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Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt

Year 2020, Volume: 6, 93 - 98, 15.12.2020
https://doi.org/10.36991/PHILIA.202008

Abstract

The inclusion of a secret sign as a clue which enables the recipient of a private letter to identify the sender was one of the ways of authentication. This is easily understandable when the sign is written on a folded and sealed papyrus. However, when the same type of authentication is written on ostraca, the secret sign becomes immediately visible and known to everybody, and, subsequently useless thereafter. In addition, the inclusion itself does not provide a secure way to prove that the ostracon was the original. For instance, some numbers (amounts of money) can be changed before the ostracon reaches the unsuspected recipient. This paper proposes that these or even other ostraca were put in containers in order to secure both the ostraca and the message.

References

  • Ceccarelli 2013 P. Ceccarelli, Ancient Greek Letter Writing. A Cultural History (600 BC – 150 BC), Oxford 2013.
  • Depauw 2006 M. Depauw, The Demotic Letter. A Study of Epistolographic Scribal Traditions Against Their Intra- and Intercultural Background, Demotische Studien Vol. 14, Sommerhausen 2006.
  • Jouguet – Guéraud 1933 P. Jouguet – O. Guéraud, Ostraca grecs d’Eléphantine, Aegyptus 13, 1933, 443–454.
  • Litinas 2007 N. Litinas, P.Mich. inv. 1622 (= SB XVI 12589) + inv. 1580., ZPE 163, 2007, 191–194.
  • Litinas 2014 N. Litinas, 2873. Recording the Activities of a Woman, in: F. Reiter (ed.), Doku-mentarische Texte der Berliner Papyrussammlung, BGU XX, Berlin 2014, 212–225.
  • Nicholson 1994 J. J. Nicholson, The Delivery and Confidentiality of Cicero’s Letters, CJ 90, 1994, 33–63.
  • Reinfandt et al. 2015 L. Reinfandt – S. Tost – M. Jursa, Administrative Epistolography in An-cient Empires: An Introduction”, in: S. Procházka – L. Reinfandt – S. Tost (edd.), Official Episto-lography and the Language(s) of Power: Proceedings of the First International Conference of the Research Network Imperium & Officium, Papyrologica Vindobonensia 8, Vienna 2015, xi–xxiv.
  • Rea 1976 J. Rea, Another cημεῖον – in P.Oxy. VII 1068, ZPE 21, 1976, 116.
  • Rea 1977 J. Rea, Yet Another cημεῖον – SB VI 9415 (17), ZPE 26, 1977, 230.
  • Sarri 2018 A. Sarri, Material Aspects of Letter Writing in the Graeco-Roman World, Berlin – Boston, 2018.
  • Van Dongen 2014 E. G. D. Van Dongen, The postal service and the breach of mail confiden-tiality, Revista europea de historia de las ideas políticas y de las instituciones públicas 8 (diciembre 2014); online in http://www.eumed.net/ rev/rehipip/08/postal-service-rome.html.
  • Verhoogt 2009 A. Verhoogt, Dictating Letters in Greek and Roman Egypt from a Compa-rative Perspective, Version 1.0, March 2009, working paper, retrieved from https:// si-tes.lsa.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/235/2015/02/dictating1.pdf.
  • Youtie 1970 H.C. Youtie, ΣΗΜΕΙΟΝ in the Papyri and its Significance for Plato, Epistle 13 (360a-b), ZPE 6, 1970, 105–116 (= Scriptiunculae II, 963–975, Amsterdam 1973).

Ostraka ve Posta Kartları. Mısır’da Ostraka Üzerine Yazılan Özel Mektupların Sırları

Year 2020, Volume: 6, 93 - 98, 15.12.2020
https://doi.org/10.36991/PHILIA.202008

Abstract

Şahsi bir mektuba alıcının göndereni tanımlamasını sağlayan bir ipucu olarak gönderen tarafından gizli bir işaretin eklenmesi, kimlik doğrulama yollarından biriydi. İşaret katlanmış ve mühürlenmiş bir papirüs üzerine yazıldığında bu kolayca anlaşılır bir durumdur. Ancak aynı yöntem ostraka üzerinde kullanıldığında, gizli işaret hemen görünür ve herkes tarafından bilinir olmakta, dolayısıyla daha sonra tekrar kullanılamaz hale gelmektedir. Ayrıca gizli bir işaret eklemenin kendi-si ostrakon’un orijinal olduğunu kanıtlamak için güvenli bir yöntem de değildir. Örneğin, ostrakon beklenen alıcıya ulaşmadan önce bazı sayılar (para tutarı) değiştirilebilir. Makale bu ostrakon’ların, hatta diğerlerinin de, hem kendilerini hem de taşıdıkları mesajı güvence altına almak için kaplara konuldukları önerisini getirmektedir.

