Aponii in Egypt

Author(s): P. J. Sijpesteijn
Source: Zeitschrift fr Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 90 (1992), pp. 238-240
Published by: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany)
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238

in Egypt

Aponii
Several

of the family

members

a more

have played

of the Aponii1

or less important

role in

Roman history (cf. PIR2 nos. 932-938). At least one of the persons listed in the PIR appears also
in Egypt

as the owner

of an o?o?a. Marcus

usia

Satornilus'

Aponius

is mentioned

in P.Oslo

II33

(Karanis;A.D. 29); P.Ryl. II131 (Euhemeria;A.D. 31); P.Ryl. II135 (Euhemeria;A.D. 34) and
P.Mich.V 312 (Theognis; A.D. 34).2 The editor of P.Bon. 123 (Tebtynis; A.D. 107)3 plays in her
introduction

idea, unlikely
From

rejected.

the estate of the same man occurs. This

the idea that in the text from Bologna
the usia is situated, has to be
of the date of the papyrus and the place where
text
that the usia of another
clear
it
becomes
of
the
the subsequent
republication

with

in view

member of theAponii is involved.4

["Exofyc ev?EKaxou AvxoKpcxxopo? Kaioapo?
[T]paiavov

Tafel Via

AaKiKou

[prijvo? N?oi) Ee?aaxou 8 ?v Tenxvvi xii[? IIo?i-]

[jic?vJo? jiepi?o? xou 'Apaivoeixoi) vojiou. ?p,[o-]
[Xoy]ei 'Apcpafioi?Meaofipeco? ?y7J\\inx(?p
[xiv]cov i)7capxovxc?v {xcov} rcepi Tercx?viv
[..(.)]x

TepjiaviKoi)

Ee?aaxoi)

N?poua

xoD

v?od

'Atcov?od

[o]t>oia?

? ?xc?[v]

[xpicxK]ov[x]a inx? ovXi) \izx?n[($ ek] 8e^i?v

[?11 ioxiiov e[ ? 12 ].. P

3 Tercxvvei

*Apaivo?xoi)

*Aj??v?oi)

co[

8 hxtco7i[c?; Se^icov

- O.
1Cf. W.
lateinischer Eigennamen, Ber?n 1904, 66. Cf. also H. Solin
Schulze, Zur Geschichte
Z?rich New York
Salomies, Repertorium nominum gentilium et cognominum Latinorum, Hildesheim
1988.
2 Cf. G.M.
1978, 65. Like so
Par?ssoglou,
Imperial Estates in Roman Egypt, ASP 18, Amsterdam
many rich Romans he invested his money in landed property and probably not only in Egypt (cf., e.g., D.
Valerius Asiaticus, ZPE 79,1989,194ff.).

3Cf. ZPE
45, 1982,180 sub 3Cb.
4 The estate of an
(Philadelphia; A.D. 214). For this text,
Aponia Berenike ismentioned in SB VI9562
see D. Hagedorn, ZPE 77, 1989, 202f.
51 wish to thank G. Geraci who provided me with an excellent photograph of the Bologna text
In line 6 x?v seems to be either superfluous or a mistake for xi]?.
'Arcov?ou kxX. does not seem to be
Line 7 poses a problem! A reading [(rcp?xepov)] T?xou Ouiv?ou
excluded. If this reading is correct, the owner of the usi? would have two nomina gentilicia (for Ovinius, cf.
is rather exceptional and
W. Schulze, op.cit., 202, 234,481). Although not unattested such a phenomenon
that the scribe meant to write 'Arcovi^ou
(in that case we are not
strange. There is also the possibility
a
Non
of
of
the
with
member
the
Aponii).
liquet!
dealing
family
[xpi(XK]ov[x]a seems the most likely supplement at the beginning of line 8, since [?^T|K]ov[x]a
would make Harpha?sis rather old to be an bfXrwuix&p. At the end of line 8 and at the beginning of line 9
perhaps cbve?oGai?

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239

Aponii inEgypt

It is impossible to say whether the sameMarcus Aponius (Satornilus) appears inP. Lond. Ill
1125d,6

since no certain date

is preserved.

