THE ICONOGRAPHY OF TERRACOTTA FIGURINES OF GRAECO- 
EGYPTIAN DEITIES PRESENTED IN GRAECO-ROMAN GUISE AND ITS 
IMPLICATION FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF POPULAR RELIGION. 
Thesis submitted in accordance with the 
requirementftlie tJniversityýy., /of Liverpool 
fp 
iTT, F\ 
for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy 
-by 
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Hele, 4Qladakis, r`-"Nanolis 
ýý 
February 1994 
Dedicated to My Parents. 
**2** 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
First and foremost I would like to particularly thank Professor A. F. Shore for all 
his assistance in the course of this work. His wide knoweledge and vast 
experience in the field of Egyptology was invaluable. 
The search for the material necessary to complete this study has led me to 
various museums in Britain, Egypt and Greece. Without the help and co- 
operation of many people it would not have been possible to execute this work. 
I wish to thank and express my gratitude to Dr V. Davies, Keeper of the 
Egyptian antiquities, British Museum, and his Staff, for giving me access to the 
Museum's store collection. Dr H. Whitehouse, assistant keeper of the 
department of antiquities, Ashmolean Museum, for making the collection 
available. Dr. P. Bienkowski, Keeper of Egyptian and Near Eastern antiquities, 
Liverpool Museum, for allowing me to study the Museums store collection. Dr 
Doreya Said, General Director of the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, 
and her Staff, for assisting me in collecting data from the Museum's great 
collection. Dr Saleh, Director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, for allowing 
me access to relevant material. Dr A. Delivorias, Director of Benaki Museum in 
Athens, Dr O. Tgahou-Alexandri, Director of the National Archaeological 
Museum in Athens, Dr M. Brouskari, Director of Kanelopoulos Museum in 
Athens, and their staff, for authorising me to examine their terracotta and 
bronze collections. 
Furthermore I wish to acknowledge Dr. C. Mee, of the University of Liverpool, 
for giving me helpful advice concerning the Greek part of my thesis. Dr. C. Eyre 
for his assistance. Miss Pat Winker, secretary of the department, for the help 
**3** 
and useful information she gave me during my stay in Liverpool. 
I would also like to thank Dr H. Kalliga, Dr G. Theodoraki-Stampoultzi and Mr 
J. Perdios for their care and useful advise. 
Eventually, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my husband Anastasios for 
his interest, patience, encouragement and support. 
*ý4ýý 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
TOPIC Pape 
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................. 7 
INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 10 
CHAPTER I ......................................................................................................................... 14 
PROLOGUE ............................................................................................................. 14 
EQUATION OF RULERS WITH THE ALEXANDRIAN TRIAD ................... 25 
CHAPTER II ........................................................................................................................ 29 
ICONOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 29 
ATHENA ..................................................................................................... 30 
DEMETER .................................................................................................... 34 
APHRODITE ............................................................................................... 42 
ISIS ................................................................................................................ 52 
SARAPIS ...................................................................................................... 62 
HARPOKRATES ......................................................................................... 73 
ANUBIS ........................................................................................................ 81 
CHAPTER III ...................................................................................................................... 86 
FUNCTIONS ........................................................................................................... 86 
PROVENANCED FIGURINES ................................................................. 87 
ALEXANDRIA ................................................................................ 87 
NAUCRATIS ................................................................................... 89 
TANIS ............................................................................................... 90 
MEMPHIS ........................................................................................ 91 
FAYOUM ......................................................................................... 91 
EHNASYA ....................................................................................:.. 93 
COPTOS ........................................................................................... 94 
EDFU ................................................................................................ 94 
CLASSIFICATION ..................................................................................... 95 
**5** 
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LAMPS ................................................. 97 
FIGURINES FROM BURIALS ....................................................... 101 
DIVINITIES WITHIN AN ARCHITECTURAL SETTING ...................... 104 
CHAPTER IV ..................................................................................................................... 108 
STYLISTIC ANALYSIS ......................................................................................... 108 
1- FIGURINES FROM EXCAVATIONS ................................................... 110 
2-TECHNICAL METHODS OF DATING ................................................. 113 
3-STYLISTIC ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 115 
COSTUME ...................................................................................... 117 
HAIR-STYLE .................................................................................. 121 
HEAD-DRESS ................................................................................ 124 
JEWELLERY .................................................................................. 128 
ATTRIBUTES ................................................................................. 130 
GENERAL REMARKS .................................................................. 138 
CHAPTER V ...................................................................................................................... 142 
CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 142 
CHAPTER VI ..................................................................................................................... 156 
CATALOGUE ......................................................................................................... 156 
INTRODUCTION TO THE CATALOGUE ............................................... 157 
CATALOGUE CLASSIFICATION TABLES .... ........................................ 162 
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE .................................................................. 168 
CATALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHS ............................................................. 264 
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES ........................................................................................... 362 
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 393 
**6** 
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 
AcOr. = Acta Orientalia. 
