Private Letter
Private letter sent to Antoninus by Zosimos, who is about to sail downstream to Alexandria and instructs him to purchase and deliver dates
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 28810
Letter ordering dates before a trip down to Alexandria TM 28810Unknown(Late) IInd century or early IIIrd 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, apparently from Zosimos to Antoninus, written by someone about to sail down to Alexandria in 15 days. He asks the recipient to buy and send pressed dates and Syrian dates, packed safely with the olive jars, and asks how the recipient wants to be repaid and what he wants brought back from Alexandria.
In English machine translation
[…]
[…] to Alexandria I am to sail down after 15 days. You will buy and send me, either through Paniskos or with the olives, 2 artabas of pressed dates and 1 artaba of good Syrian (dates), up to 12 drachmas, for the remaining children (or slaves). And you will give the dates to the one who will carry them more safely, so that they are not tampered with. For the jars of olives I think you will seal again securely with plaster. Write to me whether you want the price of what you send to be given to the manager, so that it may be credited to you in the account, or whether you want it sent to you through Paniskos. About the things you want brought to you from Alexandria, write […]
[…]
The names of sender and recipient come from the catalogue description; the opening is lost. The Greek paidia can mean children or young slaves; the 'cheiristes' is a manager or agent handling accounts.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Private Letter). 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.12.657
…ρο…[…]μ…[…]… …ει εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἔχω καταπλεῦσαι μεθʼ ἡμέρας ιε. πέμψεις μοι ἀγοράσας ἢ διὰ Πανίσκου ἢ μετὰ τῶν ἐλαιῶν φοίνικος πατητοῦ ἀρτάβας δύο καὶ Συρίου καλοῦ ἀρτάβην μίαν ἕως δραχμῶν ιβ τοῖς λοιποῖς παιδίοις. σὺ δὲ τῷ ἀσφαλέστερον φέροντι τὰ φοινίκια δώσεις ἵνα μὴ κακουρ…