Are there any ancient Greek readers here who can tell me which translation of this paragraph is more accurate?
Jay W
I'm doing some personal research into whether there is evidence for a census like Lukes, which has people go to their ancestral home (or homeplace) instead of present home. I found this blog post by Dr Michael J. Kruger which translates an ancient manuscript p.lond.3.904 like this (important differences are bolded):
“It is necessary that all persons who are not resident at home for one reason or another at this time return to their homeplaces in order to undergo the usual registration formalities and to attend to the cultivation of the land which is their concern.”
However, another blog post quoting from Dr Robert R. Cargill translates the same manuscript differently:
"all persons who for any reason whatsoever are absent from their home districts be alerted to return to their own hearths, so that they may complete the customary formalities of registration and apply themselves to the farming for which they are responsible."
Here is the relevant part of the manuscript:
τῆς κατʼ οἰ[κίαν ἀπογραφῆς ἐ]νεστώ[σης]
ἀναγκαῖόν [ἐστιν πᾶσιν τοῖ]ς καθʼ ἥ[ντινα]
δήποτε αἰτ[ίαν ἀποδημοῦσιν ἀπὸ τῶν]
νομῶν προσα[γγέλλε]σθαι ἐπα[νελ-]
θεῖν εἰς τὰ ἑαυ[τῶν ἐ]φέστια ἵ(*)ν[α]
25καὶ τὴν συνήθη [οἰ]κονομίαν τῆ[ς ἀπο-]
γραφῆς πληρώσωσιν καὶ τῇ προσ[ηκού-]
σῃ αὐτοῖς γεωργίαι προσκαρτερήσω[σιν].
I'd love to know which bolded section is more accurate, and whether there is still room for interpreting it the other way. I'm especially interested in the homeplaces vs hearths difference, as it's the most relevant, but the other two differences are important as well.
