A lasting bond: on a transferred death ritual from ancient Cynopolis

This paper seeks to analyse two groups of reddish wax magic figurines discovered in the cemetery of the ancient city of Cynopolis and preserved at the Antiquities Museum of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, with the aim of offering a critical and updated exegesis of these exceptional magical artefacts fr...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Arbeloa Borbón, Paula
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/150704
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/150704
https://doi.org/10.12795/spal.2023.i32.20
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Figurines
Magical-religious practices
Iconography
Materiality
Graeco-Roman Egypt
Figurillas
Prácticas mágico-religiosas
Iconografía
Materialidad
Egipto greco-romano
Descripción
Sumario:This paper seeks to analyse two groups of reddish wax magic figurines discovered in the cemetery of the ancient city of Cynopolis and preserved at the Antiquities Museum of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, with the aim of offering a critical and updated exegesis of these exceptional magical artefacts from Roman Egypt. By analysing features including material, colour, morphology and iconography, and by examining the effigies alongside parallel rituals, I argue that this ensemble should be best understood as a ‘transferred death ritual’, whose aim was to ensure an effective death and the sending of the deceased to the underworld.