Sacred and Profane – Treasures of Ancient Egypt

On Thursday I was fortunate enough to be in Birmingham, where the Barber Institute of Fine Arts at Birmingham University is currently hosting an exhibition of Egyptian objects – Sacred and Profane: Treasures of Ancient Egypt.

The exhibition launched in June, and is running until the 18th January 2012. Admission is completely free, and no tickets are required. A series of lectures and gallery talks are taking place during the exhibition. Details are available on the exhibition website.

The exhibition showcases highlights from the Myers Eton College Egyptology collection, which was put together by British army officer William Myers in the late 19th century. The exhibition itself is only small, but is of interest as the objects are not normally on public display. There is also an accompanying catalogue which has some interesting contributions on subjects such as personal piety and religion in the home, and is well put together. Had I had the required £15 I would certainly have purchased it, especially since this exact same subject (the division between sacred and profane in Egypt) came up in an in depth discussion just a few days before.

The highlight of the collection for me was undoubtedly the pectoral pictured above. The photograph does not nearly do this piece justice. It is a beautiful and exquisitely worked piece of jewellery made from electrum (a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, and greatly treasured in Egypt). It was probably excavated from Dashur and is dated to the 12th Dynasty. The Horus and Set motif almost certainly means it is from a Royal context, though we have no idea for which Pharaoh it was originally commissioned, or if it was buried with Him, or re-used by a successor. It made a pleasant contrast to see some Royal / State objects side by side with their private counterparts.

 

Anubis (Anpu) as a jackal?

An Egyptian friend of mine recently posted an article concerning the god Anubis and his view that the depiction of the god as a black canine, commonly held to be a jackal may be a Xoloitzcuintli (commonly known as a Xolo), a breed of hairless dog indigenous to Meso-America.

He responded to my comments with this article, and out of respect to the trouble he has taken with such a reply, I wish to address the points that he has raised, and also to put forward my argument for the “Jackal Theory”. However, before I do so, I must admit to having no official expertise in either Egyptology or Pre-Columbian Meso-American religions. Contrary to my friends touching compliment, I am not an Egyptologist, merely a student of the subject, who harbours hopes of one day holding such an honour. That said, let’s begin.

The fact that the Xolo is native to the Americas is not disputed here, rather my friend points to the possibility for Pre-Columbian transatlantic travel, and the recent attempts to cross the Atlantic on a reed built vessel, christened the “Ra II”. This vessel was actually built in Latin America by Bolivians, but was built using technology easily within the capabilities of the Egyptians. It sailed from Morocco to Barbados successfully, captained by Thor Heyerdahl. This, combined with the apparent existence of nicotine in some Pharaonic era mummies and similarities of Anubis to gods worshipped in Meso-America form the basis of this argument. Let us first examine these, before proceeding to my arguments in favour of the “Jackal Theory”

Ancient Egyptian Naval Capabilities

Where the Ancient Egyptians capable of crossing the Atlantic? These days it is widely agreed that pre-Columbian contact with North America had been made by the Viking civilization, so the idea of earlier contact must likewise be given serious thought.

The Egyptians lacked the magnetic compass, but were perfectly at ease with astronomy, and were also skilled boat builders. In fact, Egyptian boat building skill extended beyond the design of Heyerdahl’s “Ra II”. The kbnt ships that Egypt used for trading overseas were built using Lebanese timber[i] and, according to the report of the Third Intermediate Period official, Wenamun, were capable of surviving storms quite well[ii]

So in answer to the question, with their technology would crossing the Atlantic have been physically possible, I would say, yes. After all it is physically possible to row across the Atlantic, if you so wish, and are sufficiently determined. The question therefore is, did they?

On this the evidence is not so good. There are no Egyptian accounts of any trans-Atlantic missions. There are no records of any contacts with any people there, nor of any exotic goods that they surely would have brought back with them. It must be remembered and emphasised that Pharaonic Egypt had a very highly developed state structure that kept records of large transactions, trade missions and military campaigns. Individual Pharaohs also used such missions as propaganda opportunities, as can be seen at Deir El Bhari with Hatshepsut’s expedition to Punt. If such a relatively short journey requires a colonnade to itself, it is hard to imagine that a trip to the Americas doesn’t warrant a single mention on any temple wall, in any officials tomb, in any folk record, in any papyri, or even in any tales handed down and recorded by classical authors.

If the Egyptians conquered a new land, they were uncharacteristically modest in recording their truly outstanding victories against both the elements and the enemy, and never spoke of the exotic produce they were sure to have brought back. Neither did they leave behind a stela, or any inscription, at their destination.

Punt Colonade, Deir El Bahri. By the author.

