Letter from Apollodotos to Charmides

Description

Apollodotos was a subordinate of Apollonios the dioik�t�s, possibly a royal oikonomos, residing in Caria. Charmides to who he writes was an agent of his, probably staying Alexandria. He sends Charmides, along with his instructions, copies of two letters addressed to a certain Xanthippos. We learn from the text that Xanthippos was trierarch of a ship and we gather from the context that he was a trierarch in the Athenian sense; i.e. a rich man on whom was laid the burden of equipping a ship for the Ptolemaic navy. While he himself was inhabiting or visiting Alexandria, the ship was stationed at Halikarnassos under the charge of his representative Antipatros. The latter being short of money for upkeep or repairs had received, through the influence of Apollodotos, the following advances, or friendly loans without interest out of certain public funds.