AJA = American Journal of Archaeology. 
AnOr. = Analecta Orientalia. 
ARCE = American Research Center in Egypt. 
ASAE = Annales du Service des Antiquites de 1'Egypte. 
BCH = Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique. 
BIFAO = Bulletin de 1'Institut Francais d'Archeologie Orientale. 
BMC = British Museum Catalogue. 
Breccia, Terr. I and II = E. Breccia, Monuments de l'Egypte Greco-Romaine, II, i and 
ii, Terre cottefigurate Breche e greco-egizie del Museo di Alessandria, Bergamo 1930- 
1934. 
BSA = The Annual of the British School at Athens. 
BSAAlex. = Bulletin de la Societe Archeologique d'Alexandrie. 
BSFE 
CdE 
DHA 
= Bulletin de la Societe Francaise d'Egyptologie. 
= Chronique d'Egypte. 
= Dialogues d'Histoire Ancienne. 
Dunand, Religion Populaire = F. Dunand, Religion Populaire en Egypte Romaine, 
EPRO 76, Leiden 1979. 
Dunand, Terres cuites = F. Dunand, Catalogue des terres cuites greco-romaines 
d'Egypte, Musee du Louvre, departement des antiquites egyptiennes, Paris: 
Editions de la Reunion des musees nationaux 1990. 
EEF = Egypt Exploration Fund. 
EES = Egypt Exploration Society. 
EPRO = Etudes Preliminaires aux Religions Orientales dans 1'Empire 
Romains. 
ET = etudes et Travaux. 
ýýýýý 
Farnell, Greek Religion = L. R. Farnell, The Cults of The Greek States, Vol I-V, 
Oxford 1907. 
Fraser, Ptol. Alex. = P. M. Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria, Vol. 1-3, Oxford 1972. 
Griffiths, Plut. De Is. et Os. = J. Gwyn Griffiths, Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride, 
Gardiff, University of Wales Press 1970. 
Griffiths, The Isis Book = J. Gwyn Griffiths, Apuleius of Madaurus, The Isis Book 
(Metamorphoses, Book XI), EPRO 39, Leiden 1975. 
JA = Journal Asiatique. 
JARCE = Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 
JEA = Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. 
JHS = Journal of Hellenic Studies. 
JNES = Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 
LA = Lexikon der Agyptologie. 
LIMC = Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae. 
MDAIK = Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts. 
Milne, Coins = J. G. Milne, Catalogue of Alexandrian Coins, University of Oxford, 
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 1933. 
OGIS = W. Dittenberger, Orientis graeci inscriptiones selectae. 2 vols. 
OLA = Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta. 
Perdrizet, Terre cuites = P. Perdrizet, Les terres cuites Grecques d'Egypte de la 
collection Fouquet, Nancy 1921. 
RA = Revue Archeologique 
RdE. = Revue d'Egyptologie. 
RE = Revue Egyptologique. 
SAK = Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur. 
Thompson, Ptol. Oinoch. = D. B. Thompson, Ptolemaic Oinochoai and Portraits in 
Faience: Aspects of the Ruler Cult, Oxford 1973. 
UMHS = University of Michigan Humanstic Studies. 
**8** 
ZÄS = Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde. 
ýý9ýý 
**10** 
INTRODUCTION 
The large number of terracotta figurines found in Egypt is one of the sources 
which contribute to our knowledge and understanding of popular religion and 
the beliefs of the ordinary mass of the population of Egypt during the Graeco- 
Roman period. The terracotta figurines begin to appear with the establishment 
of Naucratis, from which a large number has been recovered. Subsequently 
their production increased during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods and we 
find an enormous variety of types. 
Important investigations were made early this century in the stylistic and 
chronological analysis of the figurines. Scholars like Perdrizetl, Breccia2, 
Kaufmanna, Weber4 and others published a large number of figurines from 
private and museum collections with discussion of their iconography. A recent 
work by Dunand on the terracotta figurines from Cairo museum sheds further 
light on our understanding of some aspects of popular religion, particularly 
during the Roman periods. 
Most surviving figurines depicting deities with mixed iconography which have 
been acquired for different collections are believed to have been manufactured 
and used in the chora. They are largely associated with the Fayoum, in villages 
such as Karanis, Soknopaiou Nesos, Tebtunis and others, but are not 
exclusively found there. Examples have also come from the necropolis of 
Alexandria; the quality of terracotta from there show how the production 
became a minor art which would have influenced the development of the craft 
in the chora and may have supplied models. 
