Antinoöpolis

Coordinates: 27°48′27″N 30°52′48″E / 27.80750°N 30.88000°E / 27.80750; 30.88000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Antinoopolis
)
Not to be confused with
Antaeopolis
.
Antinoöpolis
ⲁⲛⲧⲓⲛⲱⲟⲩ
الشيخ عبادة
أنصنا
Antinoöpolis: 19th century AD view of the triumphal arch, from Description de l'Égypte. [1]
Antinoöpolis: 19th century AD view of the triumphal arch, from Description de l'Égypte.
UTC+2 (EST
)

Antinoöpolis (also Antinoopolis, Antinoë, Antinopolis;

Hermopolis Magna and was connected to Berenice Troglodytica by the Via Hadriana
.

Bust of Antinoüs-Osiris
Bust of Antinoüs-Osiris from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli (Louvre)
Fragment of a cloth from the tomb of Sabina, a 4-5th century woman in Antinoöpolis, showing Bellerophon and Pegasus trampling on the Chimera. (Louvre)
column capital from the north necropolis (National Archaeological Museum, Florence
)

History

New Kingdom

During the

Heliopolis
.

Roman period

During the

gridiron plan that was typical of Hellenic cities, and embellished with columns and many statues of Antinoüs, as well as a temple devoted to the deity.[4]
: 200–2 

The city of Antinoöpolis was the centre of the official cult of Antinoüs. The city exhibited the

Persecutions of Diocletian. Numerous other Christian martyrs are known to have died here under the orders of the governor Arianus
.

Byzantine period

Antinoöpolis continued to grow into the Byzantine era, being Christianized with the conversion of the Empire, but retaining an association with magic for centuries to come.

Serenus of Antinoöpolis. Antinoöpolis in the 6th century was still a "most illustrious' city in a surviving divorce decree of 569 AD.[5]

Medieval period

The city was abandoned around the 10th century. It continued to host a massive

Graeco-Roman temple until the 19th century, when it was destroyed to feed a cement works.[6] Over the centuries, stone from the Hadrianic city was removed for the construction of homes and mosques.[4]: 206  By the 18th century, the ruins of Antinopolis were still visible, being recorded by such European travellers as Jesuit missionary Claude Sicard in 1715 and Edme-François Jomard the surveyor circa 1800.[4]: 198  However, in the 19th century, Antinopolis was almost completely destroyed by local industrial production, as the chalk and limestone was burned for powder while stone was used in the construction of a nearby dam and sugar factory.[4]
: 207 

  • Ruins of the Temple of Ramses
    Ruins of the Temple of Ramses
  • Cartouche from the Temple of Ramses
    Cartouche from the Temple of Ramses
  • Columns from the Temple of Ramses
    Columns from the Temple of Ramses
  • Carvings and hieroglyphs from the Temple of Ramses
    Carvings and hieroglyphs from the Temple of Ramses
  • Funerary portrait of a boy, AD c. 190–230
    Funerary portrait of a boy, AD c. 190–230
  • Funerary portrait of a man, AD c. 190–230
    Funerary portrait of a man, AD c. 190–230
  • Encaustic funerary portrait of a woman
    Encaustic funerary portrait of a woman
  • Funerary portrait of a woman. Probably from Antinoöpolis, c. 250–300 AD (Menil Collection)
    Funerary portrait of a woman. Probably from Antinoöpolis, c. 250–300 AD (Menil Collection)

Structure and organization

The city of Antinoöpolis was governed by its own senate and prytaneus or president. The senate was chosen from the members of the wards (φυλαί), of which we learn the name of one – Ἀθηναΐς – from inscriptions (Orelli, No. 4705); and its decrees, as well as those of the prytaneus, were not, as usual, subject to the revision of the

Heptanomis, but under Diocletian (286 AD) Antinoöpolis became the capital of the nome of the Thebaid
.

Antinoë was the seat of a Christian bishop by the 4th century, originally a

Panopolis and Theodosiopolis.[7][8][9] No longer a Latin residential bishopric, Antinoë is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[10]

Archaeological finds

The earliest finds at the site date to the

Alexander Severus
, 235 AD.

As far as can be ascertained from the space covered with mounds of masonry, Antinoöpolis was about a mile and a half in length, and nearly half a mile broad. The remains of the city, having a three and a half mile circumference, suggests Roman and Hellenistic foundations and was surrounded by a brick wall on three sides, leaving the fourth side open to the Nile.

Description de l'Egypte
), a circus, and a hippodrome nearby, were still to be seen.

