avisitor

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The Journal of Juristic Papyrology
vol. X X X V I I (2007), pp. 165-176
Adam Łukaszewicz
ORESTES IN A T E M P L E
E N T E R S the temple precinct of Hathor in Dendera
(ancient Tentyra or Tentyris) in Upper Egypt, sees on his right hand
a mammisi built in the Roman period. It dates to the ist-2nd cent. AD and
was never completed. The works began under Augustus and lasted until
the Antonine emperors (Trajan, Hadrian and Antoninus Pius). The temple structure has an external portico. The portico contains four columns
and two corner pillars on the west side, five columns from the south and
seven in the northern façade. Originally, the mammisi had also an inner and
an outer court. It is possible that the building could also serve the purpose
of some ritual performances, perhaps representing the birth of the divinity.
At the end of the 3rd cent. AD the Christian community must have been
numerous in Dendera (we have manifold evidence of the rapid spread of
Christianity in Upper Egypt) and in the first quarter of IV century in Dendera there was already a bishopric.1
On the stone pavement of the external court of the mammisi there is a
contour of a building which was a Christian church situated within the
temple precinct of Dendera. That first church became soon too small for
the purposes of the triumphant religion and a new basilica was built in the
direct neighbourhood. That second basilica within the temple precinct is
usually dated to the later 5th century. Some elements of the decoration of
V I S I T O R WHO
A
1
P.
GROSSMANN,
'Dandarah', The Coptic Encyclopedia
III,
pp. 690-691.
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that church are still visible in situ. On the stone blocks of the church walls
there are also graffiti, chiefly in Coptic.
In our days, on the west side of the church, there is a collection of sandstone blocks from the basilica. Those blocks, however, were not specially
cut for the basilica, but had belonged to earlier pagan temple structures.
The basilica is an example of the notorious phenomenon of re-use of
ancient building materials, which was current in Later Antiquity. A part
of the Egyptian temple had been dismantled at that time.
Upon one of the blocks of the lapidarium a graffito can be read. Ramez
Boutros, who in 2002 directed the excavations in the basilica, has kindly
drawn my attention to that text, encouraging me to publish it. I wish now to
produce a brief account of that text which contains only one word and reads:
2
Cf. A. Ł U K A S Z E W I C Z , 'Some Remarks on P. Lond. I I I 755 and the Problem of Building
Materials in the Fourth Century AD', Archeologia 30 (1979), pp. 115-118.
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Fig. 2. Dendera, the block with the inscription (photo by the Author)
Όρ°!τ·η!
The graffito was carved with a sharp instrument in the yellowish sandstone surface. An oval frame encompasses the name. Below, there are
stonemasons' holes made as a preparation for the intended splitting of the
stone block. That operation, however, was never accomplished.
The name in the oval frame commemorates the passage of one Orestes.
The graffito is obviously one of those numerous proskynemata left in
Egyptian temples by tourists and pilgrims. Notwithstanding its apparent
simplicity, that graffito from Dendera is of no common interest.
The date of the graffito is an essential question. Another important
question is whether the graffito shows the interest of the visitor named
Orestes in the Christian basilica or rather in the Egyptian religious monuments of the temple precinct. As stated above, the stone block under discussion originally came from the walls of the Egyptian temple complex of
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ADAM ŁUKASZEWICZ
the Roman period. The presence of graffiti on the walls of the church
seems to indicate that the graffito under discussion belongs rather to the
times of the basilica. The shape of letters agrees with a date around AD
400 (perhaps a more cautious formula 'from 4th to 5th century' would be
more appropriate). The date of the Christian basilica, in which the blocks
were re-used, is not certain. Most specialists incline towards a date in the
5th century AD. Sylvie Cauville proposes the second half of the 5th century as a probable date of the basilica.4 By the 5th century AD the cult of
Hathor had already languished under the unfavourable circumstances, but
the magnificent ruins and reliefs decorating the walls of the temple were
certainly not yet hidden in the mounds of sand which had partly covered
them by 1798 when Bonaparte's soldiers and savants arrived at Dendera.
