Reader, pp. 191-196
Map A
Map B
The readings for this week's discussion section are Greek papyri from Egypt that concern the family of Dryton. The papyri were translated by Joan Cromwell as part of her 1999 Honor's Thesis for Plan II Classics, The Egyptianization of a Greek Family: A Study of Selected Papyri from the Archive of Dryton.
Dryton a descendant of Cretan immigrants to Egypt, was a citizen of Ptolemais (see Map A), a Greek city founded by Ptolemy I (see Map A). We do not know when after Alexander's conquest of Egypt Dryton's family emigrated from Crete, but it is likely that Dryton himself was born in Egypt.
The eight papyri that are included in the Reader represent just a few of the over forty papyri concerning this family that were found in the nome that included Thebes (see Map A).
Dryton was born around 195 BC and died sometime during the period 116-111 BC. While a citizen of Ptolemais, as an adult he lived first in Diospolis Magna (Thebes), where there was a large Greek community. In 152 BC he moved to to Pathyris, a largely Egyptian town (see Map B). He was married twice. His frst wife was Sarapis,daughter of Esthladas, who bore him his only son, Esthladas. His second wife was Apollonia, daughter of Ptolemeus (not the king!), with whom he had five daughters: Apollonia, Aristo, Aphrodisia, Nicarium, and the younger Apollonia.
Dryton served as a cavalry officer in the Ptolemaic army. He appears to have been quite well-to-do.
All eight papyri are legal documents of one kind or another. The Ptolemies, like the Achaemenid Persian rulers of Egypt before them, maintained two parallel legal systems: the native Egyptian legal system and a Greek system. For the most part, a private party could choose which of the two systems s/he wished to use on any particular occasion. One area where the two systems differed quite dramatically was the status of women. In most circumstances women enjoyed a status closer to that of men under the Egyptian system. In the vast majority of Greek city-states, women were not regarded as legal entities but were instead represented in all legal matters by a guardian or kyrios (usually a close male relative--father, uncle, brother, son). Egyptian women, to the contrary, were legal entities and were not represented by a kyrios. They could inherit property from their fathers and mothers, own or lease property in their own names, represent themselves in legal actions, and enter into business transactions all without a guardian. On the other hand, the Greek citizens of Egypt enjoyed a higher social status than did either the native Egyptian population or members of other immigrant populations. Thus we find Egyptian women on occasion using guardians for the social currency they acquired in doing so!
Naming patterns in Ptolemaic Egypt are immensely interesting. We should imagine that during the first few generations of Ptolemaic rule it was possible to identify a person's ethnicity by his or her name. But as we move into the second quarter of the third century BC (from about 275 BC) we begin to find individuals with both a Greek (or some other kind of name) and an Egyptian name. This pattern probably resulted both from intermarriage and from the practicality of having different names to use in different contexts. Thus you will observe that the members of Dryton's family as well as non-family members referred to in these papyri have both Greek and Egyptian names.
1. Of what does Dryton's estate consist? What kinds of property does he own? Where was his property located?
2. What did each of the following inherit from Dryton:
3. Can you explain why Dryton disposed of his property as he did? For example, why are there different provisions for the different daughters? What does his wife, Apollonia, inherit and why?
4. In what contexts do the women in Dryton's family act on their own behalf and in what contexts do we find either Dryton or his son, Esthladas, acting for them?
5. Pay attention to when Greek names are used, when Greek and Egyptian names are used, and when Egyptian names alone are used. Can you identify any patterns of use? In what kinds of documents do the different types of names appear?
6. What do you think the topic of the incompletely preserved no. 2 is?
7. What is the legal issue in no. 3?
8. On what terms are the loans of wheat and copper (nos. 3, 4, 5) made? To whom are the loans made?
9. What is the legal issue in no. 8? Who are the parties to the dispute?
no. 2
The term syngenos, used of the official, Boethos, is a Greek for 'cousin'. It was an honorific title bestowed upon an official in the king's administrative service.
The terms epistrategos and strategos are titles of royal officials who served at the level of the nome. Often, as here, the same individual served in both capacities.
For the location of Ptolemais and Diospolis Parva, see Map 2.
The term diadochos (plural diadochoi) was the name of a regiment of the cavalry.
no. 3
The months of the Ptolemaic calendar in order were:
The date of this document, e.g. year 35 during the rule of Ptolemaios Euergetes, refers to the 35th year of the reign of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II. Ptolemy VIII had a very complicated reign. This document dates his ascension to 170 BC, when he ruled jointly with his older brother, Ptolemy VI. Elsewhere in these documents you will find similar references to 'the year X'. In all cases these references are to the regnal year of the current king.
An aroura is a measure of land equalling approximately 2025 square meters.
The drachma was the standard monetary unit (compare e.g. US dollar, English pound sterling)
no. 4
The agoranomos was a government notary.
An artaba was a volmetric measure equalling approximately 40 litres.
The terms talent and drachma refer both to coinage and to weights. Here the use is weight. There were 6000 drachmae to a talent. A drachma weighed about 3.5 grams. Thus, Apollonia here loans Solon etc. 10,000 drachmae of copper or about 77 lbs of copper.
