(1) This writing, dated in the year XXXVI; Athyr 20, in the reign of our Sovereigns Ptolemy and Cleopatra his sister, the children of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the divine, (2) the Gods Illustrious: and the Priest of Alexander, and of the Saviour Gods, of the Brother Gods, of the [Beneficent Gods], of the Father loving Gods, of the Illustrious Gods, of the Paternal God, and (3) of the Mother loving Gods being [as by law appointed]: and the Prize bearer of Berenice the Beneficent, and the Basket bearer of Arsinoe the Brother loving, and the Priestess of (4) Arsinoe the Father loving, being as appointed in the metropolis [of Alexandria]; and in [Ptolemaïs] the Royal City ¿of the Thebaid? the Guardian Priest ¿for the year? of Ptolemy Soter, and the Priest of King Ptolemy the Father loving, (5) and the Priest of Ptolemy the Brother loving, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Beneficent, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Mother loving; and the Priestess of Queen Cleopatra, and the Priestess (6) of the Princess Cleopatra, and the Priestess of Cleopatra the [Queen] Mother, deceased, the Illustrious; and the Basket bearer of Arsinoe the Brother loving, [being as appointed]: declares: The ¿Dresser? in the temple (7) of the Goddess, Onnophris the son of Horus, and of Senpoeris ¿daughter of Spotus? [“aged about forty, lively”], tall, [“of a sallow complexion, hollow eyed, and bald”]: in the temple of the goddess (8) to [Horus] ¿his brother? the son of Horus and of Senpoeris, has sold, for a price in money, half of one third of the Collections for the dead, “Priests of Osiris?” lying (9) in Thynabunun ... in the Libyan suburb of Thebes, in the Memnonia ... likewise half of one third of the Liturgies: their names being, Muthes the son of Spotus, with his children and his household; Chapocrates (10) the son of Nechthmonthes, with his children and his household; Arsiesis the son of Nechthmonthes, with his children and his household; Petemestus the son of Nechthmonthes, Arsiesis the son of Zminis, with his children and his household; Osoroeris (11) the son of Horus, with his children and his household; Spotus the son of Chapochonsis ¿surnamed? Zoglyphus [the Sculptor,] with his children and his household: while there belonged also to Asos the son of Horus and of Senpoeris ¿daughter of Spotus? (12) in the same manner one half of a third of the collections for the dead, and of the fruits and so forth ...: he sold it on the 20th of Athyr, in the reign of the king everliving, to [complete] the third part: likewise the half ¿of one third? of the collections relating to (13) Peteutemis, with his household and ...: likewise the half ¿of one third? of the collections and fruits for Petechonsis the bearer of milk, and of the ... place on the Asian side called Phrecages (14), and ... and the dead bodies in it: there having belonged to Asos the son of Horus one half of the same: he has sold to him in the month of ... the half of one third of the collections (15) for the Priests ¿of Osiris? lying in Thynabunun, with their children and their households: likewise the half of one third of the collections for Peteutemis, and also for (16) Petechonsis the bearer of milk, in the place Phrecages on the Asian side: I have received for them their price in silver: ... and gold: ... and I make no further demand on thee for them from the present day, ... (17) ... before the authorities ... [and if any one shall disturb thee in the possession of them, I will resist him, and if I do not succeed, I will indemnify thee?] ... (18) Executed and confirmed: Written by Horus the son of Phabis, clerk to the chief priests of Amonrasonther and of the ¿contemplar? Gods, of the Beneficent Gods, of the Father loving Gods, of the Paternal God, and of the (19) Mother loving Gods. Amen. (20) Names of the witnesses present....
[Column at the edge of the paper.] (1) Names of the authorities. (2) Erieus the son of Phanres ¿Erieus? (3) Peteartres the son of Peteutemis. (4) Petearpocrates the son of Horus. (5) Snachomneus the son of Peteuris. (6) Snachomes the son of Psenchonsis. (7) Totoes the son of Phibis. (8) Portis the son of Apollonius. (9) Zminis the son of Petemestus. (10) Peteutemis the son of Arsiesis. (11) Amonorytius the son of Pacemis. (12) Horus the son of Chimnaraus. (13) Armenia [rather Arbais,] the son of Zthenaetis. (14) Maesis the son of Mirsis. (15) Antimachus the son of Antigenes. (16) Petophois the son of Phibis. (17) Panas the son of Petosiris. (18) Were present [as witnesses.]
The additions to the Sovereigns, named in the preamble of the stone of Rosetta, are here the Paternal God and the Mother loving Gods, or Eupator and the Philometores, and we want only the Evergetae of the papyrus of Anastasy. We can, therefore, only refer the date to one of the two preceding reigns, of Philometor or Evergetes Eupator, which it is very difficult to distinguish from each other with precision. We have, however, no evidence that Philometor’s dates extended beyond 35, and we must naturally consider this 36 as belonging to Eupator, corresponding to 135 B. C. which was 11 years after the death of Philometor. If we judged from this manuscript alone, we should infer that Eupator was canonized, by some accident, during his temporary reign, before his brother, and that the order of the names remained undisturbed through the different changes of their governments. The epithet “Illustrious” in this preamble is not easily recognised; but it is distinguished by the termination from “Beneficent,” for which I had in the first instance mistaken it: an epithet so placed is almost always referred to the person last mentioned. The enchorial name of the divinity here called Amonrasonther considerably resembles that of the “Cerexochus” of the Article Egypt. The epithet, which I have conjecturally translated “Dresser”, was at first supposed to mean Brazier, and was read Chalchytes: but the Parisian Registry has distinctly Cholchytes: which may possibly be a derivative of DCHOLH or JOLH, to dress, to put on, and may have been applied to some of the Hierostolists, or Tire men, of the temple.