Although the name of Orestes appears in a papyrus of AD 124 (Norbanus Orestes: P. Ryl. II 180.1), it was certainly not a popular appellation
in Roman Egypt. Another Orestes is recorded in a Berlin papyrus of the
6th century, but that occurrence is of no use as analogy, since that person
was a consul who appeared in the dating formula (BGU II 369.1: [f Meta
την ipateiav
Όρ]°στου
και
Λαμπαδίου).
Another Orestes was apraefectus Augustalis of Egypt (AD 412-415/416).5
He came to Egypt from Constantinople. Formally, he was a Christian,
baptized by the bishop Atticus in the capital of the empire. He was an
educated person, interested in the traditional culture. After his arrival to
Alexandria, he mingled socially with the Hellenic elite of the city. His
acquaintance with the famous philosopher Hypatia (c. 355-415) daughter
of Theon, became an important factor of further events. It seems that
Orestes was able to discuss with Hypatia the questions of philosophy.
Socrates Scholasticus states that Orestes was a close friend of Hypatia.6
3
E.g. R.
4
S.
5
WILKINSON,
CAUVILLE,
The Complete Temples ofAncient Egypt, Cairo 2005, p. 151.
Dendera. Guide archéologique, Le Caire 1995, p. 97.
RE s.v., Sp. 1111-1113. Cf. Averil C A M E R O N & P.
History X I I I , Cambridge 1998, p. 134.
GARNSEY
(eds.), The Cambridge Ancient
6
Socrates HE V I I 15. Ch. H A A S , Alexandria in Late Antiquity. Topography and Social
Conflict, Baltimore - London 1997, p. 312; Maria D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia z Aleksandrii [Hypatia
of Alexandria], 2nd enlarged ed., Kraków 2006, p. 89 (hereafter: D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia [Pol.]);
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The constant persistence of Hellenic culture in Alexandria in the 5th
and 6th centuries is a well known phenomenon. Hypatia was not alone.
Another star on the Alexandrian firmament was Hierocles of Alexandria,
disciple of Plutarch of Athens who died 431/432. The case of Synesius, a
fifth century bishop and a friend of Hypatia, is an evidence of the fact that
even within the Church there were admirers of the traditional culture.9
Also in the imperial administration there were persons like Clearchus and
Orestes.10 Polytheism still co-existed with Christianity. Until the 6th or
7th century the traditional education on a high level was a current phenomenon in Alexandria.11
5
cf E A D E M , Hypatia ofAlexandria, Cambridge, Mass. - London 1995 (= Revealing Antiquity 8),
pp. 38-39 (hereafter: D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia [Eng.]).
7
For a recent discussion and bibliography see J.-L. F O U R N E T , 'L'enseignement des
belles-lettres dans l'Alexandrie antique tardive', [in:] Alexandria. Auditoria of Kom el-Dikka
and Late Antique Education (JJurP Supplement 7), ed. T. D E R D A , T. M A R K I E W I C Z & Ewa
W I P S Z Y C K A , Warsaw 2007, pp. 97-112.
8
On Hierocles: Damascius, Vita Isidori (apud Photium 337b 34 ssq.); Suda s. v. Hierokles.
Cf. I. H A D O T , Le problème du néoplatonisme alexandrin: Hieroclès et Simplicius, Paris 1978.
9
Synesius, ep. 81: (Synésios de Cyrène, t.
& D. R O Q U E S , pp. 207-208.
III,
Paris 2000 (Les Belles Lettres), ed. A.
GARZYA
10
Cf. Maria D Z I E L S K A , 'Męczennicy pogańscy późnego hellenizmu' [Pagan Martyrs of
Late Hellenism}, Sympozja kazimierskie IV: Męczennicy w świeciepóźnego antyku [The Martyrs
in the Late Antiquity], Lublin 2004, pp. 41-42. On Orestes see Ch. H A A S , Alexandria (cit.
n. 6), pp. 266, 302-307, 312-316.
