Undergraduate Journal of Anthropology 1: 73-79 (2009)

Cultural Interaction and Funerary Art in Graeco-

Roman Egypt.
By: Kelly-Anne Pike*

*Kelly-Anne Pike is a 3rd Year Undergraduate Student Studying Archaeology at the University of Toronto.

Abstract
This paper expands upon the idea that funerary art and architecture in Graeco-Roman
Egypt were creations of the cultural syncretism experienced by the Egyptian and non-
Egyptian peoples through religion, myth, and beliefs in the afterlife. Although differences
in socio-economic status and traditions existed in this period due to the division of the
different ethnic groups, funerary motifs show all groups shared with each other the belief
that the dead were sacred. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to prove that although
ethnic groups are by no means unified in their approach to everyday political, social, or
educational matters, death binds them together, allowing for interaction in the funerary
sphere. The examination of various material artifacts (coffins, masks, wooden portraits
etc.) and combinations of different architectural styles, along with depictions of gods and
goddesses used for mortuary rites, relay that ethnic boundaries were put aside in order to
honour and protect the dead.
Good to take ideas but not documented coz not specialized

Society in Egypt during the Ptolemaic and Early Roman Periods was
made up of many different ethnic groups who each had their own traditions,
institutions, and customs. However, because of administrative and political
agendas, the people of Egypt were not looked upon as a truly unified society, but
one that was plagued by barriers related to the many distinct peoples that lived
there. Cultural integration between Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians has been at
the forefront of new studies pertaining to this ancient time. Yet some scholars
believe that even if such evidence were found to suggest cultural integration it
would not accurately reflect the realities of a divided population. Through the
archaeological evidence found within the funerary sphere such doubts can be put
to rest, for artistic and religious motifs found in Greek, Roman, and Egyptian
burial contexts clearly showcase that cultural interaction did indeed take place
between these cultures living in Ancient Egypt.
The first indication of funerary cultural integration between Greek,
Roman, and Egyptian peoples comes to us through the wide variety of artifacts
that are directly connected to the burials of deceased persons who lived in
Graeco-Roman times. It should be noted that many of these artifacts come from
the burial places of specifically Greek individuals, who lived in predominantly
Greek populated cities in Egypt, such as Naucratis, Memphis, and Alexandria.

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 Kelly-Anne Pike

According to Christina Riggs (2002), funerary art varied both stylistically and
regionally. Between the 2nd century B.C. and 3rd century A.D. the funerary art
being produced included: portraits, painted shrouds, decorated tombs, mummy
cases, wooden coffins, plaster masks, funerary stelae, and tomb sculptures
(Riggs, 2002). Like any other material culture many of these types of funerary
artifacts went in and out of style. However, it can be said that because of the
many different kinds of funerary art that existed, the choice made by the sentence
deceased prior to their death, may reflect either personal or familial identity.

dating
An example of a wooden coffin (Fig. 1) whose designs showcase both
Egyptian and Greek visual elements can be best described through the
documentation of C.C. Edgar. The coffin is four-sided with a flat lid, and housed
the mummified remains of two individuals, one who was a young adult and the
other a small child (Edgar, 1905). Winding around the sides of the coffin are three
patterned bands, one of which looks like afloral design. Jewels, of different sizes
and colours, are located within the patterning of these bands as well as elsewhere
on the coffin. Edgar (1905) describes the two painted panels found at the head
and foot of the coffin as showing clear Egyptian influence. The head of the coffin
depicts a human figure kneeling between two large birds who both lift one of
their wings and lower the other. The foot of the coffin shows the Egyptian god
Anubis, protector of the dead and mummification rites, wearing a wig and
loincloth and holding a cup in his right hand. He is possibly standing in front of
a small shrine, perhaps dedicated to the god of the Egyptian underworld, Osiris.
These paintings, while emulating Egyptian relief painting techniques, look to be
the likely handiwork of local Greek craftsmen (Edgar, 1905), but using
Egyptian mortuary practices, and accompanying this with highly decorated
funerary art, may itself signal that the people thus memorialized were
particularly involved with native cults and temples (Riggs, 2002, p.106). This
indicates the growing respect Greek, and later the Romans, had for native
Egyptian religious beliefs.
A second example of an artifact type commonly used in the early
Ptolemaic Period, known as a Medusa Mask (Fig. 2), may have been placed over
the face of a mummified individual or simply a part of their grave goods. Edgar
describes the mask as reddish-brown in colour because it was made of terracotta,
flat-backed, and plastered with stucco (Edgar, 1905). The white rounded face of
the Medusa figure has a worried expression with thick slightly parted pink lips,
sad eyes, and contracted brow. Its hair is wavy and gilded, with green and blue
snakes throughout the hair. The general shape and features of the face again
point to a Greek origin, as does the myth of the gorgons itself. Artifacts such as
these shed light on the complex cultural context in which they were often made.
Reactions pertaining to the variety of artifacts used in the Ptolemaic and
Roman Periods, and what this meant socially and demographically, differ
accordingly. While many scholars believe that economic matters did not play into
what type of funerary art was used by people, for there were often many
combinations used, most agree that a certain amount of wealth was possessed by
a person or their family in order to afford these goods (MacCrimmon, 1945). It is
also agreed upon by most authors that because Greek citizens were more likely
funerary

