1. Read ἐμνήσθη; we owe the reading to Angelos Chaniotis. It is most often construed with active meaning, taking a genitive object. What follows is presumably the beginning of the woman’s name; Χάρις or one of its derivatives, one supposes. This makes it attractive to take line 2 together with it. But there is then no stated subject: “He remembered (e.g.) Charis the beautiful lady.” The verb can also have passive meaning but should then have a nominative subject. Possibly the writer conflated the two constructions, but he may simply have omitted his own name. 2. Read κυρίας; cf. T20.3. 3–4. “Fare well, Chariton, with Hyginos.” The first iota in Ὑιείνου appears to have been corrected, so that it at present resembles a phi with faint central circle. It would be more attractive to take it as intended for gamma, but there is no sign of the needed horizontal stroke. Whatever the spelling, we take this as a phonetic spelling of Ὑγίνου.

“He remembered (e.g.) Charis the beautiful lady. Fare well, Chariton, with Hyginos.”

Bagnall, R. S. et al., Graffiti from the Basilica in the Agora of Smyrna (2016): 385-386.

Memorial and Greetings