_Phoenician Matters_ is a fragmentary ancient Greek novel attributed to an author named Lollianus, conventionally distinguished as Lollianus the Erotic Writer. Likely composed in the 2nd century CE, the work survives only in a single, damaged papyrus from the 2nd or 3rd century CE, which preserves four discontinuous passages. The narrative appears to follow a young man named Androtimus through a series of sensational adventures. The extant fragments depict graphic scenes involving bandits, including a violent initiation ritual and explicit sexual acts within a criminal hideout. Characterized by vivid and often crude realism, the novel’s content stands in sharp contrast to the idealized, chaste romantic plots typical of other surviving Greek prose fiction. Modern scholarship regards it as a significant example of a “low” or sensationalistic subgenre focused on the criminal underworld. While its title suggests a setting connected to the Phoenician region, this geographical link is not substantiated by the surviving text. No other ancient references to the work or its author are known.
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| B,1 recto | ... ]νδ[ ]λέγει αὐτῶι προ[] [“ὦ ταλαίπ]ωρε ἄνθρω[πε ....................... ] ἀποθανεῖν.” ὡσδ’ α[ .... ] λέγ[ει πρὸ]ς ἐκείνους, “ὦ[ ..................... ] ὑμῖν [τὸ]ν παῖδα εσ[ ... ”] αυτο[ .... ]ασαν ἐμπειρο[ ......................... ] ὅπως [ .... γ]ενναι[ .. τί] δ’ οὐ μέλλει,” ἔφη, “ἐπεί γε α . [ ................... ]ι εὔψυχ[ον ῥῆμα πρὸς [αὐ‐] τόν· “ὁ μισητός,” ἔφη, “ἐγώ. τί [ .............. ] . ως ἀ[π]ολεῖσθε.” ἐ[ν τού]τωι παρέρχεται ἄλλος γυμνὸς περίζ[ωμα περὶ ἑαυτῶι] ἔχων φοινικοῦ[ν, καὶ β]αλὼν τὸ σῶμα ὕπτιον τοῦ παιδὸς τυ[θέντος ἀνατέμνε]ι. καὶ τὴν [κ]αρδίαν ἐξεῖλεν καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρὸς κατέθηκεν. ἔπε[ιτα τὴν ὠπτημένη]ν ἀνελόμενος ἀποτέμνει αὐτῆς ἕως ἐφ’ ἥμισυ. ἐς τὸ ἄκρον [δὲ τῶν τόμων ἄλφιτ]α ἐπέπασεν καὶ ἐλαίωι ἔδευσεν καὶ ὡς μετρίως ἐσ[κ]εύαστο, [ἔδωκεν αὐτοὺς τοῖ]ς μυουμένοις καὶ ἔχοντας ἐν τῶι [αἵ]ματι τῆς καρ[δί]ας ὀμ[όσαι ἐκέλευσεν ... ]κισην μήτε ἐγκαταλείψειν μήτε [π]ροδώσειν μη[δὲ ἐὰν εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον] ἄγωντ[αι] μηδὲ ἐὰν βασανίζων[τα]ι μηδὲ ἐὰν ἐξορύττω[νται ............... ]ησαν τὸ μὲν ἥμισυ [τῆς καρ‐] δίας τὸ λοιπὸν [ .. ] . π[ ............. τὸ]ν δὲ Ἀνδρό[τ]ιμο[ν .... ] ταν καὶ τοὺς α . [ . ] . σου[ ............... ] .. [ ....... ]πίνοντα καὶ . [ .... ] καὶ πιεῖν εν[ . ] . ι καια . [ ............. ἀ]λλοσκ[ .. ] . ς ἔφερεν ἅπαντα ἐκε[ῖ]νος ἀνθρώπων []εδοκει. [Λολλιανο]ῦ Φ[οινεικικῶ]ν [ ] στερ[] κατακτ[] ρη αλ[λ]ο[ ]ρ .[20] |