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 Cultural Interaction and Funerary Art

try to make
to hold higher job or official positions than native Egyptians due to Greek,
citation
language and education becoming more then ever the technical support for
according to
administration, marriage, and preservation of social privilege (Bingen, 2007, p.
the original
229), that Greeks were the ones who had the money to buy such things. This
evidence is backed up by Edgar (1905) that many of the pieces of artwork he
catalogued were found in major Greek cities in Egypt.
However, it is here that a conflict between views arises. Not all Greeks
were a part of the aristocratic or middle class. Many lived in the countryside
alongside the poorer native Egyptians. If one believes in the idea that wealth was
needed to buy splendid burial goods, then these less wealthy Greeks clearly
could not have contributed to the innovations in funerary art of the time. Some
authors, such as Bingen (2007), believe that amongst the Egyptians and Greeks of
the countryside there was an even more serious distinction between the two
cultural units than in the cities, for he states the most evident feature in the
relations between the two co-existing communities is a marked reciprocal
opaquness which sometimes goes as far as rejection of the other, (p.243). Yet,
others like Riggs believe that although the lower Greek and Egyptian classes did
not participate as much in producing mixed heritage funerary art it was not
because of clear-cut cultural divisions between the two, but the mere fact that
they could not afford such materials (Riggs, 2002). Riggs (2002) also suggests that schoolers
because of inadequate funds smaller burials were performed overall, whether opinions
individuals were mummified, inhumated, or in traditional Greek funerary rites, about
interaction
search for Rigs cremated. Such findings may well be underrepresented, or overshadowed by
2002 luxurious grave good and burials, in the archaeological record.
One form of funerary art that overshadows all others and shows the
greatest combination of Egyptian and Greek visual traits are the famous plaster
masks and wooden portraits of the Late Ptolemaic and Early Roman Periods. The
popularity of masks and portraits has been attested by the modern day public,
which flocks to see such exhibitions at museums all over the world. The idea of
knowing the body of a person, which was once very much alive, is behind a
mask can instill curiousity, emotion, and sometimes even fear into the everyday
person (Bierbrier, 1997). The following examples of masks and portraits show
the transition from strongly Egyptian influenced funerary artworks to more
abstract, Graeco-Roman in style, portrait pieces.
A typical Early Ptolemaic plaster mask (Fig.3) documented by Edgar
shows some of the earliest combinations of Greek and Egyptian physical features
and afterlife iconography. The mask is made of canvas and plaster and is well
preserved. The female figure wears a chiton, a typical Greek ladys garment, but
her face has purely Egyptian features; an oval face and defined kohl rimmed
painted eyes and eyebrows (Edgar, 1905). Her hairstyle is in the common
Egyptian fashion and resembles the wig styles of the period. Both the ears and
the neck of the mask have small holes drilled in them, where jewellery for the
deceased could be placed. On the bottom of the plaster mask, below the female
figures face, there appears to be a mythical scene of various Egyptian deities
approaching one of the symbols of Osiris known as the Vulture of Lower
Egypt (Edgar, 1905, p.24). These figures on the left side of the mask, depicted in

