Apollonius (or Apollonios, ; 3rd century BC) was the ''

dioiketes ''Dioikētēs'' (), often Latinization of names, Latinized as ''dioecetes'', is a term applied to a variety of administrative officials. Origin and history in antiquity The term derives from διοίκησις (''dioikēsis''), literally "housekee ...

'' or chief finance minister of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

during the reign of

Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the G ...

(r. 283–246 B.C.). Little is known about his personal life; in ancient documents, he is called simply "Apollonius the ''dioiketes''" without recording his home city or his father's name. But a great amount of information has survived about his public role, in the archive of

papyri Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can ...

kept by his assistant Zenon. Apollonius was ''dioiketes'' from about 262 to 245 B.C. As well as his official role, he was an important merchant and land-owner. He owned estates both abroad in

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

and in Philadelphia in Egypt. In 252 B.C. he accompanied

Berenice Berenice (, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. The Latin variant Veron ...

, the daughter of Ptolemy, as far as

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

before her marriage to the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...

king

Antiochus II Antiochus II Theos (, , meaning "Antiochus the God"; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He was th ...

. Although the extent of his influence over the king's policies has been disputed, it was during his term of office that the economic and administrative system of the

Ptolemaic Kingdom The Ptolemaic Kingdom (; , ) or Ptolemaic Empire was an ancient Greek polity based in Ancient Egypt, Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, a Diadochi, ...

was fully developed, which made the kingdom by far the most prosperous of the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

states. As ''dioiketes'' he was succeeded by

Sosibius Sosibius (; floruit 221-204 BC) was the chief minister of Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–204 BC), king of Egypt. Nothing is known of his origin or parentage, though he may have been a son of Sosibius of Tarentum; nor is there any account of how he ...

''The Zenon Papyri''

Apollonius's work for Ptolemy II Philadelphus was recorded in considerable detail by his private secretary,

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

(or Zenon, ). In the course of his duties, Zeno made copious written records of various legal and financial transactions between citizens, as well as detailed descriptions of the construction of theatres, gymnasiums, palaces and baths of the new town of Philadelphia on the edge of

Faiyum Faiyum ( ; , ) is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum Governorate. It is one of Egypt's oldest cities due to its strategic location. Name and etymology Originally f ...

. The documents were stored in an archive and lay forgotten for over 2100 years. During the winter of 1914-1915, a cache of over 2,000

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

documents was uncovered by Egyptian agricultural labourers who were digging for

sebakh Sebakh (, less commonly transliterated as ''sebbakh'') is an Arabic word that translates to "fertilizer". In English, the term is primarily used to describe decomposed mudbricks from archaeological sites, which is an organic material that can be ...

near Kôm el-Kharaba el-Kebir. Upon examination by

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

scholars, these documents were found to be records written by Zeno in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used t ...

. These papyri, now referred to as the ''Zenon Archive'' or the ''Zenon Papyri'', have provided historians with a detailed record of Apollonius's role and of 3rd-century BC Philadelphia society and economy. The papyri, now referred to as the ''Zenon Archive'' or the ''Zenon Papyri'',About the Zenon Papyri
- University of Michigan. were translated into English by the British

papyrologist Papyrology is the study of manuscripts of ancient literature, correspondence, legal archives, etc., preserved on portable media from antiquity, the most common form of which is papyrus, the principal writing material in the ancient civilizations ...

Campbell Cowan Edgar Campbell Cowan Edgar (26 December 1870–10 May 1938) was a Scottish Egyptologist, classical archaeologist and papyrologist. He is especially noted for his work with A. S. Hunt on translating the Zenon Papyri. Between 1925 and 1927 he served as t ...

and

Arthur Surridge Hunt Arthur Surridge Hunt FBA (1 March 1871 – 18 June 1934) was an English papyrologist. Life Hunt was born in Romford, Essex, England. Over the course of many years, Hunt, along with Bernard Grenfell, recovered many papyri from excavation ...

References

Sources

* *

External links

Introduction to the Zenon Papyri
by University of Michigan 3rd-century BC Egyptian people Ptolemaic officials 3rd-century BC Greek people

''The Zenon Papyri''

References

Sources

Further reading

External links