.. Lack of evidence from workshops and the absence of assured provenance and 
**11** 
dating make the identification of the origins and development of individual 
figurines very difficult. Further problems arise from the uncertainty to whether 
the figurines found in a specific site have originated at that site or have reached 
it through commerce or private pilgrimages. 
In so far as the figurines may have been influenced by contemporary hair- 
styles and dress, stylistic analysis provides some help in the problem of dating. 
It does not help in establishing a specific place of manufacture nor in 
distinguishing whether particular types are confined to the capital or to 
particular centres in the chora. It is true that a scientific analysis of the clays used 
in the manufacture of the figurines may eventually help to determine whether a 
particular figurine was manufactured in Alexandria, in the Fayoum or 
elsewhere. A- technical investigation of the same type of figurines with a 
comprehensive analysis of samples by their section and other modern 
applications of science to archaeology is required before assured results are 
achieved. 
The present thesis is mainly concerned with the examination of the iconography 
of the figurines of deities and especially of those which provide us with a 
mixture of iconographical elements. An attempt is made to identify the roots of 
these representations, and the extent to which they are influenced by Egyptian 
or Greek tradition. The part of the thesis dealing with the iconography includes 
a comparison of the figurines with monumental representations and a detailed 
analysis of the features and elements which can be traced to a Greek origin. 
In the discussion of function, an attempt is made to trace the provenance of the 
figurines, the sites at which the figurines were found, and the specific location 
of their discovery and to recover such other information as the archaeological 
**12** 
reports allow. In the classification section four functional categories are 
suggested and discussed for the use of the terracotta figurines of Graeco-Roman 
Egypt. In the same section a discussion is made on the significance of lamp 
figurines, figurines from burials and divinities within an architectural setting. 
In the stylistic analysis chapter an attempt is made to date the figurines 
according to the information taken from archaeological reports for the 
excavated figurines, the examination of technical factors, and mostly the 
analysis of the stylistic factors which were examined by comparison to 
statuary and coin representations. 
The concluding part is an assessment of the value of this category of terracotta 
figurines in relation to our understanding of popular religion in Graeco-Roman 
Egypt. 
The descriptive catalogue contains a description of all the figurines of the 
catalogue which contains a representative selection of the different categories of 
figurines drawn from collections in Egypt, Greece and Britain which have been 
personally examined. 
**13** 
CHAPTER I 
PROLOGUE 
**14** 
PROLOGUE 
After the glory of the New Kingdom, Egypt suffered a long period of decline 
and became more vulnerable to foreign influence. First the Libyans and then the 
Assyrians, Persian and Greeks invaded Egypt and major political changes were 
made during that period. As for religious and artistic issues, no major 
developments arose, but evidence from the excavations at Naucratis shows that 
the Greek settlers brought their own gods. Individual pieces of minor art found 
in Egypt prove that there was some Persian influence in the making of some 
objects and reliefs. For example, the depiction of the Achaemenid dress, the 
accessories and gestures, the silver vessels and the roaring lion6. Some of the 
objects and reliefs dated to the Persian period show that they are repeated 
motifs of the Egyptian tradition transformed and combined to comply to the 
taste of the new comers7. 
For the period between the 13th to 7th centuries BC an indirect contact between 
Greece and Egypt was probably made through Syria. Minor objects8 of 
Egyptian origin were imported to Greece from Naucratis. Faience scarabs and 
seals were found in central Greece. Glass flasks and alabaster vases which were 
known to be manufactured in Naucratis became popular in Greece. The 
Egyptian influence during the mid sixth century is witnessed in various 
representations and scenes painted on Greek vases. For example, a vase painted 
by an eastern Greek artist from Caere in about 520 BC known as the "Caeretan 
Hydria"9 depicts Herakles managing the cowering servants of King Busiris at 
the altar where he was to be sacrificed. Hercules grasps and tramples the 
servants like the Pharaohs on many reliefs which record their personal success 
against the enemy. Another example is an Athenian lekythos10 which shows 
three men bowing before a mummy which looks like a pillar with the head of 
**15** 
Hermes at the top but the criss-cross pattern along the body resembling the 
bandaging of a mummy. The scene is certainly a copy of an Egyptian one. 
During that period there is no evidence of Greek antiquities found in Egypt11. 
From the seventh century onwards, the presence of Greeks in Egypt started to 
increase on a large scale. They appear as mercenary soldiers, merchants and 
naval experts. Psammetichus I was the first to hire Carian and Ionian 
mercenaries in his army; he settled them in the stratopeda which lay between 
Bubastis and the sea on the Pelusiac Mouth of the Nile. Evidence of Carian 
graves was found at Nebesheh, dating to the 26th Dynasty12. After establishing 
the first Greek settlements in Egypt, the Greeks started a more frequent 
communication with the local inhabitants and according to Diodorus, 
Psammetichus encouraged more active commercial trade between the 
foreigners and the indigenous population13. 
