A new reading in the subscriptio of Philodemus’ first book On Rhetoric

This paper offers a new reading in the subscriptio of P.Herc. 1427, which represents the midollo of the papyrus roll containing the first book of Philodemus’ On Rhetoric. By applying recent high-resolution digital microscopy, this study argues that the correct reading of the third line of the subscriptio is the genitive plural of the enigmatic term ὑπομνηματικόν. This confirms that P.Herc. 1427 is the very first ὑπομνηματικόν or ‘hypomnematic book’ in a series of subsequent ὑπομνηματικά of the same treatise.