THE

BULLETIN
OF THE

AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF

PAPYROLOGISTS

Volume 49
ISSN 0003-1186
E-ISSN 1938-6958

2012

The current editorial address for the Bulletin of the American Society of
Papyrologists is:
Peter van Minnen
Department of Classics
University of Cincinnati
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peter.vanminnen@uc.edu
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the production of this volume.

Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists 49 (2012) 55-62

A Temple Declaration from

Early Roman Egypt
Chris Eckerman University of Oregon

Abstract
Edition of P.Mich. inv. 132, a temple declaration () of unknown provenance from the first century of Roman rule.
P.Mich. inv. 132

H x W = 22.5 x 13 cm

I AD

The lower margin is 3.8 cm. large. A vertical kollesis runs 9 cm from the
left. Parts of two columns are preserved. The first column is incomplete on
the left, while the second column is incomplete on the right. The preserved
intercolumnar space is 2-3.5 cm wide. The verso is blank. The provenance of
the papyrus is unknown. The script is that of a literary hand similar to no. 44
or 47 in G. Cavallo, La scrittura greca e latina dei papiri (Pisa, Roma 2008).
The text is a prepared by the priests of an
Egyptian temple and submitted to the Roman authorities. Egyptian temples
had to submit such a declaration at the end of each fiscal year. It included a list
of objects in the temple, a list of priests , and a statement regarding
the temples fiscal operations. The papyrus edited here does not preserve the
per se, which would have followed the list of objects, nor does
it preserve the statement of fiscal operations (including the temple budget),
which would have followed the . What remains provides a rich
inventory of objects with references to gods (Thermouthis, Dionysus, possibly
Alexander the Great), precious metal (silver), objects of cult (a brazier of a censer, a (peri)rhanterion), and jewelry (a diadem, crowns, pearls, and pendants).
Particularly notable are the crowns. Since the provenance is unknown, we do
not know to what god the temple was dedicated nor where it was located.
The most recent discussions of temple inventories are those of E. Battaglia,
Dichiarazioni templari: a proposito di P. Oxy. XLIX, 3473, Aegyptus 64 (1984)
79-99 (with list of documents), and F. Burkhalter, Le mobilier des sanctuaires
d gypte et les listes des prtres et du cheirismos, ZPE 59 (1985) 123-134.
Though dated, still of value (on the priests particularly) is O. Montevecchi,
, Aegyptus 12 (1932) 317-328. T. Grassis brief monograph re-

56

Chris Eckerman

mains helpful: Le liste templari nell Egitto greco-romano secondo i papiri (Milan
1926). All extant temple declarations date to the Roman period, but it would
not be surprising to find that these were modeled on Ptolemaic documents (cf.
Battaglia 79, Montevechi 317).
follow a formulaic pattern. They begin with
an address in the style of a : () ()
(followed by a patronymic) ()
(followed by the name of a god)
(followed by the name of a village). They are addressed to
multiple officials including the , the
, the , as well as the (cf. Battaglia 82).
The inventory edited here probably would have been sent to one of these officials. After the heading and the list of the people sending them, the texts
continue with the declaration proper:
() (imperial titulature) .
(name of the god). At this point, the listing of objects and goods
begins, and the objects always precede the priests in the extant declarations.
The present declaration preserves part of the list of objects only. After the
objects and priests the include a statement of
the temples financial state as well as an annual budget. They conclude with
subscriptions that include the names of the individuals sending the respective
document as well as the date (cf. Battaglia 84-85).
Col. 1

] . . . .
] . . .
] vacat
] vacat
5
]
]
]
] vacat?
]
10 ]
] vacat
] [ . ] .
] vacat
]
15
] . . . . . . .
]

A Temple Declaration

57

[
]
] . [
] . . . . [ . ] [
20 ] [
]
] [
] . . . [] [
] . [] [
8

10

Col. 2

25 . . . . . [
. . [

.....[

[
[][
30 . [

. [
. [

[
. [
35 [
[
[
. . . [

33[
21 ... (5) on the -side (of) silver ... 4 ... Thermouthis a diadem ... 25 (precious) stones (10) ... a pendant enclosed in a ring ... (precious) stones ... two
empty sockets ... of Alexander (the Great) (15) ... Iacchus ... brazier (of a censer)
(20) ... a small crown in which there are small (precious) stones ... and a (precious) stone in the middle ... 3 ... small pearls ... silver ... silver feet ... a figure of a

