ABSTRACT
The last decade or so has seen considerable academic interest in the intellectual background of Michael Rostovtzeff, one of the two greatest 20th century historians of the Greek and Roman worlds. The most important earlier assessment of Rostovtzeff is that of Momigliano, the only other 20th century ancient historian to rival him in scholarship and imagination. The intention here is not to add to detailed studies of Rostovtzeff's intellectual biography, but rather to offer some reflections on Rostovtzeff's impact on 20th century interpretations of the agrarian history of Greco-Roman Egypt, and the direction in which current interpretations are heading. One could hardly, therefore, expect Rostovtzeff's approach to the Egyptian peasantry to show any degree of sympathy, let alone real empathy. Therefore the influence of Rostovtzeff in encouraging a negative view of the peasantry of Greco-Roman Egypt as irredeemably downtrodden is remarkably persistent, whether in the work of mainstream Greek/Roman historians, or in the interpretation of newly published texts.
