What is the extent, and reasons for, the Ancient fascination with Egypt?

Book II of The Histories relates myths, legends, tales and even gossip, but this is material that arguably ‘even the most scientific historian would have had to consider, since it was the type of information that was available’. Herodotus often includes what he perceives as unreliable speculations; ‘The third explanation [concerning the waters of the Nile], which is very much more plausible than either of the others, is positively the furthest from the truth; for there is really nothing in what it says, any more than in the other theories’. It is merely unfortunate that Herodotus did not record many details we would like to know while including digressions of an often dubious nature, yet some details of his records are incomparable eyewitness accounts. On the history of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664-525 BC) he is the 'best ancient source'. Modern archaeology continues to prove that much of what he said about this period was true.

Herodotus’ aim in his travels was arguably to put his native Greece in an international context, so ‘his writings were never meant to be objective history’. Though throughout Book II Herodotus shows himself as an ‘unbiased and critical observer’, including information from many sources: ‘I got much other information also from conversation with these priests while I was at Memphis, and I even went to Heliopolis and to Thebes, expressly to try whether the priests of those places would agree in their accounts with the priests at Memphis’. Herodotus describes all customs and habits without ‘any trace of bias’. Although he is undoubtedly proud to be a Greek and sometimes expresses his surprise about foreign customs, he does not criticise them. After his death, some of his fellows were to accuse Herodotus of 'philobarbarism' – love of foreigners.

Although sometimes he errs, Herodotus is ultimately a good historian. His observation of the Nile valley as an alluvium for example, is deemed by some as a ‘scientific triumph’; his discussion of the cause of the inundation of this river, as ‘exemplary’. Also by comparing with cuneiform texts almost every Persian name that Herodotus mentions, we learn that each one matches a real name. For example, Herodotus names the Persian leaders Cyrus, Cambyses, Hystaspes, Darius I the Great, Xerxes and Artaxerxes I Makrocheir; these are the Greek equivalents of Kurush, Kambujiya, Vishtaspa, Darayavaush, Khshayarsha and Artakhshaça. Courtiers receive plausible names as well. Though this gives little guarantee of the reliability of his records concerning Egypt, it at least demonstrates that Herodotus does require to be taken seriously as a historical writer.

The focuses of Book II show a distinct fascination with three aspects of Egypt; their culture, religion and the mystery of the Pharaohs. Aspects which other ancient travellers to the country also demonstrate a keen curiosity in.

‘Concerning Egypt itself I shall extend my remarks to a great length, because there is no country that possesses so many wonders, nor any that has such a number of works which defy description’ (Herodotus, The Histories, Book II.35, p138)

The structures of Ancient Egypt had a mystery that seemed to capture the imagination of all those who visited the land, whether traveller or emperor. In his description of the labyrinth, a mortuary building and palace built by Amenemhet III, (discovered in 1888 by Petrie), Herodotus shows his enthusiasm for Egyptian architecture; ‘The pyramids are astonishing structures…but the labyrinth surpasses them all…Inside, the building is of two storeys and contains 3000 rooms, of which half are under-ground and the other half above them…It is hard to believe they are all work of men. The baffling and winding corridors from room to room and courtyard to courtyard were an endless wonder to me’. The emperor Hadrian liked the Egyptian style so much he recreated it in Rome; Hadrian's Villa at Tibur (Tivoli) was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating the ancient sacred landscape. He is also known to have taken a personal interest in the antiquities, and had some of them taken home to Italy to enhance his villa.

        One of the greatest structures known in the Ancient World was the Great Pyramid of Giza, built for the Pharaoh Khufu (or Cheops to the Greeks) who was the second King of the Fourth Dynasty (c.2575-c. 2465 BC). Herodotus’ account of the Great Pyramid is recorded in great detail, describing the expansive structure and its construction – ‘A hundred thousand men laboured constantly, and were relieved every three months by a fresh lot’. This is not implausible, but archaeologists now tend to believe a more limited workforce may have occupied the site without the need for shifts, perhaps as few as 20,000 workers. The enormity of the Great Pyramid placed all other monuments of the time into insignificance. Herodotus marvels at the cost of ‘1600 talents of silver’ and the huge undertaking of building such an expansive structure – ‘it is square, eight hundred feet each way, and the height the same, built entirely of polished stone, fitted together with the utmost care. The stones of which it is composed are none of them less than thirty feet in length’.

