DOCSLIB.ORG

Durham E-Theses

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Durham E-Theses Durham E-Theses Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity WILDISH, MARK How to cite: WILDISH, MARK (2012) Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3922/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 1 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity Mark Wildish Department of Classics and Ancient History Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics at Durham University, in 2012. Mark Wildish - 1 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 2 - This thesis is the result of my own work. All material from the published or unpublished work of others which is referred to in the thesis is credited to its authors. The thesis is approximately 70,000 words in length. Signed: (Mark Wildish) Date: Mark Wildish - 2 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 3 - Abstract The primary aim of this thesis is the reconstruction of a development in the history of the philosophy of language, namely an understanding of hieroglyphic Egyptian as a language uniquely adapted to the purposes and concerns of late Platonist metaphysics. There are three main reasons for this particular focus. First, the primary interest of philological criticism has emphasized the apparent shortcomings of the classical hieroglyphic tradition in light of the success of the modern decipherment endeavour. Though the Greek authors recognize a number of philologically distinctive features, they are primarily interested in contrasting hieroglyphic and Greek semantics. The latter is capable of discursive elaboration of the sapiential content to which the former is non-discursively adapted. Second, the sole surviving, fully extant essay in the exegesis of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Hieroglyphica of Horapollo can be situated within the broader philosophical project in which the Neoplatonic commentators were engaged. As such, it draws on elements of the distinct traditions of Greek reception of Egyptian wisdom, 4th/5th century pagan revivalism under Christian persecution, and late Platonist logico-metaphysical methodological principles. Third, the rationale for Neoplatonic use of allegorical interpretation as an exegetical tool is founded on the methodological principle of ‘analytic ascent’ from the phenomena depicted, through the concepts under which they fall, to their intelligible causes. These three stages in the ascent correspond to the three modes of expression of which, according to Greek exegetes, hieroglyphic Egyptian, as composites of material images and intelligible content, is capable. Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica, I argue, maintains a tripartite distinction between linguistic expressions, their meanings, and the objects or name-bearers which they depict and further aligns that distinction with three modes of hieroglyphic expression: representative, semantic, and symbolic. I conclude, therefore, that a procedure of analytic explanatory ascent from empirical observation through discursive reason to metaphysical or cosmological insights is employed in the exegesis of the sapiential content of the hieroglyphs of which it treats. Mark Wildish - 3 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 4 - Table of Contents Title page - 1 - Signed and dated declaration - 2 - Abstract - 3 - Table of contents - 4 - Introduction - 6 - Chapter One: The Hieroglyphic Tradition - 10 - §1. Egyptian Hieroglyphs - 10 - §2. Greek Hieroglyphs - 16 - §3. Genres of Exegesis - 19 - §4. Hieroglyphic Wisdom - 25 - Chapter Two: The Coptic-Pagan Controversy - 29 – §1. Author and Text - 29 - §2. The Coptic Corpora - 41 – §3. The Pagan Response - 54 – Chapter Three: Neoplatonic Hieroglyphics - 58 - §1. Semantics - 58 - §2. Metaphysics - 66 - §3. Interpretation - 75 - Chapter Four: Horapollo’s Hieroglyphica - 86 - §1. Introduction - 86 - §2. The Representative Mode - 88 - §3. The Semantic Mode - 100 - §4. The Symbolic Mode - 107 - §5. Horapollonian Metaphysics - 116 - Conclusion - 125 - Mark Wildish - 4 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 5 - Appendixes - 129 – Appendix 1 - 129 – Appendix 2 - 131 – Appendix 3 - 139 – Appendix 4 - 142 – Bibliography - 143 – (A) Primary Texts - 143 - (i) Manuscripts of the Ἱερογλυφικά - 143 - (ii) Editions of the Ἱερογλυφικά - 145 - (iii) Testimonia - 148 – (B) Secondary Texts - 149 - (i) Greek Texts - 149 - (ii) Latin Texts - 166 - (iii) Coptic Texts - 169 - (iv) Egyptian Texts - 172 - (v) Armenian Texts - 175 – (C) Secondary Literature Cited - 176 – (D) Other Secondary Literature Consulted - 182 – Mark Wildish - 5 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 6 - Introduction The primary aim of this thesis is the reconstruction of a development in the history of the philosophy of language. The development in question is an understanding of hieroglyphic Egyptian as a language uniquely adapted to the purposes and concerns of late Platonist metaphysics. There are earlier conceptions of the particular superiority of hieroglyphic Egyptian for theological and philosophical purposes, both among the Egyptians themselves and in the Greek philosophical tradition. In the Greek philosophical sources the interest in hieroglyphs probably originates with the Stoic writer Chæremon, but it also appears in Platonic sources, including Plutarch. It is, however, with the specifically Neoplatonic development in the