Amasis (565 BC) concentrated most of the Greeks at Naucratis14. According to 
Herodotus II, 178-9 he gave them Naucratis as a commercial headquarters and 
allowed sanctuaries and altars to be built for their gods. Literary and 
archaeological sources15 suggest that the town was established a generation 
before the time of Amasis, about 656 BC. In the southern part of the town, north 
of an Egyptian-type building used as a treasury or storehouse, was found the 
Greek temple of Aphrodite16. The offerings found at the temple include a large 
number of Chian vases, Eastern Greek and Athenian pottery from as early as 
the 6th century BC; the altar of the temple, which consists of a flight of four 
steps, about three yards wide, leads to a flat platform for sacrifices and 
according to Hoffmann17, is similar to an Egyptian stepped altar and may have 
been influenced by its architectural structure18. From the temple of Apollo and 
Hera, which lay on the northern part of the town, the inscriptions on the 
**16** 
pottery fragments again indicate the sixth century BC19. 
In the factory of faience, scarabs and seals, which were found by Petrie20 in the 
southern part of Naucratis, was a series of objects which lead to the assumption 
that the regular communication between the Greeks and the Egyptians certainly 
influenced the art of the seventh and sixth century. Minor objects which were 
locally made in Naucratis represent both Greek and Egyptian subjects. It seems 
that the most popular Egyptian subjects in Naucratis were cats, naked girls, 
and the Egyptian scarab seal. Greek subjects were pipers and lyre players. Some 
of the faience objects, represent a Greek subject with the cartouche of the King 
carved on the back21. It is worth noticing that finds which date before the third 
century BC do not show any mixing of iconographical representation, such as 
occurs in the Graeco-Roman period, despite the assimilation of the Greek gods 
with the Egyptians as evidenced by Herodotus. 
In contrast, the tomb of Petosiris22, at Tuna el-Gebel which dates to the fourth 
century BC, shows a mixture of Greek and Egyptian styles. The interior of the 
south wall of 'the pronaos is decorated at the base with scenes of offering. The 
depictions, in the west part of the base, are of Greek style judging from the 
figures, the clothing and the colours. 
From the third century BC a mixing of styles is found notably in funerary 
contexts. An intermingling of the art is shown in the Carian inscriptions and 
stelae23. The subjects and scenes adopted in those stelae are inspired by 
Egyptian funerary beliefs but artistically the style is influenced by Greek art and 
the inscriptions are Carian. A good example is a limestone stela found in the 
Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara24. In the first two registers of the stela, 
the scenes have been inspired by the Egyptian pantheon. The first register 
ýý17ý* 
represents Isis standing behind the enthroned Osiris, and before him the owner 
of the stela with raised hands pays his respects to the god. In the second register 
Isis enfolds in her wings the image of the Apis bull, and Thoth, in a peculiar 
posture of adoration, is placed in front of him. In the third register the scene is 
un-Egyptian in character and style. A dead woman is lying on an elaborate bier 
with a table of food beside her. Male and female mourners are grieving round 
her. The modelling of the faces depicted in the three registers, in addition to the 
technique and style of the stela, suggests that the artist was inspired by his 
native style which in this case was local provincial Eastern Greek. In the first 
two registers he tried to adopt Egyptian conventions, but the character and 
style of the reliefs are indicative of his nationality. 
Alexander's conquest enlarged the Greek population of Egypt. Alexandria, the 
new capital, encouraged thousands of Greeks to immigrate and settle down in 
the new land of opportunities opened to them by Alexander and the Ptolemies 
after him. Greeks were now established throughout the Delta as well as at 
Memphis. 
Profitable opportunities were largely exploited by the Greek settlers. Trade was 
widely and quickly expanded in the Egyptian centres, and import and export, 
shipping, industry and banking were among the great resources. Mercenaries 
were still employed by the Ptolemies and special groups of guards were 
dispatched to different settlements in the country. 
Despite the Hellenic pride of the Greek settlers, the constant communication 
with the local people led inevitably to intermarriage with Egyptians25. 
According to a dedication from Crocodilopolis intermarriages occurred in the 
mid-third century mostly in the military settlements. Intermarriage was more 
**18ý* 
widely practised in the minor Greek settlements. In contrast, at the capital 
Alexandria, mixed marriage was disapproved and the population who 
mingled with the locals were referred to as ", go, Bcrpflapivt'26, half-barbarians and 
half-Greeks27. The offspring of intermarriage remained outside the 
citizen-body of Alexandria so no Egyptian or half-Egyptian was accepted into 
the Greek society of the capita128. 
