The Transition from Traditional Cults to the Affirmation of Christian Beliefs in the City of Oxyrhynchus

Oxyrhynchus (modern el-Bahnasa) has been at the centre of scholarly attention for over a century. Its importance resides in the discovery of over half a million papyrus texts within this ancient site’s rubbish dumps. However, the extraordinary importance of the Greek papyri unearthed during these investigations inevitably overshadowed texts in other languages, especially Egyptian, and also led to a lack of adequate publication of the numerous written artefacts other than papyri discovered. On the other hand, archaeological investigations carried out over the last decades are now providing essential data on this ancient city’s religious and funerary landscape. The wealth of textual and archaeological evidence makes Oxyrhynchus a unique case study for comprehending the complex dynamics at work in the changing religious landscape of Roman and Late Antique Egypt. This book is the first attempt at “bridging the gap” between Oxyrhynchite papyrological, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence. The aim is to shed light on the religious panorama of this Egyptian city in the transition from traditional cults to Christianity (second–fourth centuries), establishing a dialogue between textual and archaeological evidence.