understanding of hieroglyphs that I am concerned here. There are two main reasons for this particular focus. The first is the scholastic and curricular inclinations of many of the representatives of Neoplatonism. This allows for far greater integration of their treatment of hieroglyphic Egyptian not only into philosophical linguistics more generally, but also into the broader philosophical project in which they were engaged. The second reason is that the only Greek text on the subject of hieroglyphs to survive complete, the Hieroglyphica of Horapollo, can profitably be read, so I shall argue, in the context of Neoplatonic theorizing about language in general and of hieroglyphics in particular. I describe the development as taking place in the philosophy of language because it identifies language – in this case, a particular language – as a topic of specific interest for the discipline of philosophy. My interest in that development concerns the philosophical status of that development, its methods and conclusions, and is therefore an essay in the history of philosophy of language. Of course, the reconstruction is to a large extent concerned with what are otherwise essentially historical aspects of the literature of late antiquity on the subject of hieroglyphic Egyptian. However, that concern extends only so far as the historical aspect supports a specifically philosophical interest and this is the basis of the secondary aim of the thesis, namely, an assessment of the presuppositions of the development as reconstructed. In this respect the project has more in common with Frede’s characterization of an earlier ‘doxographical tradition’ in the history of philosophy, than the later developmental tradition he distinguishes from it.1 On the other hand, it no more presupposes ‘a basic set of philosophical questions’, than it is written ‘from a particular philosophical position’ to which the history of philosophy has led us. Far less does it endorse the idea that ‘philosophical understanding is 1 Frede, M., ‘The History of Philosophy as a Discipline’ in The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 85, No. 11, Eighty-Fifth Annual Meeting American Philosophical Association, Eastern Division, (Nov., 1988): pp. 666-672. Frede, M., ‘Introduction: The Study of Ancient Philosophy’ in Essays in Ancient Philosophy (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1987): pp. ix-xxvii. Mark Wildish - 6 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 7 - essentially historical’.2 The project is philosophical, rather, because the historical development was thought by its proponents to do philosophical work, and the judgement I form is a judgement on their reasons for thinking so. In principle, then, the ‘basic set of philosophical questions’ addressed ‘from a particular philosophical position’ are those of the late Platonists themselves. Chapter One begins by examining the philological criticism which has focussed on the tradition’s apparent congruence or otherwise with the success of the decipherment endeavour. The primary interest of the decipherment endeavour was the reconstruction of the language of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. As a result of that endeavour a distinction was drawn between sound-signs and sense-signs into which hieroglyphic texts are typically analyzed. The introduction of this distinction is the product of an independent interest in the phonology and semantics of hieroglyphic Egyptian. It does not inform a purely orthographic analysis of sign- groups which are
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Marginalia and Commentaries in the Papyri of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes
    Nikolaos Athanassiou Marginalia and Commentaries in the Papyri of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes PhD thesis / Dept. of Greek and Latin University College London London 1999 C Name of candidate: Nikolaos Athanassiou Title of Thesis: Marginalia and commentaries in the papyri of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes. The purpose of the thesis is to examine a selection of papyri from the large corpus of Euripides, Sophocles and Aristophanes. The study of the texts has been divided into three major chapters where each one of the selected papyri is first reproduced and then discussed. The transcription follows the original publication whereas any possible textual improvement is included in the commentary. The commentary also contains a general description of the papyrus (date, layout and content) as well reference to special characteristics. The structure of the commentary is not identical for marginalia and hy-pomnemata: the former are examined in relation to their position round the main text and are treated both as individual notes and as a group conveying the annotator's aims. The latter are examined lemma by lemma with more emphasis upon their origins and later appearances in scholia and lexica. After the study of the papyri follows an essay which summarizes the results and tries to incorporate them into the wider context of the history of the text of each author and the scholarly attention that this received by the Alexandrian scholars or later grammarians. The main effort is to place each papyrus into one of the various stages that scholarly exegesis passed especially in late antiquity. Special treatment has been given to P.Wurzburg 1, the importance of which made it necessary that it occupies a chapter by itself.
