Stela of Two Deified Men(?)

late 1st century B.C.E.-early 1st century C.E.

The small figure in the lower right is a pharaoh offering to four small Egyptian deities and two large figures holding bows and signs of life, probably deified humans. It has been suggested they are the brothers Pedisi and Pihor, Nubian princes deified after death. They were the major focus of the cult in the Temple of Dendur, a site in lower Nubia where Egyptian deities were also worshiped. The Dendur Temple was built between 23 and 10 B.C., when Egypt controlled lower Nubia and the Emperor Augustus was pharaoh of Egypt.

The style of the stela's figures, their facial features, and the bold carving and heavy forms are related to many works in Egypt of late Ptolemaic (first century B.C.) and Roman times. However, this style is also found in contemporary works from Egyptian-controlled lower Nubia, and the stela is of Nubian sandstone.