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the Fayum portraits help illustrate (pun) very vividly how the very incomplete archeological record and its segmented presentation in history books fills our br

the Fayum portraits help illustrate (pun) very vividly how the very incomplete archeological record and its segmented presentation in history books fills our brains with a fake, imaginary past that has little resembalance with how people actually were. case in point: these paintings have such striking similarities with (later) Byzantine icons (frontal representation, oversized eyes, stylistic choices for representing hair etc) there is no doubt they are part of a common cultural space that lasted for millenia and in some limited forms is still alive today. Pressumably the origins of this style predate Greco-Roman Egypt but who knows when and where it got perfect first.

akiselev 4y ago
> case in point: these paintings have such striking similarities with (later) Byzantine icons (frontal representation, oversized eyes, stylistic choices for representing hair etc) there is no doubt they are part of a common cultural space that lasted for millenia and in some limited forms is still alive today. Historians have long suspected that the authors of Christian holy books were inspired by several other religions. The parallels are so numerous it's hard to ignore (this wikipedia page [1] is a starting point but it's woefully incomplete, especially with respect to Ancient Egpytian religion and Osiris/Horus) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_comparative_mythology#General_comparisons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_comparative_mythology...
- college_physics 4y ago
  Egypt has long been a central node in culture creation and diffusion across the "old world". One of the most striking (and not widely known) facets is its dabbling with monotheism [1]. [1] https://www.thecollector.com/akhenaten-monotheism/ https://www.thecollector.com/akhenaten-monotheism/
- Mikeb85 4y ago
  > Historians have long suspected that the authors of Christian holy books were inspired by several other religions I mean, Judaism is basically a mashup of Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion while Christianity is that + Buddhism...

akiselev 4y ago

> case in point: these paintings have such striking similarities with (later) Byzantine icons (frontal representation, oversized eyes, stylistic choices for representing hair etc) there is no doubt they are part of a common cultural space that lasted for millenia and in some limited forms is still alive today. Historians have long suspected that the authors of Christian holy books were inspired by several other religions. The parallels are so numerous it's hard to ignore (this wikipedia page [1] is a starting point but it's woefully incomplete, especially with respect to Ancient Egpytian religion and Osiris/Horus) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_comparative_mythology#General_comparisons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_comparative_mythology...

college_physics 4y ago
Egypt has long been a central node in culture creation and diffusion across the "old world". One of the most striking (and not widely known) facets is its dabbling with monotheism [1]. [1] https://www.thecollector.com/akhenaten-monotheism/ https://www.thecollector.com/akhenaten-monotheism/
Mikeb85 4y ago
> Historians have long suspected that the authors of Christian holy books were inspired by several other religions I mean, Judaism is basically a mashup of Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion while Christianity is that + Buddhism...