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 Kelly-Anne Pike

the illustration provided, approaching from left to right are: Sis, Bastet and
Anubis (Edgar, 1905). They are portrayed in the traditional Egyptian style, and
were probably placed on the mask to protect the deceaseds body from any
disturbance, as well as guide her into the afterlife. Plaster masks such as this
were placed over the mummified, and usually shrouded, remains of the
deceased. These masks were quite large, and could measure from the top of the
head down to the middle of the torso.
Moving forward into a time of growing Graeco-Roman influence and style
is the mummy and gilded mask of a woman named Sambathion (Fig.4). She hails
from Hawara, and has been dated to sometime in the Late Ptolemaic or Early
Roman Period (Edgar, 1905). It has been suggested that the reason the mask was
made of gold was not only to signify the wealth of the individual, but that it was
religiously symbolic as well; The ancient Egyptians believed that the flesh of the
gods was made of gold and their bones of silver, gold thus became a symbol of
eternity and immortality, (Rozenberg, 1997, p.112). Her name is written in Greek
on the top of her mask, just above her hair, which is coiffed in tight ringlets. The
right arm is bent, an Egyptian pose, and holds a wreath of flowers. She is dressed
in a chiton, and a mantle that drapes over her shoulders with realistic folds.
Snake bracelets adorn both of her arms, winding their way from just
beneath her elbows to the middle of her hands, and some of her fingers also have
rings on them. Her other jewellery consists of round-shaped earrings and a
necklace, as well as a longer chain that extends down her chest in a rosettes
pattern (Edgar, 1905). Her facial features consist of a smaller but rounder face,
with large eyes, fine eyebrows, straight nose, and tiny lips which show a hint of a
smile. The mask extends over the deceaseds face and down the chest. She is
wrapped intricately in linen, which forms a diamond-shaped pattern over the
rest of the body. There is no arguing that she represents a fusion of Egyptian and
Graeco-Roman elements. This beautiful mask must have cost quite a bit of
money, making Sambathion most likely a woman of wealth and prominence who
was decorated in the aristocratic ideal of the afterlife of the Greeks and Romans
living at this time in Egypt.
The Royal Ontario Museum is home to two unusual portraits which
showcase the further developments in funerary art made after the Ptolemaic
Period (Fig.5). These portraits look overwhelmingly more Greek than Egyptian in
the way the face and body of the deceased is portrayed. However, there is still
one highly symbolic feature of these masks which clearly link them to the
Egyptian god of the underworld, Osiris. Both faces of each individual are drawn
in an almost cartoon-like fashion with thick heavy outlines of the deceaseds
head, hair, ears and facial features. While this sets them apart from the masks
already previously described, the other component that makes them unique from
both earlier masks and portraits from the same time is that their skin is painted a
striking greenish-blue (MacCrimmon, 1945). The skin colour of both the portraits,
in MacCrimmons opinion (1945), was deliberately painted the greenish-blue hue
in order represent these individuals as being dead and in the afterlife like the
Egyptian god Osiris. Osiris, in traditional Egyptian art, is depicted as having
greenish-blue skin to mark him as the god of the underworld.

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 Cultural Interaction and Funerary Art

The mummy masks and portraits described have shown the transitional
art techniques used from the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period and into the
Roman Period in Egypt. However, the actual artwork also signifies a shift in
Greek religious beliefs and the adoption of Egyptian deities and funerary rites.
Mummification was written about by Greek and Roman authors who lived
before Graeco-Roman times as a disturbing and unnatural way to bury the dead
(Bagnall, 1997). Yet, from the evidence presented, it is clear that Greeks and
Romans who moved into Egypt began using the practice of mummification on a
fairly wide-spread scale. The Egyptian belief that, the soul could remain this late not as
immortal as long as it had a body in which to dwell (Bagnall, 2004, p.23) early as the
appealed to the newly arrived Mediterranean peoples, as did the protection of early
the exotic foreign gods. Also, animal worship and mummification was ptolemaic
performed by Greek and Roman populations of Egypt regularly, even though in
their native lands it was considered one of the most unfavourable conceptions
of Egypt, as propagated by non-Egyptian authors (Bagnall, 2004, p.33).
Both the Graeco-Roman and Egyptian populations understood that the we may
dead needed to be cared for in this lifetime and in the next, and that no matter indicate that
where certain burial beliefs came from, personal losses of friends or family, or such
even the death of a pet or sacred animal, should be treated with the utmost adoption
respect. In this way, the many social classes and cultural groups that lived in the and
Ptolemaic and Early Roman Egypt could relate to one another. interaction
Lastly, the tombs of both Egyptian natives and Greeks living in Graeco-
Roman Egypt also share features that tie them to a growing cultural interaction
between the two cultures. One such example is the well-known Tomb of
Petosiris, located at the site of Tuna el-Gebel. According to the man that
excavated the tomb, Gustave Lefebvre (1923), Petosiris was a popular high priest
of the Egyptian god Thoth at Hermopolis, and his tomb, dated to around Early
Ptolemaic times, attests to his fame. Modern day Egyptians living at the site call
the tomb The Temple because of its highly decorated doorway and columns
(Lefebvre, 1923).
Architecturally, the first room that one would enter in the tomb is called a
pronaos (Lefebvre, 1923), which incidentally was the first room entered in a Greek
Temple before the inner sanctuary (cella). Here the pronaos functions as the place
of the family funerary cult and comes before the inner burial chamber. On the
walls of this first room graffiti has been written, not in Egyptian but in Greek
(Lefebvre, 1923), which attests to the fact that the Greeks recognized the
importance of Petosiriss funerary cult. The graffiti ranges from the simple
Hello to series of names of Greeks who had visited the spot (Lefebvre, 1923).
There is also a short sentence written in Greek which reveres Petosiris as a
brilliant man; I invoke Petosiris, whose body is the ground, but whose spirit
resides in the company of the gods: this wise man has been reunited with the
wise ones (Lefebvre, 1923, p.24).
Reliefs painted on the walls of tombs can also indicate the exchange of
ideas in the Greek and Egyptian funerary sphere. Petosiriss tomb has reliefs on
its walls which do not resemble the static Egyptian scenes usually found, but
instead replaces them with Greek influenced reliefs of natural day-to-day living.

