Trismegistos Ghostnames
Introduction
The database is based on the dissertation of Chris Eyckmans, Ghostnames 1 in de Griekse papyri, Leuven 1986, which was further elaborated by the author and by the director of the thesis Willy Clarysse. The term “ghostnames” is here used for all personal names that have been read by editors of papyri, but are in fact non-existent, i.e. do not occur in the current onomastic lexica or in the published papyri. Our main points of reference have been the works of F. Preisigke, Namenbuch (1922), D. Foraboschi, Onomasticon alterum papyrologicum (1967) and the name section of Trismegistos
Definition of Ghostname
Our list contains also a few names that are not ghostnames in the strict sense of non-existing name, resulting from an error of writing (by an ancient scribe), of reading (by a modern editor) or from a reconstruction (by an editor or the person indexing). Some of our “ghostnames” are only non-existing variants of existing names, sometimes the erroneous readings result in a name of which a few doubtful references could not be eliminated (e.g. Souchos). Moreover, a name can be a ghostname in one region or in one period, but exist as a real name in other places and in other times (e.g. Helios, which is apparently not attested in Egypt). Phoibammon or Athanasios, for instance, are well-attested in the Byzantine period, but unlikely in Ptolemaic times. Names of occupations are sometimes taken for proper names. They become ghostnames when the proper names in question is not attested elsewhere in the papyri; but of course any occupational title may become a proper name, so that the label “ghostname” is in these cases always temporary. Doubtful “ghostnames” of different categories are indicated as such in the field “notes” as “not a real ghostname”.
Numbers and exhaustivity
There are at this moment more than 2000 files in the database, but there are only 1,500 ghostnames, because some ghostnames occur different times in 1 Mrs. Eyckmans started from the indices of “abgelehnten Lesarten” in BL 5 and 6 and from the indices of Youtie’s Scriptiunculae. She also included the ghostnames in P. Par. 5, a long text full of Egyptian names, published when Greek transcriptions of Egyptian names were something completely new. It was reedited by U. Wilcken in UPZ I 180a, but its many ghostnames were included in Preisigke’s Namenbuch and continue to inspire modern editors. Erroneous readings incorporated in our lexica were often used as a model by later editors (e.g. the names Panegbeuis or Eisammon). The more recent readings are often based on the lexica of Preisigke and Foraboschi, as is often explicitly stated by the editors. The very early editon of P. Par. by Letronne, including a long list of names later republished in UPZ 180, was included in the NB. Its numerous errors were (and still are) dangerous precedents. On the other hand, the numerous corrections proposed by K.F.W. Schmidt (especially in BL IV) have not been incorporated unless they could be checked with a photograph or a scan : too often Schmidt's proposals are based on doubtful etymological presuppositions.
On the other hand, our list is still far from complete. My rough estimate is that we have in our list less then 30 % of the ghostnames in the papyrus texts. It was rather easy to incorporate ghostnames that were eliminated in the last generation, since in the index of the BL they are marked with an asterisk. This has in fact been our starting point. But for earlier periods they have to be plucked from the BL one by one, and even in the recent period, ghostnames are nowhere marked as such when a text is completely republished (the BL simply lists the republication in the SB or elsewhere; some editors, as e.g. P. Abin. do not register earlier readings in their apparatus). So I hope that others will help to complete the database. I would like to make this an open instrument, where every papyrologist can add his findings.
Purpose
The purpose of the database is double. First I wanted to provide a list of corrigenda to the onomastica of Preisigke NB and Foraboschi On. : such a list may be useful in warning editors, who often look for parallels in NB or On. when deciphering (or supplementing) damaged passages as proper names. Hundreds of entries in these old lexica are in fact erroneous and corrected either in the BL or in later reeditions. But we also classified the different kinds of errors that are made by editors. Of course not every error results in a ghostname, but since similar errors are found in the other instances as well, our “typology of errors” has a more general usefulness for those publishing new papyri or correcting published ones. This typology is given in the last field of each record in the form of a code (see below) and may help editors of papyri in search of parallels for errors they want to avoid in their texts, e.g. what letters are easily confused in different periods, how errors in word divison, supplements of abbreviations and errors in indexation lead to ghostnames.
