Greece and Egypt: reconsidering early contact and exchange
by Alexandra Villing
Abstract: The focus of my enquiry will be the archaeological evidence for Greek-Egyptian interaction in the 8th-6th centuries BC, examined primarily from three key perspectives: the scope and development of networks that linked Egypt with Greece, the Mediterranean world and the Middle East; the differentiated use of material culture by various agents in different contexts and the construction of value within the highly diverse spectrum of ‘aegyptiaca’, ranging from mass-produced amulets to large bronze sculpture; and the contribution made by the evidence from Egypt for charting exchange and evaluating contact. Two case studies are highlighted in particular: the Egyptian bronzes found in the Samian Heraion and in other Greek sites, and the archaeology of the Egyptian-Greek trading post of Naukratis.
Chapter in A. Mazarakis-Ainian, A. Alexandridou, and X. Charalambidou (eds), Regional Stories Towards a New Perception of the Early Greek World, Volos 2017, 563-596.
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