The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 2 records across 2 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
A private letter on an ostracon from Mokotralis to his 'brother' Gellius at the Roman fort of Didymoi in the Eastern Desert. He reproaches Gellius for not writing, says he always greets Gellius's mother when writing to the children, and asks for a little pepper.
The letter is attributed to the hand of Philokles, a known letter writer in the Eastern Desert forts. 'Brother' may be a term of friendship rather than kinship, and the evil-eye formula applied to a horse is unusual and affectionate.
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 Mokotralis, in Philokles' Hand). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
Μοκοτραλις Γελλίῳ τῷ αδελφῷ πλεῖστα χαίρειν καὶ διὰ παντὸς ὑγιαίνειν μετὰ τοῦ ἀβασκάντου σου ἵππου · καὶ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ὑγιαίνω. οὐκ ἦν μέγα πρᾶγμα εἴ μοι ἔγραψας ἐπιστολήν. ὁσάκις ἂν γράφω τοῖς παιδίοις, γράφω ἀσπαζόμενος τὴν μητέρα σου · μαρτυρήσει σοι καὶ αὐτή. πέμψον μοι ἂν ἔχῃς μ…
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