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One text, 2 sources · Trismegistos-Text 33120

Letter from Aphous to his brother Heraklammon about a debt of 30 talents TM 33120OxyrhynchosIV

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 Christian private letter from Aphous to his brother Heraklammon about efforts to recover 30 talents paid as salary to a certain Didymos, brother of Dioskoros. Aphous got Didymos to sign a written bond but could not collect, since the family is destitute, and urges Heraklammon to come himself. Written at Oxyrhynchus in the 4th century AD.

In English machine translation

[recto] Aphous to my lord brother Heraklammon, very many greetings. Before all else I pray that you are in health and well in every way before the Lord God. I want you to know, my lord, how much I did with Dioskoros about his brother Didymos, and he tells me, "I handed him over to Heraklammon." So now I do not know where he is. Every day I have unpleasantness with him because of this. And now I found Didymos himself on the 23rd of the month Pharmouthi […] and […] because no […] and they are hungry (?) […] no one took […] on surety […] Didymos to make […] a written bond for the 30 talents which you gave as salary. With difficulty I managed to get this done with him. But now, if you yourself can come in, perhaps you can exact payment from him. For I was able to do nothing with him, because they do not even have a morsel of bread, nor did anyone take them on surety. I greet warmly your wife and your children by name. I pray for your health for many years. Pharmouthi 24. [verso] To Heraklammon from Aphous, his brother.

The middle lines are badly damaged, so the circumstances of finding Didymos are unclear. The sum of 30 talents reflects the inflated currency of the 4th century.

Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Aphus to Heraclammon). 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.oxy.59.3999

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

[r] Ἀφοῦς τῷ κυρίῳ μου ἀδελφῷ Ἡρακλάμμωνι πλεῖστα χαῖρε. πρὸ μὲν πάντων εὔχομαί σε ὑγιαίνειν καὶ ὁλοκληρεῖν παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ θεῷ. γινώσκειν σε θέλω, κύριέ μου, ὅτι πόσα ἐποίησα μετὰ Διοσκόρου περὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ Διδύμου καὶ λέγει μοι ὅτι, παρέδωκα αὐτὸν Ἡρακλάμμωνα. νῦν οὖν οὐκ ο…