58

Chris Eckerman

god ... (25) ... crown(s) ... crown(s) ... (30) (peri)rhanteri- ... chests ... portrait(s)
... pendant(s) ... upon the ... (35) ... figurines ... heralds (trumpet(s)) ...
1 : numbers are consistently overlined (lines 6, 9, 12, 22), as in BGU
13.2217, another temple inventory.
5 or : the listed object is described as (of) silver on
either the inside or the outside; see, e.g., P.Oxy. 12.1449.44, another temple
inventory, listing a lamp with a silvered outside and wooden on the inside
(() ()). The more precious material would be on the outside.
- : adjective or substantive. The adjective occurs lower down
(line 23). There are several silver objects in similar inventories. For example,
P.Bodl. 1.49.6, an inventory of liturgical objects, lists a silver [](),
and P.Erl. 21.3, a temple inventory, includes a (). For other
probably silver objects see, e.g., (PSI 4.348.6), ()
() (P.Mich. 2.121r.2.2.8). The silver or silvered object here may have
been an object used in public ritual or preserved as a private votive. Other
temple inventories declare objects plated with precious metals; see, e.g., P.Oxy.
3.521, P.Oxy. 12.1449, P.Oxy. 49.3473, BGU 13.2217.
7 ] : the Greek name for the Egyptian goddess Renenutet, the
cobra goddess associated particularly with defense of the king and fertility. In
the Greco-Roman period, her identity was often fused with that of Isis. See
the Lexikon der gyptologie s.v. Renenutet for discussion and bibliography.
Thermouthis was a common proper name in Roman Egypt, and the reference
in the text may not be to the goddess but to a person, the dedicator of a votive.
For example, in P.Oxy. 12.1449, a temple inventory, the dedicators of individual
objects are mentioned when known. This would also help explain why the
name is in the nominative, since if this were an object (e.g., a statue) depicting
Thermouthis, we would expect the noun to be in the genitive (as in, e.g., P.Oxy.
49.3473.10; cf. line 14 below) or accusative (cf. line 17 below). However, since
Thermouthis is followed by in the account, it is perhaps more likely
that Thermouthis refers to the goddess.
- : formed off the root -, refers to various
royal things in Greek, but here it must refer to a tiara or diadem, as it does
also in P.Erl. 21.3 and P.Lond. 7.1960.13, likewise inventories. See S. Russo,
I gioielli nei papiri di et greco-romana (Florence 1999) 17, n. 54. Given the
syncretism of Thermouthis and Isis, the here may well refer to the
regularly associated with Isis-Hathor. On the Isis see, with
further bibliography, A. Kolde, Paroles de Cobra (Bernand, Inscr. Mtr. 102),

