THE ROUTLEDGE DICTIONARY OF EGYPTIAN GODS AND GODDESSES PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

George Hart | 192 pages | 01 Jun 2005 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9780415344951 | English | London, United Kingdom The Best Religion Books

The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses contains one of the most comprehensive listings and descriptions of Egyptian deities. Now in its second edition, it provides: a new introduction updated entries and four new entries on deities n Does political inclusion produce ideological moderation? Schwedler argues that examining political behaviour alone provides insufficient evidence of moderation because it leaves open the possibility that political actors might act as if they are moderate Roland Boer and Christina Petterson here produce a critical survey showing that the rise of capitalist theory was shaped by the way different economic philosophers—Smith, Hobbes, Grotius, Malthus, Locke—— read the Bible. Invoking Jeremiah and This book offers an exciting reinterpretation of Auguste Comte, the founder of French sociology. Andrew Wernick provides the first in-depth critique of Comte's concept of religion and its place in his thinking on politics, sociology and philosophy of scie After more than a century of New Testament scholarship, it has become clear that the Jesus of the gospels is a fictive amalgam, reflecting the hopes and beliefs of the early Christian community and revealing very little about the historical Jesus. Over th Richard Carrier is an expert in the history of the ancient world and a critic of Christian attempts to distort history in defense of their faith. Not the Impossible Faith is a tour de force in that genre, dissecting and refuting the oft-repeated claim Conservative Protestantism in America has always wrestled with doctrinal controversies over issues ranging from predestination to the mode of baptism, from charismatic gifts to biblical . But probably none has threatened the American evangelical m Hymns and hymnbooks as American historical and cultural icons. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses contains one of the most comprehensive listings and descriptions of Egyptian deities. Now in its second edition, it provides: a new introduction updated entries and four new entries on deities names of the deities as Hieroglyphs a survey of gods and goddesses as they appear in classical literature an expanded chronolog The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses contains one of the most comprehensive listings and descriptions of Egyptian deities. Now in its second edition, it provides: a new introduction updated entries and four new entries on deities names of the deities as Hieroglyphs a survey of gods and goddesses as they appear in classical literature an expanded chronology and updated bibliography, together with a list of relevant websites drawings of the gods and emblems of each district a map of and a time chart Presenting a vivid picture of the complexity and richness of imagery in , students studying Ancient Egypt, travelers, visitors to museums and all those interested in mythology will find this an invaluable resource. Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published May 18th by Routledge first published March 1st More Details Original Title. Other Editions 7. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jun 24, rated it really liked it. Those accidental finds while cruising the shelves at the library, are the best of all, when they turn out to be just right for what one needs. I have yet to tackle learning about this mythology. The helpful introduction gave me a firm grasp upon the Dynasties, and characteristics of each epoch which placed the shifts in prominence of one deity group over another make sense. This important piece to the puzzle of deciphering the centuries of mythology, clarified many questions. For that part alone, Those accidental finds while cruising the shelves at the library, are the best of all, when they turn out to be just right for what one needs. For that part alone, I would give this as a recommended beginning to the study. Each entry covered the basics, distinguishing fact from conjecture, and assuring to touch on the key points, and relevant information. My interests are more in the lesser known deities. I know the treatment would be brief, yet, in a tome devoted to concise articles, it is refreshing to see a few of the lesser known beings discussed. By its size, it can hardly be expected to be exhaustive, or complete. The purpose is to offer information about the most familiar characters in myth, and history. Haven't read this entire book, but I'm using it frequently as I learn about the major Egyptian gods and goddesses. This is a good reference book if you're looking for a concise introduction. The entries are short 9 pages for , perhaps the most important Egyptian god , and the full book is only pages. There are lots of illustrations, although in black and white. There are entries on major Canaanite deities worshipped in Egypt Haven't read this entire book, but I'm using it frequently as I learn about the major Egyptian gods and goddesses. There are entries on major Canaanite deities worshipped in Egypt, and a 10 page introduction describing the main sources of knowledge about ancient Egypt. Michael rated it really liked it May 30, Cal Godot rated it liked it Dec 29, Iusaaset - Wikipedia

The sistrum lunar deity analogous to the Akkadian was a cultic musical instrument used pri- moon-god Sin who had an important tem- marily but not exclusively in the worship ple at Harran in north Syria. At Dendera tem- within the Theban royal family eventually ple is the child of the union of responsible for the expulsion of these alien and and is depicted as a naked rulers that there is a definite inclination for young boy wearing the sidelock of youth names involving the moon-god . The and with his finger to his mouth. His Most likely the Middle Eastern deity who name is rarely found outside the confines gave the stimulus to the adoption of Iah is of Dendera temple — e. He held the healer, which had already produced offices of chief executive and identification in the Greek mind with master sculptor — the Egyptian priest Asklepios, their own god of medicine. with the invention called Khreduankh — causes him to be of the technique of building with cut seen as an agent capable of renewing his stone. After his death Imhotep is remem- bered in Middle and New Kingdom scribal compositions as the author of a book of instruction — a well-known genre of Egyptian literature although the one credited to Imhotep has not survived. In the Late Period bronzes of Imhotep show him seated in scribal posture with a -roll open across his knees. In the Ptolemaic period Imhotep as a god is found in cult centres and temples throughout Egypt: 1 Objects dedicated in his name are found in north