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The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Vol. 10, edited by Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt (London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1914)
Private Correspondence: Nos. 1291-1300 (AD 30 - fifth century AD) [1] [2]
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No. 1291 Letter of Zois. 4.8 x 8.2 cm. AD 30. (p.243)
A short letter from Zois to her brother Ischyrion, who is probably
identical with the Ischyras in No. 1292, another letter found at the
same time; cf. e.g. 119, where the writer calls himself Theon in line 1
and Theonas in 1. 18, and 1269. 14 and 34, notes.
Translation from Greek: (p.244)
"Zois to Ischyrion her brother, greeting. No one has brought me a
letter about the bread, but if you send a letter by Colluthus, an
artaba will come to you immediately. If you wish to depart for
Alexandria, Apollos son of Theon is going to-morrow. Good-bye. The 17th
year of Tiberius Caesar Augustus, the 29th of the month Neus Sebastus.
(Addressed) To Ischyrion."
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No. 1292. Letter of Hermogenes. 11.5 x 7.3 cm. ca. AD 30. (p.244)
A short letter from Hermogenes to his brother, asking for two hundred
jars, and stating that he had sent some money and was prepared to
supply wood for the transport of a water-wheel. The papyrus was found
with 1291, which is dated in AD 30, and is probably addressed to the
same correspondent.
Translation from Greek: (p.244)
"Hermogenes to Ischyras his brother, greeting. Please put on board for
me two hundred empty jars, as I asked you before. You have the 16
drachmae of silver by Saras, and I have given Hermas 12 drachmae to
give you. If you specially require two pieces of wood to bring down to
me the wheel of the machine, they shall be brought up to you by... For
the rest, good-bye. (Addressed) To my dearest Ischyras.’
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No. 1293. Letter of Theon. 23.9 x 9.2 cm. AD 117-38. (p.245)
A letter from a son to his mother concerning the dispatch of oil and
other articles. The reigning emperor whose name has been lost in lines
37 was most probably Hadrian.
Translation from Greek: (p.247)
"Theon to his mother Philumene, greeting. Before all else I pray for
your health and that of my father. Receive from Saras son of Marcus
four and a half metretae of fine aphrodisiac oil; and having done so
let me know. If I do not get letters from him about the amount of the
oil which he brings to you, I do not intend to send it (?). You ought
to have given him a letter, because it is not Saras but another
stranger whose word I have to take that you have received it; so in
future write, for I have had no letter about the first four and a half
metretae. I do this not on our account but on that of the camel-men,
lest one of them should want to leave part behind and not bring it.
Saras says to me, “‘ Let the other five metretae about which you write
wait for the other load,” and if I cannot find a carrier [1], I shall
do so. I sent my brother Apollonius some wool to be dyed, since I want
two quarters (?) [2] and they have not been prompt in bringing it (?)
because the days are . . I wrote to him... Receive from Saras son of
Marcus two sealed baskets . . ., one for you, and one for Plutarche my
... Receive in addition from Apollonius . .. Good-bye." Date,
postscripts, and address on the verso.
notes:
1. It is noticeable that the oil was sent to the Apollinopolite nome
overland and not by water. The nome referred to is doubtless the
Apollinopolites Parvus (Heptacomiae).
2. Tetrapras should perhaps be read; the tetarpton (τέταρτον) was a liquid measure (guartartus).
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No. 1294. Letter to Didyme. 19.6 x 18.9 cm. Late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. (p.247)
A letter in a rather large cursive hand from a man whose name is lost
to his sister, announcing the dispatch of various articles. Pauses in
the sense are indicated by blank spaces after χείλωμα in line 5, ἄρον
in line 8, σαπῇ in line 13, λήμψῃ in line 14, and pou in line 16.
translation from Greek: (p.248)
"To the lady Didyme his sister, greeting. Receive from the slave of the
strategus a... chest containing two parchment quaternions and a cloak .
. . and a box, and from Didymus the sailor a bread-basket containing 4
glass flasks in sound condition, and a good strap tied to the basket,
and 3 knives; of these take one for yourself. And from Carpus son of
Cleon receive the key of the bread-basket. If you cannot open the
basket yourself, for it opens with difficulty, give it to the
key-maker, and he will open it for you... Take care of the things in
the box lest they rot. Do not lose heart about the rent, for you will
get it once for all. Tell me through the sailor about all these things,
whether you have received them, and if you require anything, let me
know. I salute Tausiris my daughter and Sarapas. Good-bye, sister. ...
