A Companion to Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt


Book Description

An authoritative and multidisciplinary Companion to Egypt during the Greco‐Roman and Late Antique period With contributions from noted authorities in the field, A Companion to Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt offers a comprehensive resource that covers almost 1000 years of Egyptian history, starting with the liberation of Egypt from Persian rule by Alexander the Great in 332 BC and ending in AD 642, when Arab rule started in the Nile country. The Companion takes a largely sociological perspective and includes a section on life portraits at the end of each part. The theme of identity in a multicultural environment and a chapter on the quality of life of Egypt's inhabitants clearly illustrate this objective. The authors put the emphasis on the changes that occurred in the Greco-Roman and Late Antique periods, as illustrated by such topics as: Traditional religious life challenged; Governing a country with a past: between tradition and innovation; and Creative minds in theory and praxis. This important resource: Discusses how Egypt became part of a globalizing world in Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times Explores notable innovations by the Ptolemies and Romans Puts the focus on the longue durée development Offers a thematic and multidisciplinary approach to the subject, bringing together scholars of different disciplines Contains life portraits in which various aspects and themes of people’s daily life in Egypt are discussed Written for academics and students of the Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt period, this Companion offers a guide that is useful for students in the areas of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and New Testament studies.




Handbook of Ancient Nubia


Book Description

Numerous research projects have studied the Nubian cultures of Sudan and Egypt over the last thirty years, leading to significant new insights. The contributions to this handbook illuminate our current understanding of the cultural history of this fascinating region, including its interconnections to the natural world.




Ancient Egypt


Book Description

Completely revised and updated to reflect the latest developments in the field, this second edition of Barry J. Kemp's popular text presents a compelling reassessment of what gave ancient Egypt its distinctive and enduring characteristics. Ranging across Ancient Egyptian material culture, social and economic experiences, and the mindset of its people, the book also includes two new chapters exploring the last ten centuries of Ancient Egyptian civilization and who, in ethnic terms, the ancients were. Fully illustrated, the book draws on both ancient written materials and decades of excavation evidence, transforming our understanding of this remarkable civilization. Broad ranging yet impressively detailed, Kemp’s work is an indispensable text for all students of Ancient Egypt.




Urbanism in Antiquity


Book Description

Papers from a conference held at Lethbridge, Canada, in 1996. Contents include: Spatial perspectives on early urban development in Mesopotamia ( E. B. Banning ); The agricultural base of urbanism in hte early Bronze II-III Levant ( Arlene Miller Rosen ); Urbanization and northwest Semitic inscriptions of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages ( Walter E. Aufrecht ); Tell Jawa: a case study of Ammonite urbanism during Iron Age II ( P. M. Michele Daviau ); Archaeology, urbanism and the rise of the Israelite state ( William G. Dever ); The ancient Egyptian city': figment or reality? ( Donald B. Redford ); Palace-centered polities in eastern Crete ( Metaxia Tsipopoulou ).




Visual and Written Culture in Ancient Egypt


Book Description

A generously illustrated collection of John Baines's influential writings on the role of writing and the importance of visual culture in ancient Egypt. Investigation of these key topics in a comparative study of early civilizations is pursued through a number of case studies, and characterized by a radically interdisciplinary approach.




Egyptian Archaeology


Book Description

Egyptian Archaeology explores ancient Egypt using a uniquely archaeological approach, drawing on original research to both synthesize and challenge existing scholarship. Written by leading Egyptologists, based on original research and fieldwork Illustrates how practical research is a vital component of any theory-based discussion about the ancient world Examines the cultural and historical processes of ancient Egypt from a global perspective Visually engaging with over 80 illustrations Chapters explore fundamental issues and themes, but focus on specific periods and key archaeological sites




Renewing Royal Imagery


Book Description

In Renewing Royal Imagery: Akhenaten and Family in the Amarna Tombs, Arlette David offers a systematic, in-depth analysis of the visual presentation of ancient Egyptian kingship during Akhenaten's reign (circa 1350 B.C.) in the elite tombs of his new capital, domain of his god Aten, and attempts to answer two basic questions: how can Amarna imagery look so blatantly Egyptian and yet be intrinsically different? And why did it need to be so?




Wooden Statues of the Old Kingdom


Book Description

About 240 wooden statues survive from the Old Kingdom (c. 2575 - 2134 BC). The statues that can be dated by external criteria have been gathered together into a chronological catalogue and their features studied to establish dating criteria. The criteria are then applied to the remaining statues, enabling many of them to be assigned dates within individual reigns of the Old Kingdom.




Petitioning Osiris


Book Description

Petitioning Osiris re-edits, re-analyses, and re-contextualises the "Old Coptic Schmidt Papyrus" and "Curse of Artemisia" – written petitions to different manifestations of Osiris – among the Letters to Gods in Demotic, Greek, and Old Coptic from Egypt. The textual traditions of the Letters to Gods, to the Dead, and Oracle Questions which evidence that ritual tradition of petitioning deities are contextualised among contemporary textual traditions, such as Letters and Petitions to Human Recipients, and Documents of Self-Dedication, and compared to later ritual traditions such as proactive and reactive curses without and with judicial features (so-called Prayers for Justice) in Greek and Coptic from Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean. As with all other Letters to Gods, the Old Coptic Schmidt Papyrus and Curse of Artemisia evidence not only the struggles and aspirations of their petitioners, but also the way in which they conceptualised that they could bring about desired outcomes in their lived experience by engaging divine agency through a reciprocal relationship of human-divine interaction. Petitioning Osiris therefore provides a starting point and springboard for readers interested in these, or comparable, textual and ritual traditions from the Ancient World.




Cult and Ritual in Persian Period Egypt


Book Description

Ancient Egyptian temple walls expressed royal and political ideologies, reflected the ancient Egyptian secular and spiritual world order, supplied a medium for the reenactments of assorted myths, and implied a metaphor for the universe. The Temple of Hibis is one of the most important temples from Late Period Egypt. Despite the conventional overall architecture plan of the temple, it exhibits numerous particularities. While the more prominent parts of the temple, such as the sanctuary, have been studied by numerous scholars, in other areas the decoration schemes remain largely unexplained. This book focuses on the decorative schemes of several chapels in the earlier part of the temple, chapels that were either established and/or were decorated during the first Persian Period (525-404 BCE). These chapels were located around the main sanctuary A, but have rarely been the subject of scholarly discussions. It concentrates on a few chapels of the Temple of Hibis: chapels F and G to the south of sanctuary A on the first level of the temple and all the decorated chapels, E1, E2, H1, and H2, on the second level of the temple. Each chapter begins with a brief description of the scenes and their basic layout and a complete translation of the accompanying texts. A more in-depth analysis regarding both text and image follows in the commentary. It includes the analysis of the different aspects of the gods, their origins, and the development of their cults that are significant to the scenes and to each other. Also discussed are their coherence, any aspects that are especially emphasized, and any other information that could be gleaned from the whole scene. The analysis tries to detail the specific composition that makes up the mosaic of the picture, wall, or room. Attention is paid to both the scenic arrangement and the hieroglyphic inscriptions, as the interpretation of one would be meaningless without the other. Attention is given to investigating the general function of the different rooms by means of their decoration and by identifying the patterns or important themes generated by the layout of the scenes. The results are summarized in the last chapter. A number of line drawings have been inserted into the text beside a described scene as an aid to the reader.