11 I 2024 Dobrochna Zielińska (UW): Holy mothers of the Nile Valley. Indigenous traditions in transition during the late antique and early Byzantine period

Abstract

The role of the Virgin Mary in the context of indigenous Egyptian religion, particularly the cult of the goddess Isis, has been the subject of much discussion.

In my talk, I would like to look at this topic from a Nubian perspective, starting with the Kushite period, and thus see the Egyptian tradition as a source of influence,  and follow the development in Nubia, in particular the role of motherhood in the concept of kingship. While in Egypt this aspect seems to have lost its importance after the Greco-Roman period, in Nubia the concept remained and was adapted to and integrated into the Christian religion.