Reading the Papyri of a Priestly Family: Social Relations and Cultural Negotiation in Egypt under Roman Rule

FAIN: FA-52433-06

Todd Michael Hickey
University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA 94704-5940)

The project for which I am seeking support has two components. The first is an edition of a collection of family documents and books (all of them on papyrus) from the ancient village of Tebtunis (Egypt). Once I have finished deciphering these texts, I intend to employ them to engage several important topics in the social and cultural history of Roman Egypt, including the resources and status of Egyptian village priests, their social networks (especially those extending beyond their villages), and their negotiations with elite ("Greek") culture. I will also explore the impact of the Roman conquest and imperial policy on the priests. Both the texts and my analysis will be published in a volume of the series The Tebtunis Papyri.