- TafelVIb
traces

Kai [
k]?XC0V[Kai] XC?V
Xe[X?]??\)XT1KOX?)V
xou
]iavo\> Ka[ioapo?]
KDpiou e7caKoA?)i)8oDvx[
4
kJojiti? [?OKvo]7taioDNf|ao\) OEixoX^you avv[
] ?vKxfiaecov ?i??aocpuAxxCiai)VXpTi|iaxi?o[\)Oi
]? ?povpai? e? Tceplkco^v 'HpaKta?av a? n[
x?a]oape?- o\>x vn?p%z\ 8? Ifoi ?xepo? Tcopo??? a>[v
(2nd h) 8
K]exprmaxia^?vc?v ?nb xfl? ?rcioxafteian?
Japiou ?? ?? Tcp?xr?? 'Pcojia?Kn(?)rcoA,ei[xe?ac%pr\\iaxicavxo?
] ?v 6\)ai a?paye?ai nepi k?^v 'HpaKfta?av
K]\)p?oi) 6pa%Ji?? ?iaxeiAaa? xexpa[Kooia?
12
] n?vxa. MapKo? 'Arccovio?cppov[xioxf|?.
4 avcoA?yau
Other

Aponii

5 ?yiciiae v; avYXP^I^xiCol/uai

are known

to have

served

9 rco?,i[xeia?

in the army. Aponius

11 ?iaxt^iot?

Didymianus

decuri?n in O.Flor. 5 (and 4). The eques (?) Aponius Petronianus ismentioned
Another
century

eques, Aponius Germanos,

the heirs of Aponius,
A.D.7

appears

as a

in O.Hor. 3.

can be found

in P.Hamb.
139, p. 169 (A.D. 179). In the IVth
a former primipilarius,
it is
II713 where
appear in P.Landl.

stated that thisAponius possessed more than 180 arurasof land.

61 wish to thankMr T.S. Pattie for his kind permission to publish this text here.
Too much of the text which is only complete at the bottom (there is a free margin of 4 cm.) ismissing to
establish its nature with certainty. The text may contain a protest against a nomination to a liturgy (cf. line
7). At least two Romans are involved. In Une 3 part of an imperial titulature (Hagedorn's reading) is pre
served. If the person mentioned in line 9 became a Roman citizen in the wake of the Constitutio Antoniniana
in Une 3 is probably Gordian
(cf. D. Hagedorn, BASP 16, 1979, 52, footnote 27a) the emperor mentioned
xou
Cf.
P.
Les titulatures imp?riales,
Bureth,
(M?pKou 'Avxcoviou Top8]iavou
Ka[ioapo?]
Kup?ou.
some Illrd century A.D. texts from
Papyrologica BruxeUensia 2,'BruxeUes 1964,113). However,'although
- S.
Daris, Dizionario geogr?fico IV.3, Milano
1986, 299;
Soknopaiou Nesos are known (cf. A. Calderini
are
Milano
I,
1988,236)
Supplemento
they
neglectable in number compared with texts of earlier centuries
or Aup-qXiavoc).
in line 3 was O?aXepiavo?
(it is, therefore, even less likely that the emperor mentioned
Iwould, however, assign this text on palaeographical grounds (a not absolutely reliable criterion, however)
rather to the Und than to the Illrd century A.D. The emperor mentioned
in line 3 was probably either
'
or
If
true
must
this
is
Marcus
be
another
person than the above mentioned
Tpaiavo?
A?piavo?.
Aponius
owner of an estate in Egypt (also in line 11 there may be a question of an imperial titulature).
If, as D. Hagedorn suggests, we read and supplement in line 12 McxpKo? 'Arcc?vio? ?>p?v[x?v (e.g.)
we are certainly not dealing with Marcus Aponius Satomilus.
At the back faint traces of a red stamp are still visible (cf. P. Schubert, P.Diog., pp. 37ff.).
7 For the date of
P.LandUsten, cf. W. van Gucht, Some Egyptian Bishops and the Date of PLandlisten,
Atti del XVII Congresso Internazionale di Papirologia HI, Napoli 1984,1135ff.

