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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 170042

Letter from Taos to Markos about a family dispute at Koptos TM 170042Berenike2. Hälfte I

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 Taos to Markos, whom she calls father and lord, urging him to come to Koptos and complaining at length about the conduct of her husband's mother in a family dispute involving jars, theft and slander. It was found at Berenike and dates to the second half of the 1st century AD.

In English machine translation

[recto] Taos to Markos, her father and lord, very many greetings. I want you to know that if you do not come to Koptos, lord, […] my mother and I […] the things of my husband. The mother of my husband, having uncovered jars, told Dionysios when the matter was easily settled, Konnas […] outside the door […] has drunk them […] a whole hour to me […] which you have put around (?) […] orders of the father […] steals from Germanos […] says of a little […] people […] house […] in the Iseion […] after all these things […] has done, wrote […] speaking ill and has done […] my mother […] […] […] no longer bears […] from us. For we do not want to write to you all that she does, because of my father Germanos. I greet him much. Farewell. [verso] […] saying to me […] to me upon the […] of little pieces of meat […] you have made the sacrifice […] Eponychos her […]. Farewell (plural). To Berenike, deliver (?) […] to Markos […]

'Father' addressed to Markos is probably a term of respect, since Taos names Germanos as her actual father. Much of the middle of the text is lost, so the details of the quarrel are unclear.

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 Taos to Markos). 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 →

o.berenike.3.270

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · 2. Hälfte I · Berenike

[r] Ταῶς Μάρκωι τῶι πατρὶ καὶ κυρίωι πλεῖστα χαίρειν. γινώσκειν σε θέλω ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃς εἰς Κόπτον, κύριέ …[…] μήτηρ μου καὶ ἐγὼ […] σωι τὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μου. ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μου ἀνακαλύψασα κεράμια εἶπε Διονυσίωι ὅτε εὔλυτον ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα, Κοννᾶς α[…] λε ἐκτὸς τῆς θύρας […] πέπω…