Claytor ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 ISSN 2159-3159 Article copyright held by the author(s) and made available under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Record of an Enslaved Woman’s Activities W. Graham Claytor HE NUMEROUS ACCOUNTS of work found in the papyrological record form an important corpus for the social and economic history of the ancient world and have recently been analyzed in Christel Freu’s monograph on salaried labor in Roman and Byzantine Egypt.1 The present papyrus from the British Library is of particular interest, as it relates to activities not normally documented, namely those of a female slave, in this case a woman named Ptolema in the middle of the second century CE.2 Entitled an “account of inactive (days),” from Ptolema’s per- spective it is anything but: her idle time is spent working, travel- ing, and tending to serious family matters. These days are only ἀργαί from the perspective of the anonymous account-keeper, who evidently had an interest in her activities, probably as a lessee of her labor or under a similar arrangement. The account would have been used to ensure that Ptolema’s “free” days did not exceed those allowed in the contract (if any) and to calculate compensation, as is anticipated in work-lease and apprenticeship contracts. P.Wisc. I 5 (Oxyrhynchos, 185), for instance, allows 1 C. Freu, Les salariés de l’Égypte romano-byzantine. Essai d’histoire économique (Paris 2022). 2 For a new discussion and collection of translated texts on slavery in Egypt see J. L. Rowlandson, R. S. Bagnall, and D. J. Thompson, Slavery and Depen- dence in Ancient Egypt (Cambridge 2024); the work of slaves in Roman Egypt is discussed in my ch. 6 at 275–277 and 305–311. For more detailed studies see I. Bieżuńska-Małowist, La schiavitù nell’Egitto greco-romano (Rome 1984) 157– 221, and J. Straus, “L’esclavage dans l’Égypte romaine,” ANRW II.10.1 (1988) 841–911, at 867–876. T W. GRAHAM CLAYTOR 627 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 the enslaved weaver Tapontos a total of eight days off (ἀ̣ρ̣γήσει) for the attendance of festivals (lines 20–25), while any further days missed, “whether for festivals, illness, or some other press- ing need of the master,” trigger a reduction in the wages paid to the owner (26–30). In the apprenticeship contract SPP XXII 40 (Soknopaiou Nesos, 150), the slave girl Taorsenouphis is to make up for non-work days by “remain(ing) for an equal number of days in compensation after the set time.”3 The account-keeper recognizes the family bonds of the enslaved woman, mentioning her daughter Euphrosyne (5), un- named children and possibly a son Moschos (7), and a man named Pabous, who ought to be another family member or a close associate (6). Pabous’ death kept Ptolema away from credited work for two days, presumably to attend to funeral rites, while the illness of her daughter Euphrosyne cost her one day. Other “inactive” days were spent at work for the goddess Isis: two days brewing beer, two washing. Ptolema’s activities also involved travel: she spent three days in Gynaikon Nesos with her children and made visits to Soknopaiou Nesos and the metropo- lis. Her base of operations in this year was thus probably in the Herakleides division of the Arsinoite nome, to which these two villages belonged. The work “for Isis” and the travel may have related to the active festival calendar of Soknopaiou Nesos and its filiate chapels in the nome.4 The papyrus was likely found in Soknopaiou Nesos, as so many of the early London acquisitions were, an idea supported also by the name Pabous and the reference