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
Ancient Lives 