#hellenistic egypt

[aboutanancientenquiry]

The Death of Cleopatra

Edmonia Lewis The Death of Cleopatra, 1876. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Historical Society of Forest Park, Illinois.

Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907) was Black American sculptor.

[didoofcarthage]

Gold ring inset with carnelian intaglio representing Tyche

Hellenistic Period, possibly from Ptolemaic Egypt, 225-175 B.C.

J. Paul Getty Museum

[uncleclaudius]

Sardonyx cameo of Cleopatra VII depicted as Isis and Mark Antony as Osiris.

The image and description comes from the book called Engraved Gems which can be read for free here.

[thefollowersofthedivinesnake]

(Full view plz)

Some historical characters that will be making an appearance in the webcomic I'm developing!

[lionofchaeronea]

Statue (dolomitic limestone) of a Ptolemaic queen bearing a "Cleopatra" cartouche, perhaps representing Cleopatra VII (r. 51-30 BCE). Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[skadi-gemini]

There’s a Cleopatra movie in the works and we once again won’t get a historically accurate depiction. 😩

Contemporary busts from her time depicting what she looked like. ⬇️

I just want accuracy, man. That’s it. 😭 We could’ve got an actual Greek or Mediterranean person. :/

[alephskoteinos]

A view to a solar non-dualism

During my study of the Greek Magical Papyri, a while back I encountered a phrase at the end of PGM IV. 1596-1715, which is a spell for Helios. The last line of the papyrus says that, when the consecration is complete, the magician must say the following: "the one Zeus is Sarapis".

I thought about that phrase again recently, maybe while going through The Concepts of the Divine in the Greek Magical Papyri, and it strikes me as a solar image of non-duality.

"The one Zeus is Sarapis", "heis Zeus Sarapis", but Sarapis (Serapis) is also an image of Hades or Plouton, being a god of the underworld and lord of the dead (not to mention a fusion of the god Osiris and the bull Apis). That's actually quite explicit when you get to Sarapis' iconography. In fact that were instances where Serapis and Hades or Plouton were explicitly identified with each other. In fact, that link is even more explicit in Porphyry's Philosophia ex oraculis, where he described Serapis as one of the gods who rule the infernal daimons, the others being Hekate and the demon dog Kerberos.

From this standpoint, I interpret the formula "heis Zeus Sarapis" as meaning that Zeus and Hades are one. In some ways that could be seen not only as a form of syncretism but also as an expression of theological monism, or certainly of the kind that was being developed around the time of Hellenistic Egypt.

But there's more to it, because this is also a solar image. Zeus-Sarapis was also Zeus-Helios-Sarapis, or Zeus Helios Great Sarapis. In the eastern desert of Egypt, under Roman occupation, one could except to find many images of the god Zeus Helios Megas Sarapis. especially in a place called Dios (now called Abu Qurayyah). There was also a temple dedicate to that god at Mons Claudianus, consecrated by a slave named Epaphroditos. Some scholars, of course, interpret this as a Greek interpretation of the Egyptian god Amun Ra. Furthermore, the phrase "heis Zeus Sarapis" has been found inscribed on a depiction of Harpocrates, Horus the Child, a deity who was frequently syncretised with Helios and thus seen as a solar god. Zeus, Helios, and Serapis were also sometimes seen as one godhead. This perhaps derives from an Orphic saying, purportedly attributed to an oracle of Apollo, which says "Zeus, Hades, Helios-Dionysus, three gods in one godhead!". In Flavius Claudius Julianus Hymn to Helios, this is rendered as "Zeus, Hades, Helios Serapis, three gods in one godhead!", which perhaps suggests that Serapis was being identified with Dionysus. Either way, it establishes a theology in which the three gods are mutually identified and unified as a solar godhead.

Since Helios was the sun god par excellence in this context, Zeus-Helios-Sarapis was seen as a solar deity, and thus it is a solar image. More importantly, it is an image of the non-duality of the sun. This incidentally is not out of step with certain monistic trends insofar as they also reflected a kind of solar theology. For example, Macrobius interpreted the myth of Saturn or Kronos as an expression of the generative power of the sun, thus identifying Saturn/Kronos with the sun, which Macrobius thought was the highest divine principle and even the ultimate basis of all the other gods.

