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"I, Petaus, the village scribe, have submitted."
So, there's a problem here...
Do you notice it?
So, there's a problem here...
Do you notice it?
Petaus (son of Petaus) is the village scribe of Ptolemais Hermou and the surrounding villages. He works for the government.
He's the guy who handles your documents if you live in this region.
He's the guy who handles your documents if you live in this region.
Here, Petaus is practicing his handwriting. He writes his signature 12 times.
Now, the first question is why would a village scribe need to practice his handwriting?
Maybe it's just sloppy. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
Now, the first question is why would a village scribe need to practice his handwriting?
Maybe it's just sloppy. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt.
But Petaus tries to abbreviate his title and writes the symbol (∫) backwards.
Then he forgets the augment & starts to repeat the mistake on every single line, as the letters get larger and larger.
Then he forgets the augment & starts to repeat the mistake on every single line, as the letters get larger and larger.
So what kind of village scribe needs to practice his handwriting, would write the abbreviation symbol backwards, and would not notice a very, very basic mistake in his Greek?
An illiterate one. The guy couldn't read what he was writing. He had ONE job and he probably scammed his way into it! He was practicing his signature and could not read it.
In other words, "I, Petaus 'the village scribe' am illiterate."
In other words, "I, Petaus 'the village scribe' am illiterate."
