Apollonius (dioiketes)

Apollonius (or Apollonios, Greek: Ἀπολλώνιος; 3rd century BC) was the dioiketes or chief finance minister of Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (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.[1] But a great amount of information has survived about his public role, in the archive of papyri kept by his assistant Zenon.

Apollonius
Ἀπολλώνιος
Born
Kaunos, Asia Minor
NationalityPtolemaic Kingdom of Egypt
Other namesApollonios
OccupationChief finance minister
EraHellenistic period
Employer(s)Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Ptolemy III Euergetes
Notable workRecords kept in the Zenon Papyri

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 and in Philadelphia in Egypt.[2] In 252 B.C. he accompanied Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy, as far as Sidon before her marriage to the Seleucid king Antiochus II.[3] Although the extent of his influence over the king's policies has been disputed, [4] it was during his term of office that the economic and administrative system of the Ptolemaic Kingdom was fully developed, which made the kingdom by far the most prosperous of the Hellenistic states.[5]

As dioiketes he was succeeded by Sosibius.

The Zenon Papyri
Fragment of a papyrus letter discussing tax issues from the Zenon Archive (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)
Main article: Zenon of Kaunos

Apollonius's work for Ptolemy II Philadelphus was recorded in considerable detail by his private secretary, Zeno (or Zenon, Greek: Ζήνων). 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. The documents were stored in an archive and lay forgotten for over 2100 years.[6][7][8][9]

During the winter of 1914-1915, a cache of over 2,000 papyrus documents was uncovered by Egyptian agricultural labourers who were digging for sebakh near Kôm el-Kharaba el-Kebir. Upon examination by Egyptology scholars, these documents were found to be records written by Zeno in Greek and Demotic. 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.[10] The papyri, now referred to as the Zenon Archive or the Zenon Papyri,[11] were translated into English by the British papyrologists Campbell Cowan Edgar and Arthur Surridge Hunt.[12][13][14]

References
  1. OGIS 53 (Greek inscription) - English translation.
  2. Günther Hölbl, History of the Ptolemaic Empire (Routledge, 2001), pp. 58-59.
  3. Günther Hölbl, History of the Ptolemaic Empire (Routledge, 2001), p. 44.
  4. Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 7.1, pp. 143-4.
  5. Günther Hölbl, History of the Ptolemaic Empire (Routledge, 2001), p. 63.
  6. McKenzie, Judith; McKenzie, Rhys-Davids Junior Research Fellow in Archaeology Judith; Moorey, Peter Roger Stuart (January 2007). The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, C. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700. Yale University Press. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-300-11555-0. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  7. "Who was Zenon". apps.lib.umich.edu. University of Michigan. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. "Philadelpheia (Gharabet el-Gerza)". www.trismegistos.org. TM Places. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  9. "Where do the Zenon Papyri come from?". apps.lib.umich.edu. University of Michigan. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  10. About the Zenon Papyri - University of Michigan.
  11. About the Zenon Papyri - University of Michigan.
  12. Bierbrier 2012, p. 171.
  13. Guérud 1939, pp. 3–10.
  14. "Edgar plot". Rectory Lane Cemetery. Friends of St Peter's Berkhamsted. 2021. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

Sources
  • Bierbrier, M.L. (2012). Who was who in Egyptology. Egypt Exploration Society. ISBN 9780856982071.
  • Guérud, O. (1939). "Campbell Cowan Edgar (1870-1938)". Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte, Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte. Cairo.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading
  • Dorothy J. Thompson, Economic Reforms in the Mid-Reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus,   in P.McKechnie & Ph.Guillaume, Ptolemy II Philadelphus and His World, (Leiden: Brill, 2008) ISBN 978-90-04-17089-6
  • Michael Rostovtzeff, A large estate in Egypt in the third century B.C.: a study in economic history, (Madison, 1922) - at archive.org
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