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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Egypt
ii.	Nome	Elephantine (U01)
iii.	Site	Omboi

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	ἡ τοῦ Ἑρμαίου σύνοδος (O.Joach. 2, l. 12)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	he tou Hermaiou synodos

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

79 - 53 BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Topographical:

Hermaion, temple or shrine of Hermes

iii.

Descriptive terms

σύνοδος, synodos

Note

Synodos: O.Joach. 2, l. 12

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	O.Joach. 1 (8 Tybi = 17 January 79 BC) O.Joach. 2 (8 Phamenoth = 18 March 78 BC) O.Joach. 7 (27 Hathyr = 5 December 73 BC) O.Joach. 17 (7 Mesore = 8 Aug. 54 BC) O.Joach. 18 (24 Tybi = 27 January 53 BC)
	Note	Other editions: SB III 6027 (O.Joach. 1) SB III 6028 (O.Joach. 2) SB III 6033 (O.Joach. 7) SB III 6928 (O.Joach. 17) SB III 6929 (O.Joach. 18)
	Online Resources	O.Joach. 1; TM 7226; AGRW ID 20906 O.Joach. 2; TM 5646; AGRW ID 20912 O.Joach. 7; TM 5651; AGRW ID 20914 O.Joach. 17; TM 5673 O.Joach. 18; TM 5669; AGRW ID 20916
i.a.	Source type(s)	Papyrological source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Greek documents indicating the place of burial of the mummies of sacred birds.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Ostraca.

VI. BUILT AND VISUAL SPACE

ii.

References to buildings/objects

The association was based in the Hermaion, a temple or shrine of Hermes (= the Egyptian ibis-god Thoth).

VII. ORGANIZATION

ii.	Leadership	ἀρχιθιασίτης, archithiasites (O.Joach. 2, l. 11), προστάτης τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ, prostates tou Hermou (O.Joach. 17, l. 6): in both cases the man was Kallias son of Hermias.
iii.	Members	The members are referred to as οἱ ἐκ <τῆς> τοῦ Ἑρμαίου συνόδου, hoi ek <tes> tou Hermaiou synodou in O.Joach. 2, l. 12. They are called θιασῖται, thiasitai, in O.Joach. 1, l.7, O.Joach. 7, ll. 7-8, and O.Joach. 18, ll. 8-9.
iv.	Officials	It is possible that Hermias οἰκονόμος, oikonomos, mentioned in O.Joach. 1, l. 7 was an official of the association, given that a previous oikonomos (presumably, of the nome) was already mentioned in l. 5, immediately after the strategus of the nome. Similarly, in O.Joach. 17, ll. 6-7 Petesouchos may have been the oikonomos of the association, given the fact that he is mentioned after the prostates.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii.	Gender	Men
	Note	According to their personal names, the members of the association were men.
iv.	Status	If the ed.pr.'s interpretation is correct, and all the people mentioned in these texts were in fact members of the association (the wording καὶ τῶν ἄλλων θιασιτῶν, kai ton allon thiasiton – without any previous reference to the association in the text – in O.Joach. 7, l. 7-8 and O.Joach. 18, ll. 8-9 seems to point in that direction – in O.Joach. 1 there might be mention of the oikonomos of the association before the wording 'the other thiasitai'), the members included local administrative and religious officials, such as the strategus of the nome, the oikonomos, the epistates of the temple, the official in charge of the taxes and royal scribe, the topogrammateus (some of them bore aulic titulatures, such as syngenes).
vi.	Proper names and physical features	O.Joach. 2: [possible members: Πελαίας συγγενὴς καὶ στρατηγὸς <καὶ> νομάρχης τοῦ Ὀμβίτου; Πακήβκις ἐπιστάτης τοῦ ἱεροῦ; Ἑρμίας Καλλίου πορθώτης (superintendent of the ibises) καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν προσόδων καὶ βασιλικ(ῆς) γραμματείας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων εἰδῶν; Καλλίας Πορενβήκ(ιος)], Καλλίας Ἑρμίου ἀρχιθιασίτης. O.Joach. 1: [possible members: Μένανδρος στρατηγός; Καλλίας οἰκονό(μος); Τοτοέυς τοπογρα(μματεύς), Εὐάνθης Στασίου], Ἑρμίας οἰκο(νόμος). O.Joach. 7: [possible members: Τοτοέυς στρατη(γός); Μένανδρος; Ἑρμίας οἰκο(νόμος); Καλλίας τοπογρα(μματεύς)] O.Joach. 17: Καλλίας Ἑρμίου προστάτης τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ, [possible member: Πετεσούχῳ/ οἰκονόμῳ/] O.Joach. 18: [possible members: Πελαίας συγγενής καὶ στρατηγός καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν προσόδων τοῦ Ὀμβίτου; Πακήβκις ἐπιστά̣της̣ ἱεροῦ; Ἑρμίας Καλλίου ἐπὶ τῶν προσόδ(ω)ν καὶ βασιλικὸς γραμματεὺς κ̣αὶ χειρισμὸς καὶ πορθώτης]

X. ACTIVITIES

iv.

Honours/Other activities

The association probably had active involvement in the mummification and worship of the mummified sacred animals.

XI. INTERACTION

i.

Local interaction

The members of the association probably included people actively involved in the public local affairs.

XII. NOTES

i.

Comments

The other texts (all burial texts for ibis etc) in the collection O.Joach. may also be related to the association, given the fact that often there is mention of people also present in the other texts where they may be understood as being members of the association. However, this is not certain.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The terminology used (synodos), the internal organisation, and the officials make it certain that we have here a private association.

CAPInv. 644: he tou Hermaiou synodos