Peter J. Parsons

Professor Peter J. Parsons FBA
Regius Professor of Greek University of Oxford
In office 1989–2003
Preceded by	Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones
Succeeded by	Christopher Pelling
Personal details
Born	Peter John Parsons (1936-09-24) 24 September 1936
Citizenship	United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Awards	Fellow of the British Academy (1977)

Peter John Parsons, FBA (born 24 September 1936) is a British classicist and academic specialising in papyrology. He was Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Oxford from 1989 to 2003.

Academic career

From 1960 to 1989, Parsons was a lecturer in papyrology at the University of Oxford. In 1989, he was appointed Regius Professor of Greek, one of Oxford's most senior professorships, in succession to Sir Hugh Lloyd-Jones. Parsons supported the Joint Association of Classical Teachers Greek summer school at Bryanston in Dorset, acting as a tutor on a number of occasions, and he was also Director of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project. He stepped down as Regius Professor in 2003 and was succeeded by Christopher Pelling.

Honours

In 1977, Parsons was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). 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. In 2019, Parsons was awarded the Kenyon Medal by the British Academy.

Selected works

• Barns, J. W. B.; Parsons, P. J.; Rea, John; Turner, E. G. (1966). The Oxyrhynchus Papyri. Part XXXI. London: Egypt Exploration Society.
• Lloyd-Jones, Hugh; Parsons, Peter, eds. (1983). Supplementum Hellenisticum. Berolini: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3110081718.
• Parsons, Peter (2007). City of the sharp-nosed fish: Greek lives in Roman Egypt. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0297645887.
• Bowman, A. K.; Coles, R. A.; Gonis, N.; Obbink, D. D.; Parsons, P. J., eds. (2007). Oxyrhynchus: a city and its texts. London: Egypt Exploration Society. ISBN 978-0856981777.
• Parsons, Peter John; Maehler, Herwig; Maltomini, Francesca, eds. (2014). The Vienna Epigrams Papyrus (G 40611). Berlin: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3110354522.