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A private letter from Soeris to her daughter Aline, sending greetings to Aline, her brother Apollonios and her children. Soeris reacts to news about illness, says she has had eye trouble for four months, and mentions half-jars for the children. It belongs to the early 2nd century AD, probably from Hermopolis.
Aline is known from the archive of the strategos Apollonios, her brother and husband, so Soeris is the mother of both. The phrase 'may the evil eye spare them' translates abaskantos, a protective epithet for children; the sentence 'How is it that you write to me that I am ill?' may be a slip for 'that you are ill'.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Brief der Soëris an ihre Tochter Aline). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
[v] Σοῆρις Ἀλίνηι τῆι θυγατρὶ χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν παντὸς εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν μετὰ Ἀπολλωνίου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου καὶ τῶν ἀβασκάντων σου. πῶς γράφεις μοι ὅτι ἀσθενῶς ἔχω; ἔλεγόν μοι ὅτι οὐκ ἀσθενεῖς καὶ εἰς τοσαύτην λύπην με βάλλεις. ἐγὼ γὰρ ἰδοῦ τετράμηνος ἀσθενῶ μου τὰ ὄμματα. γράφεις…
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