Strabo (c.63 BC – c. AD 21), Greek historian and geographer spent several years in Alexandria and visited Upper Egypt. He describes the tourist attractions of the day, such as the Colossi of Memnon and the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, of which he wrote: 'Above the Memnonium [the Ramesseum], are the tombs of the kings, which are hewn in stone, are about 40 in number, are marvellously constructed, and a spectacle worth seeing'.

Graffiti inscribed by the tourists of antiquity bear witness to the interest aroused by Egypt's buildings and monuments during the Roman period. An example of this is the verse carved on the statue of Amenhotep III by Julia Balbilla, a poetess in the imperial court at the time of Hadrian, which praises Memnon and the emperor. Paramount among these monuments were the obelisks inscribed with hieroglyphs, which the Romans could not decipher. This fascination resulted in the erection of a dozen large and small examples in Rome. The Roman Emperors commissioned the first obelisks since the Twenty-sixth Dynasty.

These structures continued to intrigue visitors and played a large part in stimulating interest in Egypt from the Renaissance onwards. The latest ancient inscription on an obelisk is on the smallest of the giant obelisks, at 9.25 metres; this was set up under the emperor Hadrian at the temple of his lover Antinous in Rome. The early Roman Emperors, including Augustus, used the obelisk for their own new imperial cult: Augustus had obelisks moved from Heliopolis to Alexandria, and an obelisk set up at the centre of a vast sundial, aligned with his own tomb where there was also an obelisk. The whole complex presents ‘a remarkable fusion of Pharaonic and Roman architectural and engineering design’. The incorporation of these Eastern elements demonstrates not only a superficial liking of Egyptian construction, but also an interest in the mysterious rites of the Egyptians.

This element of the mystical is central to their fascination with the country. Arrian, a Greek historian and philosopher of the Roman period recorded one such example of this curiosity of the divine. His works preserve the philosophy of Epictetus, and include an important account of Alexander the Great, the Anabasis of Alexander. He records his visit to the Temple of the Oracle, built on the rock of Aghurmi:

‘... [Alexander] suddenly found himself passionately eager to visit the shrine of Ammon [Amun] in Libya. One reason was his wish to consult the oracle there, as it had a reputation for infallibility and also because Perseus and Herakles were supposed to have consulted it' (Arrian, Life of Alexander (trans. Aubrey de Selincourt) London, 1958)

Though Alexander sought confirmation of his own divinity, believing to be descended from Ammun, the consultation with the oracle symbolises the recognition of the powers and abilities of the Egyptian seers. Herodotus is often criticised for his use of oracles in his work The Histories; 'my judgement as to the extent of Egypt is confirmed by an oracle delivered at the shrine of Ammon', yet this reflects an important aspect of their way of life, and displays an open-mindedness that is essential in the pursuit of an unbiased history.

Religion (2.123 p188 – the immortal soul)

From earliest times, Egypt has been the home of religious thought, with evidence for belief in the Afterlife dating back to the Predynastic Period. According to Herodotus the Egyptians were ‘the first to broach the opinion, that the soul is immortal’, a great doctrine of the Egyptians and their belief in it is everywhere proclaimed in the paintings of the tombs. Herodotus claims that 'almost all the names of the gods came into Greece from Egypt', immediately presenting Egypt as a land of superior spiritual understanding. Egyptians are deemed 'religious to excess, far beyond any other race of men'. The descriptions of the festivals, sacrifices and rituals of famous temples such as Memphis, Sais, Heliopolis, contain within them a sense of deep fascination. With in-depth accounts Herodotus was keen to uncover the reasoning and belief behind each rite and celebration. Yet he demonstrates a respect for them; Herodotus knows more about the Egyptian religion than he finds proper to write down - 'what they told me concerning their religion it is not my intention to repeat, except the names of their deities, which I believe all men know equally'. He claims to possess knowledge of the sufferings and death of Osiris which were a great mystery of the Egyptian Religion, but refuses to divulge this information; ‘On this lake it is that the Egyptians represent by night his sufferings whose name I refrain from mentioning and this representation they call their Mysteries’.  He states that ‘I know well the whole course of the proceedings in these ceremonies, but they shall not pass my lips’.  The portion of the mysteries however imparted to strangers, as to Herodotus, Plutarch, and others, and even Pythagoras, was limited; and the more important secrets were not even revealed to all the priests, but to those only who were the most ‘approved’ or devoted.  This guarding of religious secrets was only to arouse curiosity amongst travellers.

