Private Letter
Letter from Apollinarius to his mother Taesis, stating that he safely arrived in Rome and has not gone yet to Misenum, and urging her not to worry
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 27101
Letter from Apollinarius, a fleet recruit, to his mother Taesis TM 27101Rome, ItalyIInd century A.D.
The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 3 records across 3 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →
A private letter from Apollinarius, a new recruit to the Roman fleet, to his mother Taesis at Karanis in the Fayum. He tells her he arrived safely in Rome on Pachon 25 and was assigned to the fleet at Misenum, though he does not yet know his unit, and he asks her not to worry and to write back.
In English machine translation
[recto]
Apollinarius to Taesis, his mother and lady, many greetings.
Before all else I pray that you are well; I myself am well too, and I make obeisance for you before the gods here. I want you to know, mother, that I arrived in Rome in good health on the 25th of the month Pachon, and I was assigned to Misenum. But I do not yet know my century, for I had not gone to Misenum when I was writing this letter to you. So I ask you, mother, take care of yourself, do not worry at all about me, for I have come to a good place. Please write me a letter about your welfare and that of my brothers and all your people. And I, if I find anyone, will write to you; I will not hesitate to write to you. I greet my brothers warmly, and Apollinarius and his children, and Karalas and his children. I greet Ptolemaios and Ptolemais and her children, and Heraklous and her children. I greet all who love you, each by name.
I pray for your health.
[verso]
Deliver to Karanis, to Taesis, from Apollinarius her son, of Misenum.
Misenum, on the Bay of Naples, was the base of the Roman imperial fleet; the 'century' (kenturia) was the soldier's unit within it. The letter was written in Rome but found at Karanis, its destination.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Apollinarius to Taesis). 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.mich.8.491
[r] Ἀπολινᾶρις Ταήσει τῇ μητρὶ καὶ κυρίᾳ πολλὰ χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν καὶ ἐγὼ αὐτὸς ὑγιαίνω καὶ τὸ προσκύνημά σου ποιῶ παρὰ τοῖς ἐνθάδε θεοῖς. γινώσκειν σε θέλω, μήτηρ, ὅτι ἐρρωμένος ἐγενόμην εἰς Ῥώμην Παχὼν μηνὶ κε καὶ ἐκληρώθην εἰς Μισηνούς. οὔπω δὲ τὴν κε…