Having completed his undergraduate degree, Parsons was encouraged by E. R. Dodds to undertake research in either papyrology or Greek religion; he chose the former.[3]: 2 Between 1958 and 1960, he maintained Christ Church, Oxford as his base, while also spending time at the University of Michigan learning documentary papyrology under Herbert Youtie.[3]: 2–3 In 1960, he was appointed to the newly created post of lecturer in papyrology at the University of Oxford.[5] His position at Christ Church was formalised in 1964 when he was made a research student (i.e. a research fellow, "student" being the name of fellows at the college).[3]: 3 [1] He worked on the Oxyrhynchus Papyri with John Rea between 1965 and 1989.[3]: 3
In 2006, Parsons married Barbara Macleod (née Montagna);[1] she had had a diagnosis of cancer before they married and she died the same year.[2] Barbara was the widow of Colin William MacLeod (1943–1981), a classical scholar at Christ Church, Oxford.[8]
On 16 November 2022, Parsons died at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, at the age of 86.[9] His funeral was held at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on 2 December 2022.[10]
Honours
In 1977, Parsons was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA).[5] In 2007, he was awarded the John D. Criticos Prize by the London Hellenic Society for his book City of the Sharp-Nosed-Fish: Greek Lives in Roman Egypt.[7] In 2019, Parsons was awarded the Kenyon Medal by the British Academy.[11]
A conference was held in Oxford in September 2006 to celebrate his 70th birthday. An associated Festschrift was published in 2011, titled "Culture in pieces: essays on ancient texts in honour of Peter Parsons", and edited by Dirk Obbink and Richard Rutherford.[12]
Selected works
Barns, J. W. B.; Parsons, P. J.; Rea, John; Turner, E. G. (1966). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part XXXI. London: Egypt Exploration Society.
^ abcdeRutherford, Richard; Obbink, Dirk (2011). "Introduction". In Obbink, Dirk; Rutherford, Richard (eds.). Culture in pieces: essays on ancient texts in honour of Peter Parsons. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1–19. ISBN9780199292011.
^ abcd"Culture in pieces". Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project. University of Oxford. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
^"Kenyon Medal". British Academy. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
^Obbink, Dirk; Rutherford, Richard, eds. (2011). Culture in pieces: essays on ancient texts in honour of Peter Parsons. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN9780199292011.