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240

PJ. Sijpesteijn

In connection with land the following Aponii are mentioned: Aponis8 son of Pap?is
possesses \ \ arura of land (P.Lond. II 192,26 [p.223]; early Ist century A.D.); Gaius Aponius
Rufus pays for 1 \ arura9of land (P.Berl. Leihg. II 37,31; A.D. 142/3); Aponius Rufus, who may
~
be the same person as the preceding
one,
1893, 483; A.D.
149);10 Longinus Aponius

of a vine-yard
of
\
three times in the Karanis

is the owner
appears

arura

tax-rolls

IX

(BGU

(P.Mich.

IV 223,2463; 224,2931.4964; A.D. 171-173);11 Aponis son of Ptollion Monopodia and Aponis
son of Ptollas

possess

together

with

an unknown

number

of other

persons12

80 aruras of

land

(BGU IX 1900,66; aroundA.D. 196);Aponius Bernikianos13 owns a vine-yard (P.Berl.Leihg. II

41,53;

early

IInd century A.D.);

Aponius

son of Heraklas

grandson

of Mysthes

of

greatgrandson

Dion is a ?tipogio? yecopy?c at Theadelphia (P. Stra?b. 157,2; IIndcentury A.D.).

The following Aponii appear in a non-committal context: SB VI 9017(31): a letter from
'Atccoviv Kai x?v
other persons he greets
(a Latin name) to his sister Demetrus.
Among
of Paulina who
is the husband
SB VI 9271: Aponius
'Atcc?viv (Ist/IInd century A.D.).
about her husband
to her brother Titus (note the Latin names!) with complaints
writes
(Ist/IInd
century A.D.). P.Strasb. VIII 769,8: a list of names which may be connected with plots of land or
in a list of names an Aponius
SB XII 11252,21:
of wheat
no\\n\v
(IInd century A.D.).
quantities
a
names
On the
Ill
list
of
P.Hamb.
224,29:
A.D.).
A.D.).
century
(IIIrd
appears (IInd/IIIrd century
an
no.
of a
A.
and
E.
of Memnon
Colossus
Bernand,
8],
98)
[footnote
(cf.
inscription
op.cit.
Papirius
?M,ov

who heard the voice of the statue can be found (the exact date of the inscription
certain Aponius
cannot be established).
an Aponius
of this
that some members
The texts which mention
give us the impression

family were rather large landowners but others possessed only small plots of land. Quite a few
Aponii
Romani

University

served
before

in the army. They mostly

the Constitutio Antoniniana.

use more

than one name

and seem

of Amsterdam

to have

been

cives

P.J. Sijpesteijn

8Cf. A. and E.
Bernand, Les inscriptions grecques et latines du Colosse de Memnon, Le Caire 1960,
3
for
footnote
literature concerning names and substantives in -i? and -io?, rendering Latin names
195,
p.
and substantives in ~ius.
9
the editor states in a note on lines 22/3 thatAponius possesses 2 5^ aruras of land.
Mistakenly
10The
papyrus has 'Atccdvio? 'Po?cpKxo? but, as the editor remarks correctly in his note, 'Po?cpKxo? is
in all probability a mistake for 'Poucpo?.
11 In P.Cairo Isid. Heron son of
10,16.106.159;
14,131 (and perhaps in
Aponeus appears in 9,26.205;
22,10; 28,18). Since the editors took 'ArccovEcocto be the genitive of the proper name 'Arccovi?, the proper
name 'Arc?vi? was listed in D. Foraboschi, Onomasticon Alterum Papyrologicum
45a. The same person
was
as
text
the
in
taken
in
VI
this
P.Mich.
but
376,44
genitive of the proper
appears
correctly
'A?icdveco?
name 'Arccoveu? (D. Foraboschi, op.cit., ibidem).
12 Seven
persons are named but an unknown number of |X?xo%oiis involved.
13The editor
is the son of a
transcribes:-'Arccovio?
BepviK(?covo<;) and assumes that Aponius
Bernikion.

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TAFEL VI

a)

W.

4VlP

l
b)

a) P.Bon.

I 23, b) P.Lond.

III 1125d; zu P.J.Sijpesteijn

S.238ff.

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