THE ANTINOOPOLIS CHARIOTEERS PAPYRUS: A LEAF FROM AN ILLUSTRATED CODEX OF THE ALEXANDER ROMANCE

Abstract This essay argues that the illustrated papyrus fragment known as the ‘Antinoopolis charioteers’ is a folium from a codex containing an episode from the Alexander Romance . The few letters on both sides of the papyrus neatly align with the text of a chariot racing episode present in some versions of the Alexander Romance . The identification of the text in turn sheds light on the lost portions of the illustration and the codicology of the manuscript from which the fragment came. The identification of this papyrus pushes back by several centuries the tradition of illustrated manuscripts of the Alexander Romance and adds new data to the challenging textual history of this cluster of stories.