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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Egypt
ii.	Nome	Arsinoites (00)
iii.	Site	Kerkethoeris

II. NAME

i.

Association with unknown name

U-EGY-020

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

218 BC

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

iii.	Descriptive terms	θίασος, thiasos
	Note	Thiasos: P.Enteux. 21, l. 4

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	P.Enteux. 21 (27 Diasios = 29 Hathyr = 13 January 218)
	Note	AGRW 292
	Online Resources	P.Enteux. 21 TM 3296 AGRW ID 2897
i.a.	Source type(s)	Papyrological source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Greek petition to the King by the sister and husband of a deceased member of an association, regarding the non payment of the taphikon by the members of the association.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Papyrus.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	From crocodile mummy cartonnage, found in the crocodile cemetery at Magdola. However, as stated in the papyrus (l. 2), the association was located in the village of Kerkethoeris.

VII. ORGANIZATION

iii.	Members	The members of the association are called [σ]υνθιασίτιδες, synthiasitides (l. 2, verso l. 3). Membership of the association is expressed by the verb συνθιασιτεύω synthiasiteuo (l. 3).
iv.	Officials	The association had a priestess and the office could be held by the same person for more than a year (the deceased member had been priestess for fours years): ἐ̣χούσης τὴ[ν ἱερ]οσύνην τοῦ θιάσου ἐφʼ ἔτη δ, echouses ten hierosynen tou thiasou eph'ete 4 (l. 4).
ix.	Privileges	It seems that members were entitled to a burial indemnity (ταφικόν, taphikon: ll. 6, 8, verso l. 4), even more so upon request of the deceased's family (cf. the ἀπαιτούμεναι, apaitoumenai in l. 5). The taphikon however was not always paid off: in this case the deceased's family had to take action against the association.

VIII. PROPERTY AND POSSESSIONS

i.

Treasury/Funds

The association must have had funds and money available to them, as deceased members could be given a burial indemnity.

IX. MEMBERSHIP

i.	Number	We do not know the total number of members; they were more than five, given the wording in ll. 1-2: ἀδικούμεθα ὑπὸ Τεμσώιος καὶ Σενεμενώπιος \| καὶ Τ̣ετειμ̣[ -ca.?- κ]αὶ Ἑριέως καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν [σ]υνθιασιτίδων, adikoumetha hypo Temsoios kai Senemenopios \| kai Teteim[... k]ai Herieos kai ton loipon synthiasitidon.
ii.	Gender	Women
	Note	On the basis of the term [σ]υνθιασίτιδες, synthiasitides (l. 2, verso l. 3) and the fact that all the attested names of members are female names, the association was a women association.
v.	Relations	It is uncertain whether one of the petitioners, the sister of the deceased former priestess of the thiasos, was also a member of the association. Given the fact that mention of her membership is never indicated, it seems likely that she was not a member.
vi.	Proper names and physical features	Τεμσῶις Σενεμενῶπις Τ̣ετειμ̣[ Ἑριεύς Σοῆρις, deceased sister of Θερῶυς and wife of Τεῶς

XII. NOTES

i.

Comments

The internal indication of the synthiasitides as being ἐκ Κερκεθοήρεως, τῆς Πολέμωνος μερίδος, ek Kerkethoereos tes Polemonos meridos (l. 2) seems to point to the fact that the association was based in that village. The provenance of the papyrus (from crocodile mummy cartonnage from the crocodile cemetery at Magdola) cannot provide further hints on the location of the association.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The terminology used (thiasos, synthiasitides), the internal organisation, the officials, and the dealings in which the group was involved make it certain that we have here a private association.

CAPInv. 766: U-EGY-020