Saqqara. Late Period bronze statuette, British Museum. Taimhotep, a lady who died in the to the north. Her emblem, as on her gate reign of Cleopatra VII Ptolemaic period , in Babylon, is the eight-pointed star and left a poignant stela now in the British her eminence is emphasised by her Museum on which is mentioned how she identification with the brightest planet and her husband, high priest of , Venus. Further, she is the daughter of the prayed to Imhotep for a son. In a vision or moon-god Sin. Imhotep responds by causing symbolises her martial prowess. Certainly, when lamenting the death of her consort Benign hippopotamus-god- Tammuz Sumerian Dumuzi , Ishtar dess first attested in the Pyramid Age descends into the Underworld, all sexual where the monarch calls her his mother activity ceased on earth. It would be and requests her to suckle him with her tempting to make an analogy between divine milk. Funerary papyri described ing traverses frontiers in the Middle East. Towards the end of his reign the Great Ipet who is none other than Ipy. One of the most important Goddess of immense magi- Assyrian goddesses, her fame extends cal power, symbolic mother of the king. In the earliest references to the goddess in the she appears to foresee his murder by SETH, and is described as sitting despairing, weeping for her brother. In the Great Hymn to on wearing throne symbol. She then acts as a guard over the the transmission of the kingship of Egypt. This consists band. It is through her that Osiris of a girdle with a loop or knot on the front makes her pregnant — the god now leaving and seems to be connected with the Egypt for his role as Underworld king. In the the is described as being made of 2 Mother of HORUS red jasper, suggesting its secondary inter- It is in this aspect that the goddess was pretation as the blood of the goddess. She Pyramid Texts it is stated that the ruler also had a form as the Isis-cow which drinks divine milk from the breasts of his gave birth to the sacred bull of Memphis mother Isis. This is the imagery of the see . A spell against a burn, e. Temple of Sety I, Abydos, cles put in her way by the most powerful Dyn. The goddess was thought on a papyrus dating to Dynasty XX. An to have given birth to her son at Khemmis underlying motif in the account is the in the Delta, reinforcing the connection relationship between Isis and Seth, her with the monarchy since the place-name brother. Her role as a goddess pro- Isis has harpooned Seth, who is in the tecting royal births is found in the Middle form of a hippopotamus, he appeals to her Kingdom story in the Papyrus Westcar in the name of their consanguinity and foretelling a dynastic change: Isis receives she releases the barb from his flesh. The tribunal adjourns to an island, Obtaining some saliva that had with strict instructions being given to the dribbled from his mouth, she mixes it ferryman not to bring Isis across the with earth and fashions it in the shape water. Isis disguises herself as an old of a snake. He falls into a trembling agony, feverish Assuming the shape of a beautiful with the poison. The by reciting a string of names, but Isis righteous anger expressed by Seth is remains obdurate, refusing to cure the immediately turned against him by the god until the true name is spoken to goddess who declares her identity. Isis determines to her son Horus. Consequently the , bring Seth into discredit with the gods. In front of the tribunal Horus asks 4 Her sanctuaries for his semen to be summoned from the Isis as a universal goddess is worshipped head of Seth who, to his chagrin, is left in many temples of which a handful are: looking ridiculous. The climax is a single combat of the three satellite pyramids of queens, between them, before which Serpot east of the Great Pyramid of . However, the popularity of Isis as the Temple of Augustus at Dendera A centre of a mystery cult was phenomenal. Apuleius born AD has left a to HATHOR, the goddess from whom she valuable description of the stages of initi- borrowed the cow-horn crown, is not sur- ation for a new acolyte but is discreetly prising since both were bound up with the silent over the culminating rite. Her sanc- concept of kingship. Christianity had an uphill struggle of Agilqiya, this monument, with minor in eclipsing her worship. In documents principle in the creation of the world. K without undergoing the natural cycle of reproduction. Inscriptional evidence for Khepri The image of the is almost synonymous with Ancient Egypt. The occurs in the pyramids of the Old choice of an insect to convey one of the Kingdom: a wish is expressed for the sun forms of the sun-god illustrates the keen to come into being in its name of Khepri. Khepri is the sun-god Khepri arises on the primeval mound in at dawn on the eastern horizon. From noticing the upwards from the Underworld to journey across the sky. However, the analogy scarab, regularly occur in three-dimensional did not stop there. Observing that out of form carved as the amuletic backing of the ball emerged a scarab, apparently seals. These scarabs, by implication, con- spontaneously, it was logical to see the nect the wearer with the sun-god. Kings would use the undersides of large scarabs to commemorate specific events — Amenhotep III Dynasty XVIII has left a number of these news bulletins which inter alia give information on his prowess at hunting and celebrate the arrival of a Syrian princess into his harem. The scarab could form the bezel of a ring or be part of a necklace or Khepri as hawk-winged scarab. Pectoral bracelet — the has from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Dyn. Paintings in funerary papyri show Khepri on a boat being lifted up by the god NUN, the primeval watery chaos. Less frequently Khepri could be Elephantine can be traced back to the Early shown as an anthropomorphic god to Dynastic Period although the archaeological the shoulders with a full scarab beetle for evidence is predominantly from the New a head. Bizarre as it might seem, the Kingdom and Graeco-Roman period. Egyptian artist has left some magnificent Rams sacred to Khnum have been discov- depictions of Khepri in this form — e. The inscription itself is a Khepri. Raised on a plinth, the scarab Ptolemaic copy or forgery of an origi- symbolised architecturally the concept nal document dating to the reign of King that the temple was the site where the Dynasty III. There has been a sun-god first emerged to begin the creation seven-year famine which Djoser is anxious of the cosmos. A ram-god with a dual In his supervision over the cataract nature of hostility and protection. He was also regarded in this no less a deity than RA. This strong connec- Esna. The dif- creator-god. His consort at Esna having which stands the being which he has a totally independent role in this temple moulded into existence. The god normally is a minor lioness-goddess called Menhyt. It seems that Khnum breathes in