Nicotine in Egyptian Mummies

The only published study on this matter is that undertaken by Institut für Anthropologie und Humangenetik, Munich[iii] . Findings from this study remain controversial and ultimately inconclusive. The signature of the nicotine found in the bodies does not point specifically to the tobacco plant, rather only to the family to which it belongs, the Solanaceae family. The Mandrake plant also belongs to this same family, and was widely used by the Egyptians. It is attested to in medical papyri[iv], and has anaesthetic properties as well as narcotic. Other plants used in folk medicine also belong to this same family.

In addition it should be noted that only a single intact mummy was involved in the tests, and no details concerning the exact provenance of the mummy, and other incomplete human remains used in the study, has not, to the best of my knowledge, been provided.

Without a strong provenance, it is impossible to know for certain whether or not these bodies have been contaminated, and in the case of the parts, or even the whole mummy, whether or not they are genuine or fakes from a later period. Excavation techniques in the 19th and early 20th centuries were not conducted in the same manner as the “forensically aware” techniques of the current era, and modern contamination is also possible. The possibility of tomb robbery as the ultimate source of some of these parts cannot be completely discounted either.

Similarity of Anubis to Meso-American Gods

The nearest likeness to Anubis I have been able to locate in Meso-American religions is the Aztec god Xolotl, hence the name Xoloitzcuintli, or Xolo, for the breed of dog that is being linked to Anubis.

Xolotl. Wikimedia Commons

A brief look a chronology is important here. Anubis is one of the older gods of the Egyptian pantheon. Figurines in his image (though without being able to be conclusively identified as representing him) go back to the Pre-Dynastic period, and he mentioned repeatedly and explicitly in Old Kingdom funerary texts[v] . This gives the birth of his cult to be some time in the late 4th or early 3rd millennium BCE, at the latest.

Aztec civilization, however, is much, much more recent. The Aztec civilization flourished from the 12th to 16th centuries CE. It’s people probably did not migrate into the central American region before the 6th century CE. Pharaonic Egypt had ceased to exist as an independent state in 30BCE, and had been ruled by a foreign dynasty since 343BCE. Had the Egyptians crossed the Atlantic at any point in Pharaonic history, they would never have met the Aztecs, nor Xolotl.

The Aztecs would not have been there to be taught of Anubis by the Egyptians. It is fortunate, for had the two met, then the Egyptians would just as surely have decimated the local population with their eastern hemisphere diseases, just as Cortez did. Indeed, had the contact occurred, Cortez may have found his contact had much less influence on the natives, who would by that time developed the same immunities as his own people. The Vikings, it should be noted here, made no contact with the Aztecs, landing thousands of miles to the north.

Xolotl shares certain traits, besides his canine imagery, with Anubis. Both are guides of the dead. But whilst Anubis has his role end here and upon the embalming table, and is otherwise a relatively minor god in the great scheme of things, Xolotl is a major figure in Aztec mythology, taking in roles associated with fire, bad luck, and guarding the sun at night in the underworld. As well as his canine forms, he could also be a mythical beast, featuring reversed feet. These are areas with which Anubis is never associated, and indeed, remind one more of Set than of Anubis.

The Jackal Theory

My arguments for the imagery of Anubis to be that of a jackal, or, perhaps, a jackal hybrid with another local canine, is based on both visual similarities, the habits and natures of the animals in keeping with the nature and role of the god, and the confirmed knowledge of, and interaction with these animals by the Ancient Egyptians.

Several canines were known in Ancient Egypt, listed below:

· The Egyptian Jackal (Canis aureus lupaster)
· The Saluki
· Several subspecies of Fox, including the Nile Fox.
· Arabian Wolf (Canis Lupus Arabs)

Of these, the Arabian Wolf is currently an endangered species due to hunting and killing by farmers. It’s current habitat within Egypt is believed to be restricted to the Sinai, but may have been wider in the past. Little research has been done.

The Anubis imagery, of which are best example comes from a statue of Anubis in fully canine form atop a shrine, found in tomb KV62 of Tutankhamun (18th. Dyn) and now in Cairo Museum depicts an all black canine, with large, pointed ears, long slender jaw and body, as shown here.

Anubis. Egypt Archive

In terms of body shape, I believe this imagery closely resembles that of the subspecies of jackal found in Egypt, Canis aureus lupaster, shown below.

Canis aureus lupaster. Unknown orignal source.

The sub-speicies of jackal known in Egypt is a desert living creature, that as well as hunting small prey can also be a scavenging carrion eater[vi]. As such, they would have been attracted to Ancient Egyptian cemeteries, were food could be found amongst the bodies of the recently deceased. They would have been particularly visible in times of epidemic. Both these factors, along with it’s living in the “dead” lands of the deserts would likely have strengthened the link between the god Anubis and the jackal.

