Egyptianizing Figurines from Delos

Caitlín E. Barrett, Ph.D. (2009) in Anthropology (Archaeology), Yale University, is Assistant Professor of Classics at Cornell University. Her recent publications address Egyptianizing cults in the Hellenistic Mediterranean, Egypto-Minoan trade, and Mesopotamian mortuary practices.

• Front MatterList of TablesList of PlatesAcknowledgmentsChapter 1. Introduction: Egyptianizing Cult at a Crossroads of Hellenistic Trade1.1. Introduction1.2. Ptolemaic Activity on Delos1.3. “Egyptian Cult” or “Egyptian Cults”?1.4. Contextual Analysis1.5. Fabric Analysis1.6. Technological Style1.7. Organization of the Text1.8. Religious Syncretism and HybridityChapter 2. Fabric Analysis: Evidence for the Local Origins of the Majority ofEgyptianizing Figurines on Delos2.1. Introduction: Local Production versus Imports2.2. Methodology2.2.1. Research Methods: Tools and Terminology2.2.2. Selection of Comparanda from the Cairo Museum and the Athenian Agora2.2.3. Presentation of Fabric Groups2.3. Egyptian Coroplastic Fabrics: Greco-Roman-Era Terracottas from the Cairo Museum2.3.1. Introduction to the Cairo Museum Corpus2.3.2. Categorization of Egyptian Pottery Types2.3.3. Fabrics of the Greco-Roman-Era Terracotta Figurines in the Cairo Museum2.4. Greek Coroplastic Fabrics: Hellenistic Terracottas from the Athenian Agora2.4.1. Introduction to the Athenian Corpus2.4.2. Reddish Attic Fabrics2.4.3. Blond “Aeginetan” Fabrics2.4.4. Other Imported Fabrics2.5. Coroplastic Fabrics from Hellenistic Delos2.5.1. Introduction2.5.2. Sampling Methodology2.5.3. Reddish “Cycladic” Fabrics Associated with Local Production2.5.4. Imported Fabrics on Delos2.6. Fabric Analysis: ConclusionsChapter 3. Manufacturing Techniques, Technological Style, and the Question ofEgyptian Coroplasts on Delos3.1. Introduction3.2. Methodology3.3. Establishing the Unique Characteristics of Egyptian Coroplastic Techniques: AComparison of Technological Style in Figurines from the Cairo Museum and the Athenian Agora3.3.1. Fabric Preparation: Selection of Tempering Material3.3.2. Shaping of the Figurine: Molding and Appliqués3.3.3. Reworking: Trimming, Retouch, and Retooling3.3.4. Removal of Surface Irregularities: Smoothing and Application of Slip3.3.5. Post-Firing Manufacturing Techniques: Limewash, Painting, and Repair3.3.6. Conclusions: Distinguishing Egyptian from Greek (Athenian) ManufacturingTechniques3.4. Coroplastic Manufacturing Techniques on Delos3.4.1. Fabric Preparation: Selection of Tempering Material3.4.2. Shaping of the Figurine: Molding and Appliqués3.4.3. Reworking: Trimming, Retouch, and Retooling3.4.4. Removal of Surface Irregularities: Smoothing and Application of Slip3.4.5. Post-firing Manufacturing Techniques: Limewash, Painting, and Repair3.5. ConclusionsChapter 4. The Eye of the Sun and the Inundation of the Nile: Iconographic Evidencefor Egyptian Theology on Delos4.1. Introduction4.1.1. A New Perspective on Religious Syncretism within the Household4.1.2. Inundation Festivals in Egypt4.1.3. Textual and Architectural Evidence for “Nile Water” on Delos4.2. Depictions of Deities Identified with the Returning Goddess4.2.1. Depictions of deities identified with the returning goddess (1): Isis4.2.1.1. Isis and the Solar Eye4.2.1.2. Heads with Isiac Crowns4.2.1.3. Figurines with Isiac Costume4.2.1.4. Figurines with Corkscrew Curls4.2.2. Depictions of Deities Identified with the Returning Goddess (2): “OrientalAphrodite”4.2.2.1. “Oriental Aphrodite” figurines4.2.2.2. “Oriental Aphrodite” Heads with Elaborate Coiffures, Often Incorporating Vegetal Elements4.2.2.3. Clothed “Oriental Aphrodite” Bodies with Central Medallion on Chest4.2.2.4. Nude Female Figurines Wearing Crossed Chains and Central Medallions4.2.2.5. Male Figurines with Crossed Chains and Central Medallion4.2.2.6. Higgins’ First Subgroup of “Oriental