king grants him the favour asked for, which is that his young brother may be made an officer in the army. But though the request was granted by the king, it was not obtained to the monk's satisfaction. For the brother seems to have been sent away from Memphis, instead of being left there in garrison; and his pay, by which the monk hoped to profit, was also withheld from him. The monk and his brother had been deserted by their father, in the time of the civil war between Philometor and Euergetes, and the invasion of Egypt by Antiochus, king of Syria, which had caused a sad disturbance to society. Our word recluse, or one in confinement, which is borrowed from the Latin, is a translation of Káтoxos, the Greek name for these monks. In the hieroglyphics they are called the Ophtho, or persons dedicated. Their cells yet remain in some of the Egyptian temples, particularly in that of Phila, where they are ranged round the court-yard. They are mentioned by Manetho, in his astrological poem; and also by Servius in his Commentary on Virgil, who says that they entered on their solitary way of life as boys, and that those who were dedicated to the god of the Nile were supposed to be living in retirement in caverns beneath the river. We know the statues of these men sitting on the ground in religious idleness, with the knees up to the chin, forming little more than a square block of stone with a head upon it. The only other class of priests mentioned in the petitions, are the shrine-bearers, whose statues we have in the position of kneeling on the ground, and holding before them the small model of a temple with the figure of a god on the front of it. The first petition is dated in the year B.c. 157. The second and third petitions may have been written about two years afterwards; and the manuscript which contains a history of the whole proceeding was written before the death of the brothers, and therefore about the year B.c. 145. To King Ptolemy, and Queen Cleopatra his sister, the motherloving gods [Philometores] greeting. I, Ptolemy, the son of Glaucias, a Macedonian, being one of the settlers from the Heracleopolite nome, whereas my beforementioned father was one of the families that dwelt in the Heracleopolite nome; but changed his way of life in the time of the troubles, and deserted me and my younger brother, Apollonius; and whereas it has been my lot to be living as a Apotelesm., i. 235.. recluse in the great temple of Serapis, near Memphis, for fifteen years, and as I wish to obtain a command in the army for my aforesaid brother (because I am childless), whereby I, while living as a recluse, and he who is at large, may be able to live becomingly and may be helped. I beseech you, the great mother-loving gods, having a regard to the above-stated number of years, whereby I have in no way whatever the necessaries of life, except this refuge under you, O, great gods and protectors, that I may obtain the command asked for for my brother, if it shall seem fit; and that you bestow upon me also the protection which you grant to all similar religious persons; that [this petition] be directed to the proper officer, and that my before-named brother be received into the cohort of Dexilaus, which has its quarters in Memphis, and that they should give to him whatever they themselves receive in corn and food; so that I may be able to live becomingly, and to perform the sacrifices on behalf of yourselves and your children; and may you rule over the whole country that the sun looks down upon for ever. And if this is done, I shall, through you, have the means of living for the rest of my life. May you be happy. Below is written, perhaps by the petitioner, but more probably by Apollonius, the brother : I delivered this petition to the king and queen on the second day of the month of Thoth, in the twenty-fourth year of the reign. The king seems then to have written the following words upon it, perhaps with his own hand, and set his seal to them as his signature: Let it be done. Let it be carried to the proper office. · It has been examined; let it be carried to the scribes. In the twenty-fourth year, in the month of Thoth, I delivered the petition to the king and queen. And I received it back from him and delivered it to Demetrius, after it had been sealed; and I received it back from Demetrius and from Ariston, and I carried it to the secretaries' office to Dioscorides the clerk, and then from Dioscorides to Chæremon, and from Chæremon to Apollodorus; and it made its return to the palace on the twenty-sixth [day of Choac]. The following is the report which accompanied the petition back to the king from these several officers : Seeing that a petition was presented to the king and queen by Ptolemy, the son of Glaucias, a Macedonian, by which it was stated that he had lived in confinement in the great temple of Serapis, near Memphis, for fifteen years, and that he was worthy that his brother should be received into the cohort of Dexilaus, and they should give him whatever they themselves received; and seeing that the petition had been sealed in these words :-"Let it be done, and let it be carried to the proper office;" it was returned in the year 24, on the twenty-sixth day of the month of Chœac, that the settlers in Memphis were allowed each one hundred and fifty pieces of brass, and three Artabas of wheat, of which they received one Artaba of wheat, and for the rest one hundred pieces of brass for each Artaba; and that this had been allowed in the accounts of Dexilaus and Theon, to those to whom it belonged, and that the pay of one hundred pieces of brass had been given every year; and it was further added that therefore as it was allowed, there should be granted to him [Apollonius] one Artaba of wheat, and for the rest at the rate of one hundred pieces of brass for each Artaba. Then was made a second order of the king, when he had seen this report, on the ninth day of the month of Tybi in the same year the twenty-fourth. Let it be done as is right. Upon this the king's secretary writes to Demetrius, as follows : Let Apollonius, the Macedonian, be received into the cohort of Dexilaus, which is stationed at Memphis, and let there be given to him as much as