Wine, Wealth, and the State in Late Antique Egypt: The House of Apion at Oxyrhynchus

248 Pages·2012·1.6 MB·English

by  Todd Hickey

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Wine, Wealth, and the State in
Late Antique Egypt
facebook.com/groups/med.history Salah Zyada
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Wine, Wealth, and the State
in
Late Antique Egypt
(cid:1)
The House of Apion
at Oxyrhynchus
T. M. Hickey
The University of Michigan Press / Ann Arbor
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Copyright © by the University of Michigan 2012
All rights reserved
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations,
in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107and 108of the
U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press),
without written permission from the publisher.
Published in the United States of America by
The University of Michigan Press
Manufactured in the United States of America
c Printed on acid-free paper
2015 2014 2013 2012 4 3 2 1
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hickey, Todd Michael.
Wine, wealth, and the state in late antique Egypt : the house of Apion at
Oxyrhynchus / T.M. Hickey.
p. cm. — (New texts from ancient cultures)
Significantly revised version of author's 2001University of Chicago
doctoral dissertation entitled A public “house” but closed : “fiscal
participation” and economic decision making on the Oxyrhynchite estate of
the Flavii Apiones.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-472-11812-0(cloth : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-0-472-02822-1
(e-book)
1. Wine and wine making—Egypt—Oxyrhynchite Nome—History.
2. Viticulture—Egypt—Oxyrhynchite Nome—History. 3. Vineyards—
Egypt—Oxyrhynchite Nome—History. 4. Apion I, fl. 472–525—Family.
5. Manors—Egypt—Oxyrhynchite Nome—History. 6. Wealth—Political aspects—
Egypt—Oxyrhynchite Nome—History. 7. Oxyrhynchite Nome (Egypt)—Economic
conditions. 8. Egypt—Economic conditions—332B.C.–40A.D. 9. Egypt—Politics
and government—30B.C.–640A.D. 10. Manuscripts (Papyri) I. Hickey, Todd
Michael. Public “house” but closed. II. Title.
TP559.E3H42 2012
641.2'20962—dc23 2012000976
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In memoriam T. G.
Π(cid:2)υ(cid:1)(cid:4)πεσ(cid:8)ρθηκε,π(cid:2)υ(cid:1)(cid:13)(cid:14)(cid:15)θηκε (cid:16) Σ(cid:2)(cid:18)(cid:19)ς;
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Preface
(cid:1)
This is a significantly revised version of my 2001University of Chicago doc-
toral dissertation “A Public ‘House’ but Closed: ‘Fiscal Participation’ and Eco-
nomic Decision Making on the Oxyrhynchite Estate of the Flavii Apiones.”
The decade’s delay between thesis and book is in the main attributable to
external causes, but my own reservations had some influence as well. This re-
luctance stemmed partly from the belief that the dissertation was already eas-
ily accessible to the scholarly community through various channels—that is,
that it was already “published.” But it was also due to the fact that my research
interests began to shift to earlier periods when I took up my post at Berkeley.
Only the explosion of new publications concerning the Apiones, the appear-
ance of additional data, and, more critically, the emergence and then ascen-
dance of “proto-capitalist” readings of the evidence spurred my desire for
revision. These novel interpretations did not always reconcile with the
e vidence as I had come to understand it after years of close study. Moreover,
there seemed to be a reticence in this new scholarship to cite my work, pre-
sumably because it was still in dissertation form.
In the course of this project, I have accrued numerous debts. Nikolaos
Gonis kindly made his voluminous scholarship on the late antique Oxyrhyn-
chite available to me before publication and frequently shared his insights.
Bernhard Palme, Giuseppina Azzarello, and Amin Benaissa were similarly gen-
erous with their unpublished research, as were Federico Morelli, Roberta
Mazza, and Giovanni Ruffini. Guido Bastianini, Isabella Andorlini, Dennis
Kehoe, Simona Russo, and Chrysi Kotsifou answered my questions and di-
rected me to overlooked evidence. Comments from and discussions with
viii (cid:127) Preface
Roger Bagnall and Dominic Rathbone improved the manuscript significantly,
as did the reports from the press’s two anonymous readers. I am especially
grateful to James Keenan, who read the entire text—and whose keen eye saved
me from several slips. Any shortcomings that remain should be laid at my
doorstep.
I did most of my writing at Berkeley, and I thank my supervisors and
chairs—Donald Mastronarde, Charles Faulhaber, Leslie Kurke, Robert Knapp,
and John Ferrari—for their guidance and support and my colleagues and stu-
dents for fostering such a stimulating environment for scholarship. Brendan
Haug and Alex Ladenheim provided research assistance, and Darin Jensen, our
campus cartographer, patiently produced the attractive maps. Many of my re-
search expenses were defrayed by grants from the Faculty Senate’s Committee
on Research. I was fortunate to be able to draft the third chapter and parts of
the fourth at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and the Abdij Keizersberg. I
thank Willy Clarysse for his kind invitation to Vlaams-Brabant and his hos-
pitality, a warm reception that was matched by Mark Depauw, Heinz Hauben,
and their colleagues and students, as well as by Paul Heilporn. At Keizersberg,
Fr. Dirk Hanssens, OSB, and his fratres welcomed me into their community,
the ideal setting for quiet reflection about the problems of the late antique
Oxyrhynchite. For her sacrifices during this absence—indeed, for her extraor-
dinary support throughout my career—I remain grateful to my wife Mary.
Working with Ellen Bauerle and Mary Hashman at the University of
Michigan Press has been a joy; I wish only that I had approached Ellen sooner.
This, like so many other good ideas, was the brainchild of Traianos Gagos. The
sudden passing of this dear friend has left me deeply saddened—and this book
without the benefit of his unselfish intelligence and wisdom. I offer it as an
imperfect tribute to his memory.
Contents
(cid:1)
List of Abbreviations xi
Aids for the Reader xiii
Introduction 1
Chapter 1. Land 22
Chapter 2. Vineland 39
Chapter 3. Labor in the Vineyard 62
Chapter 4. The Flow of Wine
through the Estate 90
Chapter 5. Assessing Estate Viticulture 146
Conclusion 156
appendixes
Appendix A. Abstract of Text I 163
Appendix B. Viticultural Sites 165
Appendix C. Wine Containers Used in the
Byzantine Oxyrhynchite 186
Literature Cited 199
Index Locorum 217
Subject Index 223