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The date of this statue is disputed, but it is now generally agreed that it belongs to the first half of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt. Teos was a member of an important native Egyptian family based in the vicinity of Tanis, and, as the inscription on his statue emphasises, he enjoyed the favour of the king. An alternative spelling of his name, Djedhor is used by some modern writers. The significance of the inscription has been discussed by C. Fischer-Bovet, "Ptolemaic Officials and Officers in Search of Fame", pp.118-123 ( academia.edu ). The translation is taken from G.Cafici, "The Egyptian Elite as Roman Citizens", pp.289-290 ( Google Books ). | 
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[Rows] The prophet of Amun, the warrior, lord of the triumph, prophet of the red crown, prophet of Amun-Ra, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands, 2 prophet of Horus lord of Mesen, prophet of Khonsu the child, prophet of Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep, 3 prophet of the baboon, prophet of Osiris the baboon, prophet of Osiris who stands before Mesen, 4 prophet of Osiris Hemag lord of the great city, prophet of Sokar-Osiris lord of the great city, 5 prophet of Isis of the district of Busiris, prophet of the divine Ennead, great in the house of Khonsu wab-priest of Sekhmet, scribe, 6 prophet of Amun-Ramses of Per-Ramses and of Amun-Ra the helper, prophet of the gods who do not have one, 7 the overseer of the prophets, the strategos Teos son of the prophet Onnophris, his mother is Nebet-Djeneh-ouy.
[Columns] The prince, noble, the sole companion, the overseer of the prophets, the one great of love in the heart of the king, the one great in favour in the palace. His Majesty appointed him to be installed in the city, the place of his forefathers, and endowed him with fields and all things . . . His Majesty . . . more than his companions. The strategos . . . the overseer of the prophets, the overseer of the god's things, the great noble who crosses the temple . . . 2 He is Maat being his cleansing, Horus being his protection, Iunmutef {"pillar of his mother"} being his purification, the one who opens the doors of the sky and the one who saw that which was in it, the one who concealed secrets behind his heart, the ruler of the estates in this temple, the overseer of the affairs of his city, the collector of imposts in his province, fair (?) in the business of his city, the officials were watchful for his coming, the flood for his city when the Two Lands were dry, the one who gave life to the hungry in his nome, the guardian of the house, of the fabrics and of the oils, the one who maintains everything tidy . . . 3 elder son, first of Amun, the one who carries the god as replacement of the god Shu, friend, . . . seat of the first festival, the one who opens the doors of the sanctuary of the lord of Mesen, who dresses up the gods with his clothes, who offers the unguent mḏ and offers the oil mrḥ, who carries the incense to the inner shrine. He is the one who carries all the things which enter the sanctuary, who instates the officials in the temple, who repairs the ruins, the things that were destroyed and makes great monuments in his temple, who provides the Golden Palace with valuable products in gold, making the Red Crown, the White Crown, the Double Crown, the double feather crown, the Blue Crown (?), the hemhem crown (?), the uraeus, the amulet, the diadem m?? (?), the pectoral(?) . . .
[Left Side] The prophet of Amun, the warrior, lord of the triumph, prophet of the red crown, the prince, noble . . .
2 the strategos, the prophet of Amun-Ra, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands and of Horus lord of Mesen, son of the prophet Onnophris, born to the musician of Opet lady of the hill . . .
3 God's mother of Khonsu the child, Nebet-djenehouy. He says in adoring his lord, lord of the gods Amun-Ra, lord of the thrones of the Two Lands: "I am before you, lord of the gods, great god who goes to the one who calls him. I am your image who comes to you, your elder son who does what you love. I am the one who opens the doors of the sky and sees what is in it.
4 I am the bearer of your statue, the one who raises your statue as Shu, I ensure praises to you as Thot, my hands are on you as the hand of Horus being purified in your perfection. The things that you love are in front of your face, the ruins being rebuilt, the empty things being filled, many offers being made in your temple. My life is yours, may you increase the duration of my life, may you ensure that my son will be in my place to . . . "
Attalus' home page | 16.07.24 | Any comments?