The course aims at enabling anyone who has followed it to use a Greek or Latin papyrus document for the preparation of a paper, a lecture, a course, etc. It also aims to give a general idea of Egypt under Greek, Roman and, later, Byzantine domination.

The theoretical side covers the following subjects : the papyrus in antiquity, papyrology, the history of papyrology, working tools, the writing of papyri, the language of papyri, chronology and metrology, methods of publication, geography, history, administration, religion, education, culture, economy, society.

The practical side, by far the more important, is conducted in parallel with the theory : papyrus documents are read and commented on. A part of these documents varies according to the annual theme : slavery, Christianity, inbreeding, the position of women, etc.

The course can be adapted for those who do not know Greek or Latin.

Jean A. STRAUS
Senior lecturer

The course highlights the importance of Greek and Latin literary texts preserved on papyrus and the interest they represent for the knowledge of classical literature and the cultural context of a period that covers over a thousand years.

After an introduction bearing on the papyrus, the history and technique of scientific papyrology, a study is made, with the aid of photographic reproductions, of the different aspects of this documentation and the problems it raises (conservation site, origin, circumstances of discovery, archaeological context, dating, form, support, placing on the page, type of writing, deciphering, identifications, comparisons, bibliography, etc.).

An initiation into computer-assisted research (finding of web sites relating to papyrology, collection of bibliographical data, consultation of image and papyrus banks, identification of fragments from authors by means of the T(hesaurus) L(inguae) G(raecae), etc.) is also provided.

Marie-Hélène MARGANNE
Senior lecturer