Writing in Graeco-Roman Egypt
 

Greek Lease of Land
30 AD
Tebtunis, Egypt
P.Mich.inv 724

The subscription reads:
I, Horos, son of Horos, and my sons, Hermas and Horos, all three Persians of the epigone and mutual sureties for recovery,have leased the above-mentioned thirteen arourai for the aforementioned two years, irrespective of other debts, either debts which we owe to Kronion with a contract of loan and apart from any lease which he has with us and anyone else, as stated above. Aphrodisios, son of Herodes, wrote for them, as they are illiterate.

This type of subscritpion, where a friend or family member writes on behalf of someone who is illiterate, was not uncommon in Graeco-Roman Egypt. In some cases, a person might be considered "illiterate" even if he was able to read and write in a language other than Greek, such as Egyptian.


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