to Gynaikon Nesos, which had strong links to the priests and temple of this village 3 Transl. J. Rowlandson, Women and Society in Greek and Roman Egypt. A Source- book (Cambridge 1998) 268. Lines 19–22: ὧν δὲ / ἡµερ̣ῶ̣ν̣ [ἐ]ὰ̣ν ἀργήσῃ διʼ ἐτίαν (l. αἰτίαν) τῆς δεσποίνης ἢ ἀσθε|νήσῃ̣ [ἢ ἀτακτ]ῇ ἐπὶ τῷ τὰς ἴσας µετὰ τὸν χρόνον / [ἀ]ν̣τι̣[παραµένει]ν. 4 A. Jördens, P.Louvre I 4, introduction, and L. Capron, “Déclarations fiscales du temple de Soknopaiou Nêsos: éléments nouveaux,” ZPE 165 (2008) 133–160. See generally F. Perpillou-Thomas, Fêtes d’Égypte ptolémaïque et romaine d’après la documentation papyrologique grecque (Leuven 1993). 628 RECORD OF AN ENSLAVED WOMAN’S ACTIVITIES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 (see 632–632 below). If so, the owner and/or lessee of the slave Ptolema probably belonged to one of the priestly families of the village, as is the case in the apprenticeship contract SPP XXII 40 cited above, adding to the plentiful evidence of slaveholding in Soknopaiou Nesos.5 P.Lond. II 302b descr. (p. xxix) h. 13.8 x w. 10.5 cm Soknopaiou Nesos(?) Acquired in 18936 Figure 1 141/2 CE The sheet is written against the fibers, and its other side is presumed blank, the papyrus having been pasted to a backing. The straight edge at the foot suggests that the original dimen- sions are preserved, with no lines missing below. The upper and left margins are 1 cm, with the presumed bottom margin measuring 0.5 cm. There are traces of uncertain significance above λόγος in line 1. λόγος ἀργῶν Πτολλ̣έ̣µα δούλης̣ ε (ἔτους) Ἀντονίνου Καίσαρος τοῦ κυρίου Ἴ̣[σι]δος πυοῦσα ζῦτον ἡµέρας β̅ 4 ὁµοίως πλύνουσα β̅� καὶ ὅτε τεθε̣ρ̣άπευ(ται) ἡ θ̣υγάτ(ηρ) Εὐ̣φρ̣ο̣σ̣ύ̣(νη) ⸌α̅�⸍ καὶ ὅτε τετελεύτ⟨η⟩κε Παβοῦς β̅ [καὶ] µ̣[ε]τ̣ὰ τῶν τέκ(νων) αὐτῆς εἰς τ(ὴν) νῆσον 8 [τ]ῶ̣ν Γυνεκ(ῶν) µετ’ υἱοῦ Μόσχου γ̅ [κ]α̣ὶ̣ εἰς τ(ὴν) νῆσον τοῦ Σοκο̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ [Ἴ]σ̣ιδος ἡ̣µέρα̣ς ϛ̅� κ̣αὶ ὅ̣τε ἀ̣πο- [ ] ̣ ̣ ̣ εἰς τ̣ ̣ ̣[ ] 5 For a list of slave-owning residents see D. H. Samuel, “Greeks and Romans at Soknopaiou Nesos,” Pap.Congr. XVI (Chico 1981) 389–403, at 394 n.14. Additions are made regularly to the corpus of slavery-related docu- ments from Soknopaiou Nesos: see e.g. the recently-published sale of an en- slaved female “percussionist” (τυµπανίστρια) to a local resident, P.Hoogendijk 26 (138 CE). 6 British Museum, Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts in the British Museum, in the Years MDCCCXLVIII–MDCCCLIII (London 1894) 412–450, at 427. W. GRAHAM CLAYTOR 629 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 12 [ ] ̣ ̣ Σωτηρ̣ι̣χ[ ] [ ] ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣[ ] [καὶ εἰς] τ̣(ὴν) πό̣λει̣ν̣ ἡµέ[ρας ] 1 l. Πτολέµας 2 l. Ἀντωνίνου 3 l. ποιοῦσα 8 l. Γυναικῶν, µεθ’ 14 l. πόλιν “Account of inactive (days) of the slave Ptolema. 5th Year of Antoninus Caesar the lord. For Isis, making beer, 2 days likewise, washing, 2 (days) and when her daughter Euphrosyne was cared for, 1 (day) and when Pabous died, 2 (days) and with her children to Gynaikon Nesos, with (her?) son Moschos, 3 (days) and to Soknopaiou Nesos … (day(s)?) For Isis, 6 days and when … … to … … Soterichos … and to the city, – days” 1 λόγος ἀργῶν: sc. ἡµερῶν. One might consider a mistake for ἔργων,7 but stressed vowels are less susceptible to error, and the account tracks not just work but time spent caring for and traveling with family. The sense of ἀργός here, in Reekmans’ classification, is time spent away from “regular work,” al- though some of Ptolema’s time may have been spent attending festivals (see below), another sense of the term.8 Both senses are used in the contracts cited in the introduction. Other ac- counts of “off days” include SB VI 9127 (II), P.Lond. III 1170 verso 45–51 (259), and SB XIV 11472 (296/7). The last pro- vides a good parallel for the heading, where λόγ(ος) ἀργ(ίας) in 1 could also perhaps be expanded λόγ(ος) ἀργ(ῶν). On the tracking of such non-working days see Freu, Les salariés 85–89. 