    [Show full text]
  • The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism the Alexandrian
    This article was downloaded by: 10.3.98.104 On: 25 Sep 2021 Access details: subscription number Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG, UK The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism Pauliina Remes, Svetla Slaveva-Griffin The Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315744186.ch3 Richard Sorabji Published online on: 30 Apr 2014 How to cite :- Richard Sorabji. 30 Apr 2014, The Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching from: The Routledge Handbook of Neoplatonism Routledge Accessed on: 25 Sep 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315744186.ch3 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DOCUMENT Full terms and conditions of use: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/legal-notices/terms This Document PDF may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproductions, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. 3 The Alexandrian classrooms excavated and sixth-century philosophy teaching Richard Sorabji It was announced in 2004 that the Polish archaeological team under Grzegorz Majcherek had identifi ed the surprisingly well-preserved lecture rooms of the sixth-century Alexandrian school.1 Th is was a major archaeological discovery.2 Although the fi rst few rooms had been excavated twenty-fi ve years earlier, identifi cation has only now become possible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: Image and Text in a Renaissance Romance
    The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: Image and Text in a Renaissance Romance April Oettinger Winston-Salem, North Carolina B.A., Colgate University, 1994 M.A., University of Virginia, 1996 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy McIntire Department of Art University of Virginia May2000 To my parents, ever supportive guides in my ongoing discovery of the forestand the trees; To Carrie, my companionon those early journeys through the Dark Forest; and To Max, my Poliphilo. 11 © Copyright by April Oettinger AllRights Reserved May2000 ill Acknowledgments I am indebted to numerous friendsand colleagues who have guided and enriched my journey at every turn. My advisors Paul Barolskyand David Summers first encouraged me to pursue my studies of the Polifilo; their unflagging support sustained me throughout, and their example continues to inspire me to follow in Poliphilo's path. My other readers, Francesca Fiorani and David Van Der Muelen provided valuable suggestions andadvice on patronage, dedications, and incunabula. I also wish to expressmy gratitude to Anne Schutte, Alistair Fowler, Deborah Parker, Martin Colker, and Terry Bellanger for stimulating conversations and generous advice, and Martin Colker and Thomas Govero for their assistance with the translations of Leonardo Grassi's dedication of the Polifiloand Ludovico Odassio's dedication of the Comucopiae. I am also grateful to Linda Carroll, Wendy Steadman Sheard, Patricia Fortini Brown, Wolfgang Wolters, Louisa Matthews, Anne Barriault,Norman Land, Ralph Lieberman, DeborahHoward, Jurgen Schultz, Ann Markam Schultz, and Mark SamuelsLasner forthought-provoking conversations at home and abroad. A Dupont Fellowship fromthe University of Virginia in 1998-1999 and a Fulbright Fellowship in 1999-2000 enabled me to continue my research in Italy, where I was fortunate to explore the holdings of several marvelous libraries.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Aldine Press to Aldus @Sfu Showcasing Simon Fraser
    FROM THE ALDINE PRESS TO ALDUS @ SFU Showcasing Simon Fraser University Library’s Aldines Online by Alessandra Bordini MA, University of Siena, 2007 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Publishing in the Publishing Program Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Alessandra Bordini 2017 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2017 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License approval name: Alessandra Bordini degree: Master of Publishing title of project: From the Aldine Press to Aldus@SFU: Showcasing Simon Fraser University Library’s Aldines Online supervisory committee: John W. Maxwell Senior Supervisor Associate Professor and