This booklet continues the publication of the Egyptian terracotta figurines from the F. Gütte donation in the Martin von Wagner-Museum of Würzburg University. While the previous volume presented the animal terracottas, 90 figures of divinities are published in the present volume, most of them for the first time. Child gods like Harpocrates, the "Naked Goddess", "concubines", etc. are reserved for future volumes of the series (edited by K.-Th. Zauzich), which is intended to be a complete catalogue of the collection.
The authors highlight the importance of cross-cultural influences on the terracottas of divinities of Graeco-Roman Egypt: Hellenistic and Egyptian traditions are often inseparably amalgamated in this group of objects. The subject is therefore treated as an interdisciplinary collaboration from the perspectives of Egyptology and Classical Archaeology, which constitutes the special merit of the present work. In addition, extensive references help the reader gain a wider overview of the subject and a deepening understanding of different aspects.
Introductory chapters provide the religious background to the Egyptian terracotta figurines. Essential aspects of cult and relevant ideas about the gods are outlined for both cultures, Egyptian and Graeco-Roman, and the connections between the two religions described. In addition, the Egyptian crowns that iconographically identify the gods and goddesses are discussed.
In the catalogue, the following divinities are covered in a uniform format: Aphrodite (5 figures), Athena (10), Bes (3), Demeter (4), Dionysos and Satyrs (5), Eros (13), Hathor (1), Heracles (3), Hermes (3), Isis (14), Osiris (2), Psyche (1), Serapis (19), and Zeus (1), as well as composite beings like the Sphinx (1) and divine attributes (Gorgoneion [4] and cornucopia [1]). First, there is a short introduction to the mythology and the role of the respective divinities in Egypt and the Hellenistic world. Then the individual statuettes are depicted (occasionally from different perspectives to give as complete an idea as possible of the forms) and described according to size, fabric, technical aspects, preservation, etc. as well as type, iconography and style. References to parallels, iconographical features or aspects of interpretation follow.