Aphrodite” Figurines: AnArgument for Eliminating Them from the “Oriental Aphrodite” Category4.2.3. Depictions of Deities Identified with the Returning Goddess (3): Sothic Dogs4.2.4. Depictions of Deities Identified with the Returning Goddess (4): Arsinoe II4.2.4.1. Ptolemaic Queens, Ptolemaic Royal Cult, and the Solar Eye4.2.4.2. Double Cornucopiae4.2.4.3. Figurines with the Portrait Features of Arsinoe II4.2.5. Depictions of Deities Identified with the Returning Goddess: Summary4.3. Sexual Imagery and the Inundation as Hieros Gamos4.3.1. Sexual Imagery and Inundation Festivals in Egypt4.3.2. Ithyphallic Harpocrates4.3.3. Figurines of So-Called “Baubo” Type4.3.3.1. The Isiac/Hathoric Symbolism of the So-Called “Baubo” Figurines4.3.3.2. So-Called “Baubo” (Isiac/Hathoric) Standard Type4.3.3.3. Male Variant of the “Baubo” Type4.3.4. Divine Pair with Cornucopiae (Perhaps Agathos Daimon and AgatheTyche/Shai and Renenutet)4.3.4.1. Egyptian Parallels for A56224.3.4.2. Paired Deities with Cornucopiae in Greek Art4.3.4.3. Egyptian Images of Anguiform Paired Deities4.3.4.4. Agathos Daimon in Greek Iconography4.3.4.5. Agathos Daimon and Shai4.3.4.6. Agathe Tyche and Renenutet4.3.4.7. Political Implications of Paired Serpentine Deities4.3.4.8. Paired Serpentine Deities and the Hieros Gamos of the New Year4.3.4.9. A5622 and the Delian Cult of Agathe Tyche and Agathos Daimon4.3.5. Sexual Imagery and Hieros Gamos: Summary4.4. Birth of the New Solar Child: Figurines of Harpocrates4.4.1. The Birth of the Solar Child4.4.2. Harpocrates with Double Crown4.4.3. Harpocrates with Sidelock, Imported, Perhaps Archaic or Based on an ArchaicPatrix4.4.4. Solarized Harpocrates Figurines: Harpocrates Seated in a Flower or Wearing aRadiate Crown4.4.5. Heads of Pataikoi and Nubians with Harpocratic Lotus Buds4.4.6. Figurines of Harpocrates: Summary4.5. Nubians and the Entourage of the Returning Goddess4.5.1. Representations of Nubians in the Greco-Roman World4.5.2. Dancing or Singing Nubians with Festival Wreaths, and a General Discussionof Nubian Terracottas on Delos4.5.3. Head of a Possible Nubian Cultic Functionary of Harpocrates4.5.4. Nubians, Possibly Dwarfs, Adopting a Bes-like Posture4.5.5. Images of Nubians: Summary4.6. Bes and Related Dwarf Deities (Ptah-Pataikos)4.6.1. Representations of Bes4.6.1.1. Bes and the Hathoric Sphere4.6.1.2. Armed Bes4.6.1.3. Bes-Silenos4.6.2. Representations of Ptah-Pataikos4.6.3. Dwarf Deities: Summary4.7. Plastic Vases and Depictions of Water or Wine Vessels4.7.1. Figurines Holding or Leaning on Vessels4.7.2. Plastic Vases4.7.2.1. Plastic Vases as Containers for Water or Wine4.7.2.2. Plastic Vases Possibly Designed to Hold Perfume4.7.3. Figurines Carrying or Taking the Form of Vessels: Summary4.8. Dionysos Botrys4.9. Herms Representing Hermes-Thoth4.10. Flowers and Floral Wreaths4.11. Pharaonic Predecessors for Ptolemaic and Roman-Period Egyptian Terracottas4.11.1. Hathoric Figurines4.11.2. Prunkgefässe4.11.3. Faience Figurines4.11.4. Textual References to Clay Figurines4.11.5. Summary: Pharaonic Precedents4.11.6. Excursus: Parallels in Two-Dimensional Greco-Roman Art (“Nilotic Scenes”)4.12. ConclusionsChapter 5. A Contextual Analysis of the Findspots of Egyptian and EgyptianizingTerracotta Figurines on Delos5.1. Introduction5.2. Methodology5.2.1. Sampling Methodology5.2.2. Conventions for the Citation of Unpublished Material5.3. Figurines from Private Houses5.3.1. Figurines from Private Houses: Introduction5.3.2. Egyptianizing Terracottas from the Theater Quarter5.3.3. An Egyptianizing Terracotta from the Stadium Quarter5.3.4. An Egyptianizing Terracotta from the Inopos Quarter5.3.5. An Egyptianizing Terracotta from a House near the Port5.3.6. An Egyptianizing Terracotta from the Lake Quarter5.3.7. An Egyptianizing terracotta from the Post-Hellenistic Houses at the Northwestof the Hypostyle