Abstract
Thanks to the seminal works of Raffaella Cribiore, papyrological evidence has been largely exploited, in order to reconstruct the mechanisms of teaching and learning how to write and read in Graeco-Roman Egypt, and more in general the characteristics of ancient education. Yet, many aspects of the daily routine of Egyptian schools are still unclear. One crucial point that extant papyri may help to clarify is the role played by books and written items in didactic practices: how far were books owned and used by teachers and students, and how is it possible to discern those used inside ancient "classrooms" from "normal" ones? And more in general, which was the relationship between "school" and education in its broader sense? The seminar will try to offer some reflections on such issues starting from the analysis of a selection of unpublished papyri now kept in the libraries of Genève, Florence and Oxford (Bodleian), written in a chronological span ranging from the late 1st to the 5th c. AD., and coming from different part of Egypt, as the Fayum and the monastic settlement of Dayr al-Bala'iza.
