One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 10778

Letter from Gemellus to his son Sabinus about an olive grove and fish TM 10778Euhemeria (Arsinoites, Ägypten)Roman CE 100

The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →

A letter from the landowner Lucius Bellenus Gemellus to his son Sabinus, asking him to send the field-guard Pindaros of Dionysias (or his father) to inspect Hermonax's overcrowded olive grove at Kerkesoucha, and to send 12 drachmas' worth of fish to the city for a child's fortieth-day celebration. It comes from Euhemeria in the Fayum, about AD 100.

In English machine translation

Lucius Bellenus Gemellus to Sabinus his son, greetings. By all means send Pindaros the field-guard of Dionysias or his father, since Hermonax has asked me that he inspect his olive grove in Kerkesoucha, because it is dense with plants and he wants to cut out some plants from them. Please, then, send him at once, at once. And on the 18th or 19th send to the city fish worth 12 drachmas for the fortieth-day celebration of the little […] son of Gemella […] […]

The 'fortieth-day' (tetrakosta) celebration seems to mark the fortieth day after a child's birth. Gemellus was a retired Roman veteran whose family archive survives from Euhemeria.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter from Gemellus to Sabinus). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.

p.fay.113

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · Roman CE 100 · Euhemeria (Arsinoites, Ägypten)

Λούκιος Βελλῆνος Γέμελλος Σαβίνωι τῶι υἱῶι χαίρειν. πάντη πάντως πέμψεις Πίνδαρον τὸν πεδιοφύλακα τῆς Διονυσιάδος ἢ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ, ἐπεὶ Ἑρμῶναξ ἐρώτησέ με ἵνα ἐφίδῃ τὸν ἐλαιῶνα αὐτοῦ τὸν ἐν Κερκεσούχοις ἐπεὶ πυκνός ἐστιν τοῖς φυτοῖς, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐκκόψαι θέλει φυτά. εὖ οὖν ποι…