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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 28096

Letter from a son to his mother complaining of neglect and asking for clothing TM 28096unbekanntII

The same ancient text or artifact as recorded by 2 records across 2 independent projects, recognised as one entity by its TM-Text identifier. View on Trismegistos →

A private letter from a son (name partly lost, ending in -seinos) to his mother, written in the 2nd century AD. He complains that she does not write, reminds her he has repeatedly asked for a cloak and says he has had no mantle for four years, and asks her to send supplies for the festival of Sarapis and a jar of olives.

In English machine translation

[…]seinos to his mother, very many greetings. Before all else I pray that you are well, and I make obeisance for you every day before the lord Sarapis and the gods who share his temple, praying that you are well. First, I want you to know that I am grieved whenever someone arrives and does not bring me a little letter. For if you cared about me, you would write to me; but I have also written to you many times about a cloak (birros), and you did not do it. And know that as of today I have not had a mantle (maphortes) for four years, and I need a mantle. And do everything to see to what is needed for the festival of Sarapis and send it. And learn this too: that for a long time your slave women have had olives in their storeroom, of which you did not think fit to send me a jar […]. I greet my brothers and all my people by name. I pray for your health. […] send it to me, for [I have] need […]

The birros and maphortes are types of cloak or mantle with no exact English equivalent. The proskynema formula refers to praying for the recipient before Sarapis, probably in a Sarapis temple where the writer lived.

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

DDbDP-text Full record →

bgu.3.845

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

[…]σεῖνος τῇ μητρὶ πλεῖστα πολλὰ χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν καὶ τὸ προσκύνημά σου ποιῶ καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ Σαράπιδι καὶ τοῖς συννάοις θεοῖς εὐχόμενός σε ὑγιαίνειν. πρῶτον μὲν γινώσκειν σε θέλω, ὅτι λυποῦμαι, ὁπόταν τις παραγένηται καὶ μη ἐνέγκῃ μοι…