Houses in Graeco-Roman Egypt: Arenas for Ritual Activity

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This book examines different forms of ritual activities performed in houses of Graeco- Roman Egypt. It draws on the rich archaeological record of rural housing and evidence from literature or papyrological references to both urban and rural housing. The introduction critically considers the literature relevant to the topic in order to identify the research gap. Chapter I attempts to reconstruct the structure of urban and rural houses in Graeco- Roman Egypt in the light of papyri and archaeology. This aims to establish the physical and spatial framework for the rituals considered in the following chapters. In line with this reconstruction of domestic properties is the reconstruction of the architectural layout and use of the domestic pylon in Chapter II. Chapter III deals with two rituals enacted before the front door of the house, namely the sacrifice of fish on the 9th of Thoth and the sacrifice of pigs on the 15th of Pachon. Chapter IV considers the ritual of the illumination of lamps for the goddess Athena-Neith within and around houses on the 13th of Epeiph. Chapter V highlights the use of the house as an arena for social types of rituals associated with dining, birthdays, the mallokouria, the epikrisis, and marriage. Chapter VI explores the religious sphere of houses, which is obvious from domestic shrines, wall paintings with religious themes, and figurines of Egyptian and Graeco-Roman deities uncovered from houses. The last chapter deals with mourning rituals, which the house occupants performed after the demise of their beloved animals, such as dogs, and their family members. In the conclusion, I summarize my work and draw out its implications, suggesting that the house was the locus of social, religious, and funerary rituals in Graeco-Roman Egypt. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents List of Figures Acknowledgement Note to the Reader Chapter IThe Internal Division of Houses I.1. The aithrion-house I.2. The oikia dipurgia (two-towered house) I.3. Rural Houses I.4. Conclusion Figure 1. The ground plan of the house drawn in P.Oxy. XXIII.2406, the second century AD. Figure 2. Model of a house, Graeco-Roman period, British Museum, No. 2462. Figure 3. Model of a house, Graeco-Roman period, Cairo Museum. Figure 5. Alston’s Reconstruction of a Pharaonic house with two towers attached to the frontage. Figure 4. Tower-houses at Karanis. Figure 6. An oven in the courtyard of a house at Karanis. Figure 7. An olive press in the courtyard of a house at Karanis. Chapter IIThe Domestic Pylon II.1. Representations of Domestic Pylons in the Pharaonic Period II.2. Entranceways in Greek Papyri II.3. Other Domestic Entranceways II.4. The Architectural Layout of the Domestic Pylon II.5. The Use of the Domestic Pylon II.6. Conclusion Figure 8. The pylon of the Ptolemaic temple of Horus at Edfu. Figure 9. The two-towered pylon of the royal palace in the tomb of Meryra at Tell El-Amarna. Figure 10. The double-towered pylon of a palace in the Tomb of Meryra at Tell El-Amarna. Figure 11. Representation of an Egyptian villa in the tomb of Sennefer (TT 96). Figure 12. Reconstruction of an Egyptian villa in the tomb of Sennefer (TT 96). Figure 13. The propylon of the theatre at Antinoopolis in 1799. Figure 14. The Triumphal Arch at Antinoopolis in 1799. Figure 15. The propylon of the gymnasium at Cyrene. Chapter IIIRitual Activities Enacted Before the Front Door of Houses III.1. The Front Door of Houses III.2. The Sacrifice of Fish on 9 Thoth (Julian: 7/8 September) III.3. The Sacrifice of Pigs on 15 Pachon (Julian: 10 May) III.4. Conclusion Figure 16. The front door of House C68 at Karanis. Figure 17. The front door of House C50 in Karanis. Figure 18. The bolt-case of the front door of House C50 in Karanis. Figure 19. The entry and exit of a house at Karanis. Figure 20. A street in Karanis. Figure 21. The sacrifice of a hippopotamus on the inner ambulatory of Edfu temple. Chapter IVThe Illumination of Lamps (Lychnocaia) for Athena-Neith on 13 Epeiph (Julian: 24 June) IV.1. The Festival of Lamps in Herodotus’ Histories IV.2. Lamps in Ancient Egyptian Religion and Magic IV.3. Evidence for the Illumination of Lamps for Athena-Neith in Graeco-Roman Egypt IV.4. The Goddess Athena-Neith IV.5. The Symbolism of the Illumination of Lamps IV.6. The Illumination of Lamps: An Ethnic Perspective IV.7. Conclusion: Figure 22. Gardiner’s sign R7. Figure 23. An Egyptian floating wick saucer lamp found at Kom Hadid locus 7613. Figure 25. A terracotta Osiriform lamp found in House 11 at Karanis, Kelsey Museum 6478. Figure 24. Petosiris accompanied by a hieroglyphic inscription alluding to the Khoiak mysteries of Osiris. Figure 26. An Osiriform bronze lamp at the Museum of Hatay. Figure 27. Neith with her