The difference in coloration may well be the result of symbolism in Egyptian religion. There are numerous other examples of this in Egyptian imagery, including most notably, Osiris, whom is often depicted with black skin, and, like Anubis, is a deity associated with death and the afterlife[vii]. This is currently the most widely accepted view amongst experts, though there remains the possibility of the Anubis canine depiction being a hybrid wither another breed, of which I believe the most likely to be the Saluki.

Osiris depicted with black skin. Wikimedia Commons

The Saluki (sometimes confused with the Greyhound, though it’s possible both were known in Egypt) was known in Egypt from at least the time of the Old Kingdom. They are tall, athletic, slender canines with coats that can be a variety of colours, including black, with both smooth and “feathered” fur. Animals with the latter have short body hair, with long “feathers” at the tail, ears and legs. Salukis were bred for hunting, but retain the traditional canine qualities of loyalty and obedience to their perceived alpha, or pack leader, the human. They also have a tendency to “sing”, with a varying howl, when their owner is away for long periods of time, for example, if he died. Thus, with the “mourning wail” for their separated owners, their role as loyal and dutiful guides to living creatures out in the deserts, alongside the similarly canine jackals, it is feasible that the Saluki would be a likely candidate, given their role, nature and appearance, to be part of a hybrid imagery for Anubis.

Feather coated Saluki. Wikimedia Commons

Conclusions

Given the above arguments, my personal conclusions are that the cult of Anubis grew up in Pre or Early Dynastic Egypt, and the iconography of the god is a natural product of the Ancient Egyptian view of life and death. Factors such as the sterility and inhospitable nature of the desert to humans, contrasting with it’s suitability for the carrion eating jackal make sharp symbolism that would be as clear to a modern eye as to ancient ones.

The symbolism of black in association with both death and rebirth are quite clear, in terms of both the long standing Egyptian solar tradition (day as opposed balanced by night, living balanced by after living, the transition from one to the other occurring in the west, beyond the valley) and also, as it would appear in the cult of Osiris, with it’s emphasis life coming anew from the black soil.

I do not dismiss the possibility that the Anubis canine could be a hybrid of a jackal with the desert hunting Saluki, for which some Egyptians would depend upon for hunting, guidance and possibly protection in the “dead” lands of the Western Desert.
I do not feel that Anubis bears anything beyond surface similarities to much later canine cults of Meso-America. Aside from the total silence of the Egyptians concerning the American continent, and the fundamental differences between Xolotl and Abubis, the chronological differences involved further rule out the possibility of links.

Is this a Euro-Centric view? I do not think so. I think subscribing to the idea that the Meso-American civilizations developed independently of those of the Ancient Near East does nothing to demean either family of civilizations. Egypt remains, to me, in many ways, the most remarkable of all civilizations, as the first large nation-state in history.

My view that she did not give birth to Meso-American civilization does nothing to dent those achievements, whilst the development of another family of sophisticated civilizations in Meso-America is perhaps testament to the fact that, as humans, even when separated by vast distances, times and conditions, we all aspire to harmonious, lawful, organised societies. A thought which I find most heartening.

Notes:

1 David, Rosalie: Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt
11 Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol. II “Report of Wenamun”
111Published in Naturwissenschaften, Vol 79, #8, August 1992
1V Papyrus Hearst
V  Wilkinson, Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
V1 University of Michigan, Museum of Zoology website (Link)
V11 Wilkinson, Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

 

Rest in Peace, Seti

From Al-Ahram weekly, by Nevine El Aref, concerning the temple of Seti I at Abydos:

…Over the decades, however, spontaneous urban and agricultural development around Abydos has affected the monuments. The city’s inhabitants have encroached on the area in the vicinity of Seti I’s temple. Some have cultivated the triangle in front of temple, leading to the leakage of drainage water into the temple, while others have constructed residential mud-brick and concrete houses around the temple walls and along the road leading to Ramses II’s temple, which in its turn affects the scenery of the whole site.

The Cairo-Aswan highway was another threat to the archaeological site. The highway, a the mega-project for the government, was meant to strengthen domestic transport routes as a way of promoting tourism and boosting trade between the governorates; it was the ground of a major debate between three ministries: housing, agriculture and culture. The controversy was sparked when construction began on the section of the road linking Assiut to Aswan. Archaeologists from the SCA argued that the road would cause irrevocable damage to the major archaeological sites at Abydos, the primary pilgrimage destination for ancient Egyptians, through which it runs. According to Sabri Abdel-Aziz, who heads the SCA’s Ancient Egypt Department, the Temple of Osiris, the royal cemetery of the first and second dynasties, the ramp of Senusert III’s chapel and his funerary complex, as well as the ramp of Ahmos’s Pyramid, and the famous Seti I Temple with its list of Egypt’s ancient kings and queens, would all be in danger of destruction.

