This book provides the first complete study of the documentation relevant to the gymnasium and gymnasial life in Egypt in the period 323-30 BC. Paganini analyses the role of the gymnasium in Ptolemaic Egypt and how it related to Greek identity in the region.

My work is a socio-historical study of the institution of the gymnasium in Egypt, of its evolution and role in the assertion of certain aspects of 'Greek identity' in Ptolemaic and early Roman times. It is divided into four sections. (1) Attention is devoted to the study of the gymnasium itself, as institution, analysing its diffusion, foundation, internal organisation and the role played by associations which were hosted therein. The constitution and the characteristics of· the governing body (with special attention to the role of the gymnasiarchs) and the financial matters relevant to the gymnasium allow one to draw conclusions on its legal status and social role: it is shown how the gymnasium of Egypt operated in a completely different way from the traditional one which is normally assumed for the Greek pole is, especially of mainland Greece and above all Athens. A possible model of influence is suggested. (2) Starting from the rules of admission into the gymnasium and from the treatment of the outsiders, the social status and social composition of the members of the gymnasium are object of enquiry, focusing on the links with the army and the public administration. It is argued that the gymnasial community should be considered as a complex reality, formed by different components belonging to various levels of the social strata. (3) Educational, religious and recreational activities carried out in the premises of the gymnasium or strictly connected to it are taken into account to give an idea of the 'daily life' of the institution and of the 'behaviour' of its people, which was likely to be the result of a feeling of 'shared identity'. (4) The concluding section draws the attention to the issue of identity of the people of the gymnasium more clearly: relation with the 'others' and idea of Greekness the people of the gymnasium had about themselves (influenced by the rulers' policies), access to gymnasia, onomastics, elite classes, mixed marriages, reception of Egyptian burial methods and cults, advantage of 'going Greek'. It is argued that, although having in the gymnasium the key-element for the assertion of their identity and status of Hellenes, the 'Greeks' of Egypt displayed complex patterns of mixed identities and were thoroughly embedded in the social, cultural, religious, and administrative environment of Egypt.

This is a reprint of Naphtali Lewis' important book on the uses of papyrus records reconstructing life in ancient Egypt. Published in 1986, the first edition of Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt complemented Life in Egypt under Roman Rule' (reprinted in 1999 as Classics in Papyrology 1') by providing a perspective on the earlier period.

This book investigates some aspects of the cultural consequences of the settlement of Greeks in Egypt during the Hellenistic period, through a discussion of papyrological material, archaeological evidence, and literary sources. It is divided into three sections. The first, Space and Images, reflects on the evolutions and changes in iconography, spatial organization, and landscape. The second, Ethnic Interactions, offers new hints on the long debated topic of ethnicity, relying on a wide range of Greek and Demotic sources. The third, The Literary Experience, shifts the attention from documents to literature, examining the circulation of Greek texts and books in Egypt from different perspectives. Mixing case studies and overviews, the volume offers an updated, multifaceted representation of complex phaenomena which can be understood only going beyond disciplinary boundaries.

This is a study of Hellenistic athletics from the perspective of the victors. By analyzing agonistic epigrams as poetry on commission, it investigates how successful athletes and horse owners and their sponsors wanted their victories to be understood. Based on the identification of recurring motifs that exceed the conventions of the genre, a multiplicity of agonistic cultures is detected on three different levels - those of the polis, the region and the empire. Kings and queens used athletics in order to legitimate their rule, cities tried to compensate for military defeats by agonistic successes, and victorious aristocrats created virtual halls of fame to emphasize their common regional identity. Without a doubt, athletic victories represented far more than just leisure activities of Hellenistic noblemen. They clearly mattered in terms of politics and social status.