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have been to create individuality in a global world or to export the own culture when exchanging
with other cultures in the form of trade. This could involve cultural objects, but also ideas and
traditions (Alcock and Osborn 2012, 282).
By building a temple for a loyal local lord they proved loyalty would be rewarded and encouraged
other local lords to do the same. This reward was more valuable when the focus was laid on
offering to the two brothers as if they were gods as this would provide the father, the local lord,
with more power and would increase or preserve his loyalty.
Also depicting the pharaoh while offering to the local gods was a way for the new pharaoh to prove
he was the legitimate heir and was allowed and able to perform the rituals he was expected to
perform as pharaoh. Since religion was very important in ancient Egypt it was important for the
Roman emperor to gain this religious legitimacy (Málek and Baines 1981, 215; Alcock and Osborn
2012, 125).
A third reason why more scenes showing offerings to gods might be represented was because it
was important for the pharaoh to perform his sacred duties. When the pharaoh was not able to
perform these, as he was not always around for this, he made sure he was depicted in the temple
itself while performing these rituals. As the Roman emperor would probably have had an even
harder time compared to his Egyptian predecessors to attend these rituals, it was very important
for him to make sure he was depicted in the temples performing all the sacred rituals he was
supposed to perform (Wilkinson 2007, 86).
Aldred does note a few differences in this decoration compared of decoration of previous periods.
There are a few details than seem different and are described by him as “mistakes”. He does
however not take into account the fact that changes might have occurred in the symbolic
expression of Egyptian religion, possibly as part of the process in which they assimilated this
religion into their own culture.
It is possible these were indeed mistakes as the Romans might not have been very familiar with the
Egyptian religion and the meanings of each depiction. I however find it more likely that, although
they looked similar to ancient Egyptian depictions, these scenes had gained a new symbolic
meaning in the temples of the Graeco-Roman period.