Structure
Each record consists of twelve fields, in the following order:
1. and 2. Ghostname and ghostname complete
Here the name is given in the Greek alphabet without accents. In field (1) the critical signs (dots, brackets) are added, in field (2) they are left out. Therefore searching should be done in field (2).
3. Ghostreference
Reference to the edition where the ghostname is found. We have used the common papyrological abbreviations, avoiding the use of Latin figures (thus P. Oxy. 53, not P.Oxy. LIII).
4. Onomastica
Here we have noted if the name appears in Preisigke’s Namenbuch or Foraboschi’s Onomasticon, using the standard abbreviations NB and On. Names read after 1967 and therefore not attested in either lexicon, are marked as “no”.
5. Faultmaker
Name of the editor or commentator who made the error.
6. and 7. : Corrected form and corrected form complete.
Again no accents and, in field 7 no diacritical marks as in field 2. To make searching simple, we have not even included breathings or accents, except when a proper name is replaced by a common noun or a phrase. Searching should be done in field 7.
8. Corrector
Name of the editor or commentator who corrected the error.
9. Correct reference
Reference to the publication where the correction is made. If no reference is given here the correction is unpublished.
10. Berichtigungsliste (BL)
Reference to the volume of the Berichtigungsliste where the correction is registered. We have systematically processed BL 5, 6 and 7. BL 8 is not yet finished. Earlier volumes of the BL do not contain indices of rejected proper names and here our survey is spotty. If no reference is given here, the correction is not listed in the BL, e.g. because it was made in a reedition, which was incorporated in the Sammelbuch or in a publication in book form, or because it was made recently and not yet incorporated in the BL’s which were used by us. Since the first volumes of the BL do not index the ghostnames it is not always easy to identify them as such.
11. Value
Here we want to give the user some idea about the trustworthiness of the proposed correction. This has been done by means of the following codes. Codes a-i are positive indicators, codes z-y are negative indicators.
| Code | Value |
| +a | the corrected name occurs in five or more different texts |
| +b | the corrected name is meaningful i.e. etymologically possible |
| +c | there is a prosopographical identification: the person is known from other texts |
| +d | the correction is assured by a parallel text |
| +e | the original has been checked |
| +f | a photograph, microfilm or picture online is available |
| +g | a facsimile drawing is available |
| +h | a microfilm is available |
| +i | the correction is confirmed by the demotic (in bilingual texts or archives) |
| -z | the new name is a hapax itself |
| -y | the reading has not been checked (no e, f, g) |
| -x | none of the criteria a-d confirms this reading |
12. Types of errors
The following typology has been made by Chris Eyckmans
| Code | Type |
| 00000 | Error of the scribe |
| 01000 | Error of the falsificator |
| 02000 | The editor has wrongly “corrected” the scribe |
| 11000 | The scribe made an error, but later corrected it; the editor did not notice the correction |
| 12000 | Palaeographical errors by the editor |
| 12100 | confusion between individual letters, e.g. alpha => lambda (= reading alpha should be corrected into lambda) |
| 12200 | confusion between individual letter and a group of letters, e.g. my => lambda + alpha (= the reading M should be corrected to lambda-alpha) |
| 12300 | confusion between two groups of letters, e.g. alpha-beta => lambda-epsilon (= alpha-beta is wrong, and should be read lambda-epsilon) |
| 12400 | abbreviation mark read as a letter |
| 12500 | letter left unread (e.g. 12500 alpha = alpha left unread) |
| 12600 | the editor reads a letter that is not there (e.g. 12600 alpha = alpha is not there on the papyrus) |
| 12700 | very cursive writing (“Verschleifung”) |
| 13000 | The papyrus is damaged |
| 13100 | dotted letters are involved [for damaged passages no further typology is given if this would result in too much uncertainty] |
| 13200 | confusion by partial disappearance of signs, e.g. 13200 alpha = the alpha has partially disappeared |
| 13300 | ink blot read as a letter |
| 13400 | part of the name is lost |
| 13500 | a correction by the scribe makes the reading problematical |
