Interpretatio Romana: Egyptian religious and cultural toposes outside Egypt

In order to compile an objective picture of the features of the spread of Egyptian cults in the territory of Rome and Italy (as far as possible from surviving sources), it is necessary to understand how the Romans adapted their knowledge of Egypt to form their own religious models. It should be taken into account that consideration of the characteristics of Egyptian religious practice on the territory of Italy should occur through the prism of the social context, as well as taking into account the specifics of the integration of these beliefs into the Roman cultural and religious environment. Rejecting traditions that were unacceptable to them, the Romans, nevertheless, willingly accepted those that had already been adapted by the Greeks. However, if we proceed from the postulate that the history of cultures is a history of borrowings, then we must admit that the readiness to introduce something new in Roman culture was by no means absolute, and Egyptian religious and cultural characteristics became the subject of appropriation only to the extent that this was necessary (and acceptable) for the Romans themselves.