Vol. 37 No. 3 (2011): XXXVII - 2011, fascicolo 3
Articoli

ὑπερβάλλω in P. Derveni col. XXIV. Significato astronomico di un reimpiego eracliteo

Published 2012-07-11

Keywords

  • Derveni Papyrus,
  • Heraclitus,
  • Orphism,
  • ancient cosmology

Abstract

In P. Derv. col. 24, the meaning of the verb ὑπερβάλλω is usually understood by scholars as a reference to the full moon. This paper aims to defend an etymological translation of that verb (to exceed), from which a new interpretation of the whole column descends. The passage is in fact a reworking of the Heraclitean image of the Sun chased by Erinyes, that was familiar to the Derveni author.