How did a foreign bearded snake become the protector of Alexandria and the Ptolemaic dynasty? Reflections on the cult of the Agathodaimon, the cornerstone of the Greek-Egyptian syncretism

Delia, Giuseppe

Abstract

In this paper, the god that will be analysed is, at the same time, one of the least known and probably one of the most important deities in the Alexandrian pantheon: the Agathodaimon. In the next paragraphs, the imagery, the origins, the predecessors, the socio-political context, the success, and the demise of the Agathodaimon will be discussed. This will allow the reader to evaluate the impact that he has had not only in the Hellenistic/Egyptian environment of Alexandria in the Ptolemaic period (5 th-1 st cent. BCE) but also in the Roman and Christian culture that still resonates in the contemporary collective imagination. The information regarding the Alexandrian religion, similarly to many other aspects of the city, is fragmentary and almost completely relies on literary sources, whose intent rarely was to educate the readers about the worship and traditions that were probably already known by the audience, leaving modern scholars only with references and hints that must be combined with archaeological evidence, where present.

Citation

Delia, G. (2020, February). How did a foreign bearded snake become the protector of Alexandria and the Ptolemaic dynasty? Reflections on the cult of the Agathodaimon, the cornerstone of the Greek-Egyptian syncretism. Presented at The Archaeology of Ritual. Rethinking Ritual Practices in Sanctuaries and Necropoleis of the Ancient Mediterranean World., Berlin

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: The Archaeology of Ritual. Rethinking Ritual Practices in Sanctuaries and Necropoleis of the Ancient Mediterranean World.
• Start Date: Feb 7, 2020
• End Date: Feb 8, 2020
• Acceptance Date: Mar 17, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Dec 13, 2023
• Publication Date: Jan 15, 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 6, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 9, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Book Title: The Archaeology of Ritual (Proceedings of the international workshop Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 7th - 8th February 2020)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.18452/28044
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3781432