Psais and Andreas

A social circle that is somewhat more difficult to delimit is the one grouped found in the so-called Psais/Andreas letters. The primary recipient of this circle, Psais, is particularly difficult to identify, due to the currency of the name in Kellis. Identifying and/or separating the various figures named Psais (ⲡϣⲁⲓ or ϣⲁⲓ) is of great importance for understanding the relationship between the Pamour letters and the Psais/Andreas letters. The editors grouped together three documents involving Psais/Andreas in CDT I: two letters from Ouales (Valens) to Psais (pkc.35) and Psais and Andreas (pkc.36), and one from Ammon to Psais and Andreas

313 Indeed, the editors note: ‘It seems to be somewhat characteristic of Makarios (or at least his style) that he spends a good deal of his time being “distressed” at one thing or another.’ ibid., 185, pkc.24, l.5n.

314 Choat, Belief and cult, 27.

315 See Baker-Brian, ‘Mass and elite’, 180–81.

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(pkc.37).³¹⁶ Another letter probably authored by Ouales to Psais and Andreas appeared in CDT II (pkc.59), but only a part of the incipit is preserved. However, the second volume also included three letters addressed solely to an Andreas (pkc.88, pkc.105, pkc.107), and many more addressing a Psais. Most of these, I argue, can be added to the Psais/Andreas letters, linking this circle closely to the Pamour circle. Andreas, a name that is less common in Kellis, is of help here: it occurs quite consistently in letters involving Psais, and suggests that we are, for the most part, dealing with one man by this name, a ‘brother’ Psais III.

First, some information regarding Psais can be derived from the primary letters attributed to him. Ouales-letter pkc.35 contains a spell that Ouales has written for Psais, in return for which he expects Psais to write ‘tetrads’ to be sent with a ‘blessed one’.³¹⁷ An invocation of ‘our lord Paraclete’ (ll.26–27) situates Ouales and Psais in a Manichaean context.

Ouales seems to be located together with other scribes.³¹⁸ Letter pkc.36 is devoted to a transaction of money. Here Ouales addresses Psais together with Andreas, and greets the

‘little brothers’, Piena and Hor.³¹⁹ He asks them to give ‘our brother’ Psais 1400 talents.

Another letter, written by a man named Ammon (pkc.37), contains a request for wool for his black tunic, and a greeting to Andreas and ‘his brothers’ – perhaps also Piena and Hor.

This Psais, then, was a capable writer, responsible for paying money and providing textile materials, and the oldest of a group of brother, some of whom appear to be young. The sequence of brothers from pkc.26 – Psais > Andreas > Ploutogenes > Horos – mirrors the sequence of these names found in several ungrouped letters. Two letters feature all of them:

pkc.105 (from Psais to Andreas, with greetings from Piena and Hor) and pkc.115 (from Tekysis to ‘brother’ Psais, greeting ‘my children’ Maria, Piena and Hor, carried by her ‘son’ Andreas).

In addition, several letters (pkc.111, pkc.118, and pkgr.75) that lack one of the four ‘core’

figures seem nonetheless to belong to the circle of pkc.35–37. This sequence is consistent,

316 To be precise: the letter pkc.35 only addresses Psais, but is clearly written by the same figure as pkc.36, while pkc.37 does not address Andreas, but singles him out as the only other figure greeted by name.

317 See sections 10.4.1 and 11.4.2.

318 The editors carefully suggest a monastic setting for Ouales; Gardner, Alcock, and Funk, CDT I, 223. See the discussion in section 11.4.3.

319 Hor has to be reconstructed, but is a very likely fit for the lacuna-size. Ibid.

although admittedly not all men are present in all letters (see Table 3). They also feature some other recurring names.³²⁰

The names Psais and Andreas are frequent in the letters of Pamour and Pekysis, who address a ‘brother’ Psais (III) frequently. The relationship between these two circles needs to be elucidated. A connection between them was anticipated by the editors of CDT I,³²¹ and is clear from the material in CDT II, as several Pamour associates appear in some of the above letters; e.g. pkc.115, likely by Pamour’s sister Tekysis, or pkc.105, involving Charis and father Psais. Moreover, in seven out of eight letters of the Pamour circle featuring an Andreas, he is mentioned and located with a brother Psais.³²² In these letters, Psais III is a younger associate of Pamour and Pekysis, in charge of managing textile work in the Oasis while they were away (see section 6.1.3), as also seen of the Psais who stored wool in pkc.37.

