Coptic Symbols

Deceased pharaoh holding the ankh symbol, from Karnak Temple

     The Coptic Christians also incorporated pharaonic images and symbols as well as Greco-Roman symbols into their own ritualistic practices.  The Copts arose in Egypt with the evangelization of Christianity by St. Mark.  Currently they are the minority are often undercounted.  As a minority, the Copts incorporated certain symbols to better assimilate with their fellow Egyptians:

The ankh was incorporated as a cross.  There is also the image found in the monastery of St. Jeremiah of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus.  That image is very rare.  There is an image of Isis feeding her son, Horus, in the same manner.  It is possible this image was transferred.  There is also a lot of Greek influence.  Coptic art displays shells.  This symbol comes from the Greeks.  The shell was a symbol of Aphrodite since mythology dictates she was born from the sea and emerged in a seashell.  There is also the language.  Copts borrowed the Greek alphabet but noticed there were some sounds missing so created their own symbols.  There was also some Islamic incorporation with the geometric shapes and utilization of the mashrabeya.  The Copts added their own symbols within the mashrabeya as a way to express their Coptic identity while blending into the Islamic majority.  They would incorporate the cross into the mashrabeya which could not really be seen from the outside, thereby protecting themselves from possible persecution as the minority (Thomas Fieldnotes June 3, 2010).    

     The incorporation of both pharaonic images, as well as Greco-Roman and Islamic, stems more from trying to find a place as a minority rather than trying to create a balance of pharaonic identity with contemporary Egyptian identity.  The ankh, for example, is a pharaonic image.  It was utilized as a symbol of life and can be seen as paintings on temple and tomb walls as well as tangible artifacts placed with the dead.  The ankh resembles a cross and, as a pharaonic symbol of life, it is understandable why the Copts may have incorporated that symbol as their own Christian cross.  The Christian cross also symbolizes life.  Therefore, in trying to find a place amongst an Islamic majority, the Copts may have wanted to find a common ground from which they could draw with their Muslim counterparts: a common 

connection with the pharaonic past.  Many Copts also claim to be directly descended from the pharaonic Egyptians without the intermingling of other peoples.  They claim to be pure blooded.  Thus, in this context, the usage of the ankh would indeed create, as Dr. Winegar argues, a link between the past identity and the present identity, making use of past symbols to create a contemporary identity (lecture 6/10/2010), which seems to be what is happening in this case. 

     The image of the Virgin Mary breastfeeding Jesus is another example that can be seen as a connection with the pharaonic past.  Many times, when a new religion develops, there is an incorporation of symbols from the previous dominant religion into the new religion so the new religion makes sense and the transition is easier.  This would explain the similarity between Isis feeding Horus and the Virgin Mary feeding Jesus.  The symbol of Isis feeding Horus was a very prevalent, well-known image.  New Copts could then relate to images of the Virgin Mary and Jesus if the images were similar to Isis feeding Horus.  In this case, it the Virgin Mary and Jesus image could arguably be a contemporary creation of the Isis feeding Horus image; it is making use of past images to create a contemporary identity.

     There was also Greco-Roman influence with the Copts.  There was the use of shells in art as well as the alphabet.  The use of shells on part of the Greeks and Romans comes from mythology.  When the Greeks and Romans were in Egypt, there was undoubtedly an exchange of cultural ideas.  In her lecture, Dr. Winegar mentioned Egypt as a crossroads of the world (6/10/2010).  Therefore, as a crossroads, Egyptians took ideas from other cultures.  The shell was one of them.  The Copts, as a way to fit in and possibly show the Greeks and Romans they were accepting of Greco-Roman rule, incorporated such Greco-Roman images.  The alphabet is another example of this.  The Copts incorporated the Greek alphabet into their own.  The Coptic alphabet is very close to the Demotic language and since the Copts claim pharaonic lineage, the usage of this alphabet would provide a link with the past.         

     As the minority, the Copts dealt with pressure and persecution from the majority, the Muslims.  Therefore, there is much Islamic influence within Coptic art and life.  One example is the use of geometric shapes.  In Coptic Cairo there is a church called the Hanging Church which has many colorful geometric designs from the time during the Islamic period when the church underwent restoration.  Islam does not use images since they are forbidden, but geometric shapes and colors are permitted.  In order to assimilate Coptic Churches utilized the geometric shapes.  Another Islamic incorporation was the utilization of mashrabeya, a type of decorated wooden screen where people could look out and not be seen from the outside.  It was mainly used by women since women mainly stayed in the house, not seen.  Mashrabeya is decorated with different shapes and writing.  The Copts incorporated their own symbols of Coptic identity to establish themselves without being persecuted.  Some Coptic mashrabeya contained images of crosses which could not necessarily be seen from the outside.  In this way, Copts could assert themselves as Coptic Christians without outwardly displaying it to their Muslim neighbors.  In this case, the incorporation of Islamic features is more of an assimilation tactic rather than using past symbols as a way to create a contemporary identity.

Links:

The Co-modification of Egypt's History

Symbols