References

  • Ceccarelli 2013 P. Ceccarelli, Ancient Greek Letter Writing. A Cultural History (600 BC – 150 BC), Oxford 2013.
  • Depauw 2006 M. Depauw, The Demotic Letter. A Study of Epistolographic Scribal Traditions Against Their Intra- and Intercultural Background, Demotische Studien Vol. 14, Sommerhausen 2006.
  • Jouguet – Guéraud 1933 P. Jouguet – O. Guéraud, Ostraca grecs d’Eléphantine, Aegyptus 13, 1933, 443–454.
  • Litinas 2007 N. Litinas, P.Mich. inv. 1622 (= SB XVI 12589) + inv. 1580., ZPE 163, 2007, 191–194.
  • Litinas 2014 N. Litinas, 2873. Recording the Activities of a Woman, in: F. Reiter (ed.), Doku-mentarische Texte der Berliner Papyrussammlung, BGU XX, Berlin 2014, 212–225.
  • Nicholson 1994 J. J. Nicholson, The Delivery and Confidentiality of Cicero’s Letters, CJ 90, 1994, 33–63.
  • Reinfandt et al. 2015 L. Reinfandt – S. Tost – M. Jursa, Administrative Epistolography in An-cient Empires: An Introduction”, in: S. Procházka – L. Reinfandt – S. Tost (edd.), Official Episto-lography and the Language(s) of Power: Proceedings of the First International Conference of the Research Network Imperium & Officium, Papyrologica Vindobonensia 8, Vienna 2015, xi–xxiv.
  • Rea 1976 J. Rea, Another cημεῖον – in P.Oxy. VII 1068, ZPE 21, 1976, 116.
  • Rea 1977 J. Rea, Yet Another cημεῖον – SB VI 9415 (17), ZPE 26, 1977, 230.
  • Sarri 2018 A. Sarri, Material Aspects of Letter Writing in the Graeco-Roman World, Berlin – Boston, 2018.
  • Van Dongen 2014 E. G. D. Van Dongen, The postal service and the breach of mail confiden-tiality, Revista europea de historia de las ideas políticas y de las instituciones públicas 8 (diciembre 2014); online in http://www.eumed.net/ rev/rehipip/08/postal-service-rome.html.
  • Verhoogt 2009 A. Verhoogt, Dictating Letters in Greek and Roman Egypt from a Compa-rative Perspective, Version 1.0, March 2009, working paper, retrieved from https:// si-tes.lsa.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/235/2015/02/dictating1.pdf.
  • Youtie 1970 H.C. Youtie, ΣΗΜΕΙΟΝ in the Papyri and its Significance for Plato, Epistle 13 (360a-b), ZPE 6, 1970, 105–116 (= Scriptiunculae II, 963–975, Amsterdam 1973).
There are 13 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Linguistics
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Nikos Lıtınas This is me 0000-0003-3291-5806

Publication Date December 15, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 6

Cite

APA Lıtınas, N. (2020). Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt. PHILIA, 6, 93-98. https://doi.org/10.36991/PHILIA.202008
AMA Lıtınas N. Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt. PHILIA. December 2020;6:93-98. doi:10.36991/PHILIA.202008
Chicago Lıtınas, Nikos. “Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt”. PHILIA 6, December (December 2020): 93-98. https://doi.org/10.36991/PHILIA.202008.
EndNote Lıtınas N (December 1, 2020) Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt. PHILIA 6 93–98.
IEEE N. Lıtınas, “Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt”, PHILIA, vol. 6, pp. 93–98, 2020, doi: 10.36991/PHILIA.202008.
ISNAD Lıtınas, Nikos. “Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt”. PHILIA 6 (December 2020), 93-98. https://doi.org/10.36991/PHILIA.202008.
JAMA Lıtınas N. Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt. PHILIA. 2020;6:93–98.
MLA Lıtınas, Nikos. “Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt”. PHILIA, vol. 6, 2020, pp. 93-98, doi:10.36991/PHILIA.202008.
Vancouver Lıtınas N. Ostraca and Postcards. Secrets in Private Letters Written on Ostraca from Egypt. PHILIA. 2020;6:93-8.