76 Undergraduate Journal of Anthropology, Volume 1, 2009.

 Kelly-Anne Pike

Some of these depictions include men working in the fields, Petosiris and his
family making offerings to the gods, and labourers taking care of livestock
(Lefebvre, 1923), all of which can be found in the tombs of many deceased Greeks
who lived and were buried in Memphis.
Two tombs from Alexandria also showcase a fusion of Greek and Egyptian
deities said to be the protectors of the dead; the Stagnai Painted Tomb and the
Tomb of Tigrane Pasha Street. In the Stagnai Painted Tomb two exterior piers
which flank a sarcophagus niche show a small, naked, petal-winged boy who is
assumed to represent the god Greek god Eros (Venit, 1999). Eros accompanies the
Greek goddess Aphrodite, as well as the Egyptian god Anubis who, stands
garbed as a Roman soldier (Venit, 1999, p.650). By using these two motifs the
owner of the tomb harkened back to his Greek and Roman heritage as well as
displaying his respect for Egyptian gods and funerary beliefs. The Tigrane Pasha
Street Tomb similarly depicts Graeco-Roman and Egyptian visual techniques in
the form of a funeral procession (Fig.6). Its central sarcophagi niche shows, a
mummy wrapped in the Graeco-Roman style with its head to the left, supine on
a bier, attended by two female figures (Venit, 1997, p.704), who are again
assumed to represent Isis and her sister Nepthys who commonly decorate
Egyptian sarcophagi and tombs. It can be seen from these examples that Graeco-
Roman and Egyptian iconography was used in a variety of combinations that
lent to the overall dynamic of funerary artwork.
Through each of the artifacts discussed within this work, interpretations sentece
and conclusions can be made about how the funerary art produced in this period
reflects upon this past multiethnic society. Although it has been argued by some
that the divisions between the cultural units of people in Egypt were strict, not
only because of political issues but due to prejudice among each of the groups, it
is evident that cultural exchange occurred nonetheless. Though administration of
the major cities of Egypt favoured Greek, and later Roman culture, it would have
been extremely difficult and ignorant for any Greek or Roman to not notice the
ways of the native Egyptians. Even if in public the population was divided
because of their heritage, it cannot be known what peoples thoughts or actions
in private were. However, in the religious and funerary sphere all cultures came
together. Death did, and still does not, favour any one ethnic group. By
borrowing customs from each culture an individual not only exchanged
knowledge of the afterlife with others, but also tried to be protected in any which
way or form for the unknown journey ahead.
Knowing that death would eventually prevail led the Greek, Roman, and
Egyptian populations to see each other as just people, as mortals. They all
realized that perhaps there were greater forces at work. This belief may have
inspired them to ask for protection from many deities, as well as preserve
themselves in the thoughts of others through mummification, portraits, and
tomb reliefs. The artistic style that developed from this interaction proved to be sentence
unique and clearly defined a time period of cultural flux and social change. In
the end only death was certain, and that is why cultural exchange is so evident
within the funerary record of Graeco-Roman Egypt.

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 Cultural Interaction and Funerary Art

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78 Undergraduate Journal of Anthropology, Volume 1, 2009.