These two comprehensive volumes on Hellenism in Roman Egypt are based on T.'s doctoral thesis submitted to the University of Strasbourg in 2006. T. assumes a specific Egyptian Hellenism and states that Egypt participated entirely and completely in its constitution and transmission. She chooses a specific corpus – the images of gods and especially the so-called radiant crown whose origin was Greek. T. asks what happened when these new images were introduced into the traditional Egyptian iconography.
The volume is divided into four bigger studies, preceded by an extensive introduction as well as accompanied by a presentation and examination of sources in volume 2. The introduction investigates the development of Hellenism from the first contacts between Egypt and the Aegean in the Bronze Age and illustrates how Egypt became part of the Mediterranean world. As a turning point T. holds the conquest of Egypt and its incorporation into the Roman Empire. The Romans created a new ruling class that consisted of Roman officials, members of the Roman army and Greeks who had passed the gymnasion. On the other side was the majority of the population – the Egyptians and among them the Egyptian priests. T. uses the multicultural model or model of a ‘Melting Pot’ as a convenient prototype for understanding the dynamics at work in Egyptian society. A discussion of N. Dörner's dissertation (Feste und Opfer [2014]), which focusses on the communicative processes between the different social classes in Imperial Egypt, would have greatly enriched the study.
Chapter 2 presents the sources and sheds light on the function of divine images in-depth. T. points to the observation that in Egyptian society images act for the viewer and maintain a relationship with a concrete deity. This has the consequence that images and the depicted or evoked entity are often confused (cf. C. Traunecker, Décor des Temples, in: F. Dunand, J.M. Speiser and J. Wirth [edd.], L'Image et la production du sacré [1991]). It is important to understand the process of the elaboration of new images of gods in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt and to query the cultural, ritual and theological background. T. emphasises that the surroundings of temples gained more and more importance. She explains in detail the development of the images of gods wearing a radiant crown and of the solar cults in Rome and Egypt.
Chapter 3 describes the development, the meaning and the evolution of the radiant crown in Greece starting from Homeric times. The radiant crown was an iconographic medium mostly standardised. T. asks what happened when the crown reached Egypt. She draws on various deities and their representations and sheds light on the process of transformation of this attribute. It was not simply a Greek crown that was transferred to the forehead of an Egyptian god. It was semantically transposed by referring to Egyptian religious ideas.
Chapter 4 is devoted to the divine couple Sarapis and Isis. T. emphasises its particularity. Sarapis and Isis were perceived abroad as Egyptian gods, as symbols of Egypt. But their popularity outside of Egypt has contributed to reshaping their iconography and even their theology, at least outside of temples. Unfortunately, T. does not include the papers by J.F. Quack and B. Paarmann on Sarapis (T. Hölscher, K. Trampedach and N. Zenzen [edd.], Aneignung und Abgrenzung [2013]). In the imperial period Sarapis and Isis, like Helios and Selena as well as the emperor and his wife, were regarded as representations of the cosmic couple. Sarapis became Sarapis–Helios wearing a radiant crown. For Egyptians the radiant crown was not a simple translation of the traditional solar disc but connected with the celebration of victory over death and the forces of chaos. It resembled a plant crown in Ptolemaic temples that was connected with the ‘offering of justification’ (cf. P. Derchain, CdE 30 [1955]). So, the new image received a proper Egyptian dimension. It was furthermore connected with the transmission of royal power and symbolised the sustainability of the political power and the kingship.
Chapter 5 describes the development of the radiant crown after the second century. In the time of Trajan and Hadrian there was an evolution of gods strongly associated with military life. The adoption of the figure of Sarapis–Helios as a representation of the emperor was a catalyst for the diffusion of the radiant crown. It symbolised the nature of the emperor as cosmocrator. In Egypt we also observe a militarisation of the local gods. But war and the triumphant character were not simply translated – the god was given a proper Egyptian semantic because the war gods were represented as triumphant pharaohs (e.g. Horus in Edfu). The transformation was not limited to the interior of the temple. The god was presented on the outer wall of the sanctuary in frontal perspective so that it was possible for ordinary people to approach the god.
Chapter 6 is dedicated to the Egyptian priests. At the beginning of the Roman era the economic situation of the temples appears to have deteriorated and a series of measures restricted the autonomy and power of the priests. T. shows that they not only used the new forms and objects but that they deliberately transformed old ideas. One example of this new tendency is the elaboration of new divine characters. Local gods were presented in the form of a triumphant commander. Eventually, theoi cosmocratores emerged in place of the victorious emperor.
The final chapter – the conclusion – stresses once again how the traditional iconography was converted in contact with foreign cultures. The image of Egyptian gods was the object of an interpretatio Graeca and Romana. The typical Egyptian elements of solar iconography were revised, especially the solar disc but also other forms of crowns. The radiate crown became a symbol of triumph of the solar god over the forces of darkness and chaos and an expression of his capacity to regenerate. This astonishing ability to adapt to new circumstances helped to keep Egyptian religion alive. And the Egyptian priests as representatives of the Egyptian cosmos were actively engaged presumably due to their deep knowledge of the ancient Egyptian texts.
Volume 2 is a vast catalogue of the iconographical sources that forms the basis of the volume. It is divided into four parts – gods of Greek origin; Isis, Sarapis and Harpocrates; traditional Egyptian gods; and independent crowns. It is followed by plates and charts, bibliographical references as well as an index of divine, human, geographical names and ancient authors.
T.'s excellent study helps to overcome the old idea that Egypt was a monolithic culture passively exposed to Greek and Roman influences. It demonstrates that in the first centuries ce Egypt was a vibrant system open to new ideas. These influences were transformed and semantically reinterpreted. Finally, they spread throughout the entire Mediterranean. Egypt thus contributed to the development of Hellenism. T. evaluates thoroughly a large corpus of images and textual sources as well as the research literature.
The long period between the defence of the dissertation (2006) and publication (2021) is problematic. Although T. has revised the dissertation and included and discussed more recent important contributions of research, unfortunately, some newer studies, especially those written in German, are missing. However, this volume will play an important role in further research on Hellenistic Egypt and will encourage the interdisciplinary discourse between Greek and Roman Studies and Egyptology.