martial emblems, the bow and the arrows. Figure 28. The ensign of the Saite nome. Figure 29. Fully armed Athena on a third century AD Roman lamp. Figure 30. Lantern of helmeted Athena inside a Greek temple in the Museum of Alexandria. Figure 31. Lantern of Athena-Neith inside an Egyptian temple in the Louvre Museum. Figure 32. The domestic shrine with holes for holding lamps in House C119 at Karanis, Kelsey Museum Archives 812. Figure 33. The Thracian Heron and Isis suckling Harpocrates in House B50 at Karanis, Kelsey Museum Archive 5.2159. Chapter VThe House as Social Space V.1. Dining in the House V.2. Birthdays V.3. The Mallokouria V.4. The Epikrisis V.5. Marriage V.6. Conclusion Chapter VIThe House as Religious Space VI.1. Domestic shrines VI.2. Wall Paintings and Figurines VI.3. Conclusion Figure 34. A cupboard niche in a house at Karanis Figure 35. The domestic shrine in room B of House C60 at Karanis. Figure 36. The domestic shrine in house C71 at Karanis. Figure 37. Harpokrates and Tithoes on the south wall of alcove CF4 of House C65 at Karanis. Figure 38. Polis and Olympian deities watch the adultery of Aphrodite and Ares. Figure 39. Serenos and his family at a meal, accompanied by a flautist. Figure 40. Swaddled doll-figurine, 8 × 3 cm, Kelsey Museum, 26413. Figure 41. Terracotta figure of Isis-Hathor or Isis-Aphrodite, c. 300-100 BC, British Museum, 1888, 0601.110. Figure 42. Terracotta figure of female tambour player, c. AD 1-200. Figure 43. Pottery vessel marked ‘eulogia’, c. AD 100-300, British Museum, OA.9431. Chapter VIIThe House as Funerary Space VII.1. Mourning rituals for Dead Animals: the Case of Dogs VII.1.1. Animal Cult in Ancient Egypt VII.1.2. The Dog in the Myth of Isis and Osiris VII.1.3. Other Capabilities of Dogs VII.1.4. Dogs in the Dynastic Period VII.1.5. Dogs in the Graeco-Roman Period VII.1.5.1. Anubis/Hermes (Hermanubis) VII.1.5.2. The “Dog-headed One” in Greek Papyri VII.1.5.3. Anubis and the Lunar Disc of Osiris in Birth-houses (mammises) of Egyptian Temples VII.1.5.4. Mourning Rituals for Dead Dogs in Houses VII.1.6. Mummification and Burial in Sacred Hypogea VII.2. Mourning Rituals for Dead Humans VII.2.1. The Osirian Myth and Burial Rituals VII.2.2. Burial as Necessity and Obligation VII.2.3. The Egyptian Mode of Burial VII.2.3.1. The Ekphora VII.2.3.2. The Peristolē VII.2.3.3. The Kēdeia VII.2.3.4. The Apostolē and Beyond VII.2.3.5. The Tribunal VII.2.3.6. The Opening of the Mouth Ritual VII.2.3.7. The Funerary Banquet VII.3. Conclusion Figure 44. A dog beneath its master’s chair on a Ptolemaic situla in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Figure 45. A relief of the 5th Dynasty shows a dog catching a gazelle by the leg, while another attacks a hyena from the neck, the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Figure 46. A sketch of the 20th Dynasty shows a Pharaoh spearing a lion with the help of his dog, the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Figure 47. A Ptolemaic canine-headed anthropomorphic statuette of Anubis in the Metropolitan Museum of New York. Figure 48. A canine terracotta mask of Anubis. Figure 49. Dogs buried with children at Qasr Allam in the Bahariya oasis. Figure 50. The falcon/Horus and the dog/Anubis on a funerary stelea from Terenouthis (Kom Abu Bellou). Figure 51. An #X |Qr n=Ro stela. Figure 52. An anthropomorphic bust belonging to a domestic cult of the dead. Figure 53. A stela from Abydos showing a woman involved in worshipping an ancestral bust. Figure 54. The first century AD mummy-cupboard of Padikhons from Abusir el-Melek. Figure 55. The Opening of the Mouth ritual on the papyrus of Nesitanebisheru, the daughter of Pinedjem II, who died around 930 BC. General conclusion Appendix 1Catalogue of Roman-period Houses 1. Houses in the Fayum, the Arsinoite: 1.1. A sample of houses at Karanis (Kom Aushim): 1.1.1. House C42 1.1.2. House C43 1.1.3. House C45 1.1.4. House C50/51 1.1.10. House C68 1.1.5. House C56 1.1.6. House C57 1.1.7. House C59 1.1.8. House C60 1.1.9. House C62 1.1.11. House C71 1.1.12. House C119 1.2. Houses at Soknopaiou Nesos (Dimê): 1.2.1. House II 201 1.2.2. Houses II 202, II 203 and II 204 1.2.3. Houses on the West Area 1.3. Houses at Bacchias (Kom Umm el-Atl): 1.4. Houses at Philadelphia (Kom el-Kharab el-Kebir): 1.5. Houses at Tebtunis (Kom Umm el-Boreigat): 1.5.1. House No. 1100 1.5.2. House No. 3000 1.5.3. House No. 3200 1.10. Houses at Dionysias (Qasr Qarun): 1.6. Houses at Kom Medinet Ghoran: 1.7. Houses at Narmuthis (Kom Medinet Maadi): 1.8. Houses at Theadelphia (Kharabit Ihrit): 1.9. Houses at Euhemeria (Qasr el-Banat): 2. Houses in the Dakhla Oasis, the Thebaid: 2.1. Houses at Kellis (Ismant El-Kharab): 2.1.1. Houses Nos. 1, 2, and 3 2.1.2. House No. B/3/1 2.2. Houses at Trimithis (Amheida): 2.2.1. The House of Serenos 2.2.2. The House of Area 1 Bibliography Back Cover