Director Publishing Program, Simon Fraser University Mauve Pagé Supervisor Lecturer Publishing Program, Simon Fraser University Michael Joyce Supervisor Web and Data Services Developer SFU Library, Simon Fraser University date approved: January 25, 2017 ii abstract This report stems from a joint commemoration in 2015 of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Simon Fraser University and the five-hundredth anniversary of the death of pioneering Renaissance publisher and scholar Aldus Manutius. To mark these occasions, Publishing@SFU and SFU Library Special Collections joined forces to create a web-based resource comprising an outstanding selection of Aldines from the Wosk–McDonald collection, one of the largest such in North America. This report details the creation of Aldus@SFU, a prototype digital exhibition of the collection intended to be as widely accessible as possible on the Internet through ubiquitous technologies. Adopting a syncretic approach that emphasizes the continuous relationship between innovation and tradition, this report outlines and explores the key intersections between Aldus’ plan to popularize classical literature and the core mission of our project: to contribute to public knowledge by making SFU Aldines conveniently and freely available online via a flexible, mobile- optimized user interface.
    [Show full text]
  • Durham E-Theses
    Durham E-Theses Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity WILDISH, MARK How to cite: WILDISH, MARK (2012) Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3922/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 1 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity Mark Wildish Department of Classics and Ancient History Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classics at Durham University, in 2012. Mark Wildish - 1 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 2 - This thesis is the result of my own work. All material from the published or unpublished work of others which is referred to in the thesis is credited to its authors. The thesis is approximately 70,000 words in length. Signed: (Mark Wildish) Date: Mark Wildish - 2 - Hieroglyphic Semantics in Late Antiquity - 3 - Abstract The primary aim of this thesis is the reconstruction of a development in the history of the philosophy of language, namely an understanding of hieroglyphic Egyptian as a language uniquely adapted to the purposes and concerns of late Platonist metaphysics.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Experiences with Water in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt
    Waters of the Exodus: Jewish Experiences with Water in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt by Nathalie LaCoste A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto © Copyright by Nathalie LaCoste 2016 Waters of the Exodus: Jewish Experiences with Water in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt Nathalie LaCoste Doctor of Philosophy Department for the Study of Religion University of Toronto 2016 Abstract This study examines how the fluvial environment shaped the writing of Jewish narratives in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt (300 BCE – 115 CE). It focuses on four texts that narrate the Exodus story and analyzes them in terms of how water in Egypt is described and how elements of the environment—such as the Nile or the Red Sea—are characterized in their retellings. I argue that the natural environment informed Jewish writings through the incorporation of new fluvial terminology, development of different conceptions of water, and the adoption of positive attitudes towards the environment. These features, found specifically in texts composed in Egypt, demonstrate the power of the environment to shape a foundational Jewish narrative. Previous studies on the Jews of Egypt have examined their lives in political, social, or economic terms, with little acknowledgement of the physical environment and its role in daily and religious life. By focusing on water, this work traces the emergence of distinct practices developed in response to the environment, such as the location of places of worship and emerging employment opportunities. Such characteristics distinguish the communities of Egypt from both other Jews and non-Jews.