A Temple Declaration

59

60

Chris Eckerman

in : mlanges offerts Andr Hurst, ed. A. Kolde, A. Lukinovich,

and A. Rey (Genve 2005) 143-153 at 143-145.
9 : this text lists numerous precious stones (lines 9, 12, 20, 21). For
precious stones mentioned in another inventory, see, e.g., BGU 13.2217.13.
10 : see line 33 below for another occurrence of one or more
pendant(s). The only time occurs in papyri elsewhere is at P.IFAO
2.40.8-9, in an unclear context.
- : the adjective is a hapax legomenon, but of regular formation. The use of (rings, hoops?) in jewellery has been much
doubted. See Russo (note on line 7: ) 262, n. 24.
12 : an alternative translation would be sarcophagi. In this
context it is more likely that the are sockets or settings that have lost
their stone(s).
14 : The reference to Alexander, surely the Great, is noteworthy. The nominative subject for the dependent genitive is not preserved,
but it is likely that the lacuna would have preserved a noun such as portrait
vel sim. (cf. depending on in line 24 below).
: the text presumably listed a work of art that depicted (per17
haps expressed with a form of taking the accusative) Dionysus (contrast
lines 14 and 24 for the genitive with portrait or figure). For Dionysus and
an Iaccharion (small shrine of Dionysus) in a temple inventory, see P.Oxy.
12.1449.46.
19 : brazier (of a censer). This does not occur in other temple
inventories, but see, e.g., P.Cair.Zen. 1.59013.34. As objects of cult that would
frequently be used in temple ritual, censers () themselves are found
regularly in temple inventories (e.g., P.Oxy. 3.521, BGU 13.2217). Burkhalter,
ZPE 59 (1985) 132-133, thinks that censers, musical instruments, and other
cult objects that are listed in temple declarations would have been used in
contemporary rituals and would not have been preserved unused as votives.
20 ]: the text lists numerous crowns (lines 7, 20, 28, 29). They
are found widely in other inventories, such as BGU 13.2217. See Russo (note
on line 7: ) 17-19.
-

[ : or . For see especially P.Graux. 2.10.8.

21 : given that the preceding line described a crown embedded with jewels, here the phrase may describe another crown with a (big)
jewel in the middle.

A Temple Declaration
22

61

: see P.Holm. 2.37.

23 [] may refer to small votive tripods, to small items

of furniture, or to anything resting on small legs.
24 : cf. the mention of a statue vel sim. of Alexander (the
Great) in line 14.
- (if this is what is implied here) are listed in other inventories,
such as P.Oxy. 12.1449.10.
27 Above this unread line is a paragraphos, which reappears above lines
28, 31, and 33. They are not checkmarks (as the dots used in the second column
of P.Bodl. 1.49 are) but presumably divide rooms or boxes in which the listed
objects were kept.
30 . [: perhaps a form of for ; cf. BCH
35.286, 54.98. As in lines 19 and possibly 37, the text would list an instrument of
ritual. Perirrhanteria are wide, shallow basins that sit above columns. They are
made of stone, marble, precious metal, or ceramic. They were regularly given
as dedications at Greek temples and were used to mark transitions between
sacred and profane spaces. On Greek perirrhanteria see, with further bibliography, S.G. Cole Landscapes, Gender, and Ritual Space: The Ancient Greek
Experience (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London 2004) 43-47 and passim.
31 : chests would have been used particularly for the storage of
precious offerings; cf. Battaglia, Aegyptus 64 (1984) 86.
32 . [: some form of or bust or portrait
(cf. LSJ s.v. ). The unread letter is round.
33 [: cf. in l. 10 above and ()
pendant restored in P.Oxy. 12.1449.18 and 23, also a temple inventory. See
Russo (note on line 7: ) 221.
34 . [: a phrase such as describing a decorative
ornament on the head of a statue vel sim. seems plausible.
36 [: for in temple inventories see BGU 13.2218.2
and P.David 1.10. See Grassi, Liste templari 32-34 for a discussion of such human and animal figurines. As she notes, such statuettes were commonly used
as votive offerings.
37 [ : this is the first attestation of the word , formed
from - + , presumably a heralds trumpet. The suffix first appears in
the late Hellenistic period and is particularly well attested in modern Greek;

62

Chris Eckerman

cf. Mayser, Grammatik 1.3:38, P. Chantraine, La formation des noms en grec

ancien (Paris 1933) 72, and especially L.R. Palmer, A Grammar of the PostPtolemaic Papyri 1 (London 1945) 88-89. As Battaglia notes (86-87), temple
declarations hanno una grande importanza di carattere antiquario, perch ci
danno un idea della suppellettile dei templi, e di carattere lessicale, perch ci
conservano molti termini rari o addiritura non attestati altrove.
is such an example.
38 . . . [: the first, unread letter is round, the fifth, unread letter is
triangular. - for - could be read, but this does not yield a satisfactory sense.