The lower class of the Greek population did not follow the rules of the upper 
class; the continual communication with the Egyptians and the thought that 
they had nothing to lose undoubtedly led to mixed marriage, to the practice of 
Egyptian activities and to familiarity with the Egyptian language. According to 
the description of Polybius29, in "Alexandria", from about the middle of the 
second century the mixed population began to rise even in the capital, but not 
as rapidly as in the chora. 
The evidence of religious life in the Graeco-Roman Period is not explicitly 
informative compared to other fields. Our knowledge is based on the 
dedication plaques set up in public or private shrines, the literary information 
which is scanty, and the archaeological evidence which considerably less. The 
evidence shows that the distinctive occurrence of that period was the 
interaction of the deities; Greek deities were associated with their Egyptian 
counterparts according to the similarity of attributes, and by contrast, Egyptian 
deities absorbed elements of Greek deities. 
The way that the settlers brought their own gods to their new settlements is 
natural. It was inevitable in the course of time that these deities should be 
assimilated with Egyptian deities, for example Osiris may be identified with 
Dionysos, Horus with Apollo, Neith with Athena. According to Arrian30 in the 
**19** 
"Alexander-Romance" the founder was determined that temples should be 
built for both Greek and Egyptian gods. The cult however of these deities was 
not localised in the way in which Egyptian deities tended to be associated with 
particular cult centres. 
The traditional worship of the Olympian gods by the Greeks in the classical 
period seems to have died out among the Greek immigrants. With the 
Ptolemies the worship of those Greek deities favoured by the ruling family 
becomes prominent. The mingling of immigrants with the native population, 
particularly after the battle of Raphia, resulted in the adoption of the cult of 
Egyptian deities, particularly those associated with healing31. The Egyptians, 
after mixing with the immigrants, assume the new syncretistic form of some 
deities such as Isis, Harpokrates and Sarapis. 
On the other hand, the Ptolemies permitted and favoured the continuation of 
the Pharaonic temples, decoration and motif. Active support of traditional 
Pharaonic art was favoured by individual Ptolemies. There is no indication of 
any changes in Egyptian art, style or language, though they were capable of 
fresh artistic creations, within the Egyptian traditional framework. 
From the second century onwards a new cult was instituted by the Ptolemies, 
the Royal Cult. According to them it was a necessity to be seen and respected 
by the Greeks as anthropomorphic gods. This type of cult was well known in 
Greece. For example Ptolemy brought back the body of Alexander and buried it 
in a luxurious tomb in Alexandria. He ordered sacrifices to be made in his 
honour and hired a priest to be responsible for the founder's cult. After him, 
Ptolemy Philadelphos established the cult of his dead parents Ptolemy I and 
Berenice. For himself and his sister and wife Arsinoe, who was assimilated to 
**20** 
Aphrodite, Nike and Isis, he created a proper cult and a papyrus32 mentions 
the priest of the Theoi Adelphoi, "the brother and sister gods". The royal cult was 
continued by the Ptolemies and their families. A number of texts mention the 
sacrifices and libations carried out by the priests in honour of the royal 
family33. 
After the decline of the Ptolemaic dynasty, Egypt became one of the major 
provinces of Rome. The Roman emperors, aware of Egypt's strategic value and 
economic resources, significantly changed its role in the Mediterranean world. 
Important changes were made in social, legal and governmental institutions 
which affected Egyptian society. The importance of Egypt in the Roman empire 
led Augustus to treat the new province as a kind of personal domain. Roman 
rule in Egypt brought stability and ensured internal and external peace to 
secure the increase of economic activity. 
Alexandria remained the capital city with the offices of the civil service and the 
religious authorities. In order to minimise the interference of the Roman Senate 
some selected posts in the central administration were filled by Roman officials 
bound to the Emperor. Most of the manual work, however, was done by local 
residents, while the Egyptian officials retained their posts. 
The Greek inhabitants, on the other hand, were given more privileged positions 
than the native Egyptians who were treated as the conquered race. Greek 
continued to be the official language, and the privileged Greeks were exempt 
from the poll-tax which was paid in full by the Egyptians. Initially, only Roman 
citizens were allowed in the legions but gradually Greeks were recruited. 
By the end of the Ptolemaic period, the Greek presence had affected religious 
**21** 
beliefs and priesthood in two ways: the cult of the Ptolemies themselves, and 
the increasing popularity of representations of deities in mixed iconography. 
With the incorporation of Egypt as a province of the Roman empire, where the 
Romans occupied high ranks in official and military circles, it was natural that 
certain Roman elements were introduced. It was important to the emperor not 
to intervene or disturb the Egyptian and Greek worship. However, it was 
essential to ensure that the Egyptian priesthood did not interfere or cause 
problems for the newly-formed government. Therefore, Augustus placed a 
Roman official as the high priest of Alexandria and all Egypt to control and 
centralise all the religious organisations. 
