The Hellenica Oxyrhynchia: philological and historical problems

Hellenica Oxyrhynchia
about 4300 words of text (<50% of the average book length of Xen. HG, <25% of Thuc., <20% of Herod.)
London fragments (>70% of total length)
(events of 396-395 BC)
Grenfell, B.P. - Hunt, A.S., “Theopompus (or Cratippus) Hellenica”, The Oxyrhynchus Papyri 5, London 1908, 110-242.
Florence fragments (>10% of total length)
(events of 409-407 BC)
Bartoletti, V., “Nuovi frammenti delle »Elleniche di Ossirinco«”, Papiri Greci e latini 13.1 (1949), 61-81
Cairo fragments (<10% of total length)
(events of 409 BC)
Koenen, L., “Papyrology in the Federal Republic of Germany and Fieldwork of the International Photographic Archive in Kairo”, Studia Papyrologica 15 (1976) 39-79.

Thucydides continued:
Xenophon, Hellenica (411- 362)
7 books
Theopompus, Hellenica (411- 394)
12 books ?19 fragments
Cratippus (seems to have included information about Conon’s activities in the 390s)
? 4 fragments
[Theopompus or Cratippus]?, Hellenica Oxyrhynchia
? ̴̴ 4300 words (+ some more fragments from papyri?)

Controversial issues
Authorship
Date – relationship to Xenophon’s Hell. (356?)
“Theramenes Papyrus” (question of speeches)
Historical value
Tendency
Stylistic merits

Commentaries:
London
Grenfell/Hunt (1909)
Jacoby (1926: FGrHist)
London – Florence
Bruce (1968)
London – Florence – Cairo
MacKechnie – Kern (1999)
Behrwald (2005)
Lerida Lafarga (2007)
Billows (2016: BNJ)

Xen. HG 1.2.6-7 Θράσυλλος δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀπήγαγεν ἐπὶ θάλατταν τὴν στρατιάν, ὡς εἰς Ἔφεσον πλευσούμενος. Τισσαφέρνης δὲ αἰσθόμενος τοῦτο τὸ ἐπιχείρημα, στρατιάν τε συνέλεγε πολλὴν καὶ ἱππέας ἀπέστελλε παραγγέλλων πᾶσιν εἰς Ἔφεσον βοηθεῖν τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι. Θράσυλλος δὲ ἑβδόμῃ καὶ δεκάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ τὴν εἰσβολὴν εἰς Ἔφεσον ἀπέπλευσε, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ὁπλίτας πρὸς τὸν Κορησσὸν ἀποβιβάσας, τοὺς δὲ ἱππέας καὶ πελταστὰς καὶ ἐπιβάτας καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας πρὸς τὸ ἕλος ἐπὶ τὰ ἕτερα τῆς πόλεως, ἅμα τῇ ἡμέρᾳ προσῆγε δύο στρατόπεδα.
After this, Thrasyllos led the army back to the sea, intending to sail to Ephesus. Tissaphernes, however, perceiving Thrassyllos’ goal, gathered together a large army and dispatched cavalry, announcing to all that they must bring help at Ephesus to Artemis. On the seventeenth day after the incursion, Thrassyllos sailed off towards Ephesus and disembarked his fleet’s hoplites around Koressos, while he stationed the cavalry, slingers, marines, and all the rest around the marsh on the other side of the city. At dawn he led both units forward.

Xen. HG 1.2.8 οἱ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐβοήθησαν †σφίσιν† οἵ τε σύμμαχοι οὓς Τισσαφέρνης ἤγαγε, καὶ Συρακόσιοι οἵ τ᾽ ἀπὸ τῶν προτέρων εἴκοσι νεῶν καὶ ἀπὸ ἑτέρων πέντε, αἳ ἔτυχον τότε παραγενόμεναι, νεωστὶ ἥκουσαι μετὰ Εὐκλέους τε τοῦ Ἵππωνος καὶ Ἡρακλείδου τοῦ Ἀριστογένους στρατηγῶν, καὶ Σελινούσιαι δύο. οὗτοι δὲ πάντες πρῶτον μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ὁπλίτας τοὺς ἐν Κορησσῷ ἐβοήθησαν. τούτους δὲ τρεψάμενοι καὶ ἀποκτείναντες ἐξ αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ ἑκατὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν θάλατταν καταδιώξαντες πρὸς τοὺς παρὰ τὸ ἕλος ἐτράποντο. ἔφυγον δὲ κἀκεῖ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ἀπώλοντο αὐτῶν ὡς τριακόσιοι.
The Ephesians from the city advanced to meet him, as did the allies whom Tissaphernes had brought there, and the Syracusans – both those from the earlier group of twenty ships and those from the later group of five (who happened to be present there, having recently come with Eucles the son of Hippon and Heracleides the son of Aristogenes) – and the men from the two ships from Selinus. These all at first attacked the hoplites in Koressos, routed them and killed about a hundred of them, pursuing them down to the sea. Then they turned to assault those alongside the marsh. There, too, the Athenians were put to flight, and about three hundred of them were killed.

