DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45245#0217
EGYPT AND THE SUDAN.
199
reign in the last month of the year, Mesore, corre-
sponding to our September. The date is 115 b. c.
II. 11. 15-25. Letter of the king and his mother
to the priests of the temple of Chnoubo Nebieb,
on the island of Elephantine, granting them certain
privileges. Dated as before.
III. 11. 26-31. Letter of the king and his mother,
Cleopatra, to Phommus, a general, asking him to
grant the priests the privileges they have petitioned
for. Dated as before.
IV. 11. 32-5. Letter of the king and his mother
to the priests informing them that they have given
instructions to a general (probably Hermokrates)
with regard to certain affairs relating to Elephantine.
Dated 3rd of Daisios (Egyptian Pharmuthi), the
8th month of the year—April-May, 115.
V. 11. 36-8. Letter of the king and his mother
to the general Hermokrates, probably ordering him
to grant the petition of certain quarrymen of Syene.
VI. 11. 39-50. Petition, probably of the quarrymen
of Syene, to the king and his mother. It apparently
relates to the possession of certain land in the island
of Pso, which had been acquired by the quarrymen.
VII. II.51-2. A letter, perhaps from Hermokrates
to a subordinate, enjoining him to carry out the terms
of the royal mandate with regard to the quarrymen.
VIII. 11. 53-66. Letter of the quarrymen of Syene
to Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, apparently petitioning
for relief from certain taxation, as well as thanking
the king for confirmation of their possession in the
island of Pso. Dated in the month Mesore in the
53rd year of Ptolemy VIII, i. e. Sept. 117 b.c.
IX. 11. 67-71. Letter of Ptolemy VIII to the
quarrymen, probably granting their petition with
regard to the land in Pso. Dated 118-117 b. c.
X. 11. 72-5. Probably a letter of the general
Phommus to a subordinate enjoining him to carry
out some of the instructions contained in the letter
of King Ptolemy X and the Queen Mother. Dated
9th Mesore (Sept.), 115 b. c.
Thus it will be seen that the inscription relates to
two sets of petitions and grants of privileges, recorded
(except in the case of the last document) in inverse
order of time, the latest first. These grants are (a) to
the quarrymen (?) of Syene, made by Ptolemy VIII
in 117B. c., and Q) to the priests of Elephantine,
made by Ptolemy X in 11 5 b. c.
1. 2. τον δευτέρου έτους. The second year of
Ptolemy X was 20th Sept. 116-115 b.c.
1. 3. The restoration is that of Wilcken.
1. 4. Strack and Mahaffy read [ν]εόκτιστον, but
Elephantine is called a πόλις as early as the time of
Herodotus (ii. 17, 18, &c.). The stone is broken
away, so that it is impossible to distinguish the first
letter of the word: [θ]εόκτιστον (so Wilcken) is to be
preferred.
For Elephantine cf. Strabo, xvii, c. 817: ή ’Ελε-
φάντινη έν τω Νείλω προκειμένη της Συήνης νήσος έν ήμι-
σταδίω και έν ταύτη πόλις εγουσα ιερόν Κνούφιδος.
1. 6. ανήκει. This perhaps refers to the rise of the
Nile. As the date of the letter is September,
Wilcken thinks that the Nile in the neighbourhood
of the cataracts had just reached its highest point,
and that ανήκει = άναβέβηκε. The king’s sacrifices
to the river may have been in celebration of its rise.
On the other hand, it is possible that ανήκει simply
refers to the cataract and that the line merely states
that the king made his sacrifices in the neighbourhood
of the cataract.
1. 7. Dittenberger restores: θύσας έφ’ ού ιδρύσ}ατο
βωμού.
1. 8. συ]νπαραλαβών Wilcken. The συγγενείς were
the first order of courtiers at the Ptolemaic court,
and are frequently mentioned in inscriptions, e. g.
Dittenberger, Or. Gr. Inscr. i, No. 104, n. 2. Ditten-
berger quotes Caesar, B. C. iii. 103. 2 : ‘ ibi casu rex
erat Ptolemaeus, puer aetate, magnis copiis cum
sorore Cleopatra bellum gerens, quam paucis ante
mensibus per suos propinquos atque amicos regno
expulerat.’
1. 9. Cf. Strabo, xvii, C. 818 f. : πολλά δ’ 'Ηρόδοτός τε
και άλλοι φλυαροΰσιν, ώσπερ μέλος ή ρυθμόν ή ήδυσμά τι
τω λόγω την τερατείαν προσφέροντες. οιον και τό φάσκειν
περί τάς νήσους τάς προς τή Συήνή και τή 'Ελεφάντινη
(πλείους δ’ εισί) τάς πηγάς του Νείλου είναι.
