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A JOURNEY TO THE AFTERLIFE UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE MISTRESS OF NAVIGATION: A ‘NEW’ FUNERARY BELIEF FROM ROMAN MEMPHIS*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2017

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Extract

The study of Egyptian personal religiosity during the third century ad presents an interesting opportunity to explore the processes of cultural encounters between Egypt and the Roman Empire. The religious situation was more complicated and variegated than the textual evidence seems to suggest; sometimes one becomes aware of the existence of certain beliefs only through their iconographic record. For this reason, decorated stelae, coffins, and mummy wrappings are crucial materials for research into questions of religious exchange. This article presents the case of a third-century ad shroud from Memphis painted with a woman's portrait and funerary scenes, along with a representation of Isis navigans.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 2017 
Figure 0

Figure 1. Mummy wrapping, third century ad, 170 × 55 cm, found in the Saqqarah necropolis. Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung, Berlin, ÄM 11659. All photographs by the author, and taken courtesy of the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Detail of the mummy wrapping, showing Isis navigans.

Figure 2

Figure 3. Detail of the mummy wrapping, showing the decorative row containing Isis navigans.

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Figure 4. Detail of the mummy wrapping, showing the winged goddess.

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Figure 5. Detail of the mummy wrapping, showing the bark of Osiris.