Marcus Claudius Serenus
(0194) Text: Μάρκῳ Κλαυδ[ί]ῳ Σερήνῳ νεωκόρῳ τοῦ | μεγάλου Σαράπιδος τῶν κεχιλιαρχηκότων | γενομένῳ ἐπάρχῳ σπείρης πρώτης | Δαμασ[κ]ηνῶν καὶ ἀρχιγεωργῷ ἱερεῖ (καὶ) ἐξηγητῇ | καὶ τοῖς Καισαρείοις καὶ τοῖ[ς] ἄλλοις πρυτάνεσι(ν). | παρὰ Ἀμμωνίου τ[ο]ῦ Θέωνος τοῦ | Σαραπίωνος Προπαπ[π]οσεβα(σ)τείου τοῦ | καὶ Ἀλθαιέως τ[ῶ]ν τὸ [π]έμπτον ἔτ[ο]ς | Δομιτιανοῦ [ἐ]φηβευκότων. βουλό- | μενος (ε)ἰσκρεῖναι εἰ[ς] τοὺς τὸ (ε)ἰσιὸν ὀκτω- | καιδέκατον ἔτ[ο]ς Αὐτ[ο]κράτορος Καίσαρος | Τραιανοῦ Ἁδριανοῦ Σεβαστοῦ ἐφήβους | τὸν γεγονότ[α] μοι ἐκ τῆς ἀδελφῆς μου | Θαυβαρίου ἀστ[ῆ]ς ἣ μ[ε]τήλλαχεν υἱὸν | Νειλάμμωνα ἀξι[ῶ] ὑμᾶς συντάξαι | τοῖς πρὸς τούτ[οι]ς οὖσι λαβοῦσί μ[ο]υ | χειρογραφία[ν περὶ τ]οῦ ἀληθῆ εἶναι | τὰ προκείμε[να γράψα]ι οἷς καθήκει | χρηματίζ[ειν μοι τελο]ῦντι τὰ πρὸς | τὴ[ν εἴσκρισιν καὶ ἐφηβ]είαντοῦ | [προγεγραμμένου μου] υἱοῦ Νειλάμ- | [μωνος καὶ προσαγγεῖλαι] τῷ τε κοσ- | [μητῇ καὶ τῷ γυμνασιάρ]χῳ τοῖς | [οὖσι προσδέξασθαι αὐτὸ]ν (ε)ἰς τοὺς | [ἐφήβους] ἵνʼ ὦ [πεφιλανθρ]ωπ(ημένος). | [hand 2] [Νειλάμμων Ἀμμωνίου ἔφη]βος ἀπʼ Ὀξ(υρύγχων) [πόλ(εως)] | […]
Translation: To Marcus Claudius Serenus, the custodian of Great Serapis, former chiliarch/tribune, former prefect of cohors I Damascenorum, the chief cultivator, priest, and exegetes, to the Caesarii, and to the other prytaneis. From Ammonius son of Theon son of Sarapion of the Propapposebasteian tribe and from Althaeian deme, who entered the ephebate in the fifth year of Domitian. I wish to enroll my son Neilammon born of my late wife, the adopted daughter of Thambarion and a citizen, for the introduction into the ephebes of the eighteenth year of Emperor Caesar Trajanus Hadrianus Augustus. On receipt of my declaration on oath that the following claims are true, I request you to instruct the concerned officers to write to the proper officials to deal with my case on my proof of descent of my aforementioned son Neilammon and to bring news to the cosmetes and gymnasiarch to enroly in into the ephebes in order that he may be treated well. [hand 2] Neilammon son of Ammonius the ephebe from the city of Oxyrhynchus […] (Trans. Christopher B. Zeichmann)
Commentary: Note that Marcus was formerly a prefect of cohors I Damascenorum, a unit originating in the Decapolis, though it spent the early second century in Syria.
Provenience: Oxyrhynchus, Egypt (el-Bahnasa, Egypt) 132-133 CE
Bibliography: P.Oxy. 477