Table 3: Psais, Andreas, Ploutogenes (Piena/Iena), and Horos by sequence of appearance

A complicating factor is the presence of what appears to be two Andreas’ in the circle: one who is termed ‘son’ and one who is termed ‘brother’. Either Pamour³²³ or, more plausibly, Pekysis/Partheni³²⁴ could be his parents, if their usage of ‘son’ is taken literally. This would

320 Ammon (pkc.37, pkc.115, pkc.118,), a second Psais (pkc.36, pkgr.75), perhaps Ouales (pkc.35–36, pkc.118?) and Pebo (pkc.111, pkc.118?).

321 Gardner, Alcock, and Funk, CDT I, 58.

322 In pkgr.71, pkc.65, and pkc.71 by Pamour, in pkc.73, pkc.79 by Pekysis, in pkc.84 by Theognostos, and in the aforementioned pkc.115 by Tekysis (here Andreas is travelling to Psais from Tekysis).

323 Who greets him as ‘my son’ in pkc.71.

324 Pekysis greets ‘my son’ Andreas in pkc.73 (to Psais III), and Pamour’s above-mentioned greeting to ‘my son’

Andreas occurs in pkc.71, addressed to Partheni. This could suggest Andreas to be the son of Pekysis/Partheni.

Similarly, one could note Ploutogenes greeting to both Pekysis and Andreas together in pkc.86 (also to Psais III).

Text Author / greets / carries Receives / greeted

C35 Psais

C36 Psais, Andreas, Iena, [Hor]

C37 Psais, Andreas, ‘brothers’

C105 Psais, Piena, Hor Andreas

C111 Psais, Andreas, Hor

C115 Andreas Psais, Piena, Hor

C118 Psais, Iena, Hor

Gr75 Psais, Ploutogenes, Hor

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separate him from a ‘brother’ Andreas, who is greeted by Pamour (pkc.65) and Pekysis (pkc.79). This ‘brother’ could be identified with Andreas, son of Tone, who Pekysis used as a freight agent (pkc.78). Still, the Andreas who is called ‘brother’ by Pamour is placed last in his greetings – in the same position that the ‘son’ Andreas has in two other letters of Pamour and Pekysis.³²⁵ The editors take Andreas to be the son of Theognostos, who in pkc.84 asks Psais III to send ‘our son’ Andreas to come and perform work, and who is greeted with ‘son’ Andreas in pkc.73 and pkgr.71.³²⁶ However, I am not convinced that ‘son’ should be taken literally in these instances either. Theognostos is never greeted with a ‘wife’, nor with the generic ‘son’

or ‘children’, either by Philammon or the other authors, apart from the two letters where the

‘son’ Andreas is mentioned. There are also several other authors who call an Andreas ‘son’ – Tekysis,³²⁷ Makarios,³²⁸ and Dorotheos.³²⁹ Theognostos’ use of the communal ‘our son’ and the need to write Psais III instead of addressing Andreas directly in pkc.84 may also point against Andreas being his biological son. While uncertainty remains, I take these references (apart from Andreas son of Tone in pkc.78) to be to the same Andreas: one closely related to Theognostos, Psais III, Pamour, and Pekysis, but not a biological child of either.³³⁰

Next, we should look at the two ‘little brothers’, Ploutogenes and Horos II. They do not occur together in the letters of Pamour/Pekysis, and the name Ploutogenes/Piena only occurs once.³³¹ Most instances of the name Horos relate to an elder ‘brother’ of Pamour and Pekysis

Andreas being a nephew of Pamour and perhaps Theognostos (see section 3.3.1) could explain their affectionate use of ‘son’. However, see below.

325 Cf. Pekysis’ pkc.79 (Hor > Theognostos > Psais III > ‘brother’ Andreas) and Pamour’s pkc.65 (Pekysis > Psais III

> Theognostos > ‘the other brother’ Andreas) to pkgr.71, also by Pamour (Psais III > Theognostos > ‘the son’

Andreas; here Pekysis is described as on a trip to Antinoopolis).

