Extract

Apollonius (3) (3rd cent. bce) served *Ptolemy (1) II as chief minister (dioikētēs) in Egypt and is best known as holder of a 10,000-aroura (2,750-ha: 6,800-acre) crown-gift estate near Philadelphia (1) in the *Fayūm. This estate formed the centre of a series of agricultural experiments (in *arboriculture, viticulture, crops, and livestock) and was managed by Zenon, a Carian immigrant from *Caunus, who came to the Fayūm in 256 and stayed on in the area after leaving Apollonius' service in 248/7. The collection of Zenon's papyri is the largest from the period and is now scattered throughout European and North American collections. It illustrates these and Apollonius' other interests: *textile-manufacturing at *Memphis, his contacts in *Alexandria (1), and commercial dealings, including slave-trading, in the Levant (see slavery).