The Dispersed Olden Egyptians

Egypt was the most dominant, populous, and famed country in the ancient world, as affirmed by Diodorus, Book I, [31, 6-9],

In density of population Egypt far surpassed of old all known regions of the inhabited world, and even in our own day is thought to be second to none . . . . . .The total population, they say, was of old about seven million and the number has remained no less down to our day.

Herodotus affirmed that 20,000 populous cities existed in Egypt during the reign of Amasis. Diodorus reported that there were 18,000 large villages and towns; and stated that, under Ptolemy Lagus, they amounted to more than 30,000. Josephus estimated the population during the reign of Vespasian, at 7.5 million in the valley of the Nile, in addition to the population of Alexandria, which was about 800,000.

Superficially, Ancient Egypt seems isolated and distinct from the rest of the world, isolated by the deserts that hem in the narrow valley of the Nile. Yet the Egyptians were in constant contact with other countries. Classical writers such as Plutarch, Herodotus, and Diodorus told how Ancient Egypt had peaceful colonies throughout the world. Diodorus of Sicily, Book I, [29, 5], states:

In general, the Egyptians say that their ancestors sent forth numerous colonies to many parts of the inhabited world, by reason of the pre-eminence of their former kings and their excessive population;

Diodorus, Book I, [28, 1-4], tells of some Egyptian peaceful colonies that were reported to him in Asia and Europe:

. . . a great number of colonies were spread from Egypt over all the inhabited world. To Babylon, for instance, colonists were led by Belus, who was held to be the son of Poseidon and Libya . . . . .
. . . . . They say also that those who set forth with Danaus, likewise from Egypt, settled what is practically the oldest city of Greece, Argos, and that the nation of the Colchi in Pontus and that of the Jews, which lies between Arabia and Syria, were founded as colonies by certain emigrants from their country. . . . .

By virtue of the eminence of the Egyptian colonists in Asia and Europe, they played a major role in their new settlements. Diodorus, Book I, [28,6-7], discusses the significant role of the Egyptian colonists as rulers of these new colonies:

Moreover, certain of the rulers of Athens were originally Egyptians, they say. Petes, [Called Peteus in Iliad 2. 552.] for instance, the father of that Menestheus who took part in the expedition against Troy, having clearly been an Egyptian, later obtained citizenship at Athens and the kingship.

Diodorus, Book I, [29, 1-5], also states:

In the same way, they continue, Erechtheus also, who was by birth an Egyptian, became king of Athens. . . . Erechtheus, through his racial connection with Egypt, brought from there to Athens a great supply of grain, and in return those who had enjoyed this aid made their benefactor king. After he had secured the throne he instituted the initiatory rites of Demeter in Eleusis and established the mysteries, transferring their ritual from Egypt. . . . . And their sacrifices as well as their ancient ceremonies are observed by the Athenians in the same way as by the Egyptians. . . . .
. . . . . in charge of the more important religious ceremonies of Attica; the pastophoroi were those Egyptian priests who carried in processions small shrines of the gods. They are also the only Greeks who swear by Isis, and they closely resemble the Egyptians in both their appearance and manners.

Herodotus (500 BCE) stated that he came from Halicarnassus, a Dor-ian town. He clearly stated the connection between the Dor-ians and Egypt, in The Histories [Book Six, Sections 53-55]:

[53] . . . if one were to trace back, generation by generation, the lineage of Danaë the daughter of Acrisius, the chiefs of the Dorians would turn out to be true-born Egyptians.

[55] Enough has been said about all this. Others have explained how and through what achievements they became kings over the Dorians, despite being Egyptians, and so I will not go into that. I will record things that others have not picked up.

The Egyptian Dor-ian influence extended throughout the Mediterranean basin. At Tarentum in southern Italy, the celebrated Pythagorean center was established by Pythagoras and his followers, after he spent 20 years studying in Egypt, in the 5th century BCE. The center became their great cultural and philosophical headquarters. The Doric language of the Dor-ians was spoken in the Peloponnese, various Greek islands, and in Magna Graecia, in southern Italy, where Tarentum was established.

It should be noted that Ancient Egyptian records (as well as records in other areas) have countless names of places in the world that are not recognizable in our present time. Names of places, ethnic groups, and countries keep on changing. The country names of Europe just 100 years ago, for example, are unrecognizable to most present-day Europeans. When these records disappear, a few centuries from now, the names of such countries will be totally unrecognizable. The same point can be made for places throughout the world.

In numerous locations in the world, there are references to tanned/brown-skinned people who caused the enlightenment in regions throughout the world. They are described as:

1. of “oriental” origin and characteristics.
2. un-warlike people who settled peacefully among the local population.
3. highly advanced in metallurgy, and have manufactured large quantities of metal products.
4. highly organized and very talented in management.
5. highly advanced in dry weather farming, irrigation, etc.
6. experienced builders and artisans, and have built megalithic tombs, etc.
7. very religious people who had Animistic beliefs.

The above descriptions can only apply to one country—Egypt. By combining oral traditions, ethno-history, and archeological evidence (dating of major settlements, tombs, mining activities, …etc.) of all the people in the Mediterranean Basin, one can see that the civilized newcomers could come only from the Nile Valley.

Immigration from Egypt occurred in several waves. It was closely related to the events in Ancient Egypt. Some left in prosperous times to pursue business contacts. The majority left in stressful times.

The Spread of the Egyptian Religion

The Ancient Egyptian deities were adopted throughout the Mediterranean Basin and beyond. For example, the bas-reliefs, coins, and other antiquities that have been found in Thessaly, Epirus, Megara, Corinth, Argos, Malta, and many other places, portray Ancient Egyptian deities. Herodotus, in the Histories, Book 2 [2-8], wrote:

The names of nearly all the gods came to Greece from Egypt.

