Nuovi elementi sulla sezione iniziale del rotolo ercolanese della Vita Philonidis

PHerc. 1044 is part of a roll preserving a biographical work, probably written by Philodemus of Gadara. The title of this work is lost, but, since it is focused on the Epicurean philosopher and mathematician Philonides from Laodiceia-on-sea in Syria, it is commonly known as Vita Philonidis. This paper will focus on the most external portion of the volumen, in which I detected part of the initial agraphon. The first preserved columns, although their state of preservation is highly fragmentary, with the help of some new readings, can shed some light on some aspects of the content of the first section of this work. In this regard I will present some new reflections and try to frame them in the still partly obscure context of ancient biography.