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Re: orion-list Full Suda Translation (rough draft)

George Brooks queries:

<< If there is ANYTHING about the Egyptian Priests that sounds "Pagan"
 or "Egyptian" to you, I would be interested in reading it.
>>

Dear George,

    If you would simply request Peter Van der Horst's "Chaeremon:  Egyptian 
Priest and Stoic Philosopher" (E.J. Brill, 1984) by inter-library loan (any 
public library will do this for you) you would have the full corpus of 
Chaeremon's writings with full comments thereon and be able to answer such 
basic questions for yourself.  
   You will discover, for instance, that Chaeremon was a rabid anti-semite 
(F1=Fragment 1) and would not have written a favorable account of Jewish 
priests in Egypt.  He describes the Egyptian religion as including the 
worship of animals such as hawks, ibises, the Apis bull, and vultures (F2) -- 
for which Philo excoriates the Egyptians in _The Contemplative Life_, 
_Embassy to Gaius_, etc.  He describes the Egyptian priests as knowing magic 
formulae for commanding Ra ("Helios"), Isis and Osiris (F4).  He describes 
the Egyptian worship of planets such as the sun (i.e. Ra), and interprets 
stories of Isis and Osiris allegorically to refer to the planets (F5-F9) -- 
for which Philo again excoriates the Egyptians.  He describes the Egyptian 
priests as living inside the temples supported by temple revenues, refusing 
for religious reasons to eat foods grown outside Egypt or to travel abroad 
(F10).  He accurately describes the Egyptian priests as employing 
hieroglyphics (F12).  
    These are a scattering of telling details from the undisputed fragmenta.  
The less certain fragments contain much more Egyptian material.  If you still 
have questions *after* reading this book I would be happy to pursue the 
thread further.

    Best wishes,
    Russell Gmirkin
For private reply, e-mail to RGmyrken@aol.com
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