the life force to the created being, as mentioned in the where after the Moon-god especially divine birth of the first three kings of the prominent at Thebes. On his head is the crescent of the new moon in which the circle of the full moon rests. Around his neck is a loosely hanging necklace with the counterpoise on his back shoulders represented in profile. As a moon-god his sacred animal is the baboon, considered a lunar creature by the Egyptians. Khonsu 87 New Kingdom statue. Cairo Museum. Khonsu as falcon-headed god. Montuemhat precinct to the south of the first court of boasts of the improvements carried out by the Great Temple of Amun. There are instances of Khonsu being The royal scribe Djeheutyemheb involved with other deities outside of goes to Bakhtan and diagnoses that Thebes. At the Graeco-Roman temple Bentresh is possessed by a hostile of Kom-Ombo he is the child of the spirit. He informs the pharaoh. Also an obscure link exists with in Thebes Nefer-hotep. The priests, authors of court, Khonsu cures Bentresh and the stela — in order to give it more author- the hostile spirit acknowledges his ity — perpetrate a pious forgery by ascrib- supremacy. The hieroglyphs of her name con- uphold the laws of the universe which she tain the symbol of a plinth representing the embodies. effigy of the goddess in the palm of their stands behind the sun-god or, in the hands before major deities. The ruler who Middle Kingdom, is described as being at forcibly emphasises his adherence to Maat the nostrils of Ra. The funerary papyri of the New Kingdom and later give many representa- tions of Maat as the goddess crucial to the deceased reaching Paradise. XIX, Florence Museum. According to a classical braided locks, probably a reference to her source Egyptian law-officials wore an displaying the jointed bodies of the scorpi- effigy of Maat when giving judgements — ons which she has killed. AKEN, along the winding waters of the Underworld. He also acts as a herald announcing the arrival of the king into the presence of the sun-god RA. A panther-goddess Sun-god of Lower Nubia. From vignettes in the New who seems to be regarded at least as his Kingdom funerary papyri the goddess is close companion. But it is in the temple of pictured as a cow lying on a reed mat with Kalabsha now resited just above the High a sun disk between her horns. Dam at Aswan , architecturally impressive Meretseger but sparsely decorated, that the best evi- dence of the cult of Mandulis can be found. Constructed on the site of an earlier New Cobra- Kingdom sanctuary Kalabsha ancient goddess dwelling on the mountain which Talmis took its present form during the overlooks the Valley of the Kings in reign of the Roman emperor Augustus. Mandulis, as represented on its walls, does During the New Kingdom Meretseger not seem at all out of place among the other had great authority over the whole Theban members of the Egyptian pantheon placed necropolis-area. She can appear as a in his company. Less frequently Meretseger is an equally poisonous, female-headed scorpion. His coils envelope protecting secluded royal tombs. The ear- The necropolis workers living at their liest mention of the god occurs in a Coffin village, known now as Deir el-Medina, or Text of the Middle Kingdom. Mehet-Weret Cow- goddess of the sky. In the Pyramid Era Mehet-Weret represents the waterway in the heavens, sailed upon by both the sun-god and the king. She is Stela of Paneb, Dyn. But Miysis by the Greeks. Anthropomorphic god who is the supreme symbol of sexual procreativity. Goddess presiding at childbirth. Her symbol of two loops at the top of a vertical stroke has been shown to be the bicornuate uterus of a heifer. In addition to ensuring the safe delivery of a child from the womb, Meskhenet takes a decision on its destiny at the time of birth. In the Papyrus Westcar the goddess helps at the birth of the future first three kings of Dynasty V. On the arrival of Temple of Karnak, Dyn. Min 93 Also the protector-deity of the mining Dynasty I, provides an image of the god regions in the desert east of the . The royal the cylindrical body and the style of the flagellum or whip rests semi-folded just wide beard. Two high with civilisations flourishing in southern plumes rise from a low crown from which Iraq and Iran. But some scholars have hangs a ribbon. The most distinctive fea- doubted that the sculptures predate the ture of Min is his phallus projecting out at Old Kingdom. In the beginning it seems that the link The emblem of Min, comprising two between the gods stemmed from their asso- horizontal tapering serrated cones emanat- ciations with foreign lands — Horus as the ing from a central disk, appears, prior to god of the eastern Delta route into Palestine his anthropomorphic iconography, on pre- and Min as god of the eastern desert. In an dynastic monuments such as standards on inscription in the Wadi Hammamat the boats painted on Naqada II pottery. He met with a consensus of agreement. Also in the adventures of Sinuhe ment to a fossil belemnite. In a charm obviously well established in terms of an against a fatal snake bite, Min is described organised priesthood. Dynasty VI from taxation. In the private , Luxor, this town lies at the western end the sexual prowess of the god is seen as of the Wadi Hammamat and was the a desirable quality to possess in the starting-point for gold and stone mining Afterlife, hence the deceased describes expeditions into the eastern desert. Nubian a rock-cut chapel decorated for the pharaoh bowmen. The temple The pharaoh, in the celebratory rituals ruins to the west of the town are from the surrounding his coronation, participated Graeco-Roman period. But one plant at Medinet Habu, built by Ramesses III becomes the special emblem of Min, Dynasty XX : appearing on stands or chests near him, or carried by priests in his festivals, namely A splendid pageant leaves the royal the long lettuce lactuca sativa. Over the procession reaches the point on its 2, years later the Roman Emperor journey at which outsiders are allowed Augustus is shown offering lettuces to the to view the pomp. The hieroglyphs god in the temple of Kalabsha. At Heliopolis val to the points of the compass. From a much later date in the tions to the priests of Heliopolis. That pharaoh, as to other deities, with the idea of stimu- as explicitly stated on his Boundary stelae, lating fruitfulness in the Nile Valley, e. A -bull under the Ramesside kings number of the kings of Dynasty XI display have been discovered to its north-east at the local allegiance to this militaristic deity Arab el-Tawil. According to the Greek raises his war cry and gives praise to writer Plutarch, Mnevis was runner-up to . In the later period Montu is associated with a sacred bull called whose distinguishing features are a white hide and black face. Luckily the ruins were drawn by early nineteenth-century visitors to Egypt before the temple was used as a