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Petition of Tryphon to the prefect about a foundling and his son TM 20700OxyrhynchusA.D. 49-50

The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 4 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →

A petition from Tryphon, a weaver of Oxyrhynchus, to the prefect of Egypt Gnaeus Vergilius Capito. His wife had been given a foundling to nurse by Syros; after the foundling died, Syros tried to claim Tryphon's own son as a slave, and although the strategos Pasion ruled in Tryphon's favour, Syros refuses to accept the decision. Written about AD 49-50.

In English machine translation

To Gnaeus Vergilius Capito, from Tryphon son of Dionysios, of those from Oxyrhynchus city. Syros son of Syros handed over to my wife Saraeus daughter of Apion, in the 7th year of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus Imperator, with me as guarantor, a male infant which he had picked up from a dung heap, named Heraklas, for her to nurse. Now since the infant has died, and Syros has attempted to carry off my underage son Apion into slavery, I went before Pasion, the former strategos of the nome, by whom my son Apion was also restored to me in accordance with the orders issued by you, the benefactor, and with the minutes of the proceedings held by Pasion. But since Syros does not wish to abide by the judgement, and moreover is keeping me, a craftsman, from my work, I have come to you, the saviour of all, to obtain justice. Farewell.

This is the sequel to the court proceedings in P.Oxy. I 37, where the opponent is called Pesouris rather than Syros. The foundling had been taken from a dung heap (kopria), a common place for exposing unwanted infants.

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

APIS-papyrus Full record →

Petition to the praefect

Papyri.info — APIS (Advanced Papyrological Information System) — papyri · uninventoried · A.D. 49-50 · Oxyrhynchus

The letter is the sequel to the legal proceedings described in P.Oxy. I 37. It was written probably a few months after the latter, by the husband of the nurse Saraeus to the praefect, complaining that Pesouris (or, as he is called here, Syrus) refused to comply with the judgement…

DDbDP-text Full record →

p.oxy.1.38

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

Γναίωι Οὐεργιλίωι Καπίτωνι, παρὰ Τρύφωνος τοῦ Διονυσίου τῶν ἀπʼ Ὀξυρύγχων πόλεως. Σῦρος Σύρου ἐνεχείρισεν τῇ γυναικί μου Σαραεῦτι Ἀπίωνος τῶι ζ ἔτει Τιβερίου Κλαυδίου Καίσαρος Σεβαστοῦ Γερμανικοῦ Αὐτοκράτορος διʼ ἐγγύου ἐμοῦ ὃ ἀνῄρηται ἀπὸ κοπρίας ἀρσενικὸν σωμάτιον, ᾧ ὄνομα Ἡρακ…