The paper considers the Roman perception of Egyptian zoomorphic cults and investigates tendentious attitude of the Roman society to the Egyptian religion. It is noted that the Roman authors’ conception of the Egyptian religion includes several features, that is, on the one hand, total rejection of native Egyptian beliefs, on the other hand, admiration of exotic nature of the Egyptian culture and religion. The author comes to the conclusion that for the Romans, Egyptian animal cults could function as a set example of something despicable or ridiculous, useful only in satirical description or as an argument in debate.
|
