς πολλὴ χ[άρις
τὶ οὖν̣; ὑγιαίνουσιν μέν;
(ΠΑΡ) ὅσα γ’οὕτως [ἰδεῖν.
(Φ) τὴν αἰτίαν τίν’ἔλεγον εἶναι [ – ⏑ ⏒
ΠΑP τὸ πλο̣ῖον εἰς Κρή̣την κατε ̣[ – ⏒ – ⏑ ⏒
ἐκρίθη̣ [πο]λ̣έ̣μι̣ο̣ν καὶ διενεγ[κ (10)
⏒ – ⏑ – ]ξένος τις̣ αυ[ ca. 8 ]ε̣ ̣[
⏒ – ⏑ η]χ̣θησα̣ν προδοσίας γ̣ε̣νο̣μ̣[ένης
⏒ – ⏑ – ] ̣σμ’ἐπέπλευσε γάρ τις̣ [ ̣] ̣[
⏒ – ⏑ ] ̣οῦτος πάλιν ̣[
⏒ – ⏑ ]ἤκουσεν α̣ ̣[ (15)
⏒ – ⏑ ]ησα̣ν̣[
. . . . . . . .
[Metrics]
Iambic trimeter
[Critical apparatus]
Quis loquatur usque ad v. 4 incertum, tum colloquuntur Phania et Parmeno. 1 γλ]αφυ̣ρ̣ό̣ς suppl. Nünlist | ἐγὼ ’λ̣[εγον suppl. Handley ap. Nünlist coll. Dysk. 172, 511, Mis. 217 || 2 κ]αί supplevi: ν]αί Handley ap. Nünlist | πρ̣αγ̣μ̣ατοκοπεῖ Nünlist coll. Plb. XXIX 23,10 et XXXVIII 13,8 | διδάσ̣[καλος suppl. Nünlist || 3 suppl. Nünlist || 4 ] ̣ ̣: ὅ[θ’]ο̣ὗ̣τος fort. recte Austin, τ[οι]ο̣ῦ̣τος Rea ap. Nünlist, ὁ̣ [πλ]ο̣ῦ̣τος Nünlist | οὐ̣ Nünlist, Austin: οὗ̣ Handley | τ̣ί̣θη̣σ’ edd. | αὑτὸν Austin: αὐτὸν Nünlist || 5 suppl. Nünlist || 6 φ[ί]λ̣τατε Nünlist | χ[άρις suppl. Obbink ap. Nünlist coll. X. Oec. VIII 16 et Luc. DMeretr. IX 1 || 7 ἰδεῖν Nünlist || 8 fin. τοῦ χρόνου fort. recte Nünlist, τῆς μονῆς Austin, τοῦ πάθους Handley ap. Nünlist || 9 κατε ̣[: κατεν̣[εχθὲν (tum e.g. ὑπ’ἀνέμου vel αὐτίκα) suppl. K-S fortasse recte, κατε ί̣[χετ’ Handley prob. Austin qui fin. ἐκ βίας e.g. suppl. || 10 ἐκρίθη̣ [πο]λ̣έ̣μ ι̣ο̣ν Nünlist cf. Men Sik. fr. 4,1 K-S, ad ἐκρί̆θη cf. E. Hec. 644 | διενέγ[κατο conieci, διενεγ[κεῖν δείν’ἔδει Austin || 11 τις̣ αυ[ dub. Nünlist qui etiam τί ὁ αὐ[τός (lege τί αὑ[τός) tempt. || 12 -η]χ̣θησα̣ν: ἀνή]χθησαν fort. recte Nünlist, sed etiam κατή]χθησαν possis, cf. Men. Sik. fr. 4,1 K-S | γ̣ε̣νο̣μ̣[ένης Nünlist, cf. Th. IV 52,3, V 116,3 || 13 ] ̣σμ’: ἄκο]υ̣σμ’ (fort. de proditione?) temptavi || 14 ] ̣: ]ν̣ οὖτος Nünlist fort. recte, το]ι̣οῦτος tempt. K-S.
