Maidens, Matrons, and Magicians: Women and Personal Ritual Power in Late Antique Egypt
The majority of this study consists of a series of case studies of different types of women’s rituals of power, which emphasize examples of significant trends in ritual iconography, praxis, and context, both those which were typical of late antique Egyptian magic as a whole, and those which were uniquely female in character.
Candida Moss on Martyrdom, Myth, and Memory
How did early Christians view being persecuted and becoming martyrs?
Altered States: An inquiry into the possible use of narcotics or alcohol to induce dreams in Pharaonic Egypt
I have often been asked whether the Egyptians used drugs to induce dreams. This paper aims to address that question primarily as it relates to dream reports recorded prior to Egypt’s Late Period.
Flesh for Fantasy: Refections of Women in Two Ancient Egyptian Dream Manuals
Whether or not the Egyptian dream manuals are collections of dreams that were actually seen, or were possible visions that the composer believed could be seen is a moot point for our purposes. What matters is that they are embed- ded within their specific cultural matrix, and that they and their interpreta- tions to a certain degree reflect social hopes, fears, and desires, projected by their composers, the priests.
The Role of Birds across the Religious Landscape of Ancient Egypt
Because of the close association between departed humans and the divine world, the metaphors evoked by avian imagery have further significance for under-standing the Egyptians’ conception of the afterlife.
Some Notes about an Early African Pool of Cultures from which Emerged the Egyptian Civilisation
Until the 1980s, there was alack of archaeological excavation in Egypt’s WesternDesert. Today, the historical genetics of the Nile Valley,which is at one and the same time the ‘crossroad and refugium’, and the ‘Saharan affinities’ of the Predynastic Egyptians, have begun to be clearly identified
An Iron Age Temple Dedicated to Lug?: The henge at Lismullin, County Meath
This paper suggests that this Iron Age enclosure may have been connected to worship of the Celtic God Lug.
The failed reforms of Akhenaten and Muwatalli
Though Aten as a form of the Sun-god Re was venerated long before the ascent of Akhenaten, his ele- vation to a prominent status is clearly associated with the heretic king. There have been many attempts to detect the underlying causes for his avatar, but, as concluded by Barry Kemp,
The Roman Empire: the Defender of Early First Century Christianity
Contrary to expectations, the Roman Empire emerges from this examination as the protector (not persecutor) of early Christianity. Scripture from this time period reveals a peaceful relationship between the new faith and Roman authorities.
The Subsidiary Temple of Nekhtnebef at Tell el-Balamun
The subsidiary temple constructed by Nekhtnebef (Nectanebo I) as a barque-station on the cross-axis of the Amun-Temple at Tell el-Balamun has been the subject of excavation during various seasons of excavation at the site by the British Museum, most recently in Spring 2004. The accumulated understanding of the monument gained through this work is now sufficient to present some conclusions on its design and how it compares with other temples of the period.