Hall5.3.8. Household Ritual and the Possibility of Domestic Shrines5.3.9. Figurines from Private Houses: Summary5.4. Figurines from Streets in Residential Areas5.4.1. Egyptianizing Figurines from Streets in the Lake Quarter5.4.2. Egyptianizing Figurines from Streets in the Theater Quarter5.4.3. An Egyptianizing Figurine from the “Street of the East”5.4.4. Figurines from Streets: a General Discussion5.4.4.1. The Possible Origins of Figurines from Streets5.4.4.2. Ancient Looters, the Evidence for Repair of Figurines, and the Valuation of Terracotta Objects5.5. Figurines from Ambiguous Contexts within Residential Districts5.6. Figurines from Coroplastic Workshops5.6.1. Introduction: Coroplastic Workshops on Delos5.6.2. Local Production of Egyptianizing Figurines: Imported Patrices versus Locally-Made Patrices5.6.3. Dating of the Coroplastic Workshops5.6.4. Distribution of Mold Siblings of Figurines from the Delian Workshops5.6.5. Presence of Egyptianizing and Non-Egyptianizing Figurines in the SameWorkshops5.6.5.1. Greek, Egyptian, and Anatolian Imagery in the Workshops5.6.5.2. Greek, Egyptian, and Anatolian Coroplastic Imagery in the OverallCoroplastic Corpus from Delos5.7. Figurines from Other Commercial Establishments: Shops in the Agora of the Italians and Elsewhere5.7.1. Egyptianizing Figurines from Non-Coroplastic Shops in the Agora of theItalians5.7.2. Egyptianizing Figurines from Shops in the Inopos Quarter5.7.3. Figurines from Streets: The Possibility that Some May Have Originated inShops as Well as Domestic Contexts5.8. Egyptian Figurines from Graves on Rheneia5.9. Egyptianizing Figurines from Non-Egyptianizing Sanctuaries5.9.1. Introduction: Sanctuary Contexts5.9.2. An Egyptianizing Figurine Possibly Originating from a Dionysiac Chapel5.9.3. Egyptianizing Terracottas from the Kabirion/Samothrakeion5.9.3.1. The Delian Sanctuary, the Kabeiroi, and the Great Gods of Samothrace5.9.3.2. Egyptianizing Dwarf-Gods in the Kabirion/Samothrakeion5.9.3.3. Evidence for A1758’s Having Been in Situ5.9.3.4. Religious Syncretism between Egyptian Dwarf-Gods and the Kabeiroi5.9.4. An Egyptianizing Terracotta from the Synagogue5.9.5. An Egyptianizing Terracotta from the Archegesion5.9.6. Egyptianizing Figurines from the Sanctuary of Apollo5.10. Figurines from Ambiguous or Unknown Contexts5.10.1. Egyptianizing Figurines with No Contextual Information5.10.2. An Egyptianizing Figurine from a Clearly Secondary Context (Cistern)5.10.3. Egyptianizing Figurines with Ambiguous or Imprecise Findspots5.11. Figurines from Fill or Discard Contexts5.12. Figurines from the Sarapeia5.12.1. Figurines from the Sarapeia: An Introduction to the Data5.12.2. Catalog of Figurines from Sarapeion A and Sarapeion C5.12.3. Non-Egyptianizing Nature of the Figurines’ Iconography5.12.4. Henotheism and Syncretism in the Sarapeia5.12.5. A1983 and the Apparent Absence of Sarapis from the Delian CoroplasticCorpus5.13. ConclusionsChapter 6. Conclusions: Syncretic Theology in Household Cult6.1. Greco-Egyptian Religious Syncretism as a Meaningful Exchange of Ideas6.2. “Personal Piety”6.3. Egyptian Religious Festivals: Between Temple Ritual and Popular Cult6.4. Hathor in Pharaonic Egypt, Isis in the Late Period, and the Role of Inundation Imagery on Delos6.5. Producers, Consumers, and Differing Degrees of Religious Knowledge6.5.1. Producers, Consumers, and the Reinterpretation of Meaning6.5.2. Who Designed the Figurines’ Iconography?6.6. Top-Down and Bottom-Up Influences on Egyptianizing Cult on Delos6.6.1. Egyptianizing Figurines and the Ptolemaic State6.6.2. Trade and the Isis Cult6.7. Delos in Context6.8. Cosmopolitanism in the HouseholdAppendix A. Timeline of Delian HistoryAppendix B. Catalog of Egyptian and Egyptianizing Terracotta Figurines and PlasticVases from Hellenistic DelosAppendix C. List of Unpublished Field Notes CitedBibliography