11
D. R O Q U E S , 'Alexandrie tardive et protobyzantine (iv e -vii e s.): témoignages d'auteurs',
[in:] Alexandrie: une mégapole cosmopolite. Actes du ixe colloque de la Villa Kérylos à Beaulieu-surMer les 2etj octobre 1998, Paris 1999 (= Cahiers de la Villa 'Kérylos' 9), p. 223; Ch. Haas, 'Kôm
el-Dikka in context: the Auditoria and the history of late antique Alexandria', [in:] Auditoria ofKom el-Dikka (cit. n. 7), pp. 85-96; F O U R N E T , 'L'enseignement' (cit. n. 7), pp. 97-112.
For a discussion of higher education in Alexandria in the archaeological context of Kom
el-Dikka see G. M A J C H E R E K , 'The Late Roman Auditoria of Alexandria: an Archaeological
Overview', ibidem, pp. 11-50 (especially: pp. 11-12,46-48). A useful prosopography of teachers is provided by Elżbieta S Z A B A T , 'Teachers in the Eastern Roman Empire (fifth-seventh
centuries). A Historical Study and Prosopography', ibidem, pp. 177-345.
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Orestes reportedly favoured the Alexandrian Jews, who at that time
were constantly harassed by the bishop Cyril. Socrates is certainly not
impartial in his narrative about the events in Alexandria at that time. Anyway, he is our most important source concerning the activities of Orestes
as prefect of Egypt. According to Socrates, when Orestes was proclaiming
in the theatre some rules concerning the public order (which was a normal
procedure), there was among the audience one Hierax. Hierax was a notorious sycophant of Cyril, who usually organized the applauders during the
patriach's sermons. At the instigation of the Jews present in the theatre,
Orestes, who hated the ambitious bishop, arrested Hierax. Hierax was put
to the torture in the theatre. Upon that news, Cyril summoned the leaders of the Jews in order to intimidate them. According to Socrates, the
Jews responded with an attack on the Christians. Their aggression
brought about a violent retaliation, including the expulsion of the Jews
from Alexandria by Cyril, seizure of the synagogues and pillage of the Jewish property by the Christian mob (Socr. HE VII 13). Among the expulsed
ones, Socrates mentions one Adamantios, a famous doctor who took
refuge in Constantinople under protection of the bishop Atticus, became
Christian and returned later to Alexandria.
Orestes reported the events to the emperor. Cyril has also sent the
emperor a complaint on the behaviour of the Jews. It seems, that both
complaints remained without result. Cyril, however, under pressure of the
Alexandrians, made an attempt of reconciliation with Orestes, but the
12
prefect refused (Socr. HE VII 13), avoiding a touch of humiliation hidden
in the conciliation gesture of the patriarch, who extended toward Orestes
13
the book of the Gospels.
One day, Orestes in his chariot met a group of about five hundred hostile monks from Nitria who came to Alexandria in order to intervene for
Cyril. (By that time, it was already an established custom of the holy men
of the desert to come to city to castigate or to instruct the civil servants).14
Cf. D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6) , pp. 153-154;
pp. 85-86.
12
EADEM,
Hypatia (Eng., cit. n. 6),
Alexandria (cit. n. 6), p. 305.
13
HAAS,
14
Already Anthony gave example: Sozomenos, HE
I
13.9-10. Cf. A.
ŁUKASZEWICZ,
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The intrusive monks heaped abuse on the prefect, calling him - among
other insults - a pagan. The prefect protested that he was a Christian baptized by Atticus the bishop of Constantinople, but he failed to convince
the riotous monks and a monk named Ammonius hit Orestes with a stone
on the head. The prefect, whose bodyguards fled, was rescued by the
Alexandrians who repelled the intruders. They apprehended Ammonius
and handed him over to the prefect who put the offender to the torture.
