Of Gods and men

research on the Egyptian Temple from the New Kingdom to the Graeco-Roman Period

Fernández Pichel, Abraham Ignacio

The present volume contains a total of eight articles which, in their thematic diversity, demonstrate the multiplicity of possible analyses to the Egyptian temple as an object of study. Among the different issues addressed, special attention is paid to the virtual reconstruction of certain areas of the temple of Karnak, as well as to the accessibility of sorne of its spaces by ritualists and the population in general. The example of the site of Sikait, in the Eastern Desert, then allows for an analysis of the architecture of the different cult spaces of this important Roman mining centre. The study of the parietal inscriptions of the Graeco-Roman temples reveals the use of different theologies recreated through both texts and images. In the New Kingdom, the decoration of the Theban temples on the West Bank allows us to explore aspects as diverse as the essential functionality of sorne of the motifs represented, in the specific case of the so-called 1 historical reliefs' of Deir el-Bahari, and the observation of intertextual practices, which sometimes even date back to testimonies from the Old Kingdom. Finally, the study of the priesthood of Memphis and the family lineages of its high priests during the Late Egyptian period brings us closer to the personnel responsible for the cultic and organisational tasks of the temple domains.