The Roman rulers, like their predecessors, continued the royal cult. A temple 
was erected at Philae in honour of Augustus. The emperor was invoked as 
Soter and Euergetes, both being official appellations borrowed from the Greek 
ideology of the royal cult. Shrines were dedicated to the cult of the ruler and his 
dominant figure was to take its place in various temples known as the Caesarea. 
The remains of a wall-painting of about 300 AD, in one of the rooms in the 
temple of Luxor, shows that this room was a cult centre and most probably 
served as the throne-room of the Roman emperor34. 
Representations of the Roman emperors portrayed as Pharaohs appear on the 
walls and columns of the temples in the traditional Egyptian style and the 
ancient iconography. Their names were written in cartouches with hieroglyphic 
signs, they considered themselves as the legitimate heirs of the pharaohs with 
all the traditional titles and powers and they were worshipped as gods. 
During the Roman period, the traditional Egyptian gods remained prominent. 
The cult of Isis, Osiris, Horus and Anubis had spread widely through the 
**22** 
Mediterranean. The most dominant figure was that of Isis, as wife and mother. 
Her cult made a notable impact world-wide. Sarapis on the other hand, during 
the second century AD and particularly at the time of Hadrian, regained his 
powers as the god of the dead and the incarnation of royal power. According to 
the texts and dedications he was associated with Helios and invoked as Helios 
Megas Sarapis. The solar aspect of the god is absent in the terracotta figurines 
but a few busts on lamps show him with a radiate disk, or embracing Helios. 
In contrast to the strong impact the Romans had on the organisational level, 
they had a very small effect on religious practices. The syncretism of gods 
played an important role in the religious beliefs of the mass population, 
particularly for the inhabitants of the chora. The continuation of temples and 
shrines in towns and villages indicate that the worship of a god was an essential 
need in the daily life of the villager. The relationship of the human with the 
divine continued in the form of amulets, spells, curses and magical formulas. 
Magic spells developed significantly and played an important role in the social 
life of the people. The spells clearly show the multiple forms under which a 
particular god was invoked. 
A great number of terracotta figurines of the Roman period which were found 
in houses as votive offerings, reveal how much the average person believed in 
the divine powers. The majority of the figurines represent the most popular 
deities like Isis, Hathor, Aphrodite, Sarapis and Harpokrates. Iconographically, 
the terracottas depict these popular deities with features and attributes related 
to other deities with whom they been equated. 
The modifications and changes that the Roman conquest imposed on the 
inhabitants of Egypt and the needs and expectations of the ordinary population 
**23** 
are very difficult to establish from the figurines of that period, which are the 
continuation of the syncretism described by Herodotus and observed during 
the Ptolemaic period. Stylistically the figurines are influenced by the fashions of 
the Roman period and the motifs of the previous period have been reproduced 
in accordance with Roman trends. 
**24** 
EQUATION OF RULERS WITH THE ALEXANDRIAN TRIAD 
It is a general belief that the terracotta figurines were favoured by the common 
mass of the populace. The representations on these clay figurines are of popular 
deities, various animals, courtly and theatrical images, satyrs, dwarfs and 
actors. The representation of the rulers, the Ptolemies and the Roman emperors, 
is very rare in contrast to their prominence in stone and faience. 
The cult and worship of the Ptolemaic family is a blend of Egyptian religious 
ritual and a dynastic cult of Hellenistic Greek background35. Specified cult 
names were given to the Ptolemaic king and queen upon their deification. For 
example "Theoi Adelphoi" and "Thea Philadelphos". We also witness priests and 
priestesses selected for the cult of the royal family, for example "Kanephoros" of 
Arsinoe II Philadelphos. In addition to the literary sources which mention the 
cult image of the Ptolemies, monuments and minor art provide examples of 
their deified image. On coins36, Arsinoe II is represented with the ram's horn 
behind her ear, an attribute of Amun. On the faience oinochoae37 the 
deification of the queens is implied by the attributes they carry, like the 
cornucopia, "the horn of plenty", which is a popular attribute usually carried by 
deities like Isis, Sarapis and Harpokrates during the Graeco-Roman period. 
The assimilation of the Ptolemies with deities was well attested under their rule. 
Arsinoe and Isis were closely associated and that is witnessed by the oinochoae 
fragments where the name of Isis was inscribed alongside that of Arsinoe on 
some altars38. A statue of Arsinoe II in the Metropolitan Museum of Art 
20.2.2139, represents her holding a cornucopia and an inscription on the back of 
the pillar reads "Arsinoe, the goddess philadelphos, Isis". In the Fayoum area a 
joint temple was dedicated to Berenice-Isis, "Mother of the Gods", and Arsinoe- 
**25** 
Aphrodite40. Cleopatra III identified herself with "Isis the Great Mother of 
Gods"41, and at a later stage with Aphrodite, as "Queen Cleopatra, goddess 
Aphrodite, who is also Philometor"42. 
