Department of Classics

Stemming from a seminar held at the University of Parma during the past years, this volume offers 69 editions of papyri belonging to the Center for the Tebtunis Papyri (The Bancroft Library, University of California-Berkeley).

Following the traditional division between literary and documentary texts, the book first presents newly considered or thoroughly revised Homeric papyri, shedding light on the fluidity of textual transmission in antiquity. Significant variants, from simple scribal errors to alternative readings with philological relevance, illustrate the dynamic evolution of Homeric poetry. Additionally, remarkable manuscripts featuring punctuation, prosodic marks, and traces of scholarly annotations offer glimpses into ancient reading practices. An exercise of transcription of a Euripidean verse and a fragment of an unknown philosophical prose text complete the literary section. 

The documentary section provides an in-depth look at the administrative, economic, and social landscape of Ptolemaic and Roman Arsinoites. Private and official letters, accounts, contracts, petitions, and tax and land records, illuminate the economic management, bureaucratic machinery, and everyday concerns of individuals and officers, from local scribes to high-ranking officials. A special focus is given to the materiality of the papyri, with a detailed approach to cartonnage fragments featuring figurative elements.

By combining philological attention with historical reconstruction, this book offers an indispensable resource for scholars of papyrology, classics, and ancient history, advancing our understanding of both literary traditions and the lived experiences of the past.