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Life in an Egyptian village in late antiquity
Aphrodito before and after the Islamic conquest
ix, 233 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm.
Most ancient history focuses on the urban elite. Papyrology explores the daily lives of the more typical men and women in antiquity. Aphrodito, a village in sixth-century AD Egypt, is antiquity's best source for micro-level social history. The archive of Dioskoros of Aphrodito introduces thousands of people living the normal business of their lives, loans, rent contracts, work agreements, marriage and divorce. In exceptional cases, the papyri show raw conflict, theft, plunder and murder. Throughout, Dioskoros struggles to keep his family in power in Aphrodito, and to keep Aphrodito independent from the local tax collectors. The emerging picture is a different vision of Roman late antiquity than what we see from the view of the urban elites. It is a world of free peasants building networks of trust largely beyond the reach of the state. Aphrodito's eighth-century AD papyri show that this world dies in the early years of Islamic rule.
Aphrodito in Egypt -- A world of violence -- A world of law -- Dioskoros, caught in between -- Working in the fields -- Town crafts and trades -- Looking to heaven -- From cradle to grave -- Aphrodito's women -- Big men and strangers -- Life in the big city -- Conclusion.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 214-226) and indexes.