P.CtYBR inv. 5087: A Strange New Papyrus from Oxyrhynchus

P.CtYBR inv 5087 is the strangest yet most interesting papyrus I have ever worked on. This little papyrus slip, which was acquired by Yale University in 1997 from Gallery Nefer, Zurich, consists of three lines of text, and dates to the third century C.E. It is interesting because nothing else like it is attested in the papyrological record. The text runs as follows:

ἐπ᾽ ἀμφόδου Ἑρμαίου
Παποντῶς Πετοσείριος
μητρὸς Τσεναφύγχεως

In the quarter of Hermaion
Papontos son of Petosiris
mother Tsenaphunchis

The “quarter of Hermaion” was a well-known amphodon in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus. The amphoda were metropolitan districts usually named after local sanctuaries and professions. They were used to locate persons and property in Egyptian cities that would have been difficult to navigate. One can therefore understand why they were useful indicators in registrations: “so-and-so son of so-and-so in the quarter of so-and-so.” This bit of information is important because it means that the provenance of this papyrus is secure: it hails from Oxyrhynchus.

The ultimate question concerning this little papyrus is: for what purpose was it created? Who used it? In what context was it used? There is nothing else exactly like it, which makes any interpretation open for debate. Obviously, Papontos is somehow connected with the quarter of Hermaion. But why this information is given on this papyrus is open to question.

So, why do you think this papyrus was created? I will leave you in suspense for a little while and come back later with my thoughts. My edition of this interesting papyrus slip has been accepted and is forthcoming in the next issue of the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists. While we probably cannot know precisely the purpose of this papyrus, I think I have a pretty good idea!

P.CtYBR. inv. 5087