| B,1 verso | [ .... ] . ωσ[] ποδας αὐ[ .. ] . [ ]ἐξ ὠιδῆ[ς] κο[] μουο[ . ]ι ὅπερ [ ] . ς καταφερομ[ ........ ] . [] ν[ .... ]α τὴν [ ] κ[ .. ε]στι απ[ ]ι τῆς καρδίας τοῦ παιδὸς ὅπερ ετ[ ... ] καταπι[ .. ]ν κα . [ ..... ἐπὶ τῆς τρα]πέζης ἐξεμεθέν. οἱ μὲν δὲ αὖθ[ις ἐ]πέπανον, ὁ δὲ Ἀν[δρότιμος· “βδελυρ]όν τι,” ἔφη, “ἔπαθον ἀπέπτου μ[ο]ι τῆς τροφῆς ἔτι οὔση[ς,” .............. ] . ατο καὶ ἅμα πολύν· “τὸ κακῶς ἀπολούμενον τοῦτο κορ[ ................ ] τινα διὰ τοῦ στόματος, τὸν δὲ κἀκ τοῦ ὄπισθεν ἐπιπε[ ............... ] πρὸς τὴν ἀηδίαν τῆς ὀσμῆς ἀντέσχον. ἀλλ’ ἔγχει, παῖ, δὸ[ς ............ εἰ]ς ποτ[ή]ριον ὃ μέγιστον [ἦν.] ἐκάλουν δ’ αὐτὸ [ἐ]κεῖνοι κ[ ..... Κενταύρων ὡ]ς ἐμο[ὶ δ]οκεῖ, καὶ Λαπιθ[ῶν μά‐] χη ἐν τούτωι ἐπ[ε]ποίητο [ ] πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγιν[] ὁ δὲ Ἀνδρότιμο[ς ] καὶ ἀχθόμενος ἐπεὶ [] [ .. ] .. ἐν τούτω[ι ]την [ .. ]νον ζώνην αρ[] [ . ]ιου ἔχουσαν κ[ ....... ]αν[ ]περ[ι]ῆψαν. ἄλλοι δὲ εἰςῄεσαν οὐδὲν ἀ[γορ]εῦσαι ἀ[νειπόντες. ἐπεὶ δὲ] πάντες [πα]ρεληλύθεσαν καὶ ἦν οὐδεὶς ἔτ[ι ἔ]ξω, τὰς θυρ[ .... κλείσαντ]ες ἦιδον, ἔπινον, ταῖς γυναιξὶ συνῄεσα[ν ἐ]ν ὄψει τῆι Ἀ[νδροτίμου. οἱ μ]ὲν καθεῦδον ἀπαγορεύσαντες, οἱ δ’ ἐπ[ὶ τῶ]ν νεκρῶν [ταχθέντες ἕ]νδεκα οὐ πολὺ μὲν ἔπιον, ἀλλὰ ὅσον ἀποθ[ερ]μανθῆναι [ ....... ἐπ]εὶ δὲ νύκτες μέσαι ἦσαν, πρῶτον μὲν τὰ σώμ[α]τα τῶν ἀποτε[θνηκότων ἀ]πέδυσαν μ[η]δὲ τὴν ταινίαν ἐν ἧι ἡ κόρη τοὺς μαστοὺς ἐδέδετ[ο παρέντες,] ἔπειτα ἀνελόμενοι ὑπὲρ τὰς θυρίδας ἀφῆκαν κάτω εἰς το . [ ....... ] . · καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα χιτῶνας ἐνδύονται οἱ μὲν λευκούς, οἱ δὲ μέλα[νας τελ]αμῶσιν ὁμοίως τὰς κεφαλὰς περιειλήσαντες· καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα [οἱ μὲν τὰ] μέλανα ἔχοντες ἀσβόληι, οἱ δὲ [τὰ λε]υκὰ ψιμυθίωι ἐχρείοντο. καὶ οὕ[τως αὑτοὺ]ς κοσμήσαντες ἐξῄεσαν ἔξω. 〈οἱ〉 μὲν τὰ λευκὰ ἔχοντες διὰ τοῦ ... [ .......... οἱ δὲ τὰ μ]έλανα διὰ τῆς σελήνης ἐπορεύοντο. ὁ δὲ Ἀν[δ]ρ[ότιμος ] . οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀπαλλαγὴ ἀπ’ αὐτῶν [κα]ὶ γὰρ ἐφρουρο[ῦντο ]μηνύσειν ἐδοκο[ῦν] εἰ ἀπέλθοιεν ὥς τε ὑπ’ ἀναγ[ ] . [] χρυσοχόου ἐργαστήριον ν[] πρεσβύτην ἄνδρα κ[] [ . ]η σῶσαι ην πεμ[] [ . ] . σε[] [Break in Text (point at which text breaks off for an unknown length)][37] |
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