DOI article:
Kenyon, Frederic George: Progress of Egyptology: graeco-roman Egypt, 1907-8
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12423#0061
Graeco-Boman Egypt.
51
time of Demetrius Phalereus. M. Bouche-Leclercq indeed suggests that
the regulations may have been introduced into Egypt from Athens by
Demetrius himself.
Besides the Elephantine papyri, the Berlin Museum has issued one part
of the ordinary series of Griechische Urhunden}'1 It consists of 14 texts,
all edited by Prof. P. M. Meyer. The most interesting are no. 1084, the
entry of a youth's name by his parents (the wife having a Kvpios, or legal
representative, appointed by the state, other than her husband) in the
register of ephebi at the age of 13; no. 1087, a long register of payments
of the tax on employments, with the residences of the payers (in Arsinoe)
and the amounts paid by each; and no. 1093, an appointment of a
representative to act during the absence of the principal.
The minor publications of papyrus texts are not numerous. Three short
documents are published by Vitelli,13—one a receipt given by a
aKpwidpio's t?}? Boviciicrjs Ta^eoo? to the headman of the village of Aphrodite
in the Antaeopolite nome (the later Aphrodito, of which more will be said
presently), for taxes paid to the government; the second a notification by
the collectors of the corn-tax (irpuKTope^ airi/ciov) in Euhemeria (Fayum)
that they have sent in a return, for transmission to Alexandria, of the
deductions (presumably costs of collection) made by them from the
amounts received by them on behalf of the central finance office known as
the iSios Xoyo?; and the third a notification by a clerk in the secretariat
(ypafaiov) of a toparchy in the Oxyrhynchite nome that he is sending in
his account for the preceding month. Prof. Vitelli does not attempt any
full explanation or discussion of his texts, but simply makes them public
for the consideration of other scholars. Three more texts, which also
belong to Prof. Vitelli, are published by G. Ferrari with short notes.14
Two are acknowledgements of leases of land, and the third an acknowledge-
ment of a loan of barley ; all come from Aphrodite and bear dates in the
sixth century. Prof. Breccia15 publishes five papyri in the Museum at
Alexandria. One (of which a facsimile is given) is a libellus libellalici of
the Decian persecution, the person making affidavit of having sacrificed to
the gods being in this case a priestess of the local deity: this has been
republished by Wessely.10 There is no reason to suppose that these
affidavits were required only of Christians or suspected Christians; since
Christian beliefs might be held in secret, they were required of all, so as to
ascertain how far the infection had spread. The second text belongs to
the correspondence of Heroninus, of which several specimens have been
already published elsewhere (see no. 23 of the Report for 1905-6). The
third is part of a division of property; the fourth a private letter of the
51
time of Demetrius Phalereus. M. Bouche-Leclercq indeed suggests that
the regulations may have been introduced into Egypt from Athens by
Demetrius himself.
Besides the Elephantine papyri, the Berlin Museum has issued one part
of the ordinary series of Griechische Urhunden}'1 It consists of 14 texts,
all edited by Prof. P. M. Meyer. The most interesting are no. 1084, the
entry of a youth's name by his parents (the wife having a Kvpios, or legal
representative, appointed by the state, other than her husband) in the
register of ephebi at the age of 13; no. 1087, a long register of payments
of the tax on employments, with the residences of the payers (in Arsinoe)
and the amounts paid by each; and no. 1093, an appointment of a
representative to act during the absence of the principal.
The minor publications of papyrus texts are not numerous. Three short
documents are published by Vitelli,13—one a receipt given by a
aKpwidpio's t?}? Boviciicrjs Ta^eoo? to the headman of the village of Aphrodite
in the Antaeopolite nome (the later Aphrodito, of which more will be said
presently), for taxes paid to the government; the second a notification by
the collectors of the corn-tax (irpuKTope^ airi/ciov) in Euhemeria (Fayum)
that they have sent in a return, for transmission to Alexandria, of the
deductions (presumably costs of collection) made by them from the
amounts received by them on behalf of the central finance office known as
the iSios Xoyo?; and the third a notification by a clerk in the secretariat
(ypafaiov) of a toparchy in the Oxyrhynchite nome that he is sending in
his account for the preceding month. Prof. Vitelli does not attempt any
full explanation or discussion of his texts, but simply makes them public
for the consideration of other scholars. Three more texts, which also
belong to Prof. Vitelli, are published by G. Ferrari with short notes.14
Two are acknowledgements of leases of land, and the third an acknowledge-
ment of a loan of barley ; all come from Aphrodite and bear dates in the
sixth century. Prof. Breccia15 publishes five papyri in the Museum at
Alexandria. One (of which a facsimile is given) is a libellus libellalici of
the Decian persecution, the person making affidavit of having sacrificed to
the gods being in this case a priestess of the local deity: this has been
republished by Wessely.10 There is no reason to suppose that these
affidavits were required only of Christians or suspected Christians; since
Christian beliefs might be held in secret, they were required of all, so as to
ascertain how far the infection had spread. The second text belongs to
the correspondence of Heroninus, of which several specimens have been
already published elsewhere (see no. 23 of the Report for 1905-6). The
third is part of a division of property; the fourth a private letter of the