RLMgB554 The spread of ancient Egyptian cults across the ancient Mediterranean

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Tomáš Glomb, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Tomáš Glomb, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Kristýna Čižmářová
Supplier department: Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Wednesday 14:00–15:40 J.509, except Wed 17. 4.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 5/30, only registered: 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course illustrates the environment of the Hellenistic world, in which the boundaries between the Egyptian and Greek pantheon diminished after the campaign of Alexander the Great. It describes the processes and mechanisms through which the originally Egyptian cults made their way into the cultural sphere of ancient Greece and, subsequently, Rome. It introduces Egyptian cosmogonies, cosmologies, and myths, and illustrates their interconnection with Greek counterparts. The course also addresses methods for the study of syncretic processes in the Hellenistic period, an issue still open and not fully researched in the academic discussion.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- orient themselves in the basic mythologies related to ancient Egypt;
- deepen their knowledge of the syncretic processes of the Hellenistic Greco-Roman world;
- recognize the diverse factors impacting the spread of ancient cults;
- describe the basic mechanisms of innovative methods in the study of cultural transmission in the ancient Mediterranean.
Syllabus
  • Religion in ancient Egypt: cosmogony and cosmology, their parallels in ancient Greece
  • Alexander the Great in Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty: legitimation of rulers, relationship to Greek and Egyptian deities, political development
  • Sarapis: the origin of the deity and his worship in the Hellenistic world
  • Isis: cult and its spread (a digital humanities perspective) I
  • Isis: cult and its spread (historical, political, and economic context)
  • Egyptian cults in Rome
Literature
    recommended literature
  • GLOMB, Tomáš. Connecting the Isiac Cults : Formal Modeling in the Hellenistic Mediterranean. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022, 192 pp. Scientific Studies of Religion: Inquiry and Explanation. ISBN 978-1-350-21069-1. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781350210721. URL info
  • GLOMB, Tomáš, Adam MERTEL, Zdeněk POSPÍŠIL and Aleš CHALUPA. Ptolemaic political activities on the west coast of Hellenistic Asia Minor had a significant impact on the local spread of the Isiac cults : A spatial network analysis. PLOS ONE. San Francisco: Public Library of Science, 2020, vol. 15, No 4, p. 1-20. ISSN 1932-6203. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230733. URL info
  • BAINES, John, Leonard H. LESKO and David P. SILVERMAN. Náboženství ve starověkém Egyptě : bohové, mýty a náboženská praxe. Edited by Byron E. Shafer. 1. vyd. Neratovice: Verbum, 2009, 237 s. ISBN 9788090392014. info
  • Religions of the ancient world : a guide. Edited by Sarah Iles Johnston. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2004, xvii, 697. ISBN 0674015177. info
  • WITT, R. E. Isis in the ancient world. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997, 336 s. ISBN 0801856426. info
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussions, micro assignments
Assessment methods
Lecture, seminar
Colloquium
Requirements for colloquium:
- active participation in seminar discussions - submission of 2-3 micro assignments
Colloquium - discussion based on reading a selected study
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujících
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2024/RLMgB554