The identification of the royal family with Greek and Egyptian deities was 
essential for the Ptolemies, especially the Ptolemaic queens, who after their 
deification were identified with Isis. The reason behind this assimilation was 
significant because after such assimilation the queen acquired the divine 
personality and cult titles and incorporated divine powers. There was a general 
acceptance of her by the populace as a divine being. It has been suggested43 
that the cult of the Ptolemies was a family cult created by them and 
administered by their friends. According to the dedications of private persons 
in honour of the Ptolemies, the formula followed indirectly indicated ruler 
worship. Most of the dedications associated the ruler with a deity but they did 
not refer to the ruler as a god himself44. 
The public worship of the Ptolemies has not been properly investigated but 
their public cult is implied by the various festivals held in their honour in 
addition to the private shrines named after the cult of a ruler, for example the 
Berenikeion and the Arsinoeion45. 
At the popular level, the cult of the Ptolemies was indirectly acknowledged. 
The dynastic cult had a very small religious significance. Its importance was 
most probably appreciated by the elite class of Alexandria and the close friends 
of the Ptolemies. It is also known that a number of festivals were established by 
the Ptolemies in honour of their ancestors to declare specifically their divine 
image. These festivals were held in closed circles and exclusively for people of 
high rank. This indicates once again that the cult of the Ptolemies was more 
private than public46. 
Dedications of plaques was very popular among the inhabitants of Egypt. They 
were dedicated. by individuals to Greek and Egyptian deities indirectly 
acknowledging the reigning sovereign in the formula "On behalf of... ". In 
addition, objects, temples and shrines were privately dedicated as ex-votos to the 
royal family. In the temples erected for the Ptolemies, for example the temple of 
Arsinoe in Philadelphia in the Fayoum, the deified queen was associated with 
Aphrodite47. Because of the fact that no terracotta figurines have survived with 
the image of Arsinoe, it is very likely that the votive offerings carrying 
Aphrodite's image assumed the association of the queen with the divinity. 
To judge by the existing terracotta figurines, the Ptolemaic dynasty was not a 
popular subject of representation. One can suggest that the common mass of the 
populace of Egypt was faithful to the divine powers of the traditional deities or 
it could be that the deified ruler was considered as a mediator. 
Iconographically and stylistically, terracotta figurines are influenced by the 
fashion and the prevailing tendencies of the period. For example the hair-style 
established by the Hellenistic queens is frequently encountered in the figurines 
of Isis and other goddesses. In the marble portrait of Arsinoe 11148, the hair is 
modelled in the "melon" style; the same hair-style is worn by Isis in figurine 
cat. no. 47. Another hair-style is that of the corkscrew locks falling on the 
shoulders, as seen in the limestone statue of the deified queen Arsinoe 1149, and 
also in Isis figurine cat. no. 37. Apart from the hair-style, the cornucopia is 
another attribute common in the representations of rulers and deities. The 
himation and the chiton are also Greek features introduced in to Egypt in the 
Hellenistic period and worn commonly by rulers and deities. 
**27** 
The importance of Isis and Sarapis as husband and wife, is that the unification 
of the couple and the family ties were recognised and appreciated during the 
Ptolemaic period. In dedications the name of the royal couple was mentioned 
with the triad Isis, Sarapis and Harpokrates50. This indicates that at popular 
level the royal couple and the titular gods of Alexandria were closely 
associated. This association suggests that the family was an important factor in 
the policy of the Ptolemies to keep peace and harmony among the populace of 
Egypt. 
The relations of mother and child, Isis and Harpokrates, wife and husband, Isis 
and Sarapis, were widely accepted and expressed in numerous terracotta 
figurines. Again the royal couple is not represented in the figurines but most 
probably the family ties were expressed in the representation of the triad as in 
figurine (Cat. no. 95). 
To conclude, we suggest that at a popular level and in particular in the case of 
terracotta figurines, stylistic aspects of the royal imagery are reflected in the 
representation of divine figures, but the equation and assimilation of the rulers 
with Isis, Sarapis and Harpokrates is not as apparent and direct as in the 
dedication plaques with their cult titles5l. 
ýý28ý* 
CHAPTER II 
ICONOGRAPHY 
**29** 
ATHENA 
Athena is the daughter of Zeus, born miraculously from his head. The basic 
characteristics of the goddess were her prowess, her wisdom and the 
masculinity of her virgin nature. Athena was the patron and protector of 
Athens. Her name itself points to a source outside the Greek range and the 
meaning is still unknown52. Athena was the champion and leader of her 
people in war and was called the warrior goddess, usually represented fully 
armed for battle. 
