[en] Based on literary sources, documentary and literary Greek papyri, this study aims at providing a better understanding of the use of ancient brackets (περιγραφαί). As cancelling signs or, paradoxically, as markers of emphasis, brackets interact with other signs, which they also distinguish themselves from. Their relation to correction signs, such as crossing-out strokes and expunging dots, is a particular focus of this article, whether bracketed passages stand next to struck sequences or some passages are both struck through and placed between brackets. By establishing an inventory of the different shapes brackets can take and closely examining their textual environment, the goal is to get a glimpse of the Ancients’ perception of these signs and, more broadly, their methods of correction.
