Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt
Chi-rho ⳩ is universally known as the Christian monogram, consisting of the first two letters of the name Χριϲτόϲ. In ancient times, it coexisted with other common signs, the staurogram ⳨ and stauros ϯ, both connected to the Holy Cross of Jesus. An analysis of the development of these signs in papyr...
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| Formato: | Online |
| Idioma: | inglés |
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Firenze University Press
2025
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| Acceso en liña: | ONIX_20250801T173835_9791221504569_315 |
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| author | REGGIANI, NICOLA |
| author_browse | REGGIANI, NICOLA |
| author_facet | REGGIANI, NICOLA |
| author_sort | REGGIANI, NICOLA |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | Chi-rho ⳩ is universally known as the Christian monogram, consisting of the first two letters of the name Χριϲτόϲ. In ancient times, it coexisted with other common signs, the staurogram ⳨ and stauros ϯ, both connected to the Holy Cross of Jesus. An analysis of the development of these signs in papyrological evidence from Hellenistic, Roman, and Late-Antique Egypt allows us to track the everyday use of these writing strategies from their pre-Christian origins onward. While the staurogram and stauros are extensively employed in late documents to place texts under God’s protection, the chi-rho developed in a distinctive way. It originated in Ptolemaic cursive handwritings as a simple monogram, inconsistently abbreviating words beginning with χρ-, and survived with a similar function in Roman and Byzantine documents, though mostly in other χρ-words and terms characteristically containing those letters (e.g. χειρόγραφον, χαίρειν). A specific field examined is that of medicine, where it indicated the imperative χρῷ “use” in prescriptive texts, and eventually became a graphic symbol in medical recipes and lost its linguistic role. In only one document is the monogram employed to indicate Christ’s name. Possibly, the extensive use of ⳩ in documentary writings prevented the Christian meaning of the monogram from being employed in non-literary papyri. This chapter discusses these complex interactions, attempting to outline the interplay between writing strategies, symbolic thought, and the materiality of written texts from a semiographic point of view. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-163513 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| publisherStr | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1635132025-08-02T05:13:02Z Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt REGGIANI, NICOLA Greek papyri monograms abbreviations chi-rho medical prescriptions. Chi-rho ⳩ is universally known as the Christian monogram, consisting of the first two letters of the name Χριϲτόϲ. In ancient times, it coexisted with other common signs, the staurogram ⳨ and stauros ϯ, both connected to the Holy Cross of Jesus. An analysis of the development of these signs in papyrological evidence from Hellenistic, Roman, and Late-Antique Egypt allows us to track the everyday use of these writing strategies from their pre-Christian origins onward. While the staurogram and stauros are extensively employed in late documents to place texts under God’s protection, the chi-rho developed in a distinctive way. It originated in Ptolemaic cursive handwritings as a simple monogram, inconsistently abbreviating words beginning with χρ-, and survived with a similar function in Roman and Byzantine documents, though mostly in other χρ-words and terms characteristically containing those letters (e.g. χειρόγραφον, χαίρειν). A specific field examined is that of medicine, where it indicated the imperative χρῷ “use” in prescriptive texts, and eventually became a graphic symbol in medical recipes and lost its linguistic role. In only one document is the monogram employed to indicate Christ’s name. Possibly, the extensive use of ⳩ in documentary writings prevented the Christian meaning of the monogram from being employed in non-literary papyri. This chapter discusses these complex interactions, attempting to outline the interplay between writing strategies, symbolic thought, and the materiality of written texts from a semiographic point of view. 2025-08-02T05:13:00Z 2025-08-02T05:13:00Z 2025-08-01T16:00:31Z 2024 chapter ONIX_20250801T173835_9791221504569_315 2612-7997 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/104865 9791221504569 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/163513 eng Edizioni dell’Istituto Papirologico «G. Vitelli» open access image/jpeg Attribution 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/104865/1/43368.pdf Firenze University Press 10.36253/979-12-215-0456-9.17 10.36253/979-12-215-0456-9.17 2ec4474d-93b1-4cfa-b313-9c6019b51b1a 9791221504569 11 Florence open access |
| spellingShingle | Greek papyri monograms abbreviations chi-rho medical prescriptions. REGGIANI, NICOLA Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt |
| title | Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt |
| title_full | Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt |
| title_short | Chapter Crossing Abbreviations, Monograms, and Symbols. Preliminary Survey of chi-rho, Staurogram, and stauros in Greek Documentary Papyri from Egypt |
| title_sort | chapter crossing abbreviations monograms and symbols preliminary survey of chi rho staurogram and stauros in greek documentary papyri from egypt |
| topic | Greek papyri monograms abbreviations chi-rho medical prescriptions. |
| topic_facet | Greek papyri monograms abbreviations chi-rho medical prescriptions. |
| url | ONIX_20250801T173835_9791221504569_315 |
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