1. Declaration by a boatman/katastates to deliver wheat to Alexandria
- Author
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Aurelius Horion son of Heraklas, Aurelius Horion son of Heraklas, Aurelius Horion son of Heraklas, and Aurelius Horion son of Heraklas
- Abstract
Freight contract for the carriage of tax-wheat to Alexandria. The papyrus is not only difficult to read in some places, but it is also incomplete at the right side and our interpretation of this unique text is somewhat speculative. Although in the present text, which is a declaration to six town councillors of Oxyrhynchus in their capacity of commissioners of wheat for Alexandria (επιμεληται σιτου Αλεξανδρειας), a cargo of 1,015 artabas of wheat is to be transported on a ship under the boatman Jacob son of Jason, precisely as in 809 - 810 (also from the year 372p), we are not necessarily dealing with the same cargo. Only so much is certain that the ship on which Jacob was a boatman had a capacity to hold at least 1,015 artabas (on the; capacity of Nile ships in Graeco-Roman Egypt, cf. I.J. Poll, Ladefähigkeit und Grösse der Nilschiffe, Archiv 42 [1996] 127-138). The author of the text, Aurelius Horion son of Heraklas, is called a καταστατης (ll. 9, 17) and he agrees to καταστησαι (l. 12, cf. l. 20). The verb καθιστημι is frequently used in the papyri and has various different meanings; cf. for the ‘liturgical’ meaning N. Lewis, The Compulsory Services of Roman Egypt2 [Florence 1997] 60, for the ‘juridical’ meaning H. Maehler in Archiv 33 [1987] 28). The substantive καταστα’ της (listed in LSJ with only 2 attestations) occurs in the papyri published to date only in P.Oslo III 88.16,35 (cf. LSJ, Revised Supplement) and in SPP III2.1 10 (cf. the Wörterlisten); cf. also the form καταστατοι in Pap.Lugd.Bat. XXX 2.9 and note ad loc. Furthermore, one may compare the form υποκαταστα’ την (ed.: l. -τον?) in P.Lips. I 55.9-10, and the genitive υποκαταστατου in P.Flor. III 325.3 and; P.Oxy. LXVII 4614.2. In the note to the Oslo papyrus, the editors consider the possibility that it may be a Greek translation of the Roman ‘stator’ (cf. H. Mason, Greek Terms for Roman Institutions [Toronto 1974; = AmStudPap 13] p. 85b s.v. στατωρ; Fr. Kayser in BIFAO 90 [1990] 241ff.), but this m, http://name.umdl.umich.edu/IC-APIS-X-4359%5D4023R.TIF, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/thumb/apis/4359/4023R.TIF/!250,250, http://quod.lib.umich.edu/a/apis?page=copyright, https://www.lib.umich.edu/about-us/policies/copyright-policy