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sales is known from abnormal hieratic and early Demotic texts begin-
ning in the seventh century B.C.E. and through the third century
B.C.E. was at the rate of 10 percent.^31 Only a tax on land conveyance
is known before the Ptolemies, when a general expansion of taxes
is recorded.1.8 Oaths on Ostraca^32
There were two classes of oaths usually recorded on ostraca, royal
and temple oaths. These are further divided into two types of oath:
promissory oaths and declaratory oaths (Prozeßeid).^33 The first type
was taken by a party to promise to do a certain thing. The second
class of oath was taken by an accused party at the temple of a local
god (hence the term “Tempeleid”), stating that he/she had not com-
mitted the wrong asserted by the plaintiff. The oath before the image
of the local god was an important psycho-religious aspect of Demotic
law, reinforcing the notion of divine justice as the ultimate author-
ity in Egyptian law and sanctioning dispute resolutions.^34 The tem-
ple oath recorded on ostraca is a tradition found in Ptolemaic and
early Roman texts, and the texts themselves were kept by third par-
ties. The royal oaths were taken in the name of the king in under-
taking official duties such as tax collection.1.9 Literary Sources
Literary texts occasionally provide a window into the attitudes and
mores of Egyptian society that have some bearing on the function-
ing of the legal system. The Instructions of 'Onchsheshonqy, for
example, mentions attitudes toward women and adultery.^35 The first
Setne Story, the single manuscript of which dates to the mid-Ptolemaic
period, is an important source for the study of the rights of children(^31) On this circulation tax, also known as the enkuklionin Greek texts, see the sur-
vey by Vleeming, “Tithe of the Scribes...”
(^32) Kaplony-Heckel, “Eid.. .”; Depauw, Companion.. ., 138–39, with further
bibliography.
(^33) Connections to the earlier tradition of oath-taking in legal processes are dis-
cussed by Donker van Heel, Abnormal Hieratic.. ., 80–81.
(^34) Martin, Acta Demotica.. ., 211; Vleeming, Ostraka Varia, 129–35; Devauchelle,
“Les serments...”
(^35) P. BM 10508. The text is dated to the first century B.C.E. on the basis of
paleography, although the historical milieu is probably earlier. See Smith, “Story.. .”;
Eyre, “Adultery.. .,” 98. English translation in Lichtheim,Literature.. ., 159–84.
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