| 14000 | Wrong supplements and wrong expansions of abbreviations |
| 14100 | wrong supplements of a damaged passage |
| 14110 | unnecessary supplement of a supposed damaged passage |
| 14120 | damaged passage, but the editor did not put in the supplement |
| 14200 | wrong expansion of an abbreviated name |
| 14210 | unnecessary expansion of a supposedly abbreviated name |
| 14220 | abbreviation, but the editor did not see the need of expansion |
| 15000 | Wrong word division |
| 15100 | including a personal name |
| 15101 | ghostname = two proper names |
| 15102 | two ghostnames = two proper names |
| 15103 | two ghostnames = one proper name |
| 15104 | ghostname = proper name + common word |
| 15105 | two ghostnames = proper name + common word |
| 15106 | ghost name = common word + ghostname |
| 15107 | two ghostnames = common word + ghostname |
| 15108 | ghostname = proper name + beginning of a word |
| 15109 | two ghostnames = proper name + beginning of a word |
| 15110 | ghostname = end of a word + proper name |
| 15111 | two ghostnames = end of a word + proper name |
| 15112 | ghostname = end of a word + proper name |
| 15200 | not including a personal name |
| 15201 | ghostname = several words (or parts of words) |
| 15202 | ghostname = part of one word |
| 16000 | The ghostname is not a personal name |
| 16100 | ghostname is a proper name, but not a personal name |
| 16101 | ghostname is a place-name |
| 16102 | ghostname is a ship-name |
| 16103 | ghostname is a month-name |
| 16104 | ghostname is an ethnic |
| 16105 | ghostname is a divine name |
| 16200 | ghostname is not a proper name |
| 16201 | ghostname is a substantive |
| 16202 | ghostname is a title or occupation |
| 16203 | ghostname is an adjective or participle |
| 16204 | ghostname is a verb |
| 16205 | ghostname is a morpheme (grammatical element) |
| 16206 | others |
| 20000 | errors in editing and indexing the text |
| 21000 | erroneous nominative given (translation and index) |
| 21100 | indeclinable word has been wrongly declined |
| 21200 | casus obliquus wrongly taken for a nominative |
| 21210 | genitive |
| 21211 | short genitive |
| 21220 | dative |
| 21230 | accusative |
| 21300 | casus obliquus recognized but wrong nominative reconstructed |
| 21310 | genitive |
| 21311 | short genitive |
| 21320 | dative |
| 21330 | accusative |
| 21400 | gender confusion |
| 21401 | wrong nominative reconstructed for a masculine word |
| 21402 | wrong nominative reconstructed for a feminine word |
| 21500 | wrong resolution of abbreviation in the index |
| 22000 | ghostname made up from a demoticon |
| 23000 | printing error |
| 23001 | printing error in the edition |
| 23002 | printing error in the index of the edition |
| 23003 | printing error in the NB or Onom. |
| 23004 | printing error in Papyrological Navigator/DDBDP |
| 24000 | wrong classification in NB / Onom. |
13. Century
Date of the text, by century only (from -3 tot +8)
14. Notes
This field is used for different things, e.g.
-“not real ghostname” : when a wrong reading does not result in a ghostname, but in a rare variant of an existing name or a name that does exist but is not attested in Egypt. In some cases we will give here a reference to the other example of the name, which may be right; in that case there is no ghostname any more, even if the reading of the editor is highly doubtful or even wrong.
- work still to be done : when, for instance, no photograph was available but we suspect the reading is wrong; this is a cry for help to users! Here one will often find the Dutch word “nazien” i.e. this has still to be controled on a photograph or on the original
- when the new reading is uncertain (this is also marked in type of error, but if we are doubtful we sometimes say it here again, more explicitly)
- in a few cases multiple corrections have been proposed, which we cannot clearly distinguish in the fields above; they are then discussed in the note.
15. NAMref_false
When a name has received a TM number this is marked here. Some of these TM numbers are now empty (i.e. the error has been corrected in TM), other still refer to the original edition (i.e. the error has not yet been corrected). When the ghostname has been identified as a non-existing variant of another name (usually the one mentioned sub 14), the NAMVAR number is given preceded by the abbreviation var. This field is for internal use only and should not be made available online.
16. NAMREF_correct
Reference to the TM number of the corrected name.