DS 13.64.1 Κατὰ δὲ τὴν ῾Ελλάδα Θρασύβουλος πεμφθεὶς παρ' ᾿Αθηναίων μετὰ νεῶν τριάκοντα καὶ πολλῶν ὁπλιτῶν σὺν ἱππεῦσιν ἑκατὸν κατέπλευσεν εἰς τὴν ῎Εφεσον· ἐκβιβάσας δὲ τὴν δύναμιν κατὰ δύο τόπους προσβολὰς ἐποιήσατο. Τῶν δ' ἔνδον ἐπεξελθόντων καρτερὰν συνέβη μάχην συστῆναι· πανδημεὶ δὲ τῶν ᾿Εφεσίων ἀγωνισαμένων τετρακόσιοι μὲν τῶν ᾿Αθηναίων ἔπεσον, τοὺς δ' ἄλλους ὁ Θρασύβουλος ἀναλαβὼν εἰς τὰς ναῦς ἐξέπλευσεν εἰς Λέσβον

Koenen:
…………………………….. ἐπεχείρησεν εὐ|
θὺ]ς προσβαλεῖν τοῖς τε[ίχεσι κελεύσας τὰς|
[π]λείστας τῶν τριήρω]ν ὁρμίσασθαι, τὰς |
[δ’] ἑτέρας τόπον τῆς Ἐφε[σίας καταλαβεῖν.

[8] οἱ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς πόλεως ἐβοήθησαν †σφίσιν† οἵ τε σύμμαχοι οὓς Τισσαφέρνης ἤγαγε, καὶ Συρακόσιοι οἵ τ᾽ ἀπὸ τῶν προτέρων εἴκοσι νεῶν καὶ ἀπὸ ἑτέρων πέντε, αἳ ἔτυχον τότε παραγενόμεναι, νεωστὶ ἥκουσαι μετὰ Εὐκλέους τε τοῦ Ἵππωνος καὶ Ἡρακλείδου τοῦ Ἀριστογένους στρατηγῶν, καὶ Σελινούσιαι δύο. οὗτοι δὲ πάντες πρῶτον μὲν πρὸς τοὺς ὁπλίτας τοὺς ἐν Κορησσῷ ἐβοήθησαν˙ τούτους δὲ τρεψάμενοι καὶ ἀποκτείναντες ἐξ αὐτῶν ὡσεὶ ἑκατὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν θάλατταν καταδιώξαντες πρὸς τοὺς παρὰ τὸ ἕλος ἐτράποντο. ἔφυγον δὲ κἀκεῖ οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ ἀπώλοντο αὐτῶν ὡς τριακόσιοι. [10] οἱ δὲ Ἐφέσιοι τροπαῖον ἐνταῦθα ἔστησαν καὶ ἕτερον πρὸς τῷ Κορησσῷ.
The Ephesians from the city advanced to meet him, as did the allies whom Tissaphernes had brought there, and the Syracusans – both those from the earlier group of twenty ships and those from the later group of five (who happened to be present there, having recently come with Eucles the son of Hippon and Heracleides the son of Aristogenes) – and the men from the two ships from Selinus. These all at first attacked the hoplites in Koressos, routed them and killed about a hundred of them, pursuing them down to the sea. Then they turned to assault those alongside the marsh. There, too, the Athenians were put to flight, and about three hundred of them were killed. The Ephesians set up a trophy there and another one at Koressos.

Billows:
“Exploration of Ephesos has shown, in fact, that the city had no fortification walls in the fifth century… this restoration would have the author perpetrating a notable anachronism in having the Athenians attack the walls of Ephesos at this time, which is certainly possible but would be uncharacteristic for the careful, well-informed, and detail-oriented author of the HellOxy. What convinces me that the author made no such error is that in the narrative of the actual fighting at the city of Ephesos, which details the attempts of the Athenians to break into the city at col. I lines 18-23 and at col. II 10-14, we see no mention of a teichos (city wall); instead, only the word polis (town or city) is used. It seems to me that the author was aware that no fortification wall obstructed the Athenians in their assault on Ephesos—it was, perhaps, for this reason that Thrasyllos thought the attack worth attempting at all with his relatively small force (1,000 hoplites and up to 5,000 peltasts, according to Xenophon). The τ and ε of Koenen’s τε[ίχεσι are, in fact, uncertain, and I think some other word must have stood here: perhaps Ἐφεσίοις or λόφοις vel sim.”

Papyrus
……………..
.]ς προσβαλεῖν τοῖς τε[ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
.]λείστας τῶν τριήρω]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
.] ἑτέρας τόπον τῆς Ἐφε[. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Koenen
[ἐπεχείρησεν εὐ]|
θὺ]ς προσβαλεῖν τοῖς τε[ίχεσι κελεύσας τὰς|
[π]λείστας τῶν τριήρω]ν ὁρμίσασθαι, τὰς |
[δ’] ἑτέρας τόπον τῆς Ἐφε[σίας καταλαβεῖν.