Egypt’s Last Hieroglyph and the Fiery Archbishop of Alexandria
· 30 min · S6 E15
Episode Egypt’s Last Hieroglyph and the Fiery Archbishop of Alexandria
August 24, 394. On the walls of a fading Egyptian temple, a priest carves what will become the last known hieroglyph in history. At the same moment, in Alexandria, a fiery archbishop named Theophilus is rising to power. He mocks the ancient Egyptian gods, desecrates their temples, and sets out to stamp out “paganism” for good.
But Theophilus is fighting more than ancient religion—he clashes with monks, rivals, even fellow bishops, in a ruthless bid to make Alexandria the beating heart of the Christian world. What drives him to destroy? And can an entire faith really be erased?
Special thanks to our guests: Solange Ashby, Assistant Professor of Egyptology and Nubian Studies at UCLA in Los Angeles, author of Calling Out to Isis: the Enduring Nubian Presence at Philae; Stephen Davis, Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of History at Yale University; and Christine Luckritz Marquis, Associate Professor of Church History at Union Presbyterian Seminary, and author of Death of the Desert: Monastic Memory and the Loss of Egypt's Golden Age.
Artwork: Saint John Chrysostom and the Empress Eudoxia by Jean-Paul Laurens.
--
Get in touch: historythisweekpodcast@history.com
Follow on Instagram: @historythisweek
To stay updated: http://historythisweekpodcast.com
Links in the notes 4
- https://www.amazon.com/Calling-out-to-Isis/dp/1463207158
- https://www.amazon.com/Death-Desert-Monastic-Divinations-Rereading/dp/0812253620
- https://www.augustins.org/fr/notice/2004-1-156-saint-jean-chrysostome-et-l-imperatrice-eudoxie-de185e74-9ca9-4109-b15d-d858a67a30e5
- https://www.instagram.com/historythisweek/
Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.