    [Show full text]
  • Ouroboros the Ancient Egyptian Myth of the Journey of the Sun
    Aegyptiaca. Journal of the History of Reception of Ancient Egypt ! Ouroboros The Ancient Egyptian Myth of the Journey of the Sun Jan Assmann In the main church of Weimar, there is a tomb slab decorated with a snake forming a circle by biting its tail.1 Within the circle we see the Greek letters Alpha and Omega surrounded by the words LICHT LIEBE LEBEN—light, love, life (figure 1). Figure 1: Tomb slab of Johann Gottfried von Herder in the Herder Church in Weimar. ! Alpha and Omega symbolize Beginning and End, thus the totality of time. Above, where tail and head of the snake meet, there is a radiating sun. We are looking at the tomb slab of Johann Gottfried Herder who served as priest in this church and created with Wieland, Goethe and Schiller the “Weimarer Klassik”, the Golden Age of German literature.2 The tail-biting snake is known by its Greek name Ouroboros, “tail-devourer”; it made its first appearance in ancient ! 1 Cf. the paper by Aleida Assmann in this issue of Aegyptiaca. 2 Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803), Christoph Martin Wieland (1733–1813), Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749–1832), Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805). Aegyptiaca 4 (2019) 19 Jan Assmann, The Ancient Egyptian Myth of the Journey of the Sun ! Egypt. In what follows, I am trying to trace, in a small number of examples, the career of this symbol in Egypt and beyond until it ended up on the tombstone of Herder. The Egyptian conception of the sun-god and his daily journey through heaven and underworld formed the central myth of Ancient Egypt.
    [Show full text]
  • Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and Its Annotators, 1499-1700
    Durham E-Theses `Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory': The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700 RUSSELL, JAMES,CHARLES How to cite: RUSSELL, JAMES,CHARLES (2014) `Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory': The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700 , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10757/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ‘Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory’: The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700 James Russell, MA Dunelm Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Durham University A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisors: Professor Carlo Caruso, Professor Richard Gameson February 15, 2014 ii Table of Contents Abstract iv Abbreviations v Acknowledgments iv 1. The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its readership 1 2.
    [Show full text]
  • “Eye of Horus”. (The Educational-Hypothetical Approach)
    THE MAGIC OF THE RENAISSANCE TODAY: THE PICTURE AND THE IDEOGRAMMATIC WRITTING OF “EYE OF HORUS”. (THE EDUCATIONAL-HYPOTHETICAL APPROACH) Associate Prof. Dr. Vladimir Vinokurov Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia Associate Prof. Dr. Marina Vorontsova Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia ABSTRACT According to the historian of writing systems, Ignace Gelb, the picture writing carries a magical load as such, - or in other words, the effect of magical spells is enhanced by the fact that they are expressed with the help of picture writing. According to the historian of religions, Fridrich Yeiler, since Babylon, astrologers have tried to penetrate the mystery of the heavenly ideogrammatic writing. The alchemists used ideogrammatic writing. Ideogrammatic writing was also used by astrologers. The application of the ideogrammatic form of a picture letter is a regression to the child's learning to count. Telling a certain legend about the Egyptian god Thoth (deity of scribes), Plato informs that he was an inventor. Among his inventions - counting, writing and astrology, as well as land surveying and gaming. The writing in question is primarily an Egyptian hieroglyph. Ancient Egyptian god Thoth was connected with the Ennead Theogony, which develops in the myth of Isis and Osiris, and their son Horus. Born of Isis and Osiris, god Horus enters the battle with Set to avenge his father. In one of the episodes of the “litigation” of Horus and Set, the latter managed to wrest the left eye of Horus and break it into 64 parts, which, however, god Thoth collected, “repaired” the eye, but left 1/64 part to him, hiding it.
    [Show full text]
  • European Views of Egyptian Magic and Mystery a Cultural Context for the Magic Flute
    European Views of Egyptian Magic and Mystery A Cultural Context for The Magic Flute Kerry Muhlestein omposer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and librettist Emanuel C Schikaneder lived and created during the height of eighteenth-century interest in and fascination with Egypt. The Magic Flute’s Egyptian setting would therefore evoke in their contemporaneous audience notions of a distant land with an exotic and magical culture. The numerous Egyptian elements of the work are representative of its era and are situated near the end of a continuum of European thought about ancient Egypt before the solid foundation of modern day Egyptology had been laid. To Europeans, Egypt was a murky and mysterious landscape, one that easily lent itself to imaginative speculations about the purpose of its awesome architecture, the nature of its arcane ritual ceremonies, and the knowledge contained in its intriguing, then-undeciphered language. Such European perception of ancient Egypt informed the cultural productions of the late eighteenth century, including The Magic Flute. Ancient Egypt: Lost and Found Over three thousand years ago, powerful officials serving under Rame- ses II made trips to visit their ancient past, standing in reverence before the Great Pyramids of Giza, which were already over a thousand years old. For three and a half millennia, the regular flood of the Nile had sustained one of the longest-lived and most glorious civilizations the world has known. When the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were in their infancy, the rulers of Egypt were trying to recapture the splendor of their predecessors. Beginning in the sixth century bc, Greek scholar-travelers came to see for themselves the age-old wonder that was Egypt, leaving records of their BYU Studies 43, no.