Despite changes that were introduced in many sectors of Egypt and Egyptian life after the conquest of Alexander the Great, Egypt retained the majority of its customs which were often adopted by foreign rulers, such as the Ptolemies. Interwoven with their religion, the diverse Egyptian culture contained traditions descended from the times of the Pharaohs, and inspired much speculation and description amongst travellers:

‘Not only is the climate different from that of the rest of the world, and the rivers unlike any other rivers, but the people also, in most manners and customs, exactly reverse the common practice of mankind’ (Herodotus, The Histories, Book II.35, p138)

In many instances Herodotus depicts, in the opinions of Greek and Roman citizens, a backward society; ‘the women attend markets and trade while the men sit at home at the loom’ (Book II.35). He even goes as far to claim ‘the women urinate standing up, the men sitting down’ (Book II.35). This is a strange description: everything Herodotus describes in this section of Book II is the reversal of a custom that existed in Greece. Some contemporaries give the following explanation: ‘the ancient Greeks believed that the barbarians on the edges of the earth were the opposite of the civilized people in the middle of the terrestrial disk’. Therefore, despite recording customs of Egypt, Herodotus' description tells a lot more about ancient Greece than about the Egyptians. The perception of these people however, whether true or false, shows an insight into the reasons for this ancient fascination; being so different from themselves, the Greeks and Romans, though perhaps in some aspects treating the Egyptians with contempt and ridicule, are intrigued by a wealthy, successful society unlike their own.

The land itself is a geographers' paradise: 'the Romantic landscape of the Nile, with its magnificent antiquities set among the palms of the fertile valley, and the allure of the barren desert stretching away to the horizon never fail to capture the hearts and minds of visitors'. The Ancient historian Strabo produced The Geography, an extensive work in Greek, spanning 17 volumes, covering the entire world known to the Greeks and Romans of his time. In Book XVII he describes Egypt in great depth; the Nile in particular, is a great focus due to its importance to the region and it being unlike all other rivers. The cause of the rising water levels are much debated both in Herodotus' Histories and Strabos' Geography, in the latters' description he consults Homer; 'And back again to the land of Aegyptus, heaven-fed river'; which to some critics is a major flaw - 'a constant and very intrusive defence of the poet Homer as a geographical source, leading Strabo to dismiss more recent writers, such as Herodotus, who were often eyewitnesses to what they reported'. Another flaw is his preoccupation with minute, often argumentative, criticism of other writers. 'One would prefer more geography and less argumentation'. Yet despite this it is clear that Egypt was a land which received, and was deserving of, much appreciation from travellers across the Ancient world.

Through reading and evaluating Ancient sources the reasoning behind the fascination with Egypt, though not fully discovered, has been glimpsed. Its origins in the Greek and Roman world remain complex, with many aspects of the Ancient Egyptian culture, religion and beliefs influencing a wide-spread interest in the Greek and Roman world; its mystery provoking much discussion and investigation amongst the leading academics of the time.

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Bibliography:

Websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographica_(Strabo)

http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus01.htm

http://classics.mit.edu/Herodotus/history.2.ii.html

http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/architecture/obelisks.html

www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/persianwars1.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Text/Strabo/17A1*.html

W. Kendrick Pritchett, The Liar School of Herodotos, Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben, 1993 cited in http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1994/94.04.10.html

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/egypt/giza-pyramids.htm

Books:

Herodotus, The Histories, (trans. George Rawlinson), David Campbell Publishers Ltd, 1997

Christine Hobson, Exploring the World of the Pharaohs, A Complete Guide to Ancient Egypt, 1987

Lorna Oakes, Pyramids, Temples and Tombs of Ancient Egypt, An Illustrated Atlas of the Land of the Pharaohs,

Higginbottom, Greek and Roman Literature

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About 300 more words needed.  You need to give some more detail of some of the examples of the authors, especially Herodotus.

Make use of your footnotes to go back to the original texts and find these further examples.

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