Ammonius died. The events were again reported to Constantinople by
both sides. An attempt of the imperial government to reduce the number
of Cyril's men, theparabalani, may be considered a reaction to the events
(CTh. 16.2.42). That lenient measure has proven to be inefficacious. Cyril
immediately took vengeance for Orestes' cruelty and proclaimed Ammonius a saint under the name of Thaumasius. That step, however, was not
effective and the incident was gradually forgotten. It is noteworthy that
Socrates who tells us that story makes no critical remarks about Orestes,
and even suggests that the prefect's conduct (his concern after the expulsion of Jews, his putting Ammonius to the torture) was correct and lawful
(Socr. HE VII 13-14).
During the next stage of the same conflict, Hypatia was assassinated,
since she allegedly hindered the conciliation between Cyril and Orestes.15
Socrates describes that deed as a crime and considers the aggressive
people of Cyril guilty of that shameful act (Socr. VII 15).16 Some scholars
are inclined to see in the support given to Orestes by Hypatia a kind of
17
political alliance.
The circumstances of Hypatia's death are described differently by our
main sources - Socrates and John of Nikiou. Socrates states that she was
'Einige Bemerkungen zu den Asketen in den griechischen urkundlichen Papyri' [in:] Coptic
Studies, Acts of the Third International Congress of Coptic Studies, Warsaw, 20-25 August 1984,
Warsaw 1990, pp. 222-223.
15
Cf.
DZIELSKA,
Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6), p. 155;
16
Cf.
DZIELSKA,
Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6), pp. 161-165;
EADEM,
Hypatia (Eng., cit. n. 6), p. 87.
EADEM,
Hypatia (Eng., cit. n. 6), p. 98.
D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6), pp. 156-157. On the support of Orestes by the
Alexandrian Jews see H A A S , Alexandria (cit. n. 6), p. 312. Cf. R . J . W I L K E N , Judaism and the
Early Christian Mind. A Study of Cyril of Alexandria's Exegesis and Theology, New Haven
- London 1971, p. 56.
17
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ADAM ŁUKASZEWICZ
assailed in the street. John describes the attack on her during her lecture
in an auditorium where she sat upon a 'lofty chair'. Both authors, however,
18
agree that she was killed and her body burnt. They emphasize the connection between the tragedy of Hypatia and the attitude of the prefect.
Socrates shows much respect to Hypatia as a learned woman, whereas
John considers her a malefic witch by whose evil magic Orestes abandoned
the Christian faith (cf. Socr. HE VII 15 &Joh. Nikiou 84; 88; 93; 99)
The relation of John of Nikiou is interesting enough to be quoted in
extenso:
The Chronicle ofJohn, Bishop ofNikiu L X X X I V 87. And in those days there
appeared in Alexandria a female philosopher, a pagan named Hypatia, and
she was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music,
and she beguiled many people through [her] Satanic wiles. 88. And the
governor of the city honoured her exceedingly; for she beguiled him
through her magic. And he ceased attending church as had been his custom. [But he went once under circumstances of danger]. And he not only
did this, but he drew many believers to her, and he himself received the
unbelievers at his house. 100. And thereafter a multitude of believers in
God arose under the guidance of Peter the magistrate - now this Peter was
a perfect believer in all respects in Jesus Christ - and they proceeded to
seek for the pagan woman who had beguiled the people of the city and the
prefect through her enchantments. 101. And when they learned the place
where she was, they proceeded to her and found her seated on the (lofty)
chair; and having made her descend they dragged her along till they brought
her to the great church, named Caesarion. 102. And they tare off her clothing and dragged her [till they brought her] through the streets of the city till
she died. And they carried her to a place named Cinaron, and they burned
her body with fire. 103. And all the people surrounded the patriarch Cyril
and named him 'the new Theophilus'; for he had destroyed the last remains
of idolatry in the city.
18
See also Malalas, Chronogr. XIV (p. 359, Bonn). Cf. Suda 4.644.5-6 (Adler), Byzantino Leksiko Souida ed. V. K A T S A R O S , s.l. 2002, p. 1141; Cf. D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6), p. 164;
E A D E M , Hypatia (Eng., cit. n. 6), p. 93.
