While my Nonno loved ancient Egypt ππ ππ, he also absolutely loved Ancient Rome and the Roman Emperors. This is why he loved the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods of Egypt ππ ππ so much. Even though the Ptolemaic Period was technically Hellenistic Egypt ππ ππ, there was still a heavy Roman influence because Rome was still very powerful at the time!
When Cleopatra VII ππππ―πͺπΏπ§πππΏπ committed suicide in 31 B.C.E., that was seen as the end of the pharaohs ππ»π¦ and the beginning of Roman Egypt. This makes Cleopatra ππππ―πͺπΏπ§πππΏπ the last pharaoh ππ» of Egypt! Nonno often told me stories about Mark Antony, Cleopatra ππππ―πͺπΏπ§πππΏπ, Augustus ππ»π, Julius Caesar – he loved that whole part of history so much.Β
These are ancient oil lamps πΌπΏππ²π π€πΆ! These oil lamps πΌπΏππ²π π€πΆ are made of clay πͺππ΄π and can be found throughout countries that were ruled by the Roman Empire! Many are found in present-day Egypt ππ ππ, Turkey, Syria, and many others! My Nonno absolutely adored these – he loved that you could still see where the oil πππππ¦ had burned on some of them (thatβs the black ππ discoloration at the opening). Nonno always made sure to point these out in museums and now of course I always look for them. I love seeing the different designs on them! Each lamp πΌπΏππ²π π€πΆ is unique which I love!
Due to Roman influence in Egypt ππ ππ, oil lamps πΌπΏππ²π π€πΆ from Egypt ππ ππ were sometimes made with the Egyptian Gods πΉπΉπΉ on them! The oil lamp πΌπΏππ²π π€πΆ all the way on the right depicts Isis π¨ππ₯ nursing Horus π π. As Isis π¨ππ₯ grew in popularity, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans. Isis π¨ππ₯ was widely worshipped πΌπΏπ’ during the Roman times, and Isis π¨ππ₯ feeding Horus π π as a baby ππππ has even appeared on the back of Roman coins. Amulets ππͺπ πͺ and bronze ππ€ππ¦ statues πππππΎπͺ of Isis π¨ππ₯ feeding Horus π π were also made in abundance during this time period.