This makes sense once we recognize that replacing letters (sound shift) is a common phenomenon, worldwide. From the earliest days of comparative philology, it was noticed that the sounds of related languages corresponded in apparently systematic ways. As an example of the phenomenon of sound shift, a person’s name can still be recognized in vastly different sounds, such as Santiago / San Diego / San Jacob and Saint James. Jacob / Jack / Jaques / James, are one and the same name, which exemplifies the phenomenon of sound shift.

It should be noted that what we commonly consider names of deities are actually the “attributes (names)” of such deities. The real names of the deities (gods, goddesses) were kept secret. The real name was/is imbued with magical powers and properties. To know and pronounce the real name of a neter/netert (god/goddess) is to exercise power over it. To guard the cosmic power of the deity, the Ancient Egyptians (and later others throughout the Mediterranean Basin and beyond) often used “names” with religious connotations. Baal simply means Lord or ruler, and so we hear of the Baal or the Baalat (Lady) of such-and-such a city. Similarly, a deity will be called Melek, meaning King. So too Adon, which means Lord or Master. Melqart meant King of the City. Other “names” meaning favored by the gods or granted by the gods were translated to Latin as Fortunatus, Felix, Donatus, Concessus, and so on.

To affirm Herodotus’ reports of the Greek adoption of Egyptian deities, archeological evidence in the 4th century BCE shows that Athens was basically a center of the Egyptian religion, and shrines to Auset (Isis), both public and private, were erected in many parts of Greece at that period.

In Magna Graecia, the monuments found in Catania in Sicily show that this city was a center of the worship of Egyptian deities. Southern Italy contained many temples of Auset (Isis), and the remains of statues, etc, found in Reggio, Puteoli, Pompeii, and Herculaneum prove that the worship of Egyptian deities must have been common.

The Ancient Egyptian religious practices were mirrored in Greece, for example, as confirmed by the Greek father of history, Herodotus in the Histories, Book 2, [107]:

It was the Egyptians too who originated, and taught the Greeks to use ceremonial meetings, processions, and processional offerings: a fact that can be inferred from the obvious antiquity of such ceremonies in Egypt, compared with Greece, where they have been only recently introduced. The Egyptians meet in solemn assembly not once a year only, but on a number of occasions.

Affirming Herodotus’ statement, Plutarch states in Moralia, Isis and Osiris, [378-9, 69],

Among the Greeks also many things are done which are similar to the Egyptian ceremonies in the shrines of Isis, and they do them at about the same time.

In Rome, in the 1st century BCE, Auset (Isis)was regarded as the principal netert (goddess) of the city. Great buildings and temples were set up in her honor, filled with Egyptian objects, obelisks, altars, statues, etc, which were brought from Egypt in order to make the shrines of Auset (Isis) resemble those of her native country. Priestesses, who professed to be well acquainted with the “mysteries” of Auset, dwelt in or near these temples, and assisted in performing services and ceremonies in which large congregations participated. From Rome, the reverence for Auset naturally spread to the provinces and beyond.

In the Ancient Egyptian cosmology, Auset represents the power responsible for the creation of all living creatures. Accordingly, Ancient Egyptians called her Auset (Isis) with the 10,000 Names/Attributes. Plutarch took note of that and wrote in his Moralia Vol V,

Isis is, in fact, the female principle of Nature, and is receptive of every form of generation, in accord with which she is called by Plato the gentle nurse and the all-receptive, and by most people has been called by countless names, since, because of the force of Reason. she turns herself to this thing or that and is receptive of all manner of shapes and forms.

The “many names” of Auset (Isis) were adopted throughout Greece and in Italy, and beyond. Thus the Greeks and Romans identified her frequently as Selene, Demeter, Ceres, and with several goddesses of crops and of the harvest in general. She was also regarded as an Earth-goddess, and as such was the mother of all fertility and abundance. Some of her attributes caused her to be identified as Aphrodite, Juno, Nemesis, Fortuna, and Panthea.

The Ancient Egyptian religious practices associated with Auset (Isis) and Ausar (Osiris) had made major strides in Italy. In Campania, an inscription, dated at 105 BCE, was found in a temple of the Ancient Egyptian Sarapis (Sar-Apis), at Puteoli, which is evidence that the temple existed prior to that date. About 80 BCE (in the time of Sulla), a College of the Servants of Auset, or Pastophori, was founded in Rome, and a temple was built in the city. In 44 BCE, a temple was built in Rome to honor Auset (Isis) and Ausar (Osiris), and a few decades later, the festival of these Egyptian deities was recognized in the public calendar.

The main festival in Italy corresponded exactly to the Ancient Egyptian festival that commemorated the murder of Ausar (Osiris) and the finding of his body by Auset (Isis). As in Ancient Egypt, it opened in November with the singing of dirges and heartbreaking lamentations for the death of Ausar, which were, no doubt, based upon the compositions that were sung in Egypt about the same time. Then, on the second day, scenes that represented the frantic grief and anxiety of those who went about searching for the body of Ausar were enacted. On the third day Auset found the body of her husband, and there was great rejoicing in the temple. Grief gave place to gladness and tears to laughter, musicians of all kinds assembled and played their instruments, and men and women danced, and everyone celebrated.

The Ancient Egyptian religious practices, as they relate to the model story of Auset and Ausar, spread all over southern Europe, and into many parts of North Africa, and it continued to be a religious power in these regions until the close of the 4th century CE. These Ancient Egyptian ideas and beliefs survived in Christianity, whereby Mary the Virgin assumed the attributes of Auset the Everlasting Mother, and the Babe Jesus assumed those of Heru (Horus).

Moustafa Gadalla

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