Trans. by R. H. C H A R L E S , Oxford 1916. Cf. H. Z O T E N B E R G , Chronique de Jean évêque de
Nikiu. Texte éthiopien publié et traduit... (= Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque
nationale, 24.1), Paris 1883, pp. 125-608 (non vidi, after Maria D Z I E L S K A ) .
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The 'lofty chair' mentioned by John of Nikiou suggests that Hypatia
was seized in a classroom, perhaps similar in shape to those discovered by
the team of the University of Warsaw at Kom el-Dikka in the heart of
20
ancient Alexandria. Recently, Maria Dzielska concluded that the location of Hypatia's drama as described by John of Nikiou suggests that it
was perhaps in one of the very rooms
at Kom el-Dikka that Hypatia was
21
seized by Peter and his followers. The idea is, indeed, exciting. The date
of Hypatia's death seems rather too early to agree with the chronology of
22
the auditoria. However, as Grzegorz Majcherek states, the date of the
23
auditoria is far from precise. At present, the estimated period when the
auditoria functioned, seems to cover the fifth to seventh centuries A D .
There are clear indications which lead 'to the conclusion that the lecture
halls
25 were abandoned most likely around the middle of the seventh century'. The terminus post quem is a more difficult matter as may be concluded
from the discussion of the question by Majcherek.26 His conclusion is that
'the latefifth/early
sixth century' is 'the most likely date for the building of
27
the halls'. This indication from the expert of Kom el-Dikka, corroborated by a similar date of the rebuilding of the adjacent theatre and the baths,
is decisive for the question of 'Hypatia at Kom el-Dikka'. The future
research may perhaps allow to establish a chronological compatibility of at
least some of the auditoria with Hypatia's teaching. Or, perhaps, there
were, somewhere in that area, earlier classrooms, similar in shape to those
already discovered at Kom el-Dikka?
24
20
For a general discussion see Auditoria of Kom el-Dikka (cit. n. 7).
D Z I E L S K A , Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6), pp. 163-164; cf. E A D E M , 'Learned Women in the
Alexandrian Scholarship and Society of Late Hellenism', [in:] What Happened to the Ancient
Library of Alexandria, ed. M. E L - A B B A D I , O. M O U N I R F A T H A L L A H (= Library of the Written
Word, vol. III, The Manuscript World), London - Boston 2008, vol. I, p. 141.
21
22
See
23
MAJCHEREK,
MAJCHEREK,
'The Late Roman Auditoria' (cit. n. 11), pp. 11-50.
'The Late Roman Auditoria' (cit. n. 11), p. 29.
Judith M C K E N Z I E , 'The Place in Late Antique Alexandria "where Alchemists and
Scholars sit" (...) was like Stairs' [in:] Auditoria of Kom el-Dikka (cit. n. 7), p. 69.
24
25
MAJCHEREK,
'The Late Roman Auditoria' (cit. n. 11), p. 38.
26
MAJCHEREK,
'The Late Roman Auditoria' (cit. n. 11), pp. 29-38.
27
MAJCHEREK,
'The Late Roman Auditoria' (cit. n. 11), p. 31.
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In the narrative ofJohn of Nikiou quoted above, the fact that the place
of Hypatia's teaching was apparently not easy to find, seems to be relevant.
The persecutors had probably to ask someone (a janitor?), where Hypatia
was teaching. Eventually they learned where she was. ('And when they
learned the place where she was, they proceeded to her and found her etc.').
It is probable that their quest for Hypatia was not a search for an isolated
teaching place but for a room in a series of classrooms comparable to the
auditoria of Kom el-Dikka. Those rooms were probably numbered.28
6
From Alexandria, let us now return to Dendera. Why should a Christian
prefect visit a pagan temple? There could be various reasons, official and
private. In the 5th century, the times of Horapollo, when the actual
knowledge about the ancient culture was already scarce, the interest in the
pharaonic past among the educated elite still persisted. However, an official visit of a prefect of Egypt to a polytheist temple for religious purposes
was hardly thinkable in the fifth century. The temples were closed and an
official inspection by the governor could concern only the abandoned
buildings, considered valuable sources of building materials.