As a result, two committees — comprising representatives from the ministries of culture, housing and agriculture, as well as Sohag governorate and transport authorities — inspected the section of the road in question in an attempt to revise the route and reach a compromise.

Four suggestions were made. The first proposed detouring the route towards the agricultural land east of the archaeological site, thereby destroying 65 feddans of Sohag’s most fertile land. The second would link the road via the desert behind the Abydos mountains at an additional cost of LE150 million.

The remaining two suggestions involved paving the area parallel to the Qasr canal, resulting in a 25-kilometre longer route that could end up necessitating the demolition of a number of rural houses, and, finally, an alternate route through an agricultural area, as well as an archaeological zone which must first be excavated prior to construction.

During the debate, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said his ministry would not stand in the way of development projects meant to benefit the general public. However, he also said, the ministry was very serious about preventing the destruction of monuments. He said no new construction would be taking place until the newly-organised ministerial committee made its final decision. For his part, SCA Secretary- General Zahi Hawass suggested that the SCA was perfectly willing to help construct the proposed detours if that meant preserving Egypt’s heritage.

After several meetings and inspection tours, the controversial parties agreed on the rerouting of the road and that the LE15 million which would be used for recompensing the residents would be provided by the three ministries concerned — each would pay LE5 million. So far the SCA has paid three million, and when the construction of the new houses starts it will pay the rest.

The problem of water in Abydos is becoming serious. Abdel-Aziz told Al-Ahram Weekly that he counted three direct causes; namely the cultivation around the temple zone, the lack of a proper drainage system in the shanty housing areas near both temples, and the heightened level of the Nile in July and August, which in its turn augmented the level of water inside the Osirian.

Now, he continued, in collaboration with the Subterranean Water Research Centre and the Tarek Wali engineering bureau, the SCA was carrying out a comprehensive project to reduce the rate of subterranean water inside the Osirian. The triangle cultivated in front of the Seti I Temple had also been removed in an attempt to return it to its original feature.

“Abydos is archaeologically rich, and even more important historically than Giza and Luxor,” Hawass said. “It was also a sacred pilgrimage site for Osiris, and almost every king in Ancient Egypt built a cenotaph or a chapel dedicated to the god of the afterlife.” He said an LE20 million development project was now under implementation in order to end the problems Abydos is suffering from and to develop the whole site in a way that matches its archaeological and historical importance. According to the project, which will be implemented over the next six years, Abydos will regain its original scenic position.

In an attempt to protect the archaeological site of Abydos from any further encroachment, a wall will surround it and the 92 houses located along the road between both temples will be demolished. Residents will be moved to other houses now under construction by the Ministry of Housing in a nearby area after it has been archaeologically investigated. A high-tech visitor centre will be set up un front of the temple of Seti I, replacing the cultivated triangle, along with a cafeteria and a bookshop. “A sound and light show for the archaeological sites of Abydos is now under study as another tourist attraction,” Hawass says.

That the original route for the highway was even considered is quite incredible. Abydos is perhaps the single most important religious site in Pharaonic culture. While it may lank the monumental splendour of Karnak or Giza, it’s religious prominence dates back to the very foundations of Egyptian culture. The Pharaohs of the very earliest dynasties were buried here. Djoser’s pyramid is the world’s first monumental all-stone structure, but Khasekhemwy was showing the way, with a truly monumental mastaba with it’s stone burial chamber, in Abydos.

One and half millenia later Abydos was the site of the last royal cenotaph to use the pyramid as an architectural form, for the founder of the New Kingdom, and re-unifier of Egypt, Ahmose I. In the 19th dynasty the city would be graced with the finest artwork that Pharaonic civilization would produce in a history spanning 3,000 years.

The archaeology of this site is hard to over-estimate. Whole swathes of Egyptian history have been made available to us by finds there. Without Abydos, it’s not an exaggeration to say that our knowledge of Egyptian history, especially of the Early Dynastic period, would be in tatters. Perhaps nothing sums up the place better than the king list to which it gave it’s name.

So it is with a sigh of absolute relief that I discover the Ministry of Culture (of which the SCA forms a part), and the ministries of housing, agriculture, and the transport authorities have finally reached an agreement not to build a massive highway right through it all.

The future plans for the site are very exciting, now that the “sword of Damocles” no longer hangs over it. The chance to clear some of the houses that crowd the area provide a great opportunity for further study, as well as safeguarding the site from water and sewerage. As at so many sites, water is a key issue at Abydos, as the sad state of the Osirion dramatically shows. The conversion of the “triangle” from agricultural to touristic use will no doubt also be of benefit here. The wall, meanwhile should hopefully “lock in” these benefits and help prevent any future encroachment back onto the site by housing and agriculture. Hopefully this will keep the site safe and secure from human and environmental harm, so that we can continue to learn from it’s rich archaeological record, and preserve it’s splendour.

