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p.lond.3.897 29. März 84Alexandria

Letter from Alexandria about returning to the Arsinoite nome despite tax harassment. A private letter written from Alexandria by a man who fled the Arsinoite nome (Fayum) after being wronged over the poll tax by a former village scribe. He asks his correspondent for a sworn assurance that he will not be harassed if he returns, otherwise he will stay in Alexandria, and gives an address at a dried-fruit shop for replies. Dated 29 March AD 84. machine translation

Source of record: Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

The same text in other collections

Linked by Trismegistos ID TM 22703. Each record below describes this same artifact or text from a different angle.

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 · Greek · Greek

Transcription

[r] [column 1] … [column 2] λαογραφίας τότε γὰρ ἐλασσωθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ προόντος κωμογραμματέως. ἐκεῖνος μὲν τότε ἐψεύσατο, νυνὶ δὲ ὑμεῖς τὴν ἀλήθειαν γράψατε, πῶς δὲ δύναμαι εἰς Ἀρσινοείτην παραγενέσθαι μάλιστα τοῦ καιροῦ τῆς σιτολογίας ἐνεστῶτος, ἵνα παραγενάμενος εὐθέως πάλιν ἐπήρειά μοι γένηται, ἐὰν δὲ δύνημαι σκεπάσαι ἢ ὑπὸ σκέπην τινα γενέσθαι, τοῦτό μοι γράψον ὤμοσας διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ὅτι σου παραγεναμένου οὐδεμία σοι ἐπήρεια ἔσται καὶ ἥδιστα πάντας καταλείψω ἵνα μὴ τὴν πρὸς σὲ φιλίαν καταλείψω. ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἦσαα εὑρηκώς τινα ὅδον, γράψον μοι ἵνα μὴ πάλιν ἀναπλεύσω τὸν τοιοῦτον πόρον· κέκρικα γὰρ νὴ τοὺς θεοὺς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ ἐπιμένειν. πιστεύω γὰρ ὅτι δυνηθήσομαι δεῖνα μέντοι γε οὐ θέλω, ἀλλὰ ἢ ἀνάγκη περὶ δὲ ἁπάντων ἀντιφώνησίν μοι εὐθέως γράψον· οὐ γὰρ ἀναπλέω εἰς Ἀρσινοίτην εἰ μή σου ἐπιστολὴν λάβω . ἐὰν δέ μοι ἐπιστολὰς πέμπῃς, πέμψεις εἰς τὸ Θέωνος τραγηματοπωλῖον ἐπὶ τὸ Χαριδήμου βαλανεῖον καὶ ἐν τῶι ἐργαστηρίωι εὑρήσει Δεῖον τὸν τοῦ Σύρου καὶ αὐτός μοι ἀναδώσει ἢ παρὰ Ἡρακλειδίωνα τὸν τοῦ Ἄβα. καὶ περὶ ἄλλων ἀναγκαίων μετεώρων ἤθελόν σοι γράψαι νὴ τοὺς θεούς. οὐκ ἔγραψα δὲ διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς εἰδὼς ἐμαυτῶι ὅτι ἤδη προέσχηκας ἐν τῶι πράγματι. παρακαλῶ δέ σε ἵνα μή με πλανήσῃς διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς καὶ παραγενάμενος εὐθέως […]…ινα εκτ[…] [v] πάλιν καταπλεύσω, ἀλλά μοι εὐθέως τὴν ἀλήθειαν γράψον. οἶδα γὰρ ἐμαυτῶι μὲν ὅτι μέλει σοι πολλὰ περὶ ἐμοῦ, μελήσει σοι δὲ ὡς ὑπὲρ ἰδίου τέκνου ἔρρωσο ἀσπάζου Ἀφροδοῦν τὴν μικρὰν καὶ τοὺς ἐν οἴκωι πάντας. ἔρρωσο. ἔτους γ Αὐτοκράτορος Καίσαρος Δομιτιανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ Γερμανικοῦ, Φαρμοῦθι γ

Translations (1)

EN AI · machine translation from the DDbDP edition (Claude Opus 5.5)
[recto] [column 1] … [column 2] […] of the poll tax; for at that time I was wronged by the former village scribe. He lied then, but now you (plural) write the truth. And how can I come to the Arsinoite nome, especially when the season of grain collection is at hand, only to have harassment befall me again as soon as I arrive? If I can find cover or come under someone's protection, write this to me, swearing in your letter that 'if you come, no harassment will befall you', and I will most gladly leave everyone so as not to abandon my friendship with you. But if you have not found some way, write to me so that I do not sail up again on such a journey; for, by the gods, I have decided to stay in Alexandria. For I believe that I shall be able to […]; I do not want to, however, except under necessity. Write me a reply about everything at once; for I am not sailing up to the Arsinoite nome unless I receive a letter from you. If you send me letters, send them to the dried-fruit shop of Theon at the bath of Charidemos, and in the workshop he will find Deios son of Syros, and he will deliver them to me, or to Herakleidion son of Abas. I wanted to write to you about other pressing pending matters too, by the gods, but I did not write in the letter, knowing for myself that you have already taken the lead in the matter. I urge you not to mislead me through your letter, and on arriving immediately […] [verso] […] I sail down again, but write me the truth at once. For I know for myself that you care much about me, and you will care for me as for your own child. ⟦…⟧ ⟦I do not wish to go to the Arsinoite nome …⟧ Farewell. Greet little Aphrodous and all those at home. Farewell. Year 3 of Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, Pharmouthi 3.

Connections

Found at Alexandria

Cross-references (3)

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  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text.
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
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  • Inherited across the Trismegistos spine — a Trismegistos ID names one ancient text, and papyrology splits that text's description across databases: the edition in one, the date and provenance in another, the physical papyrus in a third. Fields tagged via … on this page were read from a sibling record under the same TM number, not asserted by Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text.