The Graeco-Aegyptiaca online seminar started in January 2022 with papers given monthly by established scholars in the field of Egyptian and Greek cultural relations. The fourth season's second event „The Egyptian Snake-Gods: Meaning and Use of a Series of Stone Stelai” was held by Richard Veymiers (Musée Royal de Mariemont) on 26 November 2024.
Since 2020, the Royal Museum of Mariemont exhibits an Egyptian marble stela dated from the Imperial period that presents a scene in bas-relief depicting Harpokrates between a couple of snake-gods. This artifact, purchased in 1879 by the City of Anvers in a Masonic atmosphere, belongs to a series of Egyptian stelai of similar size and format depicting a couple of snakes often identified as “Isis-Thermuthis” and “Serapis-Agathos Daimon”. However, are such modern labels really relevant? Do they properly reflect the antique realities? This lecture will explore the materiality, anthropology and biography of these artifacts that could have been perceived and used in various ways depending on the contexts and circumstances.
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Graeco-Aegyptiaca is a collaborative initiative by colleagues in the fields of Egyptology and Classics based in Hungary and the United Kingdom. The project aims to bring together researchers interested in the history of cultural interaction between Egyptians and Greeks from the very beginning to the Byzantine period.
Further information:
University College London - [ Ссылка ]
The Palladion - [ Ссылка ]
