ARCE-DC: Blending Egyptian & Greco-Roman Cultures: The “Isis-Aphrodite” Figurines from the Catacomb at North Saqqara

Lecture Information

Figurines uncovered at North Saqqara.

This lecture explores the possibility of cultural integration as suggested by terracotta figurines of Isis-Aphrodite from the Greco-Roman period.

A number of terracotta figurines were unearthed in the Greco-Roman catacomb at North Saqqara by the Japanese-Egyptian Mission to North Saqqara in 2019 and 2023-2024. Of particular note are ten figurines of Isis-Aphrodite, which are distinguished by their diverse poses, headdresses, and costumes, and which illustrate a remarkable convergence of elements associated with ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman deities.

This lecture also will present the recent work revealed through the examination of terracotta figurines using 3D models.

Speaker Bio

Mutsumi Okabe is a Ph.D. candidate at Kanazawa University in Japan, where she received her B.A. and M.A. in Egyptian Archaeology. She has been a field archaeologist for the North Saqqara project, led by Professor Nozomu Kawai. She has also worked at the Grand Egyptian Museum Conservation Center as an intern of the Japan International Cooperation Agency. She is currently a short-term visiting scholar at Southern Methodist University.