20th. (Addressed) To Didyme."
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No. 1295. Letter of Tasois. 14.83 x 11.5 cm. 2nd or early 3rd century AD. (p.249)
A letter from a woman complaining that her correspondent Dionysius was
attempting to alienate her son, who apparently was in his charge, and
threatening to remove the boy from Dionysius’ influence.
translation from Greek: (pp.249-250)
"Tasois to her most esteemed Dionysius, greeting. See, I have not
imitated you by taking away my son, but if you intend to blame him in
this way, I shall send Ptolemaeus (p.250) and take him away. When his
father died, I paid on his behalf 1,300 drachmae and expended on
clothes for him 60 drachmae. I therefore beg that you will not persuade
him to desert me, or I shall take him away and put him in pledge at
Alexandria [1]. So please send me a payment for two months through the
bearer of this letter and the cloak, and let me know how much money you
have given to him and whether you have received the cloak. Send the
veil to your brother. Good-bye. (Addressed) To Dionysius from Tasois."
Notes:
1. What exactly the writer intended by this threat is not clear.
Perhaps she contemplated a loan on the security of her son’s services,
which might be engaged in lieu either of the principal or the interest
of the debt (c.f Wessely, Fuhrer P.E.R. No. 433, P.Flor.44, Tebt.384,
Lewald, Zur Personalexekutton, pp. 14 5646.)
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No. 1296. Letter of Dius. 15.8 x 10 cm. Third century AD. (p.250)
A letter from a son to his father, assuring him that his studies were
proceeding satisfactorily. Cf. the good advice given by a father to his
son in No. 531.
Translation from Greek: (p.251)
"Aurelius Dius to Aurelius Horion my sweetest father, many greetings. I
perform the act of veneration for you every day before the gods of this
place. Do not be anxious, father, about my studies; I am industrious
and take relaxation: all will be well with me. I salute my mother
Tamiea and my sister Tnepherous and my sister Philous, I salute my
brother Patermouthis and my sister Thermouthis, I salute my brother
Heracl . . . and my brother Kollouchis, I salute my father Melanus and
my mother Timpesouris and her son [1]. Gaia salutes you all, my father
Horion and Thermouthis salute you all. I pray for your health, father.
(Addressed) Deliver to Aurelius Horion from his son Dius."
notes:
1. This papyrus provides a good illustration of the loose use of father
(πατήρ), mother (μήτηρ), &c., at this period; besides Horion, who
was no doubt his real father (cf. line 21), the writer refers to two
other men as ‘father’ (lines 15, 18), and he speaks of two women as
‘mother’ (lines 8, 15).... The true relationship of all the ‘brothers’
and ‘sisters’ mentioned may also be questioned.
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No. 1297. Letter of Sarmates. 24 x 9.3 cm. Fourth century AD. (p.251)
A letter announcing the dispatch of various articles and asking for others to be sent. The spelling and grammar are remarkable.
Translation from Greek: (p.252)
"Sarmates to his own Dioscorus. I sent you by Ammon the priest a marium
of oil, which is meant for you to burn, and by my brother Theodorus
four baskets, which are for you to burn, and a... of oil for you to
uncover and eat, and a spathium of wine for you to drink at the
festival, and by Ilis one basket [1] for you to burn. If Theodorus
reaches you there, come here with him and bring the milk cakes when you
come and the . . ., not the papyrus I pray for your health. (Addressed)
Deliver to my mother and father from armates."
notes:
1. This appears to imply that the basket (σφυρίδια) contained oil.
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No. 1298. Letter of Ammon 11.1 x 11.5 cm. Fourth century AD. (p.252)
An incomplete letter from a man to his friend, complaining of the
treatment which he had.received in a transaction concerning some wine,
and inviting sympathy or assistance. The writing is across the fibres
of the verso, the recto being blank.