The plans for touristic development here intrigue me, though. At present Abydos is hardly a visitor friendly place. The only way for a visitor to access the site is via a once daily convoy from Luxor which gives them – at most – 90 minutes at the temple, or by taking a train journey followed by a taxi from the station in a “private convoy”, accompanied by police. As such, for the proposed S&L show and visitors centre to really take off, a major security / transport rethink will be needed. Is the Sohag governate finally considering opening it’s doors to mainstream tourism?

Whilst another S&L show is not something I’d like to see inflicted upon the graceful walls of the Abydos temples, an easing of restrictions upon visitors, combined with a good site management programme, would be a welcome development that would allow more people(appropriately managed within the site) to appreciate a very important and beautiful site.

Interesting, exciting, disturbing, times in Abydos…

 

God of the Week – IAH

I have been seriously neglecting this task, for which I apologise to all my patient readers. I have finally got most of my books out of storage now, so am able to write more fully once more. A lot of my books still hadn’t been brought up to London. It should be noticed, that if I ever seem to know what I’m talking about, it’s only because I happen to have the right book to hand!

So, this week, I shall write about Iah, a lesser known lunar god, of whom our understanding is somewhat limited.

Origins:
Iah (sometimes translated as Yah) appears in quite a prominent role in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom. Imagery of him is not very common, though his name is synonymous with the actual lunar disk itself. It is therefore probable that he was worshipped in pre-dynastic periods in this literal form.

Appearances and Associations:
Iah is portrayed variously as a male wearing a three part wig, and wearing the full lunar disc and crescent symbols. He is also sometimes seen wrapped (mummy wrappings?) in the same manner as Khonsu in some depictions, along with a staff. Sometimes the only differentiation between them can be the side-lock of youth that Khonsu sports.

Iah can also sometimes be seen bearing the damaged (lunar) eye of Horus.

Due to his association with Thoth, he may also appear with the distinctive Ibis head of this god, wearing a simple crescent crown.

Associations and Prominence:
As already mentioned, Iah is a lunar god, and this dominates his associations. In this role he is very closely associated with Khonsu (the primary lunar god from the New Kingdom onward) and Thoth (Thoth-Iah), who also has some lunar associations. This affected his prominence in later periods. Iah also eventually become associated with Osiris (Osiris-Iah), possibly through the lunar cycle of regeneration, and also the association of the lunar disc with the damaged eye of Horus.

However, in the Old Kingdom, and up until the 18th Dynasty, Iah enjoyed a fair degree of visibility, appearing in the Pyramid Texts, as well as being involved in The Book of the Dead (more accurately, The Incantations of Arising by Day) which, unlike the Pyramid texts, was used by commoners as well as royalty.

It appears that Iah was particularly popular with the 17th Dynasty royal line, as several prominent royals adopted his name into their own, including Ah-Hotep, and her son, Ahmose I (Amosis), founder of the 18th Dynasty, along with his wife, Ahmose-Nefertari. Some have also speculated that the name Kamose may also have had some root in Iah’s name. Interestingly, another association can be seen between Iah and the 26th dynasty, in the form of Ahmose II (Amasis), despite his eclipse, so to speak, by Khonsu. Also, statuettes and amulets of Iah continue to be found throught the New Kingdom and Late Periods, including a fine statuette now in the collection of the British Museum.

There is no mention, however, of Iah ever having any significant temples or state endowments of his own.

Titles:

• Dweller Among The Gods (?)

Decline:
Iah is mentioned from the 5th dynasty, and clearly had a following through well into the Late Period. As far as I am aware, however, it is unknown exactly when his following died out.

Photo – Bronze statuette of Iah, Late Period, BM-EA12587. Photo by BM

 

Archaeologists discover ancient army headquarters

From the Daily News Egypt -Link to article

By AFP
First Published: May 29, 2008

CAIRO: Egyptian archaeologists have discovered the headquarters of a pharaonic army that guarded the strategic eastern border, the Supreme Council of Antiquities said on Wednesday.

The site, which dates back to the New Kingdom (1570-1070 BC), was discovered in the Sinai peninsula at the start of Horus Road, the vital commercial and military road linking Egypt to Asia, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.

The article is referring to Tjaru fortress (according to other articles covering this topic posted on Andie Byrne’s blog) and the resurfacing of this news is due to some new inscriptions being found at the site, including a rather fine carving of Horus, and some an inscription including royal cartouches by Reuters/Yahoo, which sadly is shown upside down.