quarry for stone for a sugar factory. The scant ruins are of Graeco-Roman date. Pre-eminent goddess of Thebes. Papyrus of Ramesses IV, Dyn. XX, British Her iconography is predominantly Museum. Dedications mounted by the combined crowns of to the goddess in the form of cat stat- Upper and Lower Egypt. She holds the uettes far outweigh those of Mut as the lily sceptre of the south. She becomes adopted as the that can be approached and stroked. It was in of a recumbent lion. She is therefore trans- formed from merely a manifestation of HATHOR at Heliopolis into an integral ele- ment of the creator-god, namely the hand with which he grips his phallus prior to bringing the Egyptian cosmos into being. Nefertum Tomb of Horemheb, Dyn. God of the primeval take leonine form. Similarly the feline god- lotus blossom. He is the blue lotus out of seated on a lotus blossom, reminiscent of which, according to one myth, the sun the young sun-god. In a description in the Pyramid Texts Nefertum is the lotus blossom in front of Nehebu-Kau the nose of RA — the textual equivalent of courtiers holding the plant in their hand A and breathing in the scent of the lotus. A Middle Kingdom spell identifies he becomes by implication the child of the deceased with this snake-god who is the union of the goddess and PTAH. At not subject to any magic, nor vulnerable to Buto in the Delta Nefertum is the original fire and water. In a spell concerning the welfare of his heart in the Afterlife, the deceased requests other deities to give him a good recommendation to Nehebu-Kau. Consequently his chthonic and fecund power provides other deities with their vital strength. Neith Creator-goddess of Sais. The goddess does have an undeniably bellicose side to her nature but it has been greatly overstated. The northern goddess Her most ancient symbol is the shield Neith, whose home town was Sais modern with crossed arrows, which occurs in the Sa el-Hagar in the western Delta, was one Early Dynastic Period, e. It seems a plausible sug- shape of a cockroach from a first-dynasty gestion therefore that an early ruler of tomb at Naga ed-Deir. The hiero- foresight to placate the defeated northerners glyph writing her name comprises two by a gesture of goodwill towards their god- bows bound in a package. The warrior dess. By the Old sented as a lady wearing the red crown of Kingdom at the latest Neith was an integral Lower Egypt. The earliest occurrence of element of the state pantheon with a sanc- Neith in the northern crown comes from the tuary at Memphis. It is impor- Esna temple call the goddess mother of tant, however, because it stresses the domi- the serpent APOPHIS, arch-enemy of the nant feature of Neith which is her role as sun-god, ascribing his birth to the saliva creator. According to the Esna cosmology spat out by Neith into the primeval water. She then follows the flow of the Nile northward to found Sais in company with the subsequently Vulture-goddess of Nekheb venerated lates-fish. Nekhbet was favoured by the rulers of This abovementioned papyrus relates South Egypt whose capital was nearby on a brief passage that brings Neith into the the opposite bank of the Nile to el-Kab at struggle over the throne of Egypt as a Nekhen Hierakonpolis, modern Kom wise counsellor: el-Ahmar. Here the allusion is to letter to the court that if Horus does Nekhbet as a mother-goddess for which the not win she will grow angry and the cow-imagery is traditional in Egyptian sky will crash to the earth. In this aspect she necessarily transforms into a sky-goddess with the title of the Great Cow. In Pectoral from Tomb of Tutankhamun, complete contradiction to her maternal Dyn. This led to a later identification with the Greek Funerary goddess with a goddess of childbirth Eileithyia. According to a nies on the front of the royal headdress. She late tradition had a liaison with can even take the serpent-form of the north- Osiris, the result of the union being the ern goddess — normally to form an heraldic jackal-god . She occurs in the Old Kingdom along- Her cult-sanctuary at el-Kab is impres- side Isis as a protectress of the monarch: sive in size but devastated. The presence she escorts him into the darkness of the of a Middle Kingdom shrine is attested as Underworld and weeps violently for him are constructions from Dynasty XVIII but as her brother Osiris. Nephthys God of grain. The hieroglyphs that write his name similarly include the symbols of grain. He represents the prosperity of the barley and emmer wheat crops which the Egyptians cultivated. Nome gods suckles the king who is described as her the tutelary goddesses into whose care the menstrual blood. She is in the company of their heads. Ensign No. Nun the primordial waters, enhancing their God personifying the practical function for priestly ablutions. Nun has a continual existence unaf- fected by mythology or events and plays no part in religious rituals, possessing no tem- ples or priesthood. The sacred lakes in temple enclosures Nun raising solar boat. Papyrus of Anhai, e. Although in Egyptian art it appears as if The sky-goddess. is one of Nut is stretching her body with her arms the personifications of the cosmic ele- and legs tightly together, the actual con- ments evolved by the priests of Heliopolis cept of the sky-goddess is that her fingers to explain the physical universe. She is and her toes touch the four cardinal the daughter of the air-god and points. The Egyptians visualised her as apart is the probable source of the Greek mainly as human in form but she can interpretation of the myth of the difficult appear as the Sky Cow. In an early text birth of the children of the sky-goddess, Nut is imagined as a bee wielding great as related by Plutarch AD 40— Nut as sky-cow. Nut Probably from the Egyptian idea that barge along the elongated body of Nut Nut swallowed the solar god and his until evening, when the disk of the sun entourage to give birth to them again at approaches the mouth of the sky-goddess dawn, the notion arose that the earth-god to be swallowed. She keeps the forces of chaos from breaking through the sky and engulfing the world — her body is in fact the firma- ment dividing the cosmos, created by the sun-god and governed according to his vision of order personified as MAAT , from the amorphous, primeval matter merging with which would be tantamount to non-existence. The thunder which must have seemed ominous as it echoed around the sky was euphemistically explained away as the laughter of Nut. The Egyptians painted the royal tombs at Thebes with two discrepant myths about the disappearance of the sun at night. The ceilings, imitating the sky, reflect the belief that the sun-god was swallowed by Nut. Nut is painted twice on a colossal scale, depicting the day and Coffin of Soter, second century AD, British the night sky. The sun-god sails in his Museum. These Egypt for his old age and so that he can are euphemisms for the pharaoh being