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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 3228

Letter from Apollonios to his father about sesame land TM 3228Ghoran (Arsinoites)III v.Chr.

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 letter from Apollonios to his father about land designated for sesame cultivation in the Arsinoite nome. He reports that the land at Patontis is out of cultivation and its village deserted for lack of flooding, and discusses leasing the remaining land to cultivators and funding from the royal scribe. Written in the 3rd century BC, found at Ghoran.

In English machine translation

Apollonios to his father, greeting. You wrote to me about the land for the sesame crop, and especially about the land at Patontis. Now this land is completely out of cultivation and the village deserted because it has not been flooded for a long time. As for the rest of the land, I am surprised that you do not follow everything just as it stands in the schedule of the sowing for year 15, that it has been leased to the cultivators. From the former portion, let me know how much you want and in which villages we will be allowed to take it and to receive the supply of funds from the royal scribe; but about this portion it will be necessary to wait until we learn about what has been disbursed to the nome. Farewell. Year 14, Tybi 7. [verso] To Apollonios.

'Father' may be a term of respect for a superior rather than a literal parent. The choregia is a state allocation of funds or supplies for cultivation; the verso address names Apollonios, oddly the sender.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Lettre d’Apollonios à son père). 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.lille.1.26

Papyri.info — DDbDP (Duke Databank of Documentary Papyri) — text · III v.Chr. · Ghoran (Arsinoites)

[r] Ἀπολλώνιος τῶι πατρὶ χαίρειν. ἔγραψάς μοι περὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν σησαμείαν γῆς, μάλιστα δὲ περὶ τῆς ἐν Πατῶντι· αὕτη μὲν οὖν ἐστιν παντελῶς ἀπηργμένη καὶ ἡ κώμη ἔρημος διὰ τὸ πλείω χρόνον μὴ βεβρέχθαι· τὴν δὲ λοιπὴν γῆν, θαυμαζω, εἰ μὴ ἀκολουθεῖς ἅπαντα καθώς ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς διαγραφῆ…