Merging Cultures: Cultural Syncretism in the Ancient World

This blog post has been written by Kian Murphy, an MA student of Ancient History and Classical Culture at Swansea University. As part of the module Reaching the Public: Museums and Object Handling (CL-M77), Kian had the opportunity to curate a display at the Egypt Centre. The theme and objects chosen were made by Kian, who provides an introduction to them in the blog below. This provided a unique opportunity for Kian to gain valuable museum practice and is an excellent student experience. The exhibition will remain on display in the House of Life gallery until September this year.

The new Egypt Centre case that I have curated is focused on the theme of cultural syncretism, which is a term that I am using to describe the process by which two different cultures influence each other. This case also looks at the various ways in which cultural syncretism occurs with a particular focus on Egypt (fig. 1). Of the many ways in which cultures can influence each other, there are several particularly prominent forms of syncretism that would occur within ancient Egypt. The main forms of syncretism include migration, imitation, and assimilation. It goes without saying that these are certainly not the only forms of cultural syncretism, but they are ones that feature within my display.

Fig. 1: Merging Cultures display

The categories I have listed with somewhat poetic names are purposefully vague as trying to create stricter categories would make things unnecessarily confusing. Additionally, these categories can also overlap often. For example, the category of migration mainly focuses on the movement of people from one location to another and the objects they bring with them; this does not mean they have to become permanent residents and can include traders. Of the objects in my display, the mummy label (W551) is a good example of the migration category (fig. 2). Mueller (1973, 175) notes that within the Graeco-Roman Period, the transporting of bodies was not uncommon, especially when one has died away from their homeland. These labels are usually inscribed with Greek or Coptic writing, and some may also work as cheap alternatives to gravestones (Mueller 1973, 176–6). The fact that this type of artefact is relatively unique to the Graeco-Roman Period suggests some degree of influence, probably as a result of Greek-speaking people living or travelling to Egypt and adapting their funerary methods to suit the new environment. In addition, the presence of Coptic writing acts as an example of human movement affecting the language of a culture, in this case Egyptian language adapting to fit the Greek alphabet.

Fig. 2: Mummy label

Cultural syncretism through imitation is usually shown through art or architecture. One of the best examples of this can be seen with Roman burial shrouds. EC38 is a fragment of a burial shroud (fig. 3). Whilst sections of the shroud are missing, the remaining surface has some pretty distinct designs worth noting. Primarily, the style of the shroud is fairly typical of the Roman Period. The feet shown on the shroud have thick linework and long thin toes. At the same time, there are two very noticeable jackals, one of which is holding a cross. At the very least, both Roman and Egyptian art styles and symbolism are depicted on a shroud. It could also be argued that the cross the jackal is holding is invoking Christian imagery in which case we have an interplay of three cultures included upon one shroud. It is worth mentioning that this mixed artistic style appears to be very purposeful. Christina Riggs argues that the funerary style popularised during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods in Egypt was a product of an awareness of the several cultures interacting during this period resulting in artists drawing from several different traditions (2002, 99).

Fig. 3: Roman shroud

The last form of cultural syncretism that I will discuss is what I describe as assimilation. This choice of word provides a somewhat darker image but is actually meant to simply relate to aspects of culture that are a bit less tangible, like religion. When two different religions interact the end result can often be fairly violent, but in other cases the result may be an adoption of traditions, practices, and deities. The Harpakhered figure (EC1982) is a good example of this. Harpakhered is a child deity (literally “Horus the child”) who seems to have embodied morning light (fig. 4). This particular form of Horus was present in Egyptian religion throughout their history, but it was not until the Graeco-Roman Period that his worship grew after being merged with several other gods, including the Roman Hercules (Hall 1977, 55–6). In this case, the act of taking a god of another religion and syncretising him with one of their own shows a form of cultural syncretism that is particularly fascinating. By taking the desirable features of a foreign deity the Romans seemingly enriched their own religion. As mentioned before, these examples are not the only forms of cultural syncretism that exist but they are the most broad. This act of merging cultures was not always a completely conscious one and it was not unique to the Graeco-Roman Period, but it was far more noticeable during this period. In addition, this process is not one that stopped suddenly but instead has been a consistent aspect of cultural change throughout human history. Beyond this, it should be noted that this process is not necessarily a benevolent one; the Roman occupation of Egypt was marked with conflict and mistreatment. One could describe some of these examples as Romans “stealing” culture, a claim that would be problematic but not to be ignored. In truth, trying to apply strict moral boundaries onto the process is ill-advised, but an awareness of cultural syncretism as well as the ways in which it happens can be used to think critically about one’s own identity.

Fig. 4: Figure of Harpakhered

The objects on display in the temporary exhibition, in addition to a few other objects, can be found in this specially designed trail on Merging Cultures.

 

Bibliography

Hall, E. S. (1977) Harpocrates and other child deities in ancient Egyptian sculpture. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 14, 55–58.

Mueller, D. (1973) Three mummy labels in the Swansea Wellcome collection. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 59, 175–180.

Riggs, C. (2002). Facing the dead: recent research on the funerary art of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. American Journal of Archaeology, 106(1), 85–101.