receive proper burial rites — including lying placed in his coffin and buried. Nut as a deco- in the texts this sentiment is more fully ration on coffins survives into the Roman expressed: the king goes to Nut in her period. XXI at Tanis. This notion extends to the In vignettes in the Book of the Dead and courtiers, as we can see from the image of Theban tomb paintings, the sky-goddess is Nut decorating the interior of mummy — shown in the Underworld as a lady rising cases symbolising the deceased protected from the trunk of the sycamore tree. In this by and linked with the sky-goddess. Nut pours water and proffers a palace official who spent his life in self- loaves indicating that there will always be imposed exile in the states of the Levant: an abundance of life-sustaining produce in the pharaoh invites him by letter to return to the Underworld. O Ogdoad Eight deities representing the Onuris primeval chaos before the emergence of the sun-god. Warrior- and hunter-god The four gods are in the form of frog- originating at This near Abydos. When the sun-god is spear-carrying man wearing a crown of depicted coming into existence these four high plumes. The Ogdoad advocates in the tribunal judging the are envisualised as entities of the cosmic rights to the Egyptian throne. The catalyst for this This extends to interpreting Onuris as the event is the permeating creative power hunter and slayer of all enemies of Egypt of the serpent Kem- see Amun in and the sun-god RA. It is -town — in Greek, Hermopolis. Orion is imagined as being swallowed at dawn by the Underworld but having the power to emerge again into the sky. In the identification of Osiris with Orion the underlying motif appears to be the link that the constellation has with the star Sirius SOTHIS : the renewal of life via the Nile flood, announced by the heliacal rising of the Dog-star, emphasises the connection between Osiris and vegeta- tion. Another concomitant factor between the two gods is that Orion has freedom of movement striding across the sky in the same way that Osiris, according to the Coffin Texts, will not be hindered in his rule over Upper Egypt. In the New Kingdom funerary texts Onuris with his lioness- consort Mekhit. In fuller iconography his Onuris. Tomb own principal deity: of Sety I, Dyn. In fact in one passage in the Foremost of the westerners in Egyptian, Pyramid Texts it is explicitly stated Khentamentiu This stresses the role of that in the next life the king will not Osiris as a protective funerary god. This has where the sun and descended into been taken as a reference to the way in . Originally this title applied to which Osiris was murdered by Seth in an ancient jackal-god worshipped at the legend given by the Greek writer Abydos. Plutarch AD 40— Once the ruler of booth where the embalmers turned the Egypt has died he becomes Osiris, King corpse into a mummified body is placed of Duat. From the Middle or dread of the ruler of the Underworld. Kingdom Coffin Texts it is explicitly This reflects the underlying desire of the stated that it was Seth who attacked monarch to be with the sun-god in the sky Osiris in the land of Gahesty and killed as a visible phenomenon rather than to him on the bank of Nedyet. Therefore one text hands of Seth pictorially represented. There is also an allusion to the there exist in the Coffin Texts descrip- death of the god by drowning near tions of Osiris that conjure up a picture of Memphis. But this connection of Osiris a threatening demon. However, this darker aspect to become a highly developed motif in of Osiris is never allowed to outweigh his later accounts, is already present in this role as the personification of dead early documentation of the myth. After a kingship. Onto the scene now come end by his assassination at the hands of the gods Thoth and Horus, who are to be his brother Seth. This earthly life attrib- found flanking the pharaoh in a number uted to the god seems an interpolation of royal rituals and are therefore into the Osiris cycle of myth, possibly admirably suited to assist the potential to make his paternal relationship to monarch of Duat. Spell of the Book of the Dead which is concerned with listing all the numerous 2 Osiris in the Middle and names of the god that the deceased New Kingdoms might require journeying through the Although they were originally addressed Underworld. Here is a short selection to Anubis, in Dynasty IV, Osiris gradually describing Osiris as: finds a place in the funerary formulae Presiding over Rosetau, i. So Osiris had become a major The Terrible. This epithet can stand mified corpse brought together by Isis on its own and from it derives the Greek and Nephthys — presumably from the dis- equivalent of Onnophris. The essence of counterpart of the sun-god below the this ritual originally seems to encourage earth. Consequently, Duat would always divine intervention to bring bumper have a share of the solar light; Osiris and harvests by the hoofs of calves threshing Ra embrace one another to become grain on a floor sacred to the god. Osiris stresses his own importance as an The most explicit evidence of Osiris agricultural deity in producing emmer as a grain-god is archaeological. In the wheat and barley which keep alive both New Kingdom wooden frames were gods and men. The sproutinsig of the crop — domain of Osiris there are fearless mes- 8 in. These agents respect no Kings — implied the resurrection of status so that both gods and humans are the deceased in the Underworld. The motif of the murdered Osiris emerging as the the continual cycle of crops and vegeta- dominant divine force in the Underworld, tion accounts for the colour of the pig- and the cycle of seedtime and harvest. His face and hands can be painted Osiris and corn occurs in the Dramatic black to evoke the Nile silt from which Ramesseum Papyrus Dynasty XII , a the barley and emmer emerge; his flesh commentary on, or directory of, ritual. Temple of Sety I, Abydos, Dyn. Its shape sufficiently vivified to have sexual inter- of a pillar with flattened terminals and course with her, leading to the conception four horizontal bars across its upper of his avenging son Horus. The vital length has given rise to numerous sugges- moments of this congress are carved on tions as to what it is. Or perhaps temple of Sety I at Abydos. In one relief four altars in a row but depicted as if Osiris prone on a couch manually superimposed, which would be quite in stimulates his phallus into an erection. The goddess in human form inner entrance wall of his tomb near the stands at one end of the couch and hawk- pyramid of Teti Dynasty VI , his king? It is better to admit that at deed on earth. It is found e. Ikhernofret was commissioned by the king to use Nubian gold to dec- orate the cult statue of Osiris at Abydos. For the ceremonial drama the shrine and statue were conveyed on sym- bolic boats carried on the shoulders of the priests. The ritual of