The non-duality that I'm getting into, by this point, should be understood as something that involves and transcends a certain measure of "evil", or at least contains the infernal in itself. This lends itself to a dual-natured solar divinity that is by no means unfamiliar within ancient polytheism. Sun gods, perhaps like many other gods, were very double-sided. For example, the Iranian sun god Mithra was seen both as a benevolent deity concerned with friendship and contract, and as a mysteries, uncanny, and even "sinister" or "warlike" deity (though, these aspects are often attributed to his syncretic form as Mitra-Varuna). Kris Kershaw suggested in The One-Eyed God: Odin and the (Indo-)Germanic Männerbünde that the daeva Aeshma actually represented an aspect of Mithra's being. In Egypt, the wrathful goddess Sekhmet was also understood as an aspect of the power of Ra. The Mesopotamian sun god, Utu, or Shamash, was also a judge in the underworld. Another Mesopotamian god, Nergal, was a warlike god of disease and death who also represented a harsh aspect of the sun. Apollo, an oracular deity who was eventually associated with the sun, was also seen as a destroyer and shared Nergal's association with disease in addition to healing. Helios himself was also sometimes referred to as a destroyer, as indicated by one of his epithets, Apollon. In fact, even Helios may have been connected or in some cases even identified with Hades. At Smyrna, Plouton was worshipped as Plouton-Helios. This may even have reflected the notion of a nocturnal Sun that shone in the realm of the dead, perhaps inherited from Egypt. In some parts of Greece, Helios was also invoked alongside a chthonic form of Zeus in oath-swearing ceremonies.

The real fun I'd like to get into with this concept comes from hongaku-inspired forms of medieval Buddhist theology and their influence on the Shinto pantheon. And in that sense our focus turns to none other than Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess who was also the divine patron of sovereignty. The medieval Amaterasu was to some extent equated with all deities at all levels - naturally, this meant even the demonic and chthonic deities. Thus Amaterasu was both a saving deity and a wrathful deity in the Buddhist context. Late medieval Shinto theology had even crowned her a "deity of the Dharma nature", a unique kind of deity with no original ground, and thus a transcendent power akin to that of Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana Buddha). The Tenshō daijin kuketsu identified Amaterasu with Bonten (Brahma), Taishakuten (Indra), and Shoten, and then with Yama in the underworld because she records the dharmas of good and evil, and from there it asserts that we are dealing with the same deity in all cases. The same text also says that Kukai interpreted Amaterasu as the great deity of the five paths in the underworld, and therefore the primordial deity controlling birth and death. In some respects she was even seen as an araburu-no-kami just like Susano-o, both sharing a double ambivalence that is projected onto their opposition. In other cases, Amaterasu was identified with the Buddhist god Sanbo Kojin, the wild or demonic god of the three poisons who was interpreted as the honji or "original ground" of Amaterasu, and then by extension Amaterasu was identified with Mara, the demon king himself, in the same way.

All of this, of course, is an expression of the non-dualism of hongaku thought, in which the darkness of unenlightened passion and ignorance (thus the realm of the demons) is at once enlightenment and Buddha nature, and not only this it is both simultaneously the ground of enlightenment and Buddha nature and also, ultimately, indistinguishable from enlightenment and Buddha nature.

[fantasyfairytale049]

[maybeasunflower]

Ptolemaic mosaic from Hellenistic Egypt, dated between 200-150 BC. Image is from Wikimedia Commons.

Someone decided to spend a lot of money having their dog immortalized in detailed, realistic mosaic form. Did they go for the classic "beware of the dog" style? No, they wanted them next to a knocked-over pitcher - which makes me think this was a recurring issue. Even after their beloved dog had died, visitors would surely ask about this dog and get the story of You Won't Believe How Many Times They Knocked Over That Pitcher And We Loved Them Dearly.

People have always been people; dogs were also still dogs 2,000+ years ago.

there is a tendency with history, i think, because we're so far removed from it, to kind of forget that all of the people were people

a child 10,000 years ago left a handprint on a wall. they were fingerpainting. a viking climbs up a rock just to carve the words "this is very high" 10ft off the ground. somebody centuries... milennia... ago burned their dinner so thoroughly that they buried the ruined pot in the backyard rather than attempt to clean it. shakespeare got drunk and wrote dick jokes. tutankhamun was a little boy who liked ducks more than anything. a roman carves his name into a monument in another country saying "i was here". a prisoner, centuries ago, in the tower of london scratches lines into the wall as a tally marking the days. a medieval monk scrawls in the margins bemoaning the boredom of his work.

every human being across history has said "i was here. i lived. i loved. i made something. i laughed. i cried. please do not forget me"

[homerstroystory]

Vase in the shape of a duck, Ptolemaic Egypt (c. 3rd-2nd century BCE; crafted in Alexandria), faience wit a polychrome glaze

Currently in the collection of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. accession no. 48.421

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Ibis figurine.