the others receive, namely, one hundred and fifty pieces of brass, and three Artabas of wheat, of which wheat he is to have one Artaba, and a gratuity of one hundred pieces of brass for each of the rest. Dated in the year 24, on the tenth day of the month of Tybi. At the same time an order was sent to Dioscorides the clerk : That he was to write to Sostratus, the scribe, telling him to follow out these orders, to point out to him [Apollonius] his place, and to explain to you how distribution should be made unto him regularly, by means of the substituted allowance. Accordingly, Dioscorides writes to Sostratus: We herewith send to Sostratus a copy of the report from the scribes, so that you may do according to the particulars given by the scribes. Seeing that a petition was presented to the king and queen by Ptolemy, the son of Glaucias, a Macedonian, by which it was stated that he had lived in confinement in the great temple of Serapis, near Memphis, for fifteen years, and that he was worthy that his brother should be received into the cohort of Dexilaus, and that they should give him whatever they themselves received; and seeing that the petition has been sealed in these words :'Let it be done; and let it be carried to the proper office,' it was returned in the year 24, on the 26th day of the month of Chœac, that the settlers in Memphis were allowed one hundred and fifty pieces of brass and three Artabas of wheat each, of which they received one Artaba of wheat, and for the rest one hundred pieces of brass for each Artaba; that this had been allowed in the accounts of Dexilaus and Theon, to those to whom it belonged; and that the pay of one hundred pieces of brass had been given every year; and it was further added, that therefore, as it was allowed there should be granted him [Apollonius] one Artaba of wheat, and for the rest at the rate of one hundred pieces of brass each Artaba." And the other matters are to be as have been ordered. And this order was carried to its return in the year 24, on the 9th day of Tybi; and within was written, "Let it be done as is right." And a letter was written to Sostratus the scribe [as above] telling him to follow out these orders, and to point out to him [Apollonius] his place, and to explain to you how distribution should be made unto him regularly, by means of the substituted allowance. Demetrius then writes to Dioscorides, as follows: Demetrius to Dioscorides, sends greeting. We herewith send to you a copy of the letter which we have written to Sostratus the scribe, so that you may follow it out. Farewell. Dated in the 24th year on the 14th day of the month of Tybi. Apollonius then continues his narrative : The four Epistles from Demetrius, the chief of the bodyguard and the scribe of the forces, I delivered on the 19th day of the month of Tybi in the year 24; one to Posidonius the general, one to Ammonius the chief of the servants, one to Callistratus the scribe, and one to Dioscorides the judge or chancellor. From Dioscorides the chancellor I took two letters, one to Dorion the procurator, and one to Posidonius the general, on the 25th day of Tybi in the year 24. Apollonius then repeats the mention of his carrying the four letters from Demetrius, giving however this time to Dioscorides the title of The King's Friend. He then continues ; The order was given in, and the letter was delivered to the chancellor to be read; and I carried the order to Ptolemy the scribe of the records, and I carried the letter to Epimenes, and I then carried it to Isidorus the decider, and from him I carried it on to Artemon, and from him to Lycus, and he made a copy of it; and I carried it on to the office of final records to Sarapion, and from him to Eubius, and from him to Dorion; and he made a copy of it; and then a second time to Sarapion and Eubius and Nicanor the clerk; and it was given to the chancellor to read; and I carried it to Epimenes, and I carried it to Sarapion, and to Nicanor the clerk; and he wrote two letters, one to Dorion the procurator, and one to Posidonius the general of the troops at Memphis. Thus far the manuscript in the British Museum. From the manuscript in the Vatican it would seem that Apollonius at last received the wished-for appointment as an officer, but nevertheless was forced into the ranks as a private soldier, or else employed on some less agreeable service, which removed him from his brother, who wished to have him near, and to be benefited by his pay. Accordingly the priest Ptolemy the son of Glaucias a few years afterwards forwards a second petition, as follows; To King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra, his sister, the mother-loving gods, Ptolemy the son of Glaucias, a Macedonian, who has been living as a recluse in the great temple of Astarte, within the temple of Serapis, near Memphis, from the tenth year of your reign, sends greeting. When you came into the temple of Serapis in the twentyfourth year of your reign, on the second day of the month of Thoth, I delivered to you through the window, because I was not able to come down to you, a petition on behalf of my younger brother Apollonius, that he should be admitted into the army; and in respect of the temple of Astarte, in which I have been a recluse for the before-mentioned time, I begged that no one of the priests and shrine-bearers nor any other person should violently plunder me or insult me; for there are wicked men in the temple, and they besiege me because I am a Greek, so that I want help and a protector. And whereas the before-mentioned Apollonius has been enrolled into the first cohort in Memphis, and [yet] has been forced by the servants into the public services, and is not allowed to be with me, I on that account implore a favour from you, O King. For those who besiege me, as soon as they know that he has been sent off on the public service, at that very time they violently besiege me. For I had been insulted by many in the year 25, so as even to be pelted with stones through the window; and when Posidonius the chief of the body-guard and general came upon them, and I delivered a petition to him on the first day of the month of Pharmuthi, he called the men up to him and chastised them. |