Isis and the Pharaoh raise the -pillar. In this festival, canine deity acts as the herald of the god which in essence is a ceremony of rejuve- Osiris, leading the ceremonial journey. Osiris called here Wenen-nofer. Osiris in Duat. A stela in Berlin purification ceremonies. In the law court Osiris sits on his Heliopolis throne holding his sceptres and super- Memphis the capital city vises the judgement of the new applicants Herakleopolis, where the local priests for Paradise. Osiris in a judicial connec- boasted that the tomb of Osiris tion, or at least as upholder of honesty was situated, over which grew a sacred and upright behaviour, is attested as early tree Hermopolis. Nearby is a boat in which a monkey bran- This most important and oldest sanctuary dishes a stick above a pig — a reference to of the god, situated in Upper Egypt not too the humiliation of Seth, brother—enemy of far from modern Balliana, was rendered Osiris. His nine agents will cut to pieces into Greek as Abydos, the name by which the souls of criminals. In private funerary the site is generally known today. Successful be near the desert escarpment — a reinter- candidates are then led into the presence of pretation by the Ancient Egyptians of enthroned Osiris by his son Horus. However, the 3 Sanctuaries of Osiris fullest evidence of the hallowed regard for Since the god is universal his cult places the Osiris cult at Abydos comes from the are not confined to any one district of magnificent temple reliefs carved during Egypt but are found throughout the Nile the reign of Sety I of Dynasty XIX. Every Valley. This symbol became inter- Ptolemy XII. In it there are all the area north of the temple of Amun perceptive comments on the god, heavily up to the boundary wall of the precinct intermingled with Greek speculations. The back of a crocodile. Isis rescued the across one. Sites claiming pieces of Osiris probable source for the Byblos setting is include: remembrance of the extensive trade in timber especially cedars that Egypt had Sebennytos upper and lower leg with the Lebanon, certainly on preferen- Herakleopolis thigh, head, two sides tial terms, from the Pyramid Age to the and two legs New Kingdom. Seth, hunting phragus and oxyrhyncus fish. The goddess by moonlight, discovers the chest. In the Isis pursues each severed part, holding pharaonic tradition, however, the phallus a burial ceremony wherever she comes is preserved intact and buried at Memphis. In A lioness-goddess worshipped non-royal funerary papyri the Pelican has particularly at the entrance of a wadi in the power of prophesying a safe passage the eastern desert near Beni Hasan. In the Coffin Texts the the burial chamber and go out into the rays Great is described as a night-huntress of the sun, possibly an analogy made with sharp claws. In some the pharaoh as son of the god Haroeris, instances the reliefs show Peteese and hence the legitimate ruler of Egypt. The major sinners in the Underworld. A papyrus relates how the wife of a high priest of Ra made pregnant by the sun-god gives birth to three future . These are the kings of early Dynasty V — the period that first witnesses the great influ- ence of the sun-cult — and from now on The pharaoh Ramesses III Dyn. The pharaoh is protected therefore by those goddesses of North and South Egypt that had been taken as national emblems by the Predynastic rulers, i. Also in the regalia the The god THOTH is seen in temple reliefs Lower Egyptian Red Crown and the Upper writing the name of the reigning pharaoh Egyptian White Crown can be visualised on the leaves of a sacred tree which bears as goddesses protecting the pharaoh. These ancestors are honoured by with power of life and death over the gods the ruling monarch who might order the of Upper and Lower Egypt. Queen Hatshepsut or over him. Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary. Brill's New Pauly This link opens in a new window. Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Encyclopaedia Judaica This link opens in a new window. Includes Ancient Europe B. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Amarna Project Publications. Ancient Egyptian Medicine: A Bibliography. Ancient Sexuality and Gender. Annotated Old Testament Bibliography - Alexandria Bibliography. Bibliography of Mesopotamian Astronomy and Astrology. Chroniques assyriologiques. Three databases are licensed: 1. This link opens in a new window. Early Roman Alexandria Bibliography. University of Heidelberg Library. Emar Online Database. Ethnic Identity in Graeco-Roman Egypt. International Bibliography of Art. Jewish Magic Scott B. Papyrology Bibliography. Selected Bibliography for Ancient Egypt. Time and Space in Egyptian Literature. Language Tools This section contains links to online text corpora, fonts, and other tools for engaging with ancient Near Eastern textual material. Abzu Abzu is a guide to networked open access data relevant to the study and public presentation of the Ancient Near East and the Ancient Mediterranean world. Akkadian Typing Tool. The Aleppo Codex. Altassyrische Texte. Ancient Alexandria A work in progress: a translation with introduction and notes of all documents from ancient Alexandria that survive on papyrus. Ancient Jewish Quotations and Allusions. It contains descriptions of Greek papyri and other written materials which, because of their paraliterary chcharacter, cannot be found in the standard electronic corpora Les autres y trouveront informations et outils de travail CDLI Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative CDLI represents the efforts of an international group of scholars to make available through the internet the form and content of cuneiform tablets dating from the beginning of writing, ca. Cuneiform Library at Cornell University. Cyrus Cylinder. David I. Owen Cuneiform Tablet Photo Archive. Digital Hammurabi Digital Hammurabi is a major, cross-discipline effort originating at the Johns Hopkins University aimed at scanning, visualizing, and publishing very high resolution, three dimensional models of cuneiform tablets. The text uses various words corresponding to 'magic,' for the Egyptians thought magic was a legitimate belief. As Goelet explains: " Heka magic is many things, but, above all, it has a close association with speech and the power of the word. In the realm of Egyptian magic, actions did not necessarily speak louder than words--they were often one and the same thing. Thought, deed, image, and power are theoretically united in the concept of heka. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Not to be confused with or Hecate. Ancient Egyptian deity. Funerals Offering formula Temples Pyramids. Deities list. Symbols and objects. Related religions. Retrieved Psychology Press. Retrieved 22 June (PDF) [George Hart] The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian(Bookos org) | Chaton Rouge -

