Volume 17-1

Ϲελήνη Τοξότῃ: Business and Astrology in the Papyri                                                                       

Giuliano Masola and Nicola Reggiani 

Abstract
A private letter on papyrus found in the ancient Egyptian city of Oxyrhynchus (P.Oxy. LXV 4483, 194 ce) offers a unique instance of practical use of astrology in ancient times. A deep examination of the text and of the astrological event cited in it (a position of the Moon in Sagittarius, particularly favourable for making deals) will be provided, with references to other documents, ancient horoscopes, and literary texts, in order to show how the study of ancient astrology can prove useful to understand texts and artifacts, and how star-gazing was influential in every aspect of everyday life, as often happens even today.