Translation from Greek: (p.253)
"To my incomparable master, the consolation of his friends, Gonatas
from Ammon, greeting. Before all else I pray to the Lord God for the
prosperity of yourself and those dearest to you. I have been keeping
myself quite alone beyond the point of safety, and all the vain talk of
the world besets me. For I have only you to witness how Gunthus laid
hands on me when Castor son of Damostratus, superintendent of
wine—Gunthus sent me a receipt for 66 spathia of wine; for Troilus 36,
for me 22, for Dius 8, and when I came to the Oxyrhynchite nome he
charged me for each spathium [1] 7 talents, which you being the
intermediary in this... (Addressed) To my lord and brother Gonatas from
Ammon."
notes:
1. In [some other] papyri of the middle of the fourth century AD .... a spathium of wine is priced at 20 and 25 talents.
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No. 1299. Letter of Psais and Syra. 24.5 x 18.1 cm. 4th century AD. (p.254)
A letter to a son from his parents, giving news of their health and of their preparations for his arrival.
Translation from Greek: (pp.254-255)
"To my lord and son Ision from Psais and Syra, many greetings. Before
all else I pray to the Lord God for your health and prosperity; Thonis
your brother sends you (p.255) many salutations. Next, since the new
year we have been very ill, but we give thanks to God that we have
recovered ; and up to the present time we have not sacrificed the pigs.
We are expecting you to come. You know that on your account we have not
salted any fish, but we have made the pickle yearly, and, if possible,
I will prepare it for your coming. Do as I told you about the . . . of
knives and the pepper. Your brothers Horion and Heraiscus salute you,
An ...n and her children salute you, Tachosis and her husband
salute you, Triadelphus and his wife and children salute you. I salute
Kamokos and his household, I salute Hepsates and his wife with their
children, I salute Hatres, Pseke, and all our friends by name. I pray
for your long-continued health. Hathur το. (Addressed) Deliver to Ision
.. . from his parents Syra and Psais."
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No. 1300. Letter of Peter. 9.9 x 31.1 cm. Fifth century AD. (p.255)
A badly spelled letter from a son to his mother asking that various
articles might be sent to him, and making other requests. [Some] words
in lines 2 and 8-10 .... were written in a different hand, no doubt by
the sender himself, before the vacant spaces originally left in these
lines were filled in by the insertion of the reference to Theon, and
the request for a veil and hood.
Translation from Greek: (p.256)
“Τo my most esteemed and virtuous mother, the lady Maria, from your son
Peter in the Lord God, greeting. I have found a good opportunity by
this letter to greet you many times with my brother Theon and my sister
the lady Plusia and my sweetest brethren Herais, Nonna, Omaia, and
Phoebammon, by name. Be pleased, my lady mother, to send me the...and
the rings. Do not neglect to send them to me by Athanasius. Many
greetings to my lord brother Athanasius the valet of Abel and also of
Dorotheus; many greetings to my mother Cyrillous. I pray for your long
health. Be pleased, my lady mother, to buy me a thick veil for the
winter, and to get the Oasis hood from Peter son of Esour, that I may
wear it when I come. (Addressed) Deliver to my dearest Maria from your
son Peter."
Footnotes:
1. [Editor's Note:] The original textual commentaries and notes provided by Grenfell and Hunt on
passages in Greek, and on some bibliographic references, have sometimes been abbreviated or omitted, if not essential to
understanding the content of the papyri documents. Any such omissions
are marked with "....", and any added words needed for clarity are
placed between brackets [ ]. These elisions are separate from those
used by Grenfell and Hunt in the translated text, which have not been
altered.
2. [Editor's Note:] References to all other papyri from the Oxyrhynchus
collections are given with their sequential number as "No. xxx" or "Oxy.xxx".
Abbreviations to other papyri collections and standard historical
references used by Grenfell and Hunt include the following:
Appian = Appian of Alexandria (AD 95-165) was a Greek historian.
Archiv.= Archiv fur Papyrusforschung.
B.G.U. = Aeg. Urkunden aus den K. Museum zu Berlin, Griechische Urkunden.
Cassius Dio = The History by Lucius Cassius Dio (AD 165-235), Roman historian.
C.I.G. = Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, founded by August Bockh 1824-1860.
C.I.L. = Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, begun by Theodore Mommson in 1847.
Cod. Just.= Codex Justinianus, the legal code of Justinian I, instituted AD 527.