Ι.ιο. Wilcken. He plausibly conjectures
that these were offerings thrown into the Nile as
a thank-offering for its rise. He compares Seneca,
Nat. Quaest. iv. 2. § 7.
1. 11. Wilcken points out that if [θ]εόκτιστον is read
in 1. 4, the reading έκτ[ισμένρ cannot stand here.
Hence τήι τε έκ τ - - must be read.
1. 13b The restorations are after suggestions by
Wilcken. Cleopatra is the mother of Ptolemy X.
The king and his mother together assumed the title
of θεοί Φιλομήτορες.
1. 15. Χνούβω Νεβιήβ. The deity of the shrine in
the island of Elephantine (‘ Chnubis the Great’).
Variously spelt Χνόμω, Κνούφις, and Χνούβω. The
Egyptian name is Khnemu. The title Νεβιήβ sig-
nifies ‘lord of Elephantine’. Cf. Dittenberger, Or.
Gr. Inscr. ii, p. 542, add.
1. 20. We should expect something like [των ύδάτω]ν
άνηκόντων, if the sacrifice was in celebration of the
rise of the Nile. The restoration of the line is
Wilcken’s. έπιτελεΐσθαι προστετά are in larger letters
than the rest of the line.
1. 21. σύνταξιν. A contribution for the support of
the priests. Cf. the Rosetta stone, No. 1065, 1. 14.
I take διδομένων as a gen. absolute in parenthesis
—‘ there being given yearly . . .’ The main con-
struction is then picked up again, and άρτάβας is in
apposition to σύνταξιν.
1. 22 f. The restorations are Wilcken’s.
1. 23. [Κλεοπά](τ^ρας τής αδελφής. Sister and wife of
Ptolemy X. Her real name was Selene. Wilcken
quotes Justin, 39. 3. 2: ‘Cui (Ptolemy) priusquam
regnum daret (his mother Cleopatra) uxorem adimit
conpulsumque repudiare carissimam sibi sororem
Cleopatram minorem sororem Selenen uxorem
ducere iubet.’ Selene (according to Strabo, xvi,
c. 749) assumed the name of Cleopatra. The
secondary position occupied by Ptolemy’s wife as
compared to that of the Queen Mother is interesting.
Σ[ατιείου]. Cf. Dittenberger, Or. Gr. Inscr. i,
No. T30, I. 7 : Σάτει τήι και "Ηραι. A copy of the
present inscription was to be set up both at the
shrine of Khnemu and at the shrine of Satis Hera.
199
reign in the last month of the year, Mesore, corre-
sponding to our September. The date is 115 b. c.
II. 11. 15-25. Letter of the king and his mother
to the priests of the temple of Chnoubo Nebieb,
on the island of Elephantine, granting them certain
privileges. Dated as before.
III. 11. 26-31. Letter of the king and his mother,
Cleopatra, to Phommus, a general, asking him to
grant the priests the privileges they have petitioned
for. Dated as before.
IV. 11. 32-5. Letter of the king and his mother
to the priests informing them that they have given
instructions to a general (probably Hermokrates)
with regard to certain affairs relating to Elephantine.
Dated 3rd of Daisios (Egyptian Pharmuthi), the
8th month of the year—April-May, 115.
V. 11. 36-8. Letter of the king and his mother
to the general Hermokrates, probably ordering him
to grant the petition of certain quarrymen of Syene.
VI. 11. 39-50. Petition, probably of the quarrymen
of Syene, to the king and his mother. It apparently
relates to the possession of certain land in the island
of Pso, which had been acquired by the quarrymen.
VII. II.51-2. A letter, perhaps from Hermokrates
to a subordinate, enjoining him to carry out the terms
of the royal mandate with regard to the quarrymen.
VIII. 11. 53-66. Letter of the quarrymen of Syene
to Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, apparently petitioning
for relief from certain taxation, as well as thanking
the king for confirmation of their possession in the
island of Pso. Dated in the month Mesore in the
53rd year of Ptolemy VIII, i. e. Sept. 117 b.c.
IX. 11. 67-71. Letter of Ptolemy VIII to the
quarrymen, probably granting their petition with
regard to the land in Pso. Dated 118-117 b. c.
X. 11. 72-5. Probably a letter of the general
Phommus to a subordinate enjoining him to carry
out some of the instructions contained in the letter
of King Ptolemy X and the Queen Mother. Dated
9th Mesore (Sept.), 115 b. c.
Thus it will be seen that the inscription relates to
two sets of petitions and grants of privileges, recorded
(except in the case of the last document) in inverse
order of time, the latest first. These grants are (a) to
the quarrymen (?) of Syene, made by Ptolemy VIII
in 117B. c., and Q) to the priests of Elephantine,
made by Ptolemy X in 11 5 b. c.
1. 2. τον δευτέρου έτους. The second year of
Ptolemy X was 20th Sept. 116-115 b.c.
