List of objects to buy in Alexandria
Phoibammon, a public scribe (nomikos), gives his brother a list of things to buy in Alexandria. The purchases are described preceisely, but in interpreting them some details remain obscure.
One text, 3 sources · Trismegistos-Text 35377
Memorandum from Phoibammon listing purchases to be made in Alexandria TM 35377Unknown4th 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 memorandum from Phoibammon, a notary, to his "brother" Danielios, a perfume-seller, listing items he is to buy for him when he goes to Alexandria. The surviving list includes a used embroidered Antiochene tunic, a small chair, ink, a double pen and a ten-leaved wax tablet, with price limits for some items.
In English machine translation
† Memorandum to my most honoured brother Danielios, perfume-seller,
from me, Phoibammon, notary, so that, God willing,
when his good self arrives in the great city
of Alexandria, he may buy for me the items set out below,
as follows:
a tunic of Antiochene type, embroidered (?), little used,
up to a price of 10 keratia, more or less;
one small chair, made in the workshop;
ink; one double Antiochene pen, up to 1 1/2 keratia;
a large square ten-leaved writing tablet, the
leaves being thin like little sheets,
and in the middle of them a small piece of wood so that the wax […]
[…]
The records disagree on date: the main catalogue gives the 6th century (?), another the 4th century AD. A nomikos was a professional drafter of legal documents; "brother" may be a courtesy term, and the keration was a small fraction of the gold solidus.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Liste d’objets à acheter à Alexandrie). 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.fouad.1.74
† ὑπομνηστικὸν τῷ τιμιωτάτῳ ἀδελφῷ Δανιηλίῳ, μυροπώλῃ, παρʼ ἐμοῦ Φοιβάμμωνος, νομικοῦ, ὅπως σὺν Θεῷ παραγιγνομένη ἡ αὐτοῦ διάθεσις ἐπὶ τῆς μεγαλοπόλεως Ἀλεξανδρείας συνωνήσῃ μοι τὰ ἑξῆς δηλούμενα, οὕτως· στιχάριον ἀντιοχήσιον, ἔμπλουμον, ἀπὸ ὀλίγης χρήσεως, ἕως τιμῆς κερατίων ι, …