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My dear Smyly,
I have looked at the
Damanhûr stele2 which is a
shortened copy of the hieroglyphics
of the Rosetta, with many
blunders acc. to Bouriant3, (whose
edition4 contains several misprint .)
It is dated in the 23d year of
PEpiphanes, Gorpiaeus 24 = Phar-
mouthi 24. Of that there is no
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doubt. My mother5 who knows
a fair amount of hieroglyphics has
looked at Bouriants text & the
photograph. If there is a mistake
in the name of the months it wou is
more likely to be in the Egyptian than
in the Macedonian, which is written
out in letters Qrpiais, while the Egyptian
is written in the ordinary way
"going out month 4" i.e.
Pharmouthi.
I am sorry that we dont think
either Δαισιου or ενατη possible
readings in the papyrus you saw,
while and I do not understand your
reference of the other papyrus to
Philopatοr Neos.6 It is clearly
Philometor, and the name of
the ιερεια Αρσινοης Φιλοπατορος
in both agrees with the Rosetta
& Damenhûr inscriptions, showing
she was priestess fr. the 9th of Ptol V
to the 8th of Ptol VII (or VI if
we are to believe Strack7).
By the way I am reviewing his
book on the Ptolemies for the Class.
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Review.8 May I refer to the fact
that you are re-editing the P.P.? II9
I am going to slate him for treating
Revillout so seriously. For the latter
gentleman we are preparing a
further excursus in our next volume
on the subject of dowry.10 I think
we can have him, Wessely & Mitteis
on toast.
I enclose copies of the protocols
of the two Amherst papyri. If you
refer to them in print, please call them
Lord A's.11 We hope to publish his papyri
in 1900.
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ε̣̣̣π̣ι̣ . . . . . [ ] . . . . . κανηφορου Αρσινοης Φιλα-
δελφου Σι[. . . . . . . . . . ἱερειας Αρσινοης
Φιλοπατορος Ειρηνης της Πτολεμαιου μηνος Διου ενατη[ι?
και εικαδι Παχων [9letters–11] ε̣ι̣κ̣α̣δ̣ι (4) εν Κροκοδιλων πολει
10 Του Αρσινοιτο[υ νομου
(1) I feel no doubt about ογδοου. It isnt a bit like ενατου or any
of the other numbers up to 10.
(2) The plural shere & in the other pap. must be a mistake due to the other
plurals, as he wasnt^ (according to the ord. theory) married to Cleop.12 then, or could Cleop. have been
deified with him at an early age? Possibly she was married to him very early
& only put on the protocols as βασιλισσα afterwards?
(3) I cant make anything fit except δευτερου. (4) more like εικαδι than κατηι
B.P.G.
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Amherst Papyri
1.13 Βασιλευοντος Πτολεμαιου του Πτολεμαιου και Κλεοπατρας θεω̣ν̣ επιφανω̣ν̣ ετους ογδο̣ο̣υ̣ (1)
εφ ιερεως Ηρακλειῖου του . . . . φ̣ου Αλεξανδρου και θεωνσωτηρων και θ[εω]ν αλδελ. και θ. ευερ.
και Θ. Φιλοπατ. και θεων επιφανων και θεων φιλομητορων (2) αθλ. Βερεν. Ευεργ. . . . . . .
Κανηφορ. Αρσιν. Φιλαδελφου Α̣ρι̣στ̣ο̣κ ου ιερειας Αρσινοης Φιλοπ.
5 Ειρηνης της Πτολεμαιου μενος Λωιου τρεισκαιδεκατηι Μεχειρ τρεισκαιδεκατηι εν τηι
Σοκνοπαιου Νησωι του Αρισινοιτου νομου.
2.14 a very cursive & illegible doc. of 19 lines
then
Βασιλευοντ[ο]ς Πτολεμαιον [τ]ου Πτολεμαιου και
Κλεοπατρ[ας] Θεω[ν] επιφανων ετους δ̣ε̣[υ]τερο̣[υ (3)
εφ [ιε]ρεω[ς Π?ο]σε[ι?δ]ω̣νιου του Ποσειδωνιου Αλεξανδρο[υ
και θεων σωτ[ηρων και θε]ων αδελφων και θεων επιφανων και θεων
515 φιλομητορων αθ[λοφορου] Β[ερ]ενικης Ευεργετιδος
1. 1897, or more probably, 1898. Note that BPG has used mourning paper (black edges). This may put the letter near his father's death (March 24, 1897), but it may simply be leftover paper that Grenfell had at hand.
2. Also known as the Nubayrah Stele. See also here.
4. U. Bouriant (1885), "La stèle 5576 du Musée du Boulaq et l'inscription de Rosette," Recueil de travaux VI: 1-20.
8. B.P. Grenfell (1899), "Strack's 'Dynasty of the Ptolemies'," CR 13.1: 54-56.
9. P.P. = Petrie Papyri. It looks like he wrote 'II' and then canceled this and inserted a question mark in front of his cancellation. Smyly is not mentioned in the review just mentioned, which came out in Feb. 1899, so the letter probably dates to 1898.
10. The excursus appears in P.Oxy. II, pp. 238-241.
15. This corresponds to l. 25 of the edition.