Philae and the End of Ancient Egyptian Religion: A Regional Study of Religious Transformation (298-642 CE) (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta) (Egyptian Edition) - Hardcover

Dijkstra, JHF

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9042920319 ISBN 13: 9789042920316

Publisher: Peeters, 2008

Synopsis

The famous island of Philae, on Egypt's southern frontier, can be considered the last major temple site where Ancient Egyptian religion was practiced. According to the Byzantine historian Procopius, in 535-537 CE the Emperor Justinian ordered one of his generals to end this situation by destroying the island's temples. This account has usually been accepted as a sufficient explanation for the end of the Ancient Egyptian cults at Philae. Yet it is by no means unproblematic. This book shows that the event of 535-537 has to be seen in a larger context of religious transformation at Philae, which was more complex and gradual than Procopius describes it. Not only are the various Late Antique sources from and on Philae taken into account, for the first time the religious developments at Philae are also placed in a regional context by analyzing the sources from the other major towns in the region, Syene(Aswan) and Elephantine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Peeters
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 9042920319
• ISBN 13: 9789042920316
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 466