Symbols in Papyri
On the bottom right of the Transcribe page, there is a box with many symbols. These symbols are found mainly in documentary papyi, but a few belong to literary fragments.
ἄρουρα: area measure; 2756 square meters
ἀρτάβη: dry measure; 38.808 liters
χοῖνιξ: dry measure; .97 liter
λίτρα: a measure of weight; 12 ounces
τάλαντον: 6,000 drachmas
δραχμή: coin (about 323 g) worth 6 obols
στιγμα: the number six
multiple uses: it can stand for drachma, the number ½, or the year (ἔτους)
τριώβολον: 3 obols
δηνάριος: Roman monetary unit
μυριάς: the number 10,000
νόμισμα: the “solidus” gold coin
πυρός: wheat
σαμπι: the number 900
κοππα: the number 90
γίνεται: total
ἔτους: indicates a year (see blog post on numbers)
forked paragraphos: indicates a specific break in the text
This one has many uses! Its most famous use is as a Christian sign (Christ = χριστος), but it was also used as an editorial symbol, χρησις (passage) and χρηστον (useful); other appearances include in Magical papyri and for χρονος.
coronis: marks significant breaks or subsections of text
Coronides come in many forms. This bird-shaped one appears in Timotheus’ Persae, one of our oldest Greek papyrus fragments.
Sources:
Bagnall, Roger S. The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.
The TLG Beta Code Manual (Maintained by Nick Nicholas, TLG, 2000-08-21)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronis_(textual_symbol)
http://tebtunis.berkeley.edu/collection/glossary
http://www.sizes.com/units/artaba.htm
Theresa Chresand
What do all those buttons mean?
Hello Ancient Lives Users!
This post will provide a walk-through of the various buttons found on the website. Some of this you probably already know, but several buttons have uses that aren’t immediately apparent, so hopefully this information will help clarify.
The Transcribe Page
Toolbar on the left side of the page:
The Zoom buttons are straightforward, as is Rotate.
The Toggle button is helpful for when you want to see a papyrus in its original form without losing your transcription work. Click this button, and your transcribed letters temporarily disappear.
Auto is another very useful button. If you are transcribing a long text and you get tired of the ‘click, type, click, type’ method, you can put a series of empty dots on the letters you want to transcribe, make sure the Auto button is highlighted, and then use your keyboard to type them in across the line. This button is also helpful if you want to erase a line of characters quickly.
The Delete button, as you might guess, erases any letter you click on. You can also do this simply by pushing the backspace button on your keyboard.
Also located on the left side of the page, underneath the transcription keyboard, the Favourite button is for saving particular fragments that you want to return to later.
When you want to view one of your “favourite” pieces, go to your Lightbox (see bar at the top) and click the small symbol on the upper left side.
If you’ve ever wondered what to do when you come across a fragment that is either not Greek, or a shot of a ruler or a tag written in English (some extraneous material), the Issue button will be useful. It allows you to mark something “Not Greek,” or “Not Papyri.”
Toolbar on the right side of the page:
The Colour button actually does more than simply change the colour of the dots you are using to mark letters. It can also change the opacity and the size—this is very useful, since some fragments have tiny letters and some have large ones.
If you click the Map button, the little square in the right corner of the transcribe box, which shows your location on the papyrus, will disappear/reappear.
The Match button assists in identifying whether or not a fragment belongs to a known work of Greek literature.
Don’t forget to post on Talk!
Clicking the info button on the bottom right side of the transcription keyboard will give you examples of each letter.
Keep in mind that in addition to transcribing, you can also Measure fragments. (See the bar at the top.) If you are a frequent user, please create an account!
Thanks and keep up the great work!
Theresa Chresand
Ancient Lives 