1. 3. The restoration is that of Wilcken.
1. 4. Strack and Mahaffy read [ν]εόκτιστον, but
Elephantine is called a πόλις as early as the time of
Herodotus (ii. 17, 18, &c.). The stone is broken
away, so that it is impossible to distinguish the first
letter of the word: [θ]εόκτιστον (so Wilcken) is to be
preferred.
For Elephantine cf. Strabo, xvii, c. 817: ή ’Ελε-
φάντινη έν τω Νείλω προκειμένη της Συήνης νήσος έν ήμι-
σταδίω και έν ταύτη πόλις εγουσα ιερόν Κνούφιδος.
1. 6. ανήκει. This perhaps refers to the rise of the
Nile. As the date of the letter is September,
Wilcken thinks that the Nile in the neighbourhood
of the cataracts had just reached its highest point,
and that ανήκει = άναβέβηκε. The king’s sacrifices
to the river may have been in celebration of its rise.
On the other hand, it is possible that ανήκει simply
refers to the cataract and that the line merely states
that the king made his sacrifices in the neighbourhood
of the cataract.
1. 7. Dittenberger restores: θύσας έφ’ ού ιδρύσ}ατο
βωμού.
1. 8. συ]νπαραλαβών Wilcken. The συγγενείς were
the first order of courtiers at the Ptolemaic court,
and are frequently mentioned in inscriptions, e. g.
Dittenberger, Or. Gr. Inscr. i, No. 104, n. 2. Ditten-
berger quotes Caesar, B. C. iii. 103. 2 : ‘ ibi casu rex
erat Ptolemaeus, puer aetate, magnis copiis cum
sorore Cleopatra bellum gerens, quam paucis ante
mensibus per suos propinquos atque amicos regno
expulerat.’
1. 9. Cf. Strabo, xvii, C. 818 f. : πολλά δ’ 'Ηρόδοτός τε
και άλλοι φλυαροΰσιν, ώσπερ μέλος ή ρυθμόν ή ήδυσμά τι
τω λόγω την τερατείαν προσφέροντες. οιον και τό φάσκειν
περί τάς νήσους τάς προς τή Συήνή και τή 'Ελεφάντινη
(πλείους δ’ εισί) τάς πηγάς του Νείλου είναι.
Ι.ιο. Wilcken. He plausibly conjectures
that these were offerings thrown into the Nile as
a thank-offering for its rise. He compares Seneca,
Nat. Quaest. iv. 2. § 7.
1. 11. Wilcken points out that if [θ]εόκτιστον is read
in 1. 4, the reading έκτ[ισμένρ cannot stand here.
Hence τήι τε έκ τ - - must be read.
1. 13b The restorations are after suggestions by
Wilcken. Cleopatra is the mother of Ptolemy X.
The king and his mother together assumed the title
of θεοί Φιλομήτορες.
1. 15. Χνούβω Νεβιήβ. The deity of the shrine in
the island of Elephantine (‘ Chnubis the Great’).
Variously spelt Χνόμω, Κνούφις, and Χνούβω. The
Egyptian name is Khnemu. The title Νεβιήβ sig-
nifies ‘lord of Elephantine’. Cf. Dittenberger, Or.
Gr. Inscr. ii, p. 542, add.
1. 20. We should expect something like [των ύδάτω]ν
άνηκόντων, if the sacrifice was in celebration of the
rise of the Nile. The restoration of the line is
Wilcken’s. έπιτελεΐσθαι προστετά are in larger letters
than the rest of the line.
1. 21. σύνταξιν. A contribution for the support of
the priests. Cf. the Rosetta stone, No. 1065, 1. 14.
I take διδομένων as a gen. absolute in parenthesis
—‘ there being given yearly . . .’ The main con-
struction is then picked up again, and άρτάβας is in
apposition to σύνταξιν.
1. 22 f. The restorations are Wilcken’s.
1. 23. [Κλεοπά](τ^ρας τής αδελφής. Sister and wife of
Ptolemy X. Her real name was Selene. Wilcken
quotes Justin, 39. 3. 2: ‘Cui (Ptolemy) priusquam
regnum daret (his mother Cleopatra) uxorem adimit
conpulsumque repudiare carissimam sibi sororem
Cleopatram minorem sororem Selenen uxorem
ducere iubet.’ Selene (according to Strabo, xvi,
c. 749) assumed the name of Cleopatra. The
secondary position occupied by Ptolemy’s wife as
compared to that of the Queen Mother is interesting.
Σ[ατιείου]. Cf. Dittenberger, Or. Gr. Inscr. i,
No. T30, I. 7 : Σάτει τήι και "Ηραι. A copy of the
present inscription was to be set up both at the
shrine of Khnemu and at the shrine of Satis Hera.