Greek-Egyptian Cultural and Religious Interactions during the Saite 26th Dynasty (7th-6th centuries BC)

UID/HIS/04666/2019 DL 57/2016/CP1453/CT0023This paper aims to approach the cross-cultural contacts between Egypt and the Greek world during the 26th Egyptian “Saite” Dynasty (664 – 525 BC). It shall deal with archaeological and literary sources in order to debate the dynamics of the Greek-Egyptian intercultural relations from the religious perspective. Polytheistic societies such as ancient Greek and Egyptian are familiar to the phenomenon of “translating” foreign gods and pantheons. Such translation of Greek gods into Egyptian equivalents and vice versa depends on previous awareness of the other’s culture. The acceptance that a given god is the representative of a universal force, rather than a mere cultural element, promotes mutual tolerance and respect. What we may call “interpretatio graeca” or “interpretatio aegyptica” are the product of intercultural relations that can be analyzed under an anthropological perspective of its iconographic and linguistic elements. Thus, this paper will explore the religious affinity developed between Greeks and Egypt en face a new reality of military and diplomatic ties promoted by the pharaohs of the Saite Dynasty.publishersversionpublishe