7 F. Gignac, A Grammar of the Greek Papyri of the Roman and Byzantine Period I (Milan 1976) 283, notes that ἐργαλεῖον was commonly written ἀργ-. 8 T. Reekmans, “Ἀργός and its Derivatives in the Papyri,” ChrÉg 60 (1985) 275–291, at 285–287 and 281. 630 RECORD OF AN ENSLAVED WOMAN’S ACTIVITIES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 2 The usual short-form titulature of Antoninus Pius: see P. Bureth, Les titulatures impériales dans les papyrus, les ostraca et les inscriptions d’Égypte (Brussels 1964) 66–72. 3 Ἴ̣[σι]δος: For the restoration cf. [Ἴ]σ̣ιδος in 10. ὁµοίως in the next line likewise refers to work for the goddess. It is unclear if the reference in 10 is to be connected with the previous line: if so, the service to Isis took place in Soknopaiou Nesos; if not, the cult site is unlocated in the account. In the cultic network of the priests of Soknopaiou Nesos, there were several chapels dedicated to Isis (Nepherses and Nephremmis), namely at Neilopolis, Pelousion, Gynaikon Nesos, and Dionysias, besides Soknopaiou Nesos itself: see S. L. Lippert and M. Schentuleit, “Agreements and Accounts. On-going Research on Economic Activities of the Temple of Soknopaiou Nesos according to the Demotic Texts,” in A. Jördens et al. (eds.), Accounts and Book- keeping in the Ancient World (Wiesbaden 2020) 141–157, and C.Clergé II 69.4 n. – πυοῦσα ζῦτον: Though much earlier, a remarkable parallel for such “off days” devoted to brewing, likely for festivals, comes from an ostrakon of the Deir el-Medina workmen (O.BM EA 05634, TM 136354: 1250 BCE): see J. J. Janssen, “Absence from Work by the Necropolis Workmen of Thebes,” Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 8 (1980) 127–152, at 146–147. More than a millennium later, beer was still a staple of Egyptian culture, and the priests of Soknopaiou Nesos had their own brewery: cf. P.Dime III 2 (8 BCE) and an unpublished agree- ment dating to 158/9 (P.Vindob. D 6032 and other frag- ments), outlined in S. L. Lippert, “Chapels, Chambers and Gateways. The Religious Architecture of Soknopaiou Nesos according to the Demotic Documentary Papyri,” in M. Ca- passo et al. (eds.), Soknopaios. The Temple and Worship (Lecce 2015) 157–165, at 163–164. On the development of the beer industry in the Roman period see the overview of L. Bigi and N. Dogaer, “The End of the Egyptian Beer Industry? Archae- ological and Papyrological Perspectives on Beer Production in W. GRAHAM CLAYTOR 631 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 the Roman Fayum,” Aegyptus 99 (2019) 107–132. 4 πλύνουσα. Ptolema spent two days “washing” for Isis, without further details. The verb generally refers to washing raw materials or clothing. Laundries and fullers appear in the Demotic sources from Soknopaiou Nesos: see P.DimeData 1.vi.1 and 13 recto.xxiii.2 for entries related to rḫty (“fullers”), while P.Vindob. D 10011b recto (forthcoming in P.Dime IV) contains agreements concerning laundries. For πλύνω in a different temple context cf. the petition P.Stras. II 91 (Tebtynis, 86 BCE), which narrates an assault and theft while an ibis and hawk burier was cleaning (πλύνοντος) the wrappings of the sacred mummified animals. Outside the temple setting, cf. the account entry ἐργάταις πλύνουσι ἔρια in P.Mil.Vogl. II 52.33 (Tebtynis, 138). 