The Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology will present thelecture "Continuity and Cultic Rites: the Egyptian Community andthe 'City of the Dead'" tonight in the Fogelman ExecutiveCenter.
"We are starting a new series called 'The Legacy of Egypt,'"said Mariam Ayad, assistant director of IEAA. "This first lecturewill be about the mortuary rituals of ancient Egypt and how theysurvived into the Roman period."
Lorelei Corcoran, assistant professor of art and director ofIEAA, will present the lecture.
"My lecture will concentrate on the funerary rites in ancientEgyptian times up to the Roman period," Corcoran said. "They wereeventually outlawed by the Christian emperors. I will reflect onthe basic human concerns that people can relate to.
"I think what was most important to the Egyptians was communityand the responsibility and link that tied the living to thedead."
Corcoran said the lecture is timed to coincide with an Egyptianholiday known as Sham el-Nassim.
"It means 'smelling the breezes,'" Corcoran said. "It's aholiday where people picnic outside in whatever green area they canfind and celebrate spring and rites of renewal. It is stillcelebrated to this day."
Graduate student Laura Deneke, art history and Egyptology major,said going to museums and art shows got her interested inEgypt.
"One of my earliest memories is my parents taking me to theRameses the Great show here in Memphis," she said. "I am expectingto hear analyses on the funerary arts of Egyptians and how thisprogressed through ancient Egypt into our world today."
Ayad said the lecture is important when one considers how longthe ancient Egyptian civilization lasted.
"It lasted for 3,000 years," Ayad said. "Many of the ritualshave survived up to this day. I think it's a great opportunity forthe people of Memphis to celebrate the history of Memphis, beingthat it was named after the Egyptian city. It's very important tocelebrate how ancient Egypt affected this modern city."
Corcoran said students could learn a lot about the Egyptiansfrom the lecture.
"I think the most important aspect of this is emphasizing thehumanity of the Egyptians," Corcoran said. "It's easy for us tolose track of that when we study a people who lived so long ago. Wehave many of the same questions of life and what happens after wedie, and the Egyptian culture may have solutions to help the modernworld."
A reception will be held at 6:30 p.m., followed by a lecture at7 p.m.