View of the Antinoöpolis ruin-field from the south-west in 1809, from the Description de l'Égypte
  • Illustrations of Antinoöpolis from Description de l'Égypte
  • Ruin-field from the south-west & topography
    Ruin-field from the south-west & topography
  • Topographical map of the city
    Topographical map of the city
  • Portico of the Roman theatre
    Portico of the Roman theatre
  • Plan, elevation, and section of the triumphal arch
    Plan, elevation, and section of the triumphal arch
  • Various porticoes, a bathhouse, and the main colonnaded street
    Various porticoes, a bathhouse, and the main colonnaded street
  • Column of Alexander Severus and the hippodrome
    Column of Alexander Severus and the hippodrome
  • Plan and elevation of the portico of the Roman theatre
    Plan and elevation of the portico of the Roman theatre
  • Column of Alexander Severus and a statue of Antinoüs
    Column of Alexander Severus and a statue of Antinoüs
Funerary portrait of a man. Excavated by Albert Gayet (Egyptian Museum of Berlin)

Albert Gayet

Painting of a winged female figure from late Roman or early Byzantine Antinoöpolis. Excavated by Albert Gayet (Louvre)
La dame d'Antinoë ("lady of Antinoöpolis") mummy with painted shroud, discovered 1909, restored 2008. (Musée des beaux-arts in Rennes)

Albert Gayet (1856–1916) was known as the "archaeologist of Antinoöpolis" and, without his extensive research and documentation of the site, very little would be known about this Greco-Roman city. Though there is much data of Antinoöpolis recorded from the Napoleonic Commission, Gayet's report sheds a greater light on the ancient city. As Christianity began to spread through the Roman Empire, Antinoöpolis became a place of worship. Centuries after the city of Antinoüs was established by the Roman emperor, Christianity became the way of life. The city was home to many nuns and monks and Christian sanctuaries were built. Many came to venerate saints, such as Claudius and Colluthus, and monasteries were abundant.[13] Gayet's findings confirm the wide spread of Christianity. Gayet's excavations have revealed mummies, grave goods, and thousands of fabrics at the site of Antinoöpolis. Gayet uncovered a large cemetery, the burial place of numerous Coptic Christians. Mummification was prohibited by law in the fourth century A.D., and so the remains of deceased Christians were dressed in tunics and swaddled with other textiles before being buried.[14] Gayet's findings give researchers a better understanding of early Christian burial practices and his preservation of artistic textiles found at the site show the evolving Coptic style. The transformation of style was the canonical art of ancient Egypt infused with Classical and then Christian art.[15]

Antinoöpolis today

Today, Antinoöpolis is the site of El Sheikh Ibada, a small village. Many of the original buildings have been broken down for materials to build newer structures, such as sugar factories for El-Rodah, but visitors can still see the remains of the Roman Circus and ruins of a few temples.

University of Rome, 1965–68, with Sergio Donadoni. Papyri from the site were edited and translated by J. W. B. Barns
and H. Zilliacus.

View of the Antinoöpolis ruin-field to the southeast in 2007
Εὐψύχι, εὐδαιμόνι - "Farewell, be happy!"[16] Mummy with valedictory inscription and attached funerary portrait, probably from Antinoöpolis. Hadrianic period. Louvre inv. No. AF 6882.[17]


References

  1. ^ Digital Collections, The New York Public Library. "(still image) Antinoë [Antinoöpolis]. Vue de l'arc de triomphe., (1809 - 1828)". The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-860641-3
    , retrieved 2020-01-19
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780691654201
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lambert, Royston (1984). Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous. George Weidenfeld & Nicolson.: 149 
  5. ^ "Un acte de divorce par consentement mutuel" Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Louis Crompton, Homosexuality & Civilization, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003. p. 108.
  7. ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 593-594
  8. ^ Gaetano Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, Vol. 2, p. 168
  9. ^ Klaas A. Worp, A Checklist of Bishops in Byzantine Egypt (A.D. 325 - c. 750) Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, in Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 100 (1994) 283-318
  10. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), p. 834
  11. ^
    JSTOR 296979
  12. ^ Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes, p. 382
  13. ^ Donadoni, Sergio, and Peter Grossmann (1991). "Antinoopolis" Archived 2015-01-23 at the Wayback Machine. Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10/24/2012.
  14. JSTOR 10.1086/512220
  15. ^ "Textiles from Coptic Egypt." Archived 2018-11-23 at the Wayback Machine (2003). Textiles from Coptic Egypt. Indian University Art Museum. Retrieved 10/24/2012
  16. doi:10.1163/1874-6772_seg_a32_1576
    .
  17. ^ "Mummy of a woman with portrait". Louvre. Retrieved 2020-01-21.

Bibliography

  • Waters, Sarah. (1995). "The Most Famous Fairy in History": Antinous and Homosexual Fantasy." Journal of the History of Sexuality, 194-230.
    JSTOR 3704122
  • O'Connell, Elisabeth R. (2014) 'Catalogue of British Museum objects from The Egypt Exploration Fund’s 1913/14 excavation at Antinoupolis (Antinoë),' in Antinoupolis II: Scavi e materiali III, ed. R. Pintaudi, 467–504 (Florence: Istituto papirologico “G. Vitelli,”)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antinoöpolis.

The City Antinoöpolis:

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antinoöpolis&oldid=1206385195"