It is now believed that a temple complex was also built here, which makes sense if we think back to the fortresses that the Egyptians constructed in Nubia, where several temples dating from the early 18th Dynasty onward were discovered in the fortress of Buhen.

There is no divide or conflict between military activity and religion in the Egyptian world view. Indeed, defending the boundaries of Egypt (as a place filled with ma’at, under Horus) against foreign activity (the forces of chaos/isfet) can clearly be seen as a key aspect of Ancient Egyptian religion, particularly state religion. In this, we may possibly be seeing the first time a nation-state uses religion to both rally the troops, and to justify military action.

 

Ancient Egyptian Lexicon Discovered in University Digitisation Project

Thanks to A K Eyma and Michael Tilgner for giving the EEF Email list a heads up on this:

At the University of Halle, a papyrus (from the Julius Kurth
Collection) has been discovered, which on one side has
a Book of the Dead text, and on the other side a lexicon.
This lexicon in three columns assigns precious metals, minerals,
trees and animals to certain godheads (e.g., gold and lapis lazuli
to Re, the cedar to Osiris, the ibis to Thoth, etc).

The main news article is in German, but from what I have been able to gather, the papyrus in question is around 2,300 years old, putting it at the end of the Late Period or beginnings of the Ptolemaic Period. Although we know of other lexicons compiled in Ancient Egypt, this is the oldest so far. The dictionary style list of associations between the gods, and things such as animals, woods and minerals bears no apparent relation to the “Book of the Dead” text on the other side. The associations given as examples are ones that were already known to us, so I assume that there is no new information concerning religious associations in the text, but it does push back the date at which this sort of listing of associations in a plain, simple, dictionary style form first appear on papyrus.

The text was discovered during the process of digitizing the papyrus collection of University Halle, and the digital database entry for the papyrus (P.Hal.Kurth Inv. 33) can be found here, with 72dpi images.

Link to article in Der Standard (German language)

 

Seshat and Hapy…. Happier together

I did promise images of the gods… And finally I have found a beautiful one of both Seshat and Hapy in the quietest backwaters of my hard drive. Beautiful (the temple that is, not my picture. I merely record what the ancients created)

Sunk relief carving of Seshat (left) and Hapy (right), Seated colossi of Ramesses II, Peristyle Courtyard, Luxor Temple. Taken in Febuary 2008 by the author, using Canon D30 DSLR with available light.

 

Last of the ancient wonders IV: The pyramid face angle

From Al Ahram Weekly – Link to original article

Assem Deif investigates the face angle of Egypt’s pyramids. Although it relies on the culmination of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, it is rounded to match the nearest Egyptian unit, seqed

When the Egyptians witnessed the rising of Sirius just before dawn (known as the heliacal rising), they knew that the Nile would soon flood; for they depended upon the flooding for the agriculture and fertility of their land. The heliacal rising, which falls close to the summer solstice, marked the beginning of the New Year coinciding with the month of Thoth.

Since Sirius brought prosperity to Egypt, tracing of the star was crucial. At the Isis-Hathor Temple of Denderah there is a statue of Isis which was oriented to the rising of Sirius. When the priests saw the rays from Sirius penetrating the temple to fall upon the gemstone she wore, they announced that a New Year had begun. In the temple appears the inscription, “Her majesty Isis shines into the temple on New Year’s Day, and she mingles her light with that of her father on the horizon.”

Sirius did not only bless the living by bringing wealth to the Egyptians, but it also blessed their dead. It was believed that Sirius was the doorway to the afterlife, so the ancient Egyptians abstained from burying their dead at the time of the year when the star was hidden from view, which lasted about 70 days. This led Herodotus to assume that the mummification process could take up to 70 days, yet it is commonly known that it used to last 40 days. Presumably, what he meant was that it would not take more than 70 days, as burying the deceased involved other rituals as well.

The Egyptians, being blessed by Sirius, buried their dead such that the head lay in the direction of the star’s culmination point. In other words, the corpse lay on the meridian with the head pointing due south. Visitors to the King’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid will notice that the sarcophagus is fixed in this direction.

Something for the mathematically gifted amongst you, an examination of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, investigating the possibility that the overall angle of inclination may have been linked to the rise of Sothis/Sopdet, first proposed by Mahmud Hamdy Pacha. Although I find Petrie’s view interesting too, that the “ventilation” shafts had solar connections, being intended to direct the rays of the sun rather than star.

 

God Of The Week : Neit (Neith)

Neit (also, Neith), the patron goddess of Sais (Egyptian, Sai), and also one of the three main gods of Esna (Egyptian, Ta-Senet) is one of of the earliest gods to have a centre of worship in Egypt. The fierce warrior goddess also has a softer side, however, and her influence extends far and wide.

