REVIEW of Adam Łajtar, Deir el-Bahari in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods

Adam Łajtar, Deir el-Bahari in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: A Study of an Egyptian Temple Based on Greek Sources. The Journal of Juristic Papyrology, Suppl. IV. Warsaw: Institute of Archaeology, Warsaw University and Fundacja im. Rafala Taubenschlaga, 2006. Pp. xviii, 462; ills. 28. ISBN 10: 83-918250-3-5. ISBN 13: 978-83-918250-3-7. $119.00.

Reviewed by Gil H. Renberg, Washington University in St. Louis (grenberg@artsci.wustl.edu)
Word count: 3485 words

Few new publications should be of as much interest to scholars of ancient religion as epigraphical corpora devoted to the finds from individual sanctuaries, especially those sites omitted from our literary sources. Among these is the Egyptian sanctuary of Amenhotep son of Hapu and Imhotep at Deir el-Bahari, where a rich collection of scratched and painted wall inscriptions composed primarily in Greek and Demotic illuminates the beliefs and practices of those visiting the site during the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Late Antique periods. It is the 323 Greek graffiti and dipinti, representing roughly 60 percent of the surviving total, that are the subject of this outstandingly interesting and useful new corpus by Adam Łajtar. Łajtar (henceforth L.) has participated in Polish and Polish-Egyptian missions at Deir el-Bahari over a period of two decades, and the great investment of time both on site and in the library shows: the publication is an exemplary work that should be emulated by others undertaking work on a corpus of artifacts linked to a particular site, whether inscribed or uninscribed.
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Adam LAJTAR, Deir El-Bahari in the Hellenistic and Roman periods : a study of an Egyptian temple based on Greek sources

The temple of Queen Hantshepsut at Deir el-Bahari at Luxor is one of the most fascinating architectural monuments of Ancient Egypt. It has been explored and reconstructed by Polish archaeologists for several decades and the present volume is the most recent result of these activities. The author tracks the history of the sanctuary in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods when it housed a lively cult of two Ancient Egyptian "saints", the deified sages Amenhotep son of Hapu and Imhotep. The book contains the complete edition of Greek sources connected to this cult, including 320 inscriptions left by pilgrims on the walls of the temple, as well as several ostraca and votive monuments. On the basis of this material, different aspects of the cult are discussed in a synthetic part of the book. These include: the topography of the cult and its history; gods worshipped in the temple; forms of the cult; the economic side of the cult; the visitors of the temple. The study closes with a chapter devoted to Deir el-Bahari in the Late Antique period when the place was frequented by a pagan corporation of ironworkers from Hermonthis. c. 500p, c. 300 illus (Journal of Juristic Papyrology Supplements 4, 2006)
Book xviii, 462 p., [13] p. of plates : ill., plans ; 30 cm.
Warsaw : Institute of Archaeology, Warsaw and Fundacja im. Rafala Taubenschlaga, ; ISBN: 8391825035 (hbk.)

Source: WorldCat OCLC: 70881587