Athena was given many titles, "Tritogeneia"53 which refers to a region 
associated with her birth, the river Triton. "Pallas"54 a name which Athena took 
in honour of her friend and daughter of Triton, Pallas. As " Eiirvrls'55 in 
Corinth, she was honoured with a torch race. 
Insufficient records have survived concerning the worship of Athena in 
Alexandria. A great number of terracotta figurines found in Egypt depict the 
warrior goddess Athena fully armed56. She is usually represented as a standing 
figure or as a bust. Most of her representations are in the form of lamps 
(Cat. nos. 1-3). The justification for this aspect is the identification with Neith the 
goddess of Sais and the annual feast that was made in her honour called the 
Illumination of Lamps. This feast was mentioned by Herodotus, who says in (ii 59) 
that "The third greatest festival is at Sais in honour of Athena" and in (ii 62) 
"When they assemble at Sais, on the night of the sacrifice, they all keep lamps 
burning in the open air round about their houses ..... and so they are alight not 
only at Sais but throughout all Egypt. " Sais was the capital of Egypt during the 
Twenty-sixth Dynasty as well as being the principal political centre and the 
intellectual capital of Upper and Lower Egypt. 
**30** 
Neith was one of the oldest Egyptian goddesses and her worship was 
widespread. She was usually represented wearing the crown of the north and 
holding a sceptre in one hand and the symbol of life in the other. Sometimes she 
could also be shown grasping a bow and two arrows, which are among her 
characteristic symbols. The iconographical representation of Neith would rarely 
suggest to the Greek mind the identification with an armed Pallas Athena. 
Athena always appeared in Greek art with a helmet, spear and shield, essential 
attributes of a war goddess. The assimilation of the two goddesses is clearly 
made by Herodotus57 2.59 : TpiTa 81 1; Fäiv n6kiv Tn A91vain navnyupiOuai; and by 
Plutarch58 to Nv FAI TA; AAnva; . Greek writers who equated the two goddesses are 
certainly influenced by the resemblance of their attributes and functions. 
Mallet59 in his book Le culte de Neit a Sais agrees that there are several 
similarities between the two goddesses. One of them is their warlike character. 
The other is the race of the torches which was celebrated in Marathon and 
Corinth in the honour of the goddess "Wwr4" and the Feast of Lamps in Sais 
and all Egypt, in honour of Athena-Neith. Mallet's conclusion is that the 
identification of Neith with Athena was brought into Egypt by the Greeks and 
was easily accepted by the Egyptians, as they were assured that the priority of 
their gods could not be disputed. 
Athena is usually represented with a long chiton with apoptigma60 which is 
carefully tightened on her waist creating rich folds. Neckline forms aV shape 
and the hands are usually exposed (cat. no. 1). Her chest was sometimes 
protected by her aegis (cat. nos. 3,4,6,7,8), a cuirass decorated with the Gorgon's 
head used as an emblem of terror and worn by her at least as early as the 
**31** 
seventh century BC. It emphasised her role as a war goddess and guardian of 
the city walls on which such emblems were sometimes hung61. It was also a 
sacred object associated with the purification of temples and as an aid in 
childbirth. There is no doubt that the costume of the statuettes of Athena of the 
Ptolemaic and Roman period derives from traditional Greek iconography 
commonly found on monuments all over Greece. A relief from the Acropolis62 
dated to the middle of the fifth century depicts Athena standing by a small 
column, leaning on her spear and wearing a long chiton with an apoptigma. A 
marble statue of Athena Parthenos, from the library of Pergamon63, dated to 
200-150 BC, represents Athena wearing a helmet and a cuirass with the 
Gorgon's head. 
Another common feature by which Athena is identified is the helmet 
(cat. nos. 1,2,4-12). This seems to have been derived from the famous statue of 
Athena by Pheidias64. The helmet is of typical Greek design which sometimes 
has cheek pieces (cat. no. 12) and is usually crested (cat. nos. 1,5,6,10,11). The style 
is Corinthian and was the most familiar in the Classical and Hellenistic times. 
Comparing the helmet that Athena wears on the terracotta figurines with the 
one depicted on coins from Egypt, one finds that the former does not have a 
couchant sphinx or couchant griffin under the crest 65. 
Among the armour of the goddess was the shield which she holds or which is 
placed vertically by her leg (cat. nos. 1-5). The shield66 is the earliest example of 
oriental influence in Greek art. It was usually decorated with reliefs either 
embossed or engraved, covering the whole surface, the largest shields having a 
diameter between 50 and 70 cm. Several shields were decorated with an 
apotropaic or symbolic device as was Athena's shield in the terracotta figurines 
from Alexandria. It was decorated with the head of the Gorgon to ward off evil. 
**32** 
On the Gree