Here he is called 'he who is on his sand'. Sometimes he is shown on his ' barque' which was an elaborate sledge for negotiating the sandy necropolis. One of his titles was 'he of Restau' which means the place of 'openings' or tomb entrances. In the New Kingdom Book of the Underworld, the , he is shown standing on the back of a serpent between two spread wings, as an expression of freedom this suggests a connection with resurrection or perhaps a satisfactory transit of the underworld. , possibly through his association with Ptah, also has a connection with craftsmen. In the Book of the Dead he is said to fashion silver bowls [4] and a silver coffin of Sheshonq II has been discovered at Tanis decorated with the iconography of Seker [5]. Seker's cult centre was in Memphis where festivals in his honour were held in the fourth month of the akhet spring season. The god was depicted as assisting in various tasks such as digging ditches and canals. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ancient Egyptian primordial deity. Funerals Offering formula Temples Pyramids. Deities list. Symbols and objects. Related religions. Ancient Egyptian religion. Rededjet Ubaoner. In the Second Hall, decorated in the Ptolemaic period, of the Mammisi in the Temple of bear the image of the frog-goddess. The life- Frog-goddess of birth. Her connec- There are remains of a temple to Heket tion with birth is first made explicit in a at Qus in Upper Egypt where she is Middle Kingdom papyrus which contains regarded as the wife of Haroeris see tales of wonder set in the Pyramid Age. So Heryshaf is envisaged as site of a sanctuary ruined by the annual emerging from the primal matter at the inundation of the Nile. Petosiris takes this beginning of time. It Kingdom annals inscribed on the Palermo is at this time that the relatively locally Stone. Somtutefnakht, in his view guided by Heryshaf, collaborated with the Persians. The god also ensured that he remained unharmed during the turbulent period of the Greek invasion when, according to the inscription, there was colossal slaughter. Heryshaf then appears to Somtutefnakht in a dream advising him to return to his home town of Hnes and serve in the tem- ple. Alone and through great peril on land and sea journeys, he reaches Hnes without even the loss of hair. These titles ascribe the sovereignty of Egypt to Heryshaf. Solar symbolism is Gold figurine, c. As capitals decorating the Hypostyle Hall. This figurine gives Hesat the name of Peftuaubast, the ruler residing at Hnes, at the time of the invasion of Egypt Cow-goddess who gave by the Sudanese King Piye. Her invincibility is enhanced by her entourage of crocodiles. It appears in hieroglyphs in the royal protocol at the very beginning of dynastic civilisation c. The earliest occurrence of Horus, in com- plete hawk-form, is on monuments from the late Predynastic period, such as the palette showing a number of sacred creatures hacking at the walls of fortified towns. He continues to appear in the total Horus holding the heraldic plant of Lower Egypt. Statue of Senwosret I, Dyn. This appears visually in a the sidelock of youth and sometimes wall relief in the temple of Sety I Dynasty sucking his fingers. On a special category XIX at Abydos as a hawk on a column in of objects occurring in the Late Dynastic the shape of papyrus reed. Bronze statuette, Bubastis, Dyn. XXVI, the ruler was Horus. On the palette in Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. This was called Harpokrates. He is, emony on the dead king. This ritual, restor- e. Osiris ruler of the Underworld. A clever — Horus then triumphs over his paternal if a typical — pictorial statement of this rite uncle. In the role of dutiful son, Harsiese can the importance of these two cults. However, for the pur- water before the coffin. On reflection revises Horus the throne of Egypt. It is Seth e. It also lies behind the Seth and papyrus of Horus being attached gilded wooden statuette of Tutankhamun to the door of the god PTAH to symbolise standing on a papyrus boat, a lasso in one that they were pacified and united. Its iconogra- Horus pleads that he is being phy consists of a human eye with the defrauded of his lawful patrimony. It became the protection sign other and win over the court see Isis for par excellence. Apotropaically, in the In one contest, in which the two gods Middle Kingdom, it was painted on the as hippopotamuses intend to see if they sides of rectangular coffins. However, it is can remain submerged under water for only from the inscriptional evidence that three months, ISIS refuses to take the we get some idea of its diversity and opportunity of killing Seth with a har- complexity of meaning. For example, the poon. Horus, enraged, savagely attacks his can stand for: mother and escapes into the desert. Seth The strength of the monarch finds him and cuts out his eyes. Protection against Seth On another occasion Seth suggests a Royal purification agent race in boats of stone. Horus secretly Offerings at the festival of the waxing builds a vessel of pine covered with moon Wine. Tomb of Pashedu, Deir el-Medina, Dyn. The north-east Delta. It is not mentioned in the Pyramid Texts mention this aspect of the Pyramid Texts and the antiquity of the site god linked to the sovereign: the king is as a cult centre of Horus in relation to said to be born on the eastern sky as Edfu, e. One group of frame of wall-reliefs and stelae. Other forms of Horus had sanctuaries on sites now almost totally bereft of archaeo- 7 Localities with a Horus cult logical remains, e. Horus Khenty-Irty. The exquisite gold falcon- Quban, controlling vital gold supply head in Cairo Museum comes from a cult routes. Like all regional forms of has stood here in one form or another the hawk-god, Horus of Miam is not since at least the beginning of the restricted to his name-site: there are depic- Pyramid Age. The reliefs show Horus tions of him throughout Nubia — e. Hours Twelve Underworld-goddesses, The imagery of some of the epithets daughters of the sun-god RA, represented attached to each of these goddesses in human form, each with a five-pointed emphasises their destruction of the star above her head. They figure among enemies of the sun- god. For instance, the the deities on the walls of tombs in the First Hour cuts open the heads of oppo- Valley of the Kings which illustrate nents, the Seventh drives away a threaten- the religious compositions known as the ing snake and the Tenth decapitates rebels. and the Amduat. These goddesses personify the reality of time over chaotic forces that would, if given the chance, render the universe of The god who personifies the sun-god non-existent. Accordingly Ra the authority of a word of command. Possibly the ithyphallic form of star, his companion is Hu. This imagery would be Moon-god. Traces of his cult beyond It is probable that contact with Middle this period are sporadic. Eastern states in Palestine, Syria and Babylonia was instrumental in the devel- Ihy opment of