Black Athena Revisited: Possible Interactions between Egypt and Greece During the Second Millennium BCE

On January 21st, 2005 at the Benjamin Rome Auditorium of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, Dr. Eric H. Cline of The George Washington University delivered an excellent and fast-paced talk, entitled “Black Athena Revisited: Possible Interactions between Egypt and Greece During the Second Millennium BCE,” to 35 members and guests of the American Research Center in Egypt-DC Chapter (ARCE-DC). The lecture, which followed a pre-lecture reception hosted by ARCE-DC President Samir Gabriel and ARCE-DC Director Chahira Kozma with welcoming remarks from Dr. Gabriel, considered the evidence for relations between Egypt and the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age, including some of the 1,200 objects from Greece and Egypt identified by Dr. Cline as showing such contact, among them wall paintings at Tell ed-Dab’a in the Nile Delta region and objects of Amenhotep III found at Mycenae on mainland Greece. Prior to the lecture, ARCE-DC member Henry Precht autographed copies of his book A Diplomat's Progress, Ten Tales of Diplomatic Adventure in and around the Middle East.

 

Gardens and the Nile in Textiles from Byzantine and Coptic Egypt

On February 18th, 2005 at the Benjamin Rome Auditorium of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC, 35 to 40 members and guests of the American Research Center in Egypt-DC Chapter (ARCE-DC) braved inclement weather to attend an excellent lecture by Dr. Eunice D. Maguire, Curator of John Hopkins University’s Archaeological Collection, entitled “Gardens and the Nile in Textiles from Byzantine and Coptic Egypt.” The lecture was delivered as a complement to the Textile Museum's historical and trans-cultural exhibition, A Garden of Shawls: The Buta and its Seeds, for which the speaker served as guest curator. Dr. Maguire’s lecture applied the themes and design principles seen there to a wider selection of textiles from pre-Islamic Egypt. Such textiles are the earliest represented in the exhibition: tapestry-woven fragments from a colorful and lively branch of textile art already richly coded with garden-based abstractions. Much of the textiles’ “poetry” is in this coded visual language that grew from cultural cross-pollinations, looking back to ancient Egypt as well as to the celebration of growing plants from newer realms beyond the Nile.

 

Egyptian Cultural Immersion Day

On March 5, 2005, Samir Gabriel, president of the American Research Center in Egypt-DC Chapter (ARCE-DC), and Chahira Kozma, ARCE-DC Director, participated in the “Egyptian Cultural Immersion Day” at the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, DC. The “Egyptian Cultural Immersion Day” was sponsored by World Artists Experience, Inc., a non-profit organization that believes the arts create unique opportunities for cross-cultural interaction and learning. For centuries, Egypt has contributed to mankind’s advances in the arts, architecture, and the sciences. This year’s Cultural Immersion Day focused on marvels of Egypt and the life of the Egyptian people, with a variety of cultural experiences including a tour of the Egyptian Embassy, tastes of Egyptian food, and a trip to Annapolis. During the day, Dr. Kozma presented “Medicine in Ancient Egypt” and Dr. Gabriel presented “Islamic Cairo.”

ARCE-DC President Samir Gabriel (right) with Dr. Walid M. Abdelnasser, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Egyptian Embassy, March 5, 2005

ARCE-DC Director Chahira Kozma (center) with Dr. and Mrs. Abdelnasser, March 5, 2005

Secret Signs: The Rediscovery of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs

At the Egyptian Embassy on March 18th, 2005, Dr. Regine Schulz, Curator of Ancient Art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore and a director of the DC Chapter of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE-DC), delivered a fascinating and informative overview of the “rediscovery” of Egyptian hieroglyphs presented to a group of 80 enthusiastic ARCE-DC members and invitees to the Ambassador’s Cultural Series. Following a pre-lecture reception hosted by the Embassy and welcoming remarks from Ayman Zaineldine of the Embassy and ARCE-DC President Samir Gabriel, Dr. Schulz presented “Secret Signs: The Rediscovery of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs.” Dr. Schultz also heads the Egyptology committee of the International Council of Museums, a worldwide organization with 30,000 members.

The following day, Dr. Schulz complemented her presentation with an all-day workshop, which offered the twenty participants an “inside view” on ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Participants experienced the “system of the script” and learned something about the more important signs in order to read and construct some names, terms and easy sentences. Additionally, the workshop familiarized participants with the different kinds of Egyptian script -- hieroglyphic, Hieratic, Demotic and Coptic -- and offered an overview on the large variety of Egyptian texts and literature. Each participant received learning materials, including a list of signs, and exercise materials, as well as a list of publications to continue studies after the workshop. Throughout the workshop, the participants worked with Dr. Schulz on various exercises, including translating portions of steles. The workshop was an excellent primer for those just beginning to learn hieroglyphs as well as a refresher for more advanced readers of the “Sacred Signs.”

Ayman Zaineldine and Dr. Regine Schulz

Dr. Regine Schulz (center) with workshop participants at the Egyptian Embassy, March 19, 2005