Παμφίλη
Pamphile, Pamphila
Translated by Malcolm Heath16 May 2002Vetting: high8 revisions
Translation
Of Epidaurus; a wise woman; daughter of Soteridas,1 who is said to have been the author of her collections, as Dionysius [says] in [book] 30 of his Musical History;2 but others write that her husband Socratidas was the author.3 [She wrote] Historical Commentaries in 33 books;4 Epitome of Ctesias5 in 3 books; a very large number of epitomes of histories and other books; On Disputes; On Sex; and many other works.6
Greek original · Adler’s text
Παμφίλη, Ἐπιδαυρία, σοφή, θυγάτηρ Σωτηρίδου, οὗ λέγεται εἶναι καὶ τὰ συντάγματα, ὡς Διονύσιος ἐν τῷ λʹ τῆς Μουσικῆς ἱστορίας· ὡς δὲ ἕτεροι γεγράφασι Σωκρατίδα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς. Ἱστορικὰ ὑπομνήματα ἐν βιβλίοις λγʹ, Ἐπιτομὴν τῶν Κτησίου ἐν βιβλίοις γʹ, ἐπιτομὰς ἱστοριῶν τε καὶ ἑτέρων βιβλίων παμπλείστας, Περὶ ἀμφισβητήσεων, Περὶ ἀφροδισίων καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν.
Betacode
*pamfi/lh, *)epidauri/a, sofh/, quga/thr *swthri/dou, ou(= le/getai ei)=nai kai\ ta\ sunta/gmata, w(s *dionu/sios e)n tw=| l# th=s *mousikh=s i(stori/as: w(s de\ e(/teroi gegra/fasi *swkrati/da tou= a)ndro\s au)th=s. *(istorika\ u(pomnh/mata e)n bibli/ois lg#, *)epitomh\n tw=n *kthsi/ou e)n bibli/ois g#, e)pitoma\s i(storiw=n te kai\ e(te/rwn bibli/wn pamplei/stas, *peri\ a)mfisbhth/sewn, *peri\ a)frodisi/wn kai\ a)/llwn pollw=n.
Notes (6)
- C1 AD. See generally RE Pamphila(1); OCD4 Pamphila; FHG 3.520-522.
- 1See [sigma 875] and [sigma 876] Soteridas. A problem arises from the fact that in sigma 875 Soteridas is the name of Pamphila's husband; hence Adler (apparatus there) would read Sokratidas. Since both entries probably refer to the same grammarian, it is likely that a misunderstanding or confusion of the sources have caused a mistake in sigma 875. ↩
- 2[delta 1171] Dionysius. The false attribution of historical works is often suspected by ancient authors in cases of woman writers, since their skills were not believed up to such complex matters. A similar remark occurs in Athenaeus, in reference to the obscure historian Nikobule; cf. also Marcellinus' observation about the style of Thucydides book 8, composed by the historian's daughter according to some sources. ↩
- 3See [sigma 875] Soteridas (sic). According to A. Daub (RhM 35, 58-61), the name Sokratidas is just a corruption for Soteridas, i.e. Pamphila's husband and not her father. However, the character of this entry, where both names are inserted and in a way opposed to each other, does not support such interpretations. The name of Pamphila's husband was probably known from the preface to her miscellaneous work (see note 6). ↩
- 4See Photius, Bibl. cod. 175. ↩
- 5[kappa 2521] Ktesias. ↩
- 6Pamphila of Epidaurus flourished in the age of the Emperor Nero. Her family or ancestors had moved to Greece from Egypt, most likely Alexandria, and she was therefore considered (at least by Photius) as Egyptian:
*ai)gupti/a de\ to\ ge/nos h( *pamfi/lh (cf. Phot. Bibl. 119b38. According to Photius, Pamphila also wrote thesummi/ktwn i(storikw=n u(pomnhma/twn lo/goi , "Miscellany of historical notes", a work in eight books. It was the fruit of her advice to put on record everything one reads (and learns), advice Photius appears to quote with approval: cf. Phot. Bibl. 119b20-27. ↩
Neighbouring entries
Revision history8 revisions · last 2 Aug 2014
- updated a ref — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — David Whitehead
- corr. typos; augmented notes — Antonella Ippolito
- betacode cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- minor expansion of primary note — David Whitehead
- Added note 6. — Jan Stronk
- augmented notes and keywords — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — Catharine Roth
- Translated — Malcolm Heath