In the early fourth century, a lawyer and public figure from the Nile valley city of Hermopolis made a six-month business related journey to Antioch. The day to day details are preserved on papyrus documents and offer a remarkable record of this journey, covering everything from distances traveled to daily food purchases, from medicinal supplies to fees paid for services.In this book, the classicist and historian John Matthews translates these important documents and places them in the wider context of the social history of the Graeco-Roman world.  The memoranda relating to Theophanes’ journey are presented within a historical narrative that offers an array of revelations on diet, travel, social relations, and other fascinating topics. This book creates an unprecedented account of daily life in the years preceding Emperor Constantine’s rise to power in the eastern provinces of the Roman empire.

四世纪初，一位来自尼罗河流域城市赫莫波利斯的律师和公众人物到安提阿进行了为期六个月的商务旅行。每天的细节都保存在纸莎草纸文件中，为这次旅行提供了非凡的记录，涵盖了从旅行距离到日常食品采购，从医药用品到服务费用的所有内容。在这本书中，古典主义者和历史学家约翰-马修斯翻译了这些重要文件，并将它们置于希腊-罗马世界社会历史的更广泛背景中。 与西奥芬尼的旅行有关的备忘录在历史叙事中呈现，提供了一系列关于饮食、旅行、社会关系和其他迷人话题的启示。本书对君士坦丁皇帝在罗马帝国东部省份掌权前几年的日常生活做出了前所未有的描述。