Stela of C. Cornelius Gallus from Philae. Example of mixed tradition in Egypt in Roman times (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject History - World History - Early and Ancient History, grade: A, University of Wroclaw, language: English, abstract: Stela of C. Cornelius Gallus from Philae is an unique example of of mixed tradition in Egypt in Roman times. The aim of this paper is to analyze the presented motifs, which belonged to three different traditions: Hellenistic, Egyptian and Roman.

In the 30 BC, after the death of Cleopatra VII, the last representative of the Lagid dynasty, Octavian August annexed the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Roman Empire. The new province had to be managed in accordance with the conventions adopted in the Empire. Incorporating in Roman structures also designated cultural exchange. At this time Egypt was a conglomerate of two different traditions: Alexandrian art, which drew inspiration from Hellenistic Greek art and tipically Egiptian Ptolemaic art. Roman tradition was the third factor, which had a signifficant impact on Egyptian art and religion during Roman rule. Emperors and officials tried to graft their tradition into appropriated areas, but also made use of the Egiptian expertise. The example of such combination of traditions could be the trilingual stela of C. Cornelius Gallus founded in Philae.