The Oxyrhynchus Distributions in America: Papyri and Ethics

William A. Johnson .............................................................................................211
Notes on Various Texts Preserved on Payrus
Grace Ioannidou and Ioannis Polemis ..............................................................225
Notes on Five Herodotean Papyri
Andrzej Miroczuk .............................................................................................229
One More Footnote to Two More Pages
Albert Pietersma and Susan Comstock .............................................................235
Per la data di P.Golenischev della Cronaca universale alessandrina
Guglielmo Cavallo ...............................................................................................239
Three Fragments from a Coptic Codex of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
Alin Suciu.............................................................................................................243
The Authorship of P.Cair.Zen. 3.59308
Trevor Evans ........................................................................................................253
P.Ryl. 4.587 and 588 and the Expression of Identity in Ptolemaic Egypt
Sandra Coussement ............................................................................................261
PSI 4.311: Early Evidence for Arianism at Oxyrhynchus?
Lincoln H. Blumell ..............................................................................................279
Freight Charges in SB 18.13948
K.A. Worp ............................................................................................................299
Notes on Papyri..........................................................................................................303
Reviews
P. Kramer (Peter van Minnen) .................................................................................309
P.Poethke (Peter van Minnen) ..................................................................................313
P.Oxy. 72 (John Lundon) ..........................................................................................317
O.Stras. 2 (Peter van Minnen)..................................................................................325
T.J. Kraus and T. Nicklas, Early Christian Manuscripts (Geoffrey S. Smith)......331
K. Schssler, Biblia Coptica 4.3 (Christian Askeland) ..........................................337
Roger S. Bagnall, Everyday Writing (William A. Johnson) ..................................341
B. Legras, Les reclus du Sarapieion de Memphis (Marja Vierros) ........................345
R.W. Daniel, Architectural Orientation (Amin Benaissa) .....................................351
M. Sabottka, Das Serapeum in Alexandria (Jitse H.F. Dijkstra) ..........................357
S.E. Sidebotham, Berenike (Carol Meyer) ..............................................................361
R.J.A. Talbert, Romes World (Ekkehard Weber) ...................................................365
E. Wipszycka, Moines et communauts monastiques (Peter van Minnen) .........373
E.M. Grob, Documentary Arabic Private and Business Letters (Khaled M.
Younes) ................................................................................................................377
Books Received ..........................................................................................................381
American Studies in Papyrology .............................................................................385

Contents
A New Epic Fragment on Achilles Helmet?
C. Michael Sampson ................................................................................................ 7
An Addition and Multiplication Table
Nikos Litinas and Stephen M. Bay ....................................................................... 15
Two More Fragments of the Vienna Jannes and Jambres
Albert Pietersma..................................................................................................... 21
A Greek Christian Liturgical Hymn (P.CtYBR inv. 1584A)
Alan Gampel and Cline Grassien........................................................................ 31
Instructions for Islamic Prayer from the Second Century AH/Eighth Century CE
W. Matt Malczycki ................................................................................................. 41
A Temple Declaration from Early Roman Egypt
Chris Eckerman ...................................................................................................... 55
Payment of a Financial Obligation from Tebtynis
Gabriel Nocchi Macedo ......................................................................................... 63
A sitologos Receipt from Roman Tebtynis
Jesse E. Hoffman ..................................................................................................... 73
Letter from a Soldier in Pannonia
Grant Adamson ...................................................................................................... 79
An Epikrisis Document from Oxyrhynchus (P.Mich. inv. 261)
Daniel W. Leon ....................................................................................................... 95
A Third-Century CE List of Wine from Five Estates
Taco Terpstra ........................................................................................................ 109
Des nouvelles de Paniskos
Paul Heilporn ....................................................................................................... 119
A Cancellation of a Contract of Debt from Hermopolis
Andrew Connor .................................................................................................... 139
Receipt for embole from Aphrodito
James G. Keenan .................................................................................................. 147
A Contract for the Advanced Sale of Wine
Scott Gallimore ..................................................................................................... 151
Deux ordres du suprieur du monastre de Baout
Alain Dellatre ....................................................................................................... 167
The Greek and Coptic Papyri in the von Scherling Papyrus Collection
Klaas A. Worp and Renate Dekker..................................................................... 175
Copyright The American Society of Papyrologists 2012
Printed in the United States of America
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