Author Description
A Colossal Statue, Originally Built To Honour An Ancient Pharaoh, Still Stands Today In Egyptian Thebes, With More Than A Hundred Greek And Latin Inscriptions Covering Its Lower Surfaces. Partially Damaged By An Earthquake, And Later Re-identified As The Homeric Hero Memnon, It Was Believed To 'speak' Regularly At Daybreak. By The Middle Of The First Century Ce, Tourists Flocked To The Colossus Of Memnon To Hear The Miraculous Sound, And Left Behind Their Marks Of Devotion (proskynemata): Brief Acknowledgments Of Having Heard Memnon's Cry; Longer Lists By Roman Administrators; And More Elaborate Elegiac Verses By Both Amateur And Professional Poets. This Text Is The First Critical Assessment Of All The Inscriptions Considered In Their Social, Cultural, And Historical Context. Reading The Colossus: The Memnon Inscriptions -- Worshipping The Colossus: Sacred Tourism At Thebes -- Talking With The Colossus: The Rhetoric Of Address -- Homeric Memnon -- Sapphic Memnon -- Modern Memnon. Patricia A. Rosenmeyer. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the cultural and social significance of the Greek and Latin inscriptions etched into the Colossus of Memnon in ancient Thebes. Patricia A. Rosenmeyer, a scholar of classical literature, utilizes these epigraphic records to reconstruct the experience of ancient tourists who visited the site. By analyzing the content of these inscriptions, the author argues that the statue served as a focal point for religious devotion, literary expression, and Roman administrative identity during the first century CE.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A comprehensive catalog and critical assessment of over one hundred Greek and Latin inscriptions.
- Analysis of the rhetorical strategies used by visitors to address the statue.
- Examination of the intersection between Homeric tradition and local Egyptian religious practices.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide an exhaustive architectural history of the statue's construction.
- It does not cover the entirety of Egyptian epigraphy outside the specific context of the Memnon Colossus.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars recognize this text as a primary resource for understanding the intersection of classical literature and ancient tourism. Experts frequently note the meticulous nature of the author's analysis, which bridges the gap between archaeological evidence and literary interpretation.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
1900-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
019062633X
ISBN-13:
9780190626334
History
Ancient Egypt
Civilisation
Statues
Cultural History
History
Epigraphy
StatuesMemnon
Memnon
Archaeology
CultMemnon
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