A wet-nursing contract from Oxyrhynchus in which Philotera of Senepta, with her husband as guardian, agrees to nurse for two years a male slave infant named Dionysios, found that day on a dung-heap, for Papontos son of Dionysios. She is paid 7 drachmas and oil monthly, with penalties if she breaks the agreement; it was registered by the agoranomos Mnesitheon.
In English machine translation
Year 6 of Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, Epeiph 19.
Philotera, daughter of […], mother […], from the village of Senepta, with her guardian, her husband Peteesis son of Philiskos son of Ammonios, mother […]arasis daughter of Vettius, acknowledges to Papontos […] son of Dionysios, mother Taier[…], from the city of Oxyrhynchus, in the street, that she has received from him the nursling male slave child named Dionysios, who was picked up today from the dung-heap, whom she is obliged to nourish and suckle and also to nurse for a period of two years from this same present day until Epeiph 19 of year 8 of Domitianus Caesar the lord, receiving as wages for food and clothing 7 drachmas of silver per month and 2 kotylai of Oasis oil […]. Philotera has received forthwith from Papontos the 84 drachmas amounting to the first year, and when this is completed Papontos will give Philotera the 84 drachmas of the second year […]. Philotera shall not be permitted to cast the child back on Papontos within the period […] the milk nor […] taking care and attention of the child as is proper. After the period let her hand over the child weaned. If not […] of whatever months she has nursed, and if Papontos wishes to take the child away from her, without her making any claim on Papontos for the remaining time, let Philotera repay to him whatever she is found to owe for the time during which she has not yet nursed. If Philotera does not act as written, let her pay Papontos what she has received, as stated above, in silver with an additional half, and as a fine another […] drachmas of silver, and the same to the treasury, and Papontos shall have the right of execution upon her and upon all her property, as if by a court judgment. The contract is valid.
Year 6 of Imperator Caesar Domitianus Augustus Germanicus, Epeiph 19th. […] I, Mnesitheon, agoranomos, have executed it.
Much of the text is restored from parallel nursing contracts. The phrase 'from the dung-heap' (apo koprias) marks an exposed infant taken up and raised as a slave.;
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Contratto con una balia). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.