Pubblicani romani nella documentazione greca

Lexical analysis can make significant contributions to the knowledge of the Roman tax organization in the Greek-speaking provinces. A keyword is undoubtedly δημοσιώνης. The noun δημοσιώνης translates the Latin word publicanus and enters the Greek vocabulary only with the Roman conquest of the Hellenophone world, flanking τελώνης with analogous meaning of «tax collector» (and not only). The paper proposes a review of the sources in which the term δημοσιώνης (and derivatives) appears. The documents examined show that that this term, attested from the 1st century BC onwards, identified in particular Roman publicans who, often organized in societates, contracted out the collection of taxes and other economic activities. In this sense it is correct to say that δημοσιώνης is more ‘modern’ than τελώνης, with a wider semantic field than the older Greek term