Exegesis in the Derveni Papyrus, 2004
By: Betegh, Gábor, Adamson, Peter (Ed.), Baltussen, Han (Ed.), Stone, Martin W. F. (Ed.)
Title Exegesis in the Derveni Papyrus
Type Book Section
Language English
Date 2004
Published in Philosophy, Science and Exegesis in Greek, Arabic and Latin commentaries, Volume 1
Pages 37-50
Categories no categories
Author(s) Betegh, Gábor
Editor(s) Adamson, Peter , Baltussen, Han , Stone, Martin W. F.
Translator(s)
The text of the Derveni papyrus has often been labeled ‘a commentary’, or a hypomnema and its unidentified author has habitually been called ‘the Derveni commentator.’ The roll, which was found among the remains of the funeral pyre of a Macedonian tomb, has been dated to the last third of the fourth century BC on the basis of the archeological evidence. Moreover, there is an overriding consensus among scholars that the text was composed sometime around the end of the Presocratic period.1 Given this early dating of the text, it appears to be most significant for our knowledge of the early, pre-Hellenistic phase of the commentary tradition. Indeed, if both the dating and the above characterization is correct, the Derveni text is probably the earliest surviving specimen of this genre, and certainly the earliest document providing first-hand evidence of sufficient length for direct textual analysis.Alas, things with the Derveni papyrus are never so clear-cut. Most importantly, it is not entirely evident whether it is legitimate to call the whole text a ‘commentary’ at all, and, if so, with what qualifications. This is the basic question that I shall try to examine in this paper. I shall tackle the issue by breaking it down into two, more or less independent, sets of problems. The first of the two is largely formal and relatively simple. It amounts to asking whether or not the Derveni text, or more precisely what has survived of it, conforms with certain formal and structural features that we normally expect from a commentary. The second set of problems is considerably more complex. To put it bluntly, I shall ask why the Derveni author set out in the first place to interpret the object of his exegesis. This question thus pertains to both the author’s cognitive and pragmatic attitude towards the object of his interpretative enterprise, and, closely related to these, to the specific cultural and sociological context in which the author pursues his exegesis. It is also in this second part that I shall try to present a sympathetic rendering of the so-called ‘allegorical’ method of the Derveni author. [Introduction, p. 37]

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  • PAGE 1 OF 1
Exegesis in the Derveni Papyrus, 2004
By: Betegh, Gábor, Adamson, Peter (Ed.), Baltussen, Han (Ed.), Stone, Martin W. F. (Ed.)
Title Exegesis in the Derveni Papyrus
Type Book Section
Language English
Date 2004
Published in Philosophy, Science and Exegesis in Greek, Arabic and Latin commentaries, Volume 1
Pages 37-50
Categories no categories
Author(s) Betegh, Gábor
Editor(s) Adamson, Peter , Baltussen, Han , Stone, Martin W. F.
Translator(s)
The text of the Derveni papyrus has often been labeled ‘a commentary’, or a hypomnema 
and its unidentified author has habitually been called ‘the Derveni commentator.’ The roll, 
which was found among the remains of the funeral pyre of a Macedonian tomb, has been 
dated to the last third of the fourth century BC on the basis of the archeological evidence. 
Moreover, there is an overriding consensus among scholars that the text was composed 
sometime around the end of the Presocratic period.1 Given this early dating of the text, it 
appears to be most significant for our knowledge of the early, pre-Hellenistic phase of the 
commentary tradition. Indeed, if both the dating and the above characterization is correct, 
the Derveni text is probably the earliest surviving specimen of this genre, and certainly the 
earliest document providing first-hand evidence of sufficient length for direct textual 
analysis.Alas, things with the Derveni papyrus are never so clear-cut. Most importantly, it is not 
entirely evident whether it is legitimate to call the whole text a ‘commentary’ at all, and, if 
so, with what qualifications. This is the basic question that I shall try to examine in this 
paper. I shall tackle the issue by breaking it down into two, more or less independent, sets 
of problems. The first of the two is largely formal and relatively simple. It amounts to 
asking whether or not the  Derveni  text, or more  precisely  what  has  survived  of it, 
conforms with certain formal  and structural features that we normally expect from a 
commentary. The second set of problems is considerably more complex. To put it bluntly, 
I shall ask why the Derveni author set out in the first place to interpret the object of his 
exegesis. This question thus pertains to both the author’s cognitive and pragmatic attitude 
towards the object of his interpretative enterprise, and, closely related to these, to the 
specific cultural and sociological context in which the author pursues his exegesis. It is 
also in this second part that I shall try to present a sympathetic rendering of the so-called 
‘allegorical’ method of the Derveni author. [Introduction, p. 37]

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Indeed, if both the dating and the above characterization is correct, \r\nthe Derveni text is probably the earliest surviving specimen of this genre, and certainly the \r\nearliest document providing first-hand evidence of sufficient length for direct textual \r\nanalysis.Alas, things with the Derveni papyrus are never so clear-cut. Most importantly, it is not \r\nentirely evident whether it is legitimate to call the whole text a \u2018commentary\u2019 at all, and, if \r\nso, with what qualifications. This is the basic question that I shall try to examine in this \r\npaper. I shall tackle the issue by breaking it down into two, more or less independent, sets \r\nof problems. The first of the two is largely formal and relatively simple. It amounts to \r\nasking whether or not the Derveni text, or more precisely what has survived of it, \r\nconforms with certain formal and structural features that we normally expect from a \r\ncommentary. The second set of problems is considerably more complex. To put it bluntly, \r\nI shall ask why the Derveni author set out in the first place to interpret the object of his \r\nexegesis. This question thus pertains to both the author\u2019s cognitive and pragmatic attitude \r\ntowards the object of his interpretative enterprise, and, closely related to these, to the \r\nspecific cultural and sociological context in which the author pursues his exegesis. It is \r\nalso in this second part that I shall try to present a sympathetic rendering of the so-called \r\n\u2018allegorical\u2019 method of the Derveni author. 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  • PAGE 1 OF 1