Two Pieces of the Same Scroll: The Cairo Papyrus and the Strasbourg Empedocles

A Papyrus Long Overlooked: The Reunited Voice of Empedocles

Sitting unrecognized in the archives of the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (IFAO) in Cairo, a two-thousand-year-old fragment of papyrus had been waiting for the right reader. That reader was Nathan Carlig, a papyrologist at the University of Liège. He identified the document—cataloged as P.Fouad inv. 218—as containing thirty previously unknown verses from the Physica, the foundational philosophical poem by the pre-Socratic thinker Empedocles of Agrigentum (5th century BCE).

Beyond the Filter of Antiquity

The discovery is a landmark in classical studies. Until now, our understanding of Empedocles was “second-hand,” filtered through indirect channels: quotations in Plato, paraphrases in Aristotle, or allusions in Plutarch. While invaluable, these sources inevitably reshaped Empedocles’ thought to fit their own agendas. P.Fouad inv. 218 offers the rare “holy grail” of philology: unmediated access to the philosopher’s original hexameters.

The Strasbourg Connection: One Scroll, Two Cities

The significance of the Cairo fragment deepens when paired with the famous Strasbourg Empedocles (P.Strasb. Gr. inv. 1665–1666). Published in 1999, the Strasbourg papyrus was the first direct manuscript evidence of the Physica ever found, offering fresh insight into Empedocles’ cosmic cycle.

For over two decades, those fragments were thought to be the sole survivors. However, Carlig’s research reveals a more compelling story: the Cairo and Strasbourg papyri are not just related—they are fragments of the same ancient scroll.

At some point in antiquity, a single copy of the Physica was damaged or divided. One section traveled to Strasbourg; another remained in Egypt. The material evidence—the physical texture of the papyrus, the specific scribal hand, and the poetic meter—all confirm that these two pieces, separated for two millennia, are parts of a single original manuscript. Together, they constitute the only known primary copy of Empedocles’ masterwork.

Effluences and the Mechanics of Vision

While the Strasbourg fragments focused on cosmology, P.Fouad inv. 218 explores Empedocles’ theory of effluences (aporrhoai) and sensory perception.

Empedocles proposed a strikingly materialist theory: objects constantly emit streams of fine particles. We “see” or “smell” because these particles pass through precisely shaped pores in our sense organs. The newly recovered verses provide the first opportunity to read Empedocles’ own articulation of this mechanical bridge between the mind and the physical world.

A Legacy Redefined

The analysis of this text has effectively redefined a legacy, sending ripples through the history of philosophy by illuminating the profound connectivity of ancient thought. By serving as a likely primary source for specific passages in Plutarch and identifying conceptual parallels within the works of Plato and Theophrastus, the text bridges critical “missing links” in the philosophical timeline. Furthermore, it uncovers literary echoes that highlight previously unnoticed influences on the playwright Aristophanes and the Roman poet Lucretius. Ultimately, these findings solidify the scientific ancestry of the era, reinforcing Empedocles’ position as a crucial and foundational forerunner to the atomists like Democritus.

The New Edition

The editio princeps (the first critical edition and commentary) provides the full context of this “reunion”:

Carlig, N., Martin, A., & Primavesi, O. (2025). L’Empédocle du Caire (P.Fouad inv. 218). Introduction, texte, commentaire. Papyrologica Bruxellensia, 44. Brussels. Available via the University of Liège repository: hdl.handle.net/2268/329390

A “Second Renaissance”

Carlig’s find embodies what papyrologists call a second Renaissance. Much like the 15th-century humanists who rediscovered lost classics in monastic libraries, modern scholars are now recovering silent voices from the sands of Egypt and the depths of digital archives. P.Fouad inv. 218 and the Strasbourg papyrus are two pieces of a single ancient puzzle—finally reunited on the modern page.