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ARTEFACT IDENTIFIERS

Artefact ID1564
TM IDTM 30581
Findspot (DEChriM ID)-   ()
ClassTextual
MaterialPapyrus
Writing mediumSheet/roll
Text contentDocumentary
LanguageGreek
Description

P. Berl. Zill. 12: Letter from Athanasios to her mother 
The 22 lines on the recto of this private letter (13 x 10 cm) are made up of a number of formulae and are written by an uneducated hand, with numerous spelling mistakes. In it, Athanasios prays to τῶι κ‹υ›ρίῳ ἡμῶν θεῷ for the health of her unnamed mother, to whom the letter is addressed, before greeting a number of individuals, some explicitly designated as relatives: Pais, (τὴν ἀδελφήν μου) Origenia, Thais, Sophia, Deukila, Eudaimon, Herakleides, Dionysios, (τὸν κύριόν μου ἀδελφὸν) Pekylos, Zosimos, Kalopos, Helalliben, Makedonios, Thatres, Piperis, Nike, and Zosime. The verso contains the address from the daughter to the mother.

Selection criteriaChristian terms/formulas/concepts, Christian onomastics
Date from200
Date to399
Dating criteria

Palaeography

Absolute/relative dateRelative date
Archaeological context

Unknown provenance. Purchased via the Papyrusfonds in 1906.

Accession number

Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung P. 11042

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Editio princeps
• Zilliacus, Henrik. 1941. Vierzehn Berliner Griechische Papyri. Urkunden und Briefe. Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum XI. Helsingfors: Societas Scientiarum Fennica. 80-84, No. 12.

Additional bibliography
• Bagnall, Roger S. and Raffaella Cribiore. 2006. Women's Letters from Ancient Egypt, 300 BC–AD 800. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. 391-392.
• Naldini, Mario. 1968. Il Cristianesimo in Egitto. Lettere private nei papiri dei secoli II-IV. Firenze: Le Monnier. 147-149, No. 26.
• Youtie, Herbert C. 1974. “Lecture 2.” In The Textual Criticism of Documentary Papyri: Prolegomena (Second Edition). Bulletin Supplement 33. London: University of London, Institute of Classical Studies. 23-42: 31-33. Plate VII.

Authors
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023
Suggested citation
Victoria G. D. Landau, 2023, "Artefact ID 1564", 4CARE database - Fourth-Century Christian Archaeological Record of Egypt, https://4care-skos.mf.no/artefacts/1564
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