The avis phoenix in the Schools of Rhetoric: P.Mil.Vogl. I 20 and P.Lond.Lit. 193 Revisited

This article presents the re-edition of two Greek rhetorical prose composi- tions preserved on papyrus and dealing with the theme of the phoenix, the famous mythical bird of Egyptian and Greek mythology. A much improved reconstruc- tion and articulation of the text of both papyri, based on several new readings and new supplements, has allowed a better interpretation of the two pieces through the examination of their relationship with the copious literary tradition on the phoenix and a more precise contextualization within the cultural milieu that pro- duced them: they clearly belong to the Progymnasmata genre and should therefo- re be ascribed to the school environment.