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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 1569

Letter from Horos to Pemenes about a striking swineherd and starving pigs TM 1569unbekannt

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 letter from Horos to Pemenes reporting that the swineherd Herieneuphis has taken refuge at the king's altar and refuses to work until paid four months' wages, claiming as a sailor that no one can force him. Horos asks Pemenes to get Zenon to send the wages and another worker, warning that the pigs are starving.

In English machine translation

[recto] Horos to Pemenes, greetings. Herieneuphis the swineherd has withdrawn to the altar of the king, saying, "I will not herd the pigs unless you pay me my wages for four months," and saying, "I am a sailor; no one can touch me or compel me to herd your pigs." Please, then, meet Zenon and speak to him about the allowance, so that he may send it to us, so that the man does not leave but goes on herding. Know then that I am warning you in advance, so that you do not blame me later. Your pigs here are starving. More of them are perishing and dying of hunger than are lost to the disease that is falling upon the animals. So tell Zenon to send us another slave (?) so that we may lead the animals out to the vetch. For one man is not enough to herd 60 animals there, but two will be enough. And here there will be another man with the rest, for the rest cannot yet eat vetch. Farewell. Phaophi 22. [verso] To Pemenes.

The letter belongs to the Zenon archive (3rd century BC, Philadelphia in the Fayum); taking refuge at the king's altar was a recognized form of asylum. The word translated 'slave' (soma, literally 'body') can mean a slave or simply a worker.

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

DDbDP-text Full record →

p.lond.7.2007

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text

[r] Ὧρος Πεμενῆτι χαίρειν. Ἑριενοῦφις ὁ ὑοφορβὸς ἀπεχώρησεν ἐπὶ τὸν βωμὸν τοῦ βασιλέως, λέγων ὅτι οὐ μὴ βόσκω τὰς ὗς ἐὰν μή μοι τὸν μισθὸν ἀποδῶις τετραμήνου, λέγων ὅτι ναύτης εἰμί, οὐθείς με μὴ δύνηται ἅψασθαι οὐδὲ ἀναγκάσαι βόσκειν τὰς ὑμετέρας ὗς. καλῶς ἂν οὖν ποιήσαις ἐντυχὼν…