Abstract
This article examines Synesius’s treatise “Egyptian Tales, or On Providence” (“De Providentia”) in the context of Greek interpretation (interpretatio Graeca). “De Providentia” demonstrates the continuity of the Greek interpretative tradition with a number of previous ancient authors who wrote about Egypt, but primarily with Plutarch. However, unlike Plutarch, Synesius’s work is highly political and contains elements of satire and pamphleteering. For this reason, his presentation of the myth contains several deviations from Egyptian tradition and the tradition of interpretatio Graeca. For example, the author never mentions Isis by name and eff ectively ignores the fi gure of Horus. Overall, however, “De Providentia” not only demonstrates the continuity of the interpretatio Graeca tradition but also serves as its culmination. Synesius was the last ancient author to create a major work using material from the myth of Osiris.
Keywords
Myth of Osiris, ancient Egyptian religion, interpretatio Graeca, Synesius of Cyrene, Plutarch, “De Providentia”.