One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 20352
Prefect's edict on guardians for orphans, with a petition concerning guardianship TM 20352Oxyrhynchos
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 2 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
A copy of an edict of the prefect of Egypt Gaius Valerius Pompeianus ordering the responsible officials to appoint guardians for orphans who lack them, posted at Oxyrhynchus in the reign of Diocletian and Maximian. It is followed by the beginning of a petition to the exegetes of Oxyrhynchus from two siblings, children of Origenes and Thaesis, who have taken on the guardianship of their minor nephews and nieces.
In English machine translation
Gaius Valerius Pompeianus, the most eminent prefect of Egypt, declares:
For those orphans for whom guardians have not been appointed, those who have been made responsible for the appointing shall, in […], appoint the guardians appropriate to their age; for thus it will come about that they obtain the proper care, whereas now many of the orphans' affairs which are in the charge of guardians suffer delay because the orphans have no tutors or curators.
Year 4 and year 3 of our lords Diocletian and Maximian Augusti, Phaophi […]. Posted in Oxyrhynchus in the same month Phaophi 27.
To […], exegetes in office of the Oxyrhynchite and the Small Oasis, councillor of the illustrious and most illustrious city of the Oxyrhynchites, […]
from […] and Apollonia, both children of Origenes, their mother being Thaesis, from the illustrious and most illustrious city of the Oxyrhynchites. Having obtained the guardianship of our nephews and nieces who are minors, children of the late […], daughter (?) of Origenes, from the same city […]
[…]
Greek distinguishes epitropoi (tutors of children under age) from kouratores (curators of minors past puberty); the edict covers both. The date is converted from the regnal year in the text; no date was supplied by the records.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Edict of a Praefect and Petition). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
p.oxy.6.888
ΓάιοςΟὐαλέριος Πομπηιανὸς ὁ διασημότατος ἔπαρχος Αἰγύπτου λέγει· οἷς ἐὰν μὴ πεποιημένοι ὦσιν κηδεμόνες ὀρφανοῖς οἱ τοῦ χειροτονεῖν κύριοι καθεστῶτες ἐν[…]ποιείσθωσαν τοὺς καθʼ ἡλικίαν κηδεμόνας· οὕτω γὰρ συμβήσεται τῆς προσηκούσης ἐπιμελείας τυγχάνειν, ὡς νῦν γε πολλὰ τῶν ὀρφανικ…