326 Gardner, Alcock, and Funk, CDT II, 135.

327 Who sends a letter with ‘my son’ in pkc.115.

328 Who refers to a ‘my son’ Andreas in pkc.19.

329 Who wrote to ‘my son’ Andreas in pkc.107. All letters addressed to Andreas (pkc.88, pkc.105, pkc.107) had the same find-spot, supporting the argument that there was only one man of this name present in the house.

330 Further complicating the matter, however, it might be observed that Ammon (pkc.37, also to Psais III) asks for wool from a Louitoni, immediately before greeting Andreas, ‘his brothers and their mother’ (l.32) – but not, pointedly, their father, who could be the aforementioned Louitoni. This name could be shortened Tone. Could Andreas be son of Louitoni, a man primarily known as a business associate of Tehat and the Pamour family? For him, and for the name Loudon/Louitoni/Tone, see section 4.3.1.

331 In pkc.80, a ‘brother’ Horos is greeted early, with Theognostos, before comforts are sent to Pekysis and Pamour. A ‘brother’ Iena is only greeted at the end. I have taken Horos/Iena here to refer to the elder brother/father Horos I (for a discussion of him, see section 3.3.1), and the pious ‘brother’ Ploutogenes II. They

of that name (Horos I, see section 3.3.1). For the ‘little brothers’, we have to turn to a group of letters which the editors termed the Ploutogenes letters (pkc.85–91), published in CDT II.

Despite grouping them together, the editors note that they probably involve different figures by the name Ploutogenes.³³² There seems to be at least three: a ‘father’ Ploutogenes (I), located in Kellis (pkc.90, pkc.105), a pious ‘brother’ Ploutogenes (II), author of pkc.85–86 (and pkc.106) and located somewhere close by, and a younger ‘brother’, Ploutogenes (III), greeted in pkc.89 and recipient of pkc.91, and perhaps occurring in pkc.88 (see ll.16–17). In both pkc.89 and pkc.91, Ploutogenes is located with a Horos. Furthermore, pkc.88–89 involve Andreas, Philammon, and Shai (Theognostos or Psais III), while pkc.91 involves Papnouthes (another Pamour associate). Based on these considerations, it seems very likely that Ploutogenes (III) and Horos (II) in pkc.89 and pkc.91 are the ‘little brothers’ of Psais/Andreas. Exactly how they relate to Psais III and Andreas, or Pamour and Pekysis, or to some of the other occurrences of the name Ploutogenes and Horos, remains very unclear.³³³ Pamour had a biological son named Horos, here termed Horos III (pkgr.30). It is possible that he should be identified with the ‘little brother’, although Pamour III never greets a son by that name, and Pekysis only mentions him in pkgr.72. Still, in the above-adduced cases, we have clear evidence for this constellation of figures in close touch with the Pamour circles.

To conclude, I take the various occurrences of a ‘brother’ Psais in a wide variety of letters (pkc.35–37, pkc.105, pkc.111, pkc.115–116, pkgr.75) to refer to one actor, Psais III, often found together with a somewhat younger brother Andreas, and two much younger brothers, Ploutogenes and Horos. I consider the two former to be brother Psais III and the young Andreas frequently addressed or greeted by members of the Pamour circle (e.g. pkc.64, pkc.79, pkc.84, and pkgr.71). Psais III, Andreas, Ploutogenes, and Horos are all younger associates of Pamour III and Pekysis. The letters in which they occur furthermore seem to

can also be compared to ‘father’ Horos greeted with ‘brother’ Iene in pkc.94, involving other associates of Pekysis (Antinou, Lammon). The latter form of the name also brings to mind Piene, brother of Matthaios.

332 Partly based on palaeographic grounds. See Gardner, Alcock, and Funk, CDT II, 143–44.

333 Most problematically, there are two pairs of Ploutogenes/Horos in pkc.89: the author, Ploutogenes, sends greetings from a Horos, but also greets his ‘brother’ Ploutogenes, and Horos. I take one of these pairs to be Horos I/Ploutogenes II (found in pkc.80), the other Ploutogenes III/Horos II. Of the pair that is greeted, Horos is greeted last, with no familial title, but with ‘his mother and his sister’ (ll.20–21). This suggests him to be the younger man:

Horos II. However, the addition of another Horos would complicate this picture. For this question, see below.

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belong to a later point in the history of the household, when Pamour III had moved more permanently to the Valley, and Psais III took responsibility for the household.