이집트와 그리스 신들의 동일시 현상과 ‘이집트식 해석’(interpretatio Aegyptiaca)－헤로도토스와 디오도로스의 이집트 서술을 중심으로－

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods in Herodotus’ Histories and Diodorus’ Library of History. By Investigating by whom and for what reasons such identifications originated, I intend to ascertain whether they could be regarded as the process of interpretatio Aegyptiaca, not of interpretatio Graeca. The term ‘interpretatio Aegyptiaca’ in this paper is derived from, and therefore defined according to the term ‘interpretatio Romana’ mentioned by Tacitus. Interpretatio Romana is ‘a term used to describe the Roman habit of replacing the name of a foreign deity with that of a Roman deity considered somehow comparable’(from The Oxford Classical Dictionary). In the descriptions of Egyptian gods by Herodotus and Diodorus, some of the Egyptian gods are called by both their Egyptian names and Greek gods’ names whom were equated with the Egyptian gods. As an alternative, some of them are called by only the Greek gods’ names instead of their Egyptian names. These ways of calling, of course, imply the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods. Some examples where Herodotus and Diodorus introduce the names of both Egyptian gods and their Greek equivalent gods are that of Amun and Zeus, Osiris and Dionysus, Isis and Demeter, Horus and Apollon. On the other hand, the Egyptian gods they mention only by Greek gods’ names are Typhon, Helios, Hephaestus, Hermes and so on. In this paper I looked into the origins of such identification, focusing on the examples of Amun and Zeus, Osiris and Dionysus, Isis and Demeter, Horus and Apollon. In these four examples described by Herodotus and Diodorus, we can find quite clearly the names of both gods who are equated with each other and the sources of the identification cases. Therefore, inquiry can allow us to figure out by whom and for what reasons such identification originated. My inquiry shows that it was mostly Egyptians who claimed the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods in the writings of Herodotus and Diodorus. Ancient Egyptians had an Egyptocentric sense of cultural superiority. Their sense of cultural superiority was expressed in the pride of their own culture and the idea of their culture spreading abroad. They believed that their culture was superior to any other ones and that it spread abroad and developed into a foreign culture. This belief is also expressed in the writings of Herodotus and Diodorus. This is basically an Egyptocentric perception and corresponds to the theory of cultural diffusion. On this basis, Egyptians could identify Greek gods with their own gods. Therefore, such Egyptocentric viewpoints and the identification phenomenon of gods were closely related to each other. I suggest that the ethnocentrism of ancient Egyptians was an ultimate cause that led to the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods. Among the existing ancient sources, the ones that mention the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods are mostly Greek sources including the writings of Herodotus and Diodorus. On the surface, since such identification cases are found in the writings of the Greeks, they may be seen as the examples of interpretatio Graeca. However, it turns out that it was mostly Egyptians who told Herodotus and Diodorus about the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods. Given the Egyptocentric tendency of ancient Egyptians, it is highly likely that the identification cases mentioned by Herodotus and Diodorus reflected the peculiar perspective of the Egyptians. Therefore, it is reasonable to regard the identification of Egyptian and Greek gods as an example of interpretatio Aegyptiaca, not of interpretatio Graeca.