Origins:
There are clear attestations to a worship of Neit at least as far back as the 1st Dynasty in her cult centre, Sais. However, there is a general consensus in the scholarly world that her origins extend much further back than this, into the Pre-Dynastic period, and may be the same archaic warrior goddess that gave rise to Tanit, Astarte and, less certainly, Pallas-Athene, the latter possibly having reached the Greek world via early trade with Crete. The Ptolemaic rulers lost no time in associating Neit with the patron goddess of Athens, noticing the similarities between the two.

Appearances and Associations:
Because of her prominence since such early times, Neit has a wealth of associations, though her appearance is quite stable and consistant.

During the New Kingdom, when there was a considerable number of Asiatic foreigners in Egypt, their local huntress/warrior goddess, Ankt became assimilated into the Egyptian pantheon and was merged with Neit, with whom she shared not only a similar (though more limited) role, but also the distinctive arrows.

In addition, Neit was also associated with the Four Sons of Horus (paticularly Dua’Mutef), as the defender of the canopic chest through her associations with death, see next section.

Her early funerary roles, combined with one of her titles as “Opener Of The Ways” may also suggest that she was also associated at an early time with Anubis and/or Wepwawet.

At Esna/Ta-Senet, where she was revered as part of a triad along with Khnum and Hak (their offspring, and a goddess associated with regeneration and frogs?)she was also associated with water through her name (“nt”, another term for water) and so became regarded as the personification of the primordial waters of chaos, and so a creator goddess. This led to her being regarded as the mothers of both Ra and also of Sobek (as Sobek is often associated with the crocodile, this is more logical than it might at first seem), whilst apep is also associated with her, it being stated he was created from her saliva.

It is probably as a result of this watery association that the Nile Perch fish also came to be associated her at this site, where it was held that she travelled downriver from the city with the fish to found the city of Sais/Sai.

Neit is most commonly depicted as an anthropomorphic female with either a shield and two crossed arrows, or the shuttle of a loom. She is also very occasionally depicted as a cow, usually when in her mother role, being described as the “Great Cow” or “Cow who gave birth to Ra”. She is also occasionally depicted as a lioness, doubtless due to her roles as huntress and warrior.

Roles and Prominence:
Neit always played a prominent role in Egyptian religion, being one of the most prominent deities in the Early Dynastic period in Lower Egypt, around her home city of Sai. However, even before this, in the Pre-Dynastic era it appears that she played a prominent role as a goddess of hunting and warfare, and this aspect of her nature is very clear from her earliest appearances in Pharaonic culture, her shield and arrows emblem becoming the standard flag, as it were, for Sais/Sai throughout Egyptian history. It is within this city that her main temple was located, which was named the “House of the Bee”. The name eventually found it’s way, through Neit’s prominence as one of the tutelary goddesses of Lower Egypt, into the very heart of Egyptian culture as the “He of the Sedge and Bee” royal title. Her role as a patron goddess and her association with the crown of Lower Egypt is noted as far back as the Old Kingdom, being mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, along with her afterlife roles in assisting Nephthys and Isis in protecting Osiris, using her role as the inventor of weaving to provide the burial shroud and mummy wrappings for the dead god.

Her role in protecting the east side of the canopic chest and the Sons of Horus (particularly Dua’Mutef) can also be found in these texts. Another of her afterlife roles, being involved in the judging of the dead, is mentioned in the Coffin Texts, dating to the First Intermediate Period.

In the underworld she is also mentioned as accompanying the deceased Pharaoh and Ra on the solar barque as it passes through the underworld, described in the texts “That Which is in the Underworld”.

Her role as a mother to Sobek is also attested from the Old Kingdom onwards.

Quite how she came to be so prominent in Upper Egypt is not quite clear, though it certainly benefited Neit, however, who now ultimately became promoted to the status of creatrix, being described in Esna Temple as the mother of Ra and mother of all the gods, who spat at Nun.

Also in the Old Kingdom she was associated (loosely) as the wife of Set, though in the Contendings she is noted as taking the side of Horus. In later times she is seen a the wife as Sobek, as well as his mother.

Always highly prominent, Neit featured quite prominently in royal names, any several queens were associated with her, including and queen of the Old Kingdom, Mery-Niet, father of Den, and possibly first female Pharaoh.

In the New Kingdom at Deir El Bahri, Neit is shown with Serket and Amun in the divine parentage scene of Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple.

Neit’s prominence was boosted further still with the arrival of the particularly highly cultured Pharaoh’s of the 26th Dynasty, who themselves hailed from Sais. According to Herodotus, the lantern festival, held in her honour, was a major national celebration in the Late Period. Although the remains of Sai are modest, due to it’s delta location being unfavourable to the survival of archaeological remains, there is little doubt that the already quite prominent temple of Neit there would have been greatly embellished. The Late Period may not have been kind to Egypt, but it was undeniably kind to Neit.

