Home › Spine › TM 28871
One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 28871

Letter from Herakleides to Tourbon about a water-wheel and land division TM 28871Tebtynis (Arsinoites)II - III

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 Herakleides to Tourbon, reproaching him for neglecting an irrigation water-wheel and giving instructions about paying Hermes 4 drachmas for a land division, a goose-herd, and a woollen cloak, and urging him to come because of Sabinus. It dates to the 2nd-3rd century AD and comes from Tebtynis in the Arsinoite nome.

In English machine translation

[recto] … [verso] Herakleides to Tourbon, greetings. I am surprised that you did not take care of the water-wheel of Talei, even without my writing; for I learned that you likewise took care of that of Eibion. So by all means, if you want anything, act, so that the water-wheel draws water. And you will give 4 drachmas to Hermes, so that the division of the arouras takes place; for I have already found a farmer for our share. About the goose-herd I learned today, and up to now he has not come up; but you were negligent, not writing to me about this. Let Sarapias receive (?) the seamstress for you, and receive from her the woollen cloak. By all means come up to me, since there is urgent need of you on account of Sabinus. I pray for your health.

The mechane is a water-lifting machine (saqiya) used for irrigation. The phrase about Sarapias and the seamstress (epetria, 'mender') is grammatically awkward and its sense uncertain.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Lettera di Eraclide). 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.mil.vogl.4.256

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · II - III · Tebtynis (Arsinoites)

[r] … [v] Ἡρακλείδης Τούρβωνι χαίρειν. θαυμάζω πῶς οὐκ ἐφρόντισας τῆς μηχανῆς τῆς Ταλεί, καὶ χωρὶς τοῦ γράψαι με· ὁμοίως γὰρ ἔμαθον πεφροντικέναι σε τῆς Εἰβιῶνος· πάντως οὖν, εἴ τι θέλεις, πρᾶξον, ὅπως ἀντλήσῃ ἡ μηχανή. δώσεις δὲ δραχμὰς δ Ἑρμῇ, ὅπως ἡ διαίρεσις γένηται τῶν ἀρουρ…