[Translation]
? This man is astute. Didn’t I say so?
And he is meddling, Phanias the teacher.
Truly, one could expect anything at all
when this one doesn’t deem himself to be equal to us.
Fania: Have you seen them?
Parmenone: I have.
Fania: O most revered gods, 5
and my dearest Zeus Saviour, how much gratitude!
What then? Are they safe?
Parmenone: As far as I could see.
Fania: What did they say the reason was for the delay?
Parmenone: The ship headed down towards Crete… 10
it was deemed hostile, and taken…
… a foreigner…
… after a betrayal had taken place…
… someone then sailed off…
… this man again…
… heard… 15
…
[Comment]
P.Oxy. LXVIII 4642 gives us part of a dialogue between the comedy’s main character, the kithara-player Phanias, and his servant Parmenon. The scene belongs to a moment in the story that comes after the one depicted in the scenes from the other key witness to this comedy, P.Berol. 9767. In that fragment, Phanias (this is the most likely identification of the main speaker of the scene) tells to a friend that he has been waiting a long time for a certain Greek woman (v. 39) and lives in fear that some misfortune may have befallen her during the sea voyage that was supposed to bring her from Ephesus to Athens. In the Oxyrhynchus fragment, on the other hand, the kithara-player receives with great relief from Parmenon the news that at least two people very dear to him (as shown by the plural used in v. 7) have finally arrived safely in the city after a troubled sea journey: it is natural to think that the aforementioned Greek woman is among them.
The first four lines of the Oxyrhynchus papyrus, however, must have been spoken by a third character whose identity remains unknown. These lines contain a harsh remark — though not entirely devoid of a certain admiration — about Phanias, who must have been present on stage and yet does not hear these lines. This may be an aside or an eavesdropping aside — that is, an aside spoken by a character hidden in order to eavesdrop on the dialogue that follows (cf. Bain 1977, pp. 105ff.).
Lines 5–8, marked by rapid exchange between Phanias and Parmenon, are followed, starting from line 9, by Parmenon’s account of the travelers’ maritime adventures. The theme of sea voyages and their dangers — including shipwrecks, storms, and pirates — frequently appears in New Comedy, Latin comedy, and the Greek novel. The narrative unfolds quickly and concisely. The fragmentary state of the lower part of the papyrus does not allow for a precise reconstruction of Parmenon’s story: a certain foreigner (v. 11), whose identity is unknown, plays some role in it. Key events in the narrative seem to include a judgment (v. 9) and a betrayal (v. 12). The situation described at the beginning of line 9 (cf. ad loc.) appears similar to that described in fr. 4 of the Sikyonioi, which contains a reference to the procedure applied against a sailor who disembarked in a city that ends up considering him an enemy — something that seems to have also happened to the travelers in the Kitharistēs.
[Reference Edition]
R. KASSEL – S. SCHRÖDER, Poetae comici graeci, VI.1: Menander. Dyskolos et fabulae quarum fragmenta in papyris membranisque servata sunt Dyskolos et fabulae quarum fragmenta in papyris membranisque servata sunt, Berolini 2022; V. DARDANO, Menandro. Il Citarista. Edizione critica, traduzione e commento, in press.
[Essential Bibliography]
G. ARNOTT, Menander, II, Cambridge 1996; D. BAIN, Actors and Audience. A Study of Asides and Related Conventions in Greek Drama , Oxford 1977; A. BLANCHARD, Ménandre, III: Le Laboureur; La Double Tromperie; Le Poignard; L’Eunuque; L’Inspirée; Thrasyléon; Le Carthaginois; Le Cithariste; Le Flatteur; Les Femmes qui boivent la ciguë; La Leucadienne; Le Haï; La Périnthienne, Paris 2016; R. NÜNLIST, ‘Nr. 4642’, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri 68, London 2003, 28-32.
[Keywords]
Menander, Kitharistēs, comedy, Nea, eavesdropper, sea, travel
[Valentina Dardano]