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The Discovery of Egypt: Artists, Travellers and Scientists
Fernand Beaucour, Yves Laissus, Chantal Orgogozo
(Paris: Flammarion, 1993) 272 pp., $50.00.
In this wonderfully illustrated volume, the authors follow the “discovery of Egypt” from Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian Expedition (1798–1801) through the successive expeditions led by Champollion and Rosellini, Wilkinson, and Lepsius. Presented in four sections—the military enterprise, the scholars in Egypt, the archaeological conquest and the birth of Egyptology—the book describes Egypt’s influence on architecture, decorative arts and literature in Europe, as well as the birth of Egyptology and its progress. Two hundred forty paintings and drawings, produced by the eminent French artists, scientists and scholars who accompanied the Egyptian Expedition, illustrate this book. The volume also contains a glossary, chronology and list of illustrations.
Twice Neokoros: Ephesus, Asia and the Cult of the Flavian Imperial Family
Steven J. Friesen
(Leiden, Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1993) 237 pp., $77.25.
Adapted in a BAR article last year, this is a case study of the Cult of the Sebastoi, established in the city of Ephesus in the late first century A.D. In this first monograph ever published on the subject, the author closely examines the religious symbolism associated with the cult. Chapter subjects include early provincial cults in Asia, temple inscriptions from Ephesus, developments in cultic traditions, provincial priesthoods, and games and festivals of the cult. The final chapter presents several conclusions about the effects of the cult on the inhabitants of the Roman province of Asia. An appendix of provincial highpriests, highpriestesses and Asiarchs (a Roman title of ambiguous meaning) is given, and illustrations, plates, maps and charts accompany the text.
Jewish Inscriptions of Graeco-Roman Egypt
William Horbury and David Noy
Cambridge, England: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992) 378 pp., $110.00.
This collection of all known Jewish inscriptions from Greek and Roman Egypt will benefit students of the Hebrew language as well as those interested in the religion, history and customs of ancient Israel. Although sharing the same technical approach as Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions: Corpus and Concordance, this text delves into the history and linguistics of the inscriptions. Designed for clarity and accessibility, each entry includes critical apparatus, a translation, a bibliography and commentary. Photographs accompany many of the inscriptions.
Jerusalem Ceramic Chronology: circa 200–800 C.E.
Jodi Magness
(Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993) 277 pp., $70.00.
This technical study presents a typology and chronology of local ceramic wares of Jerusalem from the fourth through seventh centuries A.D., with limited coverage extending into the second and tenth centuries. Using ceramic wares taken primarily from Yigal Shiloh’s excavations in the City of David and Nahman Avigad’s excavations in the Jewish Quarter, the author establishes a temporal sequence of types. A stratigraphic evaluation of the sites is given, followed by a discussion of ceramic types characteristic of the Jerusalem area. The final chapter presents the corpus of types, with maps, drawings and black-and-white photographs of some of the ceramics provided.
The Discovery of Egypt: Artists, Travellers and Scientists
