Paper short abstract:

Simultaneously conceived both as a “challenge” and as a “gift”, the Mediterranean Sea was an intriguing reality during Ancient Egypt’s history, an element whose perceptions changed dramatically from the Predynastic times to the Greco-Roman period.

Paper long abstract:

For the Ancient Egyptians, the Mediterranean was a permanent challenge. Unlike the freshwaters of the Nile, the Sea was not regarded as the ultimate source of life but as a possible genesis of tribulation and danger. Nevertheless, the "Great Green", as the people of the "Black Land" called it, presented an opportunity to establish new trading relationships, making it a way of increasing the Nilotic country's wealth. In fact, business and commercial contacts between Egypt and other Mediterranean territories (Anatolia, Crete, Greece, Cyclades…) have been attested since the transition from the Predynastic to the Early Dynastic periods.

This double aspect of the Mediterranean shaped the Ancient Egyptian men and women's political, economical, cultural and religious approaches to that aquatic element, which underwent profound changes in the Greco-Roman period. Moreover, the Mediterranean allowed the Egyptians not only to recognize themselves but also to interact with foreign peoples and cultures. The Mediterranean was thus a real "Sea of Dialogue" and was crucial in the Egyptian identity's building process throughout its history.

The aim of this paper is thus to understand how the Mediterranean was, at the same time, a "challenge" and a "gift" to the Ancient Egyptians.