Oleificatori al servizio del vescovo di Ossirinco. Un'analisi di PSI inv. 3031, 10-14

Abstract

A forthcoming PSI papyrus (inv. 3031), a business letter coming from 4th century Oxyrhynchus, features the first papyrological witness of Pelagius, head of the Oxyrhynchite bishopric from 325 to 347 A.D. Alongside with a text section (ll. 13-10) by which we can ascertain the bishop's activities were somehow related with bread baking, and by adding that this bread baking could possibly be linked with the Easter's celebrations (l. 20), the letter testifies that the bishop can also rely on some skilled oil-makers, who appear to be directly dependent on the bishop himself (ll. 11-14). This paper aims at understanding who these oil-makers at the service of Pelagius are and whether they are members of the local κοινὸν τῶν ἐλαιουργῶν.