TRANSLATION OF MR. GREY’S ENCHORIAL PAPYRUS. REGISTRY IN GREEK (A).
In the year XXVIII; the 28 Mesore [XII]. Transacted at the table in Hermopolis, at which Dio.[nysius] is President of the 20th department, in the Account of Asclepiades [contractor for the tax] on sales; of which Ptolemaeus is the subscribing clerk: the purchaser being Teephbis the son of Amenothes ¿for 300 pieces of brass? ¿of 7000? cubits, at the southern end of the whole open field, which is at the south of Diospolis the Great; of which the boundaries are given in the annexed agreement: which he bought of Alecis and Lubais and Tbaeais the sons of Erieus, and of Senerieus the daughter of Petenephotes, and Erieus the son of Amenothes, and Senosorphibis the daughter of Amenothes, and of Spois also ¿the son? of Erieus the son of Amenothes. In the XXVIIIth year, Pachon [IX] 20. ¿Pieces? ... End of the record.
Dionysius has subscribed.
ENCHORIAL AGREEMENT (A).
Year XXVIII; Month.... In the reign of Ptolemy and Cleopatra his sister, the children of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the Illustrious Gods: and the Priest of Alexander, of the Saviour Gods, of the ¿Maternal? [Brother] Gods, of the Beneficent Gods, of the Father loving Gods, of the Illustrious Gods, of the Mother loving Gods: and the Prize bearer of Berenice the Beneficent, and the Basket bearer of Arsinoe the Brother loving, and the Priest of Arsinoe the Father loving, being as appointed in the metropolis [of Alexandria; and in Ptolemais], the Royal City ¿of the Thebaid? the Guardian Priest ¿for the year? of Ptolemy Soter, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Mother loving, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Brother loving, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Beneficent, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Father loving, and the Priest of Ptolemy the Illustrious and Munificent, and the Priest of Queen Cleopatra, and the Priest of Cleopatra the Mother, the late Goddess Illustrious; and the Basket bearer of Arsinoe the Brother loving, being [all as by law appointed]: The brothers, Alecis the son of Erieus, Lubais the son of Erieus, and Tbaeais the son of Erieus, their mother being Senerieus the daughter of Petenephotes son of Lubais; Erieus the son of Amenothes, and Senosorphibis daughter of Amenothes, whose mother was Senamunis, and Spois the son of Erieus, the son of Amenothes, his mother being ¿Senchonsis? coming into the temple of ¿Thebes? agreed with Teephbis son of Amenothes, to sell for a sum of money ... α ... α ... α ... α ... of the city ... in the year and month and day [above mentioned] of the King everliving ... α ... ¿Alecis Phaïne? ... α ... (16) α ... Asos the son of Horus and of Senpoeris ... the Royal Street (HIR = ῥύμη) ... ¿vineyard? ... α ... α ... (19) ... (20) ... place ... (21) given up ... month ... time ... (22) ... (23) ... (24) ... Executed and confirmed. Written by Erieus the son of Phanres, clerk to the chief Priests of Amonrasonther and the contemplar Gods ... Amen.
It is sufficiently obvious that this deed must belong to the same period as the sale of the collections for the mummies, and that it must consequently have been at least eight years earlier. The “God Eupator” is here omitted, perhaps accidentally, or perhaps because he had not been canonized at the time. The date 28 is equally applicable to the reigns of Philometor and of Eupator: and several names occur in this deed which are also found in the preceding: for example, Erieus the son of Phanres, who is the first witness in that deed, is the clerk that drew up the present. Asos the son of Horus and Senpoeris, who is one of the “Dressers” of the temple, appears here as the possessor, probably of a neighbouring piece of land, and in the next deed as a purchaser. The question remains whether we should assign to this deed a date 19 years earlier than the former, or only 8, that is, whether 154 B. C. or 143; and there appears to be no evidence at present existing that is sufficient to decide it: except that the omission of the name of Eupator was less likely to happen in his own reign than in his predecessor’s. The priesthoods of Ptolemais are somewhat negligently arranged at the end of this preamble, but they present no essential discordances. The Registry affords us a remarkable instance of a double contraction for the word ΠΟΛΙΣ or city, it is first represented by a semicircle with a central point, 𝄐, and then by a figure of 2, in the names of Hermopolis, and Diospolis, or Thebes. The contraction for Hermopolis, in the papyrus of Anastasy, would not easily have been explained without the aid of these manuscripts. The Dionysius of the reign of Ptolemy Alexander, being near fifty years later, may perhaps have been a son of this Dionysius, and may have succeeded him in his office.