    [Show full text]
  • Foreword (1993)
    FOREWORD (1993) Anthony Grafton Egypt—like the other countries of the ancient Near East—has played a paradoxical role in Western thought. Greek writers often represented Egyptians, like Ethiopians and other non-Greeks, as "barbarians," swarthy, cunning, and prone to ungovernable anger.1 Even the Greek-speak- ing Egypt of the Hellenistic period seemed Oriental, a place of alluring scents, strong spices, and strange magical prac- tices. The temptations of Cleopatra's Egypt, according to Roman writers, explained the failures of Mark Antony and dramatized the incorrupt military virtues of Caesar and Augustus. Stereotypes reigned, but they were very ambiguous. Many of Greece's most original intellectuals respected Egypt as the source and repository of profound learning about gods, the universe, and humanity. The powers of tra- ditional Egyptian culture fascinated Western historians, philosophers, and scientists, who admired what they saw as the millenial continuity of Egyptian life. In particular, Egyptian philosophy seemed to them older and deeper than their own. They liked to tell stories about the philosophical journeys to Egypt in the course of which Solon, Plato, Eu- doxus, and even Julius Caesar had learned the mysteries of being, the stars, and the calendar. Greek historians and eth- nographers informed their readers of the wonders of Egypt's great buildings and strange customs. The rulers of imperial Rome imported the grandest and most mysterious XI FOREWORD of Egyptian relics, the obelisks, to Rome and Constantino- ple, where they gave dramatic emphasis to sections of the empire's capital cities and provided tangible evidence of Rome's dominance of the world.2 Meanwhile the cult of Isis, which spread throughout the Roman world, gave Egypt a final victory in the realm of the spirit.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt October 15, 2012–July 28, 2013
    BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH 1 A pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) among the papyrus marshes. Wall painting from the northern palace of Akhenaten, Amarna (Davies 1936, vol. 2, pl. 76) BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH BIRDS IN ANCIENT EGYPT edited by ROZENN BAILLEUL-LeSUER with new photography by ANNA R. RESSMAN ORIENTAL INSTITUTE MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS 35 THE ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Library of Congress Control Number: 2012946464 ISBN-10: 1-885923-92-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-885923-92-9 © 2012 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published 2012. Printed in the United States of America. The Oriental Institute, Chicago This volume has been published in conjunction with the exhibition Between Heaven and Earth: Birds in Ancient Egypt October 15, 2012–July 28, 2013. Oriental Institute Museum Publications 35 Series Editors Leslie Schramer and Thomas G. Urban with the assistance of Rebecca Cain Lauren Lutz and Tate Paulette assisted with the production of this volume. Published by The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 1155 East 58th Street Chicago, Illinois, 60637 USA oi.uchicago.edu Illustration Credits Front cover: “Birds in an Acacia Tree.” Tempera on paper by Nina de Garis Davies, 1932. Catalog No. 11. Back cover: Head of an owl. Limestone and pigment. Late Period to early Ptolemaic period, 664–150 bc Catalog No. 22 Catalog Nos. 1–2, 5–15, 17–18, 20–27, 29–40: Photos by Anna R. Ressman; Catalog Nos. 3, 16, 19: Copyright the Art Institute of Chicago; Catalog No. 4: A114917d_12A, photo by John Weinstein. Reproduced with the permission of The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, all rights reserved; Catalog No.
    [Show full text]