§392 Gaius Julius Apollinarius

Gaius Julius Apollinarius

Translation: … Let us nevertheless see their gratitude when the materials are prepared and dressed. Concerning the purple dye I can write you nothing until it comes from the dyeshop. If I learn anything about it sooner, I will let you know. In the letters that I sent by Aurelian I wrote you to get from Philetas four …which I left with him, but nonetheless I wrote to him also about this, as well as the itinerary that I made through Syria, Asia, and Achaea, as far as Rome. If by luck you come to Alexandria, buy for me … Marseilles flasks so that I may not put off giving thanks for the favors of the lord Sarapis …

Commentary: The papyrus is a letter either to or from Gaius Julius Apollinarius. Apollinarius probably has some Jewish heritage: his paternal great-aunt bears the name “Sambathion.” While the name Sambathion does not prove with certainty his Jewish ancestry, it remains likely. Tcherikover notes the mix of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian names in the family (CPJ). Several other letters from the family have been found but are omitted from those collected here – these are limited to those mentioning Apollinarius. Apollinarius’ father was also a soldier of legio III Cyrenaica. See the fuller discussion of the family’s archive in Elinor M. Husselman, ed., Papyri From Karanis, Third Series: Michigan Papyri IX 29 (Cleveland: The Press of Case Western Reserve University, 1971), 5-8; K. Vandorpe, W. Clarysse and H. Verreth, Graeco-Roman Archives from the Fayum, Collectanea Hellenistica 6 (Leuven: Peeters University Press, 2015), 186-198.

Provenience: Karanis, Egypt (near Fayuum, Egypt) 108-131 CE

Bibliography: P.Mich. 501*

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