5 Εὐ̣φρ̣ο̣σ̣ύ̣(νη): A common slave name (TM Nam 9382), borne by the mother of a slave in SB XXVIII 16853 (132 BCE; cf. SB XXVIII 16852); a daughter of Valeria alias Thermouthis, who was taken captive and enslaved for 38 years, according to her epitaph (I.Varsovie 75, I–II); a slave freed in P.Oxy. I 48 and XXXVIII 2843 (86); and as the second name of another freed- woman in P.Oxy. XLIII 3117 (235 or after). The letter P.Tebt. II 413 (late II) appears to have been written by a slave to her mistress, so the Euphrosyne of the lady’s staff was likely also a slave: see the new edition by I. Andorlini, “Women’s Letters concerning Textile Manufacture (P. Tebt. II 413–414),” in N. Quenouille (ed.), Von der Pharaonenzeit bis zur Spätantike. Kulturelle Vielfalt im Fayum (Wiesbaden 2015) 1–16. 6 τετελεύτ⟨η⟩κε Παβοῦς. The last tau, written after redipping the pen, is slightly raised and separated from what precedes, as if marking an abbreviation. Yet, the writer appears to have then decided to write the ending in full, forgetting the eta in the meantime. In the Fayum, the Name Παβοῦς (TM Nam 13136) is strongly associated with Soknopaiou Nesos, although it comes to prom- inence only in the second century (I thank Marcel Moser for pointing out the chronology). 632 RECORD OF AN ENSLAVED WOMAN’S ACTIVITIES ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 7–8 εἰς τ(ὴν) νῆσον / [τ]ῶ̣ν Γυνεκ(ῶν): The article τῶν in this place name is otherwise unparalleled, but cf. the article τοῦ in 9. All references to the village of Gynaikon Nesos in Trismegistos (TM Geo 724) are found in texts that clearly or conceivably come from Soknopaiou Nesos, which strengthens the supposi- tion that the present papyrus was likewise found there. On the close links of Gynaikon Nesos with the priesthood of Sok- nopaiou Nesos, see Lippert and Schentuleit, in Accounts and Bookkeeping 151 ff. Ptolema’s visit with her children may have coincided with a festival: cf. e.g. the κωµασίαι in this village mentioned at SPP XXII 183 = C.Clergé II 114.v.93 ff. (Soknopaiou Nesos, 138?). 8 µετ’ υἱοῦ Μόσχου: Perhaps Ptolema’s son, even if mentioned separately from “her children” in the previous line. 9 εἰς τ(ὴν) νῆσον τοῦ Σοκο̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣ ̣: The article τοῦ is unusual in the place name, but cf. τῆς νήσου τοῦ Σοκνοπαίου in CPR XV 8=9.2 and 11.3–4 (Soknopaiou Nesos, 13–15 CE). Here, after Σοκ, it is difficult to see the expected nu. I have considered reading Σοκ⟨ν⟩οπ(αίου), with a curved pi marking abbreviation, but there are traces beyond. However written, Soknopaiou Nesos ought to be the place meant. There is also a trace at line end, below the gamma of the previous line, that may belong to the number of days; otherwise, the entry continues into line 10 (for the implications see above on line 3). 14 εἰς] τ̣(ὴν) πό̣λει̣ν̣. That is, the metropolis of the Arsinoite nome, Ptolemais Euergetis.9 August, 2024 Warsaw w.claytor-vi@uw.edu.pl 9 This edition has been prepared from autopsy and a digital photo. I thank former Curator of Ancient and Medieval Manuscripts, British Library Peter Tóth, for permission to publish the papyrus and am grateful to Roger Bagnall, Nikolaos Gonis, Sandra Lippert, and Maren Schentuleit for com- ments and references. My research is co-funded by Poland’s National Science Centre and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 945339 (project No. 2021/43/P/HS3/00651). W. GRAHAM CLAYTOR 633 ————— Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 64 (2024) 626–633 Figure 1: P.Lond. II 302b descr. © British Library Board: Papyrus 302b