Publisher's Synopsis
The Artemidorus papyrus, originating from Alexandria at the beginning of the 1st century A.D., contains on its verso 41 drawings by one hand, thereof 38 sketches of animals (some comprising two species each,thus resulting in 44 species), most of them labelled withtheir Greek names. As visible fromthe ?title' on the papyrus itself, it presents terrestrial tetrapods as well asbirds, fish, and whales. The workstands inthe tradition of Hellenistic animal pictures, beginning with Aristotle,developed furtherby the forerunners of the Nile Mosaic of Praeneste (Palestrina), and continued in Hellenistic and Roman artwork (wall paintings, mosaics) as well asin ?scientific' Byzantine codices. Most probably, this part of the papyrus was used as a collection of specimen.