Place of origin: Egypt, Alexandria (?)

Period: Hellenistic Period (Ptolemaic Dynasty)

Date: 305–30 B.C.

Medium: Gold sheet over core; blue enamel

[aboutanancientenquiry]

A black bassalt statue of Cleopatra VII Philopator, the last Hellenistic queen of Egypt, as Isis-Aphrodite

State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. ДВ-3936

Source of the picture: https://egypt-museum.com/statue-of-cleopatra-vii-philopator/

See also on this statue https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8294/cleopatra-as-isis-aphrodite/

[didoofcarthage]

Fragment of an oinochoe (wine jug) depicting Queen Berenike II. Hellenistic Period, Ptolemaic Egypt, 246-221 B.C. Faience. In the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Description from the Met:

Ptolemaic oinochoai (wine-jugs) with portraits of the queens were libation vessels associated with the royal cult, and surely also emphasized the identification of Ptolemaic queens with the Egyptian goddess Isis... Queen Berenike II (246-221 B.C.) is almost certainly represented on this fragment. Her relatively long reign accounts for the different styles that have been attributed to her early, middle, and mature reign. This fragment depicts the queen in what has been termed the mature style, wearing the stephane that the Ptolemaic queens adopted from Greek goddesses... The queen holds the cornucopia adopted by Ptolemies as their insignia, its contents consisting of sheaves of wheat, rather indistinct cakes, and a bunch of grapes that spilled from the mouth of the horn to which only a break edge testifies.

[theantonian]

This is a painting I did of Antony as the Neos Dionysos and Cleopatra as Aphrodite.

Antony is wearing a Tyrian purple himation fastened with a gold and ruby brooch. He wears a Ivy crown adored with little purple berries tried together with a red ribbon on his dark hair. Cleopatra wears a bright pink dress with pearl necklace and earrings. She wears a pearl and gem encrusted diadem.

On the left, a green cobra (ureus) perched on a large orange circle, which represents Alexander Helios as the sun. The red sun-disc on the cobra's head indicates Cleopatra's connection on the Goddess Isis. On the right, the Nemean lion stands on top of a crescent moon with a grayish hue, representing Cleopatra Selene as the moon. The lion also gives nod to Antony's famed ancestor, Hercules.

Behind Antony, a Roman eagle symbolizes Antony’s military prowess, courage and strength as well as his allegiance to Rome. On Cleopatra's side, an eagle in offensive stance standing on Zeus' thunderbolt represents her Greek and Ptolemaic heritage.

The bottom of the painting features an intricate pattern with floral and geometric designs, using red, blue, green, pink, yellow, orange and white colors

The background is a muted teal, which contrasts with the bright colors of the clothing and symbols, making the central figures stand out. The painting is framed with a red border, which ties together the various elements in the composition.

This artwork intends to convey the duality of Cleopatra and Antony's identities, merging their Egyptian and Roman symbolism while emphasizing their power and divinity.

Note: For those of you who requested that I post an image of my painting with meanings.

[michael-svetbird]

KORE - PERSEPHONE: From Egypt | Hellenistic Period 3 BC [?] H = c.35cm "Terracotta Bust of Kore - Persephone" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenistic_period

National Archaeological Museum, Athens | NAMAthens [Ground fl., Room 40 Egypt "Hellenistic-Roman Period"]

Web : https://www.namuseum.gr/en

FB : https://www.facebook.com/namuseumathens

IG : @ namuseumathens

X : @ museumsmoments

NAMAthens | Michael Svetbird @michael-svetbirdphs ©msp | 15|08|24 6400X4200 600 [I.,II.] The photographed object is collection item of NAMAthens [Non-commercial fair use | No AI | Author rights apply | Sorry for the watermarks]

📸 Part of the "Small-Format Sculpture and Miniature Artifacts" MSP Online Photo-gallery:

👉 D-ART: https://www.deviantart.com/svetbird1234/gallery/69450077/small-format-sculpture-and-miniature-artifacts

👉 FB Album: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.859777984390780&type=3

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[thecrankyprofessor]

He looks a little surprised at his own existence, too.

Statuette (copper alloy) of the composite Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis Amun Agathodaimon. Artist unknown; 1st cent. BCE/CE (late Hellenistic or early Imperial). From Egypt; now in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece. Photo credit: George E. Koronaios.