Graeco Roman Fayum

During the Graeco-Roman period, the Fayum became one of the most productive agricultural regions of Egypt and was the focus of a systematic settlement and cultivation program. This volume contains the conferences given at the third international symposion for Fayum studies held at Freudenstadt/ Schwarzwald from May 29 to June 1, 2007. Egyptologists, papyrologists and archaeologists from all over the world joined in order to report their current research and to contribute with their special point of view in enhancing and completing our picture of the Fayum in the Graeco-Roman period. Das Fayum entwickelte sich in der griechisch-romischen Zeit zu einer der landwirtschaftlich produktivsten Regionen Agyptens und stand im Mittelpunkt einer gezielten Besiedlungs- und Bewirtschaftungspolitik. Der Band beinhaltet die Vortrage des mittlerweile 3. internationalen Fayum-Symposions, das vom 29. Mai bis 1. Juni 2007 in Freudenstadt im Schwarzwald stattfand. Agyptologen, Papyrologen und Archaologen aus aller Welt kamen zusammen, um aus ihrer aktuellen Forschung zu berichten und durch Beitrage aus dem Blickwinkel ihrer verschiedenen Disziplinen dazu beizutragen, unser Bild des Fayum in der griechisch-romischen Zeit weiter zu vervollstandigen.

The Fayum is a large depression in the western desert of Egypt, receiving its water directly from the Nile. In the early Ptolemaic period the agricultural area expanded a great deal, new villages were founded and many Greeks settled here. When villages on the outskirts were abandoned about AD 300-400, houses and cemeteries remained intact for centuries. Here were found thousands of papyri, ostraca (potsherds) and hundreds of mummy portraits, which have made the area famous among classicists and art historians alike. Most papyri and ostraca are now scattered over collections all over the world. The sixth volume of Collectanea Hellenistica presents 145 reconstructed archives originating from this region, including private, professional, official and temple archives both in Greek and in native Demotic.

From the first major discoveries a century ago, the painted portraits of Roman Egypt were a revelation to scholars and the public alike, and the recent finding of a new cache of these gilded images, which made national headlines, have only heightened their mystery and appeal. Published to coincide with a new major exhibition of these portraits, Ancient Faces is the most comprehensive, up-to-date survey of these astonishing works of art. Dating from the later period of Roman rule in Egypt, shortly before the birth of Christ, the painted mummy portraits are among the most remarkable products of the ancient world, a fusion of the traditions of pharonic Egypt and the Classical world. They are historical and cultural objects of outstanding importance and beauty, superb works of art that represent some of the earliest known examples of life-like portraiture. Though the subjects of the portraits believed in the traditional Egyptian cults, which offered them a firm prospect of life after death, they also wished to be commemorated in the Roman manner, with their fashion of dress and adornment signaling their status in life. Despite their ancient history, these portraits speak to the modern eye with a beauty and intensity that would be lost to portraiture until the Renaissance.

The source material available for the village and necropolis of Hawara covers a period of almost 3000 years, reaching from the 12th Dynasty (ca. 1800 BC) to the Arab Period (10th century AD).

On May 1st, 1998 Professor P.W.Pestman retired from academic teaching. His contributions to the field of papyrology are well known: he has continually stressed the importance of Egyptian sources for the study of Greek and Roman Egypt, and the importance of studying the Greek and Egyptian documentation together, in context. Indeed, he has been among the first to link the formerly separate Greek and Egyptian documentation, establishing modern papyrological practice. He has thus given an Egyptian face to Graeco-Roman society, to complement the Greek face that had previously dominated papyrology. The present volume contains twelve contributions by members and alumni of the Papyrologisch Instituut that illustrate the two faces of Graeco-Roman Egypt and show how they may be tied together.

Introducing readers to a wide range of maps from different time periods and a variety of cultures, this book confirms the vital roles of maps throughout history in commerce, art, literature, and national identity.

The Fayum portraits were created by the people of a flourishing district of Roman Egypt during the first three centuries AD. In the old Egyptian tradition, these people embalmed the bodies of their dead, but then they placed over the mummy, a painted portrait to preserve the memory of each individual. Over 1000 portraits have so far been discovered of men, women and children.

"A record of two years' excavations in the Fayûm, the first in 1895-96 ... the second in 1898-99 ... Part 1, Part 2, iv-vii [describe] the excavations at Kasr el Banât and Part 3 [contains] texts of papyri, ostraca, and indices." -- Preface.

An authoritative and multidisciplinary Companion to Egypt during the Greco‑Roman and Late Antique period With contributions from noted authorities in the field, A Companion to Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt offers a comprehensive resource that covers almost 1000 years of Egyptian history, starting with the liberation of Egypt from Persian rule by Alexander the Great in 332 BC and ending in AD 642, when Arab rule started in the Nile country. The Companion takes a largely sociological perspective and includes a section on life portraits at the end of each part. The theme of identity in a multicultural environment and a chapter on the quality of life of Egypt's inhabitants clearly illustrate this objective. The authors put the emphasis on the changes that occurred in the Greco-Roman and Late Antique periods, as illustrated by such topics as: Traditional religious life challenged; Governing a country with a past: between tradition and innovation; and Creative minds in theory and praxis. This important resource: Discusses how Egypt became part of a globalizing world in Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times Explores notable innovations by the Ptolemies and Romans Puts the focus on the longue durée development Offers a thematic and multidisciplinary approach to the subject, bringing together scholars of different disciplines Contains life portraits in which various aspects and themes of people’s daily life in Egypt are discussed Written for academics and students of the Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt period, this Companion offers a guide that is useful for students in the areas of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and New Testament studies.

An authoritative and multidisciplinary Companion to Egypt during the Greco‑Roman and Late Antique period With contributions from noted authorities in the field, A Companion to Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt offers a comprehensive resource that covers almost 1000 years of Egyptian history, starting with the liberation of Egypt from Persian rule by Alexander the Great in 332 BC and ending in AD 642, when Arab rule started in the Nile country. The Companion takes a largely sociological perspective and includes a section on life portraits at the end of each part. The theme of identity in a multicultural environment and a chapter on the quality of life of Egypt's inhabitants clearly illustrate this objective. The authors put the emphasis on the changes that occurred in the Greco-Roman and Late Antique periods, as illustrated by such topics as: Traditional religious life challenged; Governing a country with a past: between tradition and innovation; and Creative minds in theory and praxis. This important resource: Discusses how Egypt became part of a globalizing world in Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine times Explores notable innovations by the Ptolemies and Romans Puts the focus on the longue durée development Offers a thematic and multidisciplinary approach to the subject, bringing together scholars of different disciplines Contains life portraits in which various aspects and themes of people’s daily life in Egypt are discussed Written for academics and students of the Greco-Roman and Late Antique Egypt period, this Companion offers a guide that is useful for students in the areas of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and New Testament studies.