Egyptian divinities represented in the form of roman emperors in military costumes

Abstract EN

The imperial cult was an inventory of Augustus followed by his successors.

Simultaneously, the Roman emperors adopted the religious traditions and practices of the Egyptian pharaohs along with their names and scenes represented on the walls of the Egyptian temples.

Roman soldiers believed in the powers of the dii militares or "military gods" that supported them in particularly in battles.

In Graeco-roman Egypt, to frighten evil's powers, a number of Egyptian protective gods adopted military equipment like knifes, swords, and shields such as Bes and Harpocrates.

Aside from these Egyptian protective divinities, there is a number of statuettes mostly made of bronze represent Egyptian divinities as an emperor in the complete Roman military costume including the gods Apis, Horus, and Anubis.

The research studies a number of statuettes of these Egyptian divinities to understand how they manifest the military character of the Roman emperor through the details of their position, attitude, military clothing, attributes and crown.

The research ends with the results related to the true conception of these representations and usages, why these divinities in particular took this form, how they are similar and different in certain details, and thus their importance in Roman Egypt.