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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 28784

Letter from Nike to her sister Berenike about lost letters TM 28784unbekanntEnde II

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 Nike to Berenike, whom she calls her sister, defending herself against the charge of never writing: she has written twice before and suspects the letters went undelivered. She also complains of feeling sluggish, perhaps because of the climate, and sends greetings to family members, with a greeting added by Sarapammon and Hieratike.

In English machine translation

[recto] Nike to Berenike, her lady sister, very many greetings. Before all else I pray that you are in good health, and I always make obeisance for you before the gods here, praying that the good things in life may be granted to you. I have written to you, lady sister, twice besides this letter, and perhaps it was not delivered to you. And you wrote to me that I had not written to you even once; but was I so ignorant as not to write to you? For we write once and for all, and perhaps they do not deliver it to you. I am very sluggish, whether because of the air I do not know. If I recover again, with the gods' help, I will write to you. Greet your mother Athenais and our brother Achillion and everyone by name. I, Sarapammon, greet you, and Hieratike greets you. I pray to the gods for your health, lady sister. [verso] Deliver to Berenike from Nike her sister.

'Sister' in such letters may denote a close friend or relative rather than a literal sibling. The proskynema is a formula of obeisance on someone's behalf before local gods, common in letters of this period.</br>

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter from Nice to Berenice). 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 →

p.mert.2.82

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

[r] Νείκη Βερενείκηι τῆι κυρίᾳ ἀδελφῆι πλεῖστα χαίρειν. πρὸ μὲν πάντων εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν καὶ ἀεί σου τὸ προσκύνημα ποιῶ παρὰ τοῖς ἐνθάδε θεοῖς εὐχομένη σοι τὰ ἐν βίῳ ἀγαθὰ ὑπαρχθῆναι. ἔγραψά σοι, κυρία ἀδελφή, ἄλλα δὶς χωρὶς τούτου καὶ τάχα σοι οὐκ ἀνεδόθη. καὶ ἔγραψάς μοι ὅτι…