Cod. Theod.= Codex Theodosianus, the legal code of Theodosius II from AD 438.
C. P. Herm. = Corpus Papyrorum Hermopolitanorum, Vol. I, by C. Wessely.
C.P.R. = Corpus Papyrorum Raineri, by C. Wessely.
Euseb.Chron. = The Chronicle by Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260-339).
Griech. Texte = Griechische Texte aus Aegypten, by P. M. Meyer.
Josephus Ant.Jud. = Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus (AD 37-100)
M. Chrest. = L. Mitteis, Chrestomathie.
Marcellinus =The late Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus (ca.330-400 AD).
O.G.I. = Orientis Graecae Inscriptiones selectae, by W. Dittenberger.
P. Amh. = The Amherst Papyri (Greek), Vols. I-II, by B.P.Grenfell and A.S.Hunt.
P. Basel = Papyrusukunden der offentlichen Bibliot.U.Basel, by E. Rabel.
P. Brit.Mus. = Greek papyri in the British Museum, vol.I-II by F.G. Kenyon.
P. Cairo = Catalog of the Greek Papyri in the Cairo Museum,by Grenfell & Hunt.
P. Cairo Maspero = Catalogue des Antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Papyrus grecs d’époque byzantine, by J. Maspero.
P. Cairo Preisigke = Griech.Urkunden des Aeg. Mus. zu Cairo, by F. Preisigke.
P. Fay. = Fayum Towns & Their Papyri by B.P.Grenfell, A.S.Hunt, & D.S.Hogarth
P. Flor. = Papiri Fiorentini, Vol. 1, by G. Vitelli.
P. Gen. = Les Papyus de Geneve, by J. Nicole.
P. Giessen = Griechische Papyri zu Giessen; E. Kornemann, O. Eger, & P. Meyer.
P. Goodsp. = Greek Papyri from the Cairo Museum, &c., by E. J. Goodspeed. .
P.
Grenf. = Greek Papyri, Ser. 1 by B.P. Grenfell, and Ser. II by Grenfell and Hunt
P. Hibeh = The Hibeh Papyri by B.P Grenfell and A.S. Hunt
P. Iande = Papyri Iandanae, by E. Shafer et al.
P. Leipzig = Griechische Urkunden der Papyrussammlung zu Leipzig by I Mitteis.
P. Leyden = Papyri Graeci Musei Antiquarii Lugduni-Batavi, by C. Leemans.
P. Lille = Papyrus grecs de Lille, by P. Jouguet, J. Lesquier, and others. .
P. Munich = Versffentlichungen aus der Papyrussammlung zu Miinchen, Part I, by A. Heisenberg and L. Wenger. .
P. Oxy. = The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, parts 1-13, by B.P. Grenfell and A.S. Hunt.
P. Par. = Les Papyrus grecs du Musée du Louvre, Wotices et Extraits, t. xviii. 2, by W. Brunet de Presle and E. Egger.
P. Petrie = The Flinders Petrie Papyri, by J.P. Mahaffy and J.G. Smyly.
P. Reinach = Papyrus grecs et demotiques, by T. Reinach et al.
P. Rev.Laws = The Revenue Laws of Ptolemy Philadelphus, by B.P. Grenfell.
P. Ryl. = Catalog of the Greek Papyri in the Rylands Library, by J. de
M. Johnson, V. Martin, and A.S.
Hunt.
P.S.I. = Papiri della Societa Italiana, by G. Vitelli et al.
P. Strassb. = Griech. Papyrus der K.Univ.bibliotheck zu Strassburg by F.Preisigke.
P. Stud. Pal. = Studien zur Palaeographie und Papyruskunde, by C. Wessely
P. Tebt. = The Tebtunis Papyri, by B.P. Grenfell, A.S. Hunt, et al.
P. Thead.= Papyrus de Théadelphie, by P. Jouguet. Preisigke, S. P.
Plin.Nat.Hist. = The Natural History by Gaius Plinus Secundus (AD 23-79).
Porphyry = Porphyry of Tyre (AD 234-305) was a Neoplatonic philospher.
SB. = Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Aegypten, by F. Preisigke.
W. Chr. = Crestomathie, by U. Wilcken.
Wilcken, Ost. = Griechische Ostraka, by U. Wilcken.
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