The diffusion of Egyptian cults in the Greek and Roman World
Sources
The Roman imperial fleet was one of the main gateways for diffusion of Egyptian cults into the Roman world, and both merchant and war fleets had significant role in that diffusion.
One of the most important parts of the research of this diffusion is to determinate the groups of citizens who were involved in it. In order to do that we have to find the sources from Greek and Roman periods such as epigraphic inscriptions, literary and historical writings, public and private letters and various cultic findings. Today the important objects such as shabtis, amulets, epigraphic inscriptions and statuettes of deities, that can prove the existence of Egyptian cults and their believers, are kept in various museums around the world.
History
Egypt opened its gates to the whole Mediterranean in the time of Ptolemaic Dynasty (305-30 BC) . The consequence of this action was opening of Egyptian cult centers to Greek and Eastern …show more content…
One of the most common practices was to give the names of mythological figures or some gods to a ship because they believed that a same god could protect the ship and its cargo from any danger. Some ships in classis Misensis wore the names connected to Egypt and their gods. The names were not inscribed on a hull as today and instead a relief of a god was carved on the bows. Several inscriptions from the Misenum survived with the exact names of the triremes, Nilo , Iside and Iove et Serapion. One of the ships in the fleet of Athens wore the name of the Egyptian god Ammon . We knew the names of a few boats used on the river Nile; one boat of the Nile fleet was called Serapis and one type of cargo boat was called Isairon. We also knew the name of the merchant boat
Sources
The Roman imperial fleet was one of the main gateways for diffusion of Egyptian cults into the Roman world, and both merchant and war fleets had significant role in that diffusion.
One of the most important parts of the research of this diffusion is to determinate the groups of citizens who were involved in it. In order to do that we have to find the sources from Greek and Roman periods such as epigraphic inscriptions, literary and historical writings, public and private letters and various cultic findings. Today the important objects such as shabtis, amulets, epigraphic inscriptions and statuettes of deities, that can prove the existence of Egyptian cults and their believers, are kept in various museums around the world.
History
Egypt opened its gates to the whole Mediterranean in the time of Ptolemaic Dynasty (305-30 BC) . The consequence of this action was opening of Egyptian cult centers to Greek and Eastern …show more content…
One of the most common practices was to give the names of mythological figures or some gods to a ship because they believed that a same god could protect the ship and its cargo from any danger. Some ships in classis Misensis wore the names connected to Egypt and their gods. The names were not inscribed on a hull as today and instead a relief of a god was carved on the bows. Several inscriptions from the Misenum survived with the exact names of the triremes, Nilo , Iside and Iove et Serapion. One of the ships in the fleet of Athens wore the name of the Egyptian god Ammon . We knew the names of a few boats used on the river Nile; one boat of the Nile fleet was called Serapis and one type of cargo boat was called Isairon. We also knew the name of the merchant boat