Titulary:
· Nurse Of The Crocodile
· The Cow Who Gave Birth To Ra
· The Great Cow
· Mother Of The Gods
· Opener Of The Ways

Decline:
Neit’s cult continued to flourish well into the Ptolemaic era, during which time the Greeks associated her with Pallas-Athene, with whom she shares many characteristics. She plays a prominent role in the Roman era temple at Esna, which was one of the last major new temples constructed within Egypt, indicating that her cult remained prominent until the Roman era. Whether or not the surviving Egyptian tradition of the Fanus is a distant relative of Neith’s lamp festival is unknown. However, it is not beyond the realms of possibility, for the lamp festival was recorded as a long established Coptic custom prior to arrival of Islam in Egypt.

Photo – Late Period statue of Neit, Musée du Louvre. Image source, Rama/Wikimedia, CC ShareAlike.

 

Was Akhenaten an androgynous Pharaoh?

By Alex Dominguez

First Published: May 2, 2008

BALTIMORE: Akhenaten wasn’t the most manly Pharaoh, even though he fathered at least a half-dozen children.

In fact, his form was quite feminine. And he was a bit of an egghead.

So concludes a physician from Yale University in the US who analyzed images of Akhenaten for an annual conference held Friday at the University of Maryland School of Medicine on the deaths of historic figures.

The female form was due to a genetic mutation that caused the pharaoh’s body to convert more male hormones to female hormones than needed, Dr. Irwin Braverman believes. And Akhenaten’s head was misshapen because of a condition in which skull bones fuse at an early age.

The Pharaoh had “an androgynous appearance. He had a female physique with wide hips and breasts, but he was male and he was fertile and he had six daughters,” Braverman said. “But nevertheless, he looked like he had a female physique.”

Braverman, who sizes up the health of individuals based on portraits, teaches a class at Yale’s medical school that uses paintings from the university’s Center for British Art to teach observation skills to first-year students. For his study of Akhenaten, he used statues and carvings.

From the Daily News Egypt – Link to full article

This is far from the first time that I have come across this debate. I believe a core issue that many people overlook in this is the ideological nature of state sponsored artwork in Ancient Egypt.

First and foremost, it is important to remember that in these contexts, Egyptian artwork was not intended to be an accurate representation of a physical subject at a particular point in time. A clear example of this is Hatshepsut having herself portrayed in most artwork as a male. No one, however, contends that Hatshepsut attempted to actually change her gender. Another example would be the numerous statues left behind by Ramesses II during his extremely long reign. Despite the fact that they were obviously constructed at various times, across a period of many decades, he is always portrayed in his youthful prime. No one, however, contends that Ramesses II never aged.

Clearly, art and sculpture were both idealised in Ancient Egypt. It is also quite clear that in royal artwork, the Pharaoh had a great deal of control over how he (or she, in the case of Hatshepsut) was portrayed. We can only assume, therefore, that Akhenaten specifically chose to have himself portrayed in this manner, rather than these images being candid “snapshots”. Indeed, it is recorded by Thutmose, the Amarna sculptor, that Akhenaten specifically instructed him in the Amarna style.

Secondly, we should remember that the Amarna style of art was precisely that, a style. All people were portrayed as having less exaggerated versions of these same features, so it could be considered to be “jumping the gun” somewhat to assume that Akhenaten did indeed look the way he is portrayed in Amarna artwork, no more so than all previous Egyptians had two right or two left feet, but never one left and one right.

Thirdly, given the radical religious reforms that Akhenaten introduced, including a very rigid monotheism at the same time as his artistic reforms, is it not cosndiered realistic that, perhaps, this new style of work was driven by his apparent religious convictions, rather than literal reality?

It is made quite clear from Akhenaten’s religious writing that the royal family alone was considered the sole focus for the Aten, and that the only way to approach the Aten was via them. This gives the royal family, and Akhenaten in particular, an explicit role on earth as a divine intermediary. The Aten, meanwhile, being a universal, single god, naturally contains all of the roles of all the gods within it. Although generally given male terms in the hymns, it is therefore logical and reasonable to assume that the Aten would be regarded by Akhenaten as being essentially sexless. Therefore, my gut reaction when seeing these images, is to interpret them as his quest to link himself ever more closely with the Aten. To this end, I feel it is possible he sought to have himself depicted in an androgynous form like the god, as a “parent” for all mankind, through whom they could reach that god.

This, I feel, may also explain the sudden prominence of intimate scenes of Akhenaten and the royal family in artwork, something that, to this degree, is unique in Egyptian artwork both before and after.