As stated above, we have no certain date of the second basilica in Dendera: a date in the second half of the fifth century is usually taken for
granted. The building may belong to the times when Orestes was the
augustal prefect of Egypt and he probably visited the new church. It was
perhaps an inspection tour of the chôra by the prefect that was the occasion for Orestes' journey to Upper Egypt. It was only natural that the governor visited Dendera and inspected the new basilica. In such case our
graffito would provide an approximative date of the basilica.
During his visit to the basilica, Orestes undoubtedly saw also the adjacent pagan temple. The most impressive part of the Roman temple of
2 9
28
A.
29
CAUVILLE,
Dendera (cit. n. 4), p. 97.
30
CAUVILLE,
Dendera (cit. n. 4) p. 36.
ŁUKASZEWICZ,
'Violence in Alexandria', Classica Cracoviensia 10 (2006), pp. 132-134.
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Hathor is the pronaos which is a rectangle measuring 43 by 26 metres. The
columns of the façade shaped like immense sistra show the face of the goddess. The pronaos has a total of 24 columns. The coloured reliefs are still
very well preserved. On the ceiling a visitor interested in astrology can still
admire the constellations, stars and planets. The decans and the signs of
30
Zodiac are particularly well preserved. Inside the naos which is another
monumental part of the temple complex (36 by 60 metres), there are
numerous solar representations. In one of the chapels on the roof there is
the famous
circular Zodiac of the times of Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy
31
XIII.
These parts of the temple were probably accessible in the fifth century and the astronomical representations could interest Orestes who was
a friend of Hypatia. Hypatia's father Theon was a famous
Alexandrian
32
astronomer of the second half of the fourth century. Theon knew the
ancient Egyptian astronomy34 and Hypatia, who continued his works33 and
'was devoted to astrolabes', was undoubtedly also an expert in the field.
The custom of leaving graffiti on the walls of ancient monuments was
common in antiquity. During his visit to Dendera in the fifth century, the
prefect Orestes was probably invited to commemorate his visit with a signature on stone and an appropriate
sharp instrument was certainly
35
brought to him by an attendant.
A curious feature of the graffito under discussion is the rough oval
frame around the inscription, certainly a work of another hand. The similarity to a royal cartouche is striking. That improvised 'cartouche' does not
31
S.
CAUVILLE,
Le zodiaque d'Osiris, Leuven 1997, p. 13.
A. P. K A Z H D A N , (ed.), Oxford Dictionary ofByzantium I I I , New York 1991, s.v. 'Theon
of Alexandria' (p. 2060). Cf. M C K E N Z I E , 'The Place' (cit. n. 24), p. 69.
32
33
Cf. A.
34
DZIELSKA,
35
ŁUKASZEWICZ,
Aegyptiacae quaestiones tres, Warszawa 1995, pp. 19-28.
Hypatia (Pol., cit. n. 6), p. 135.
The custom was equally popular among the European tourists of the 18th century. A
learned traveller from Poland, count Jan Potocki in a letter containing a description of his visit
to the pyramids of Giza in 1784 wrote: 'The Arabs who know that the visitors are fond of
inscribing their names at the entrance of the pyramid brought me a spike with which I incised
the following verse from the poem LesJardins': Jan P O T O C K I , 'Podróż do Turek i Egiptu (1784)',
[in:]J. P O T O C K I , Podróże [The Voyages] (ed. L. K U K U L S K I ) , Warszawa 1959, p. 76
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seem to be a fortuitous element of the graffito. It is a pastiche of the
ancient Egyptian royal cartouche which was produced deliberately in
order to emphasize the name of Orestes. The actual meaning of the cartouche as a royal symbol sensu stricto was at that time so much obsolete that
the prefect had probably no reason to be anxious about the possible consequences of the appropriation of an ancient attribute of royalty.
Adam Łukaszewicz
Department of Papyrology
Institute of Archaeology
University of Warsaw
00-927 W A R S A W 64
POLAND
adlukasz@uw.edu.pl