Iah as a deity. The sistrum lunar deity analogous to the Akkadian was a cultic musical instrument used pri- moon-god Sin who had an important tem- marily but not exclusively in the worship ple at Harran in north Syria. At Dendera tem- within the Theban royal family eventually ple Ihy is the child of the union of Hathor responsible for the expulsion of these alien and HORUS and is depicted as a naked rulers that there is a definite inclination for young boy wearing the sidelock of youth names involving the moon-god Iah. The and with his finger to his mouth. His Most likely the Middle Eastern deity who name is rarely found outside the confines gave the stimulus to the adoption of Iah is of Dendera temple — e. He held the healer, which had already produced offices of chief executive vizier and identification in the Greek mind with master sculptor — the Egyptian priest Asklepios, their own god of medicine. Imhotep with the invention called Khreduankh — causes him to be of the technique of building with cut seen as an agent capable of renewing his stone. After his death Imhotep is remem- bered in Middle and New Kingdom scribal compositions as the author of a book of instruction — a well-known genre of Egyptian literature although the one credited to Imhotep has not survived. In the Late Period bronzes of Imhotep show him seated in scribal posture with a papyrus-roll open across his knees. In the Ptolemaic period Imhotep as a god is found in cult centres and temples throughout Egypt: 1 Objects dedicated in his name are found in north Saqqara. Late Period bronze statuette, British Museum. Taimhotep, a lady who died in the to the north. Her emblem, as on her gate reign of Cleopatra VII Ptolemaic period , in Babylon, is the eight-pointed star and left a poignant stela now in the British her eminence is emphasised by her Museum on which is mentioned how she identification with the brightest planet and her husband, , Venus. Further, she is the daughter of the prayed to Imhotep for a son. In a vision or moon-god Sin. Imhotep responds by causing symbolises her martial prowess. Certainly, when lamenting the death of her consort Benign hippopotamus-god- Tammuz Sumerian Dumuzi , Ishtar dess first attested in the Pyramid Age descends into the Underworld, all sexual where the monarch calls her his mother activity ceased on earth. It would be and requests her to suckle him with her tempting to make an analogy between divine milk. Funerary papyri described ing traverses frontiers in the Middle East. Towards the end of his reign the Great Ipet who is none other than Ipy. One of the most important Goddess of immense magi- Assyrian goddesses, her fame extends cal power, symbolic mother of the king. In the earliest references to the goddess in the Pyramid Texts she appears to foresee his murder by SETH, and is described as sitting despairing, weeping for her brother. In the Great Hymn to Osiris on Isis wearing throne symbol. She then acts as a guard over the the transmission of the kingship of Egypt. This consists band. It is through her magic that Osiris of a girdle with a loop or knot on the front makes her pregnant — the god now leaving and seems to be connected with the Egypt for his role as Underworld king. In the Book of the Dead the tyet is described as being made of 2 Mother of HORUS red jasper, suggesting its secondary inter- It is in this aspect that the goddess was pretation as the blood of the goddess. She Pyramid Texts it is stated that the ruler also had a form as the Isis-cow which drinks divine milk from the breasts of his gave birth to the sacred bull of Memphis mother Isis. This is the imagery of the see APIS. A spell against a burn, e. Temple of Sety I, Abydos, cles put in her way by the most powerful Dyn. The goddess was thought on a papyrus dating to Dynasty XX. An to have given birth to her son at Khemmis underlying motif in the account is the in the Delta, reinforcing the connection relationship between Isis and Seth, her with the monarchy since the place-name brother. Her role as a goddess pro- Isis has harpooned Seth, who is in the tecting royal births is found in the Middle form of a hippopotamus, he appeals to her Kingdom story in the Papyrus Westcar in the name of their consanguinity and foretelling a dynastic change: Isis receives she releases the barb from his flesh. The tribunal adjourns to an island, Obtaining some saliva that Ra had with strict instructions being given to the dribbled from his mouth, she mixes it ferryman not to bring Isis across the with earth and fashions it in the shape water. Isis disguises herself as an old of a snake. He falls into a trembling agony, feverish Assuming the shape of a beautiful with the poison. The by reciting a string of names, but Isis righteous anger expressed by Seth is remains obdurate, refusing to cure the immediately turned against him by the god until the true name is spoken to goddess who declares her identity. Isis determines to her son Horus. Consequently the pharaoh, bring Seth into discredit with the gods. In front of the tribunal Horus asks 4 Her sanctuaries for his semen to be summoned from the Isis as a universal goddess is worshipped head of Seth who, to his chagrin, is left in many temples of which a handful are: looking ridiculous. The climax is a single combat of the three satellite pyramids of queens, between them, before which Serpot east of the Great Pyramid of Khufu. However, the popularity of Isis as the Temple of Augustus at Dendera A centre of a mystery cult was phenomenal. Apuleius born AD has left a to HATHOR, the goddess from whom she valuable description of the stages of initi- borrowed the cow-horn crown, is not sur- ation for a new acolyte but is discreetly prising since both were bound up with the silent over the culminating rite. Her sanc- concept of kingship. Christianity had an uphill struggle of Agilqiya, this monument, with minor in eclipsing her worship. In documents principle in the creation of the world. K Khepri without undergoing the natural cycle of reproduction. Inscriptional evidence for Khepri The image of the scarab is almost synonymous with Ancient Egypt. The occurs in the pyramids of the Old choice of an insect to convey one of the Kingdom: a wish is expressed for the sun forms of the sun-god illustrates the keen to come into being in its name of Khepri. Khepri is the sun-god Khepri arises on the primeval mound in at dawn on the eastern horizon. From noticing the upwards from the Underworld to journey across the sky. However, the analogy scarab, regularly occur in three- dimensional did not stop there. Observing that out of form carved as the amuletic backing of the ball emerged a scarab, apparently seals. These scarabs, by implication, con- spontaneously, it was logical to see the nect the wearer with the sun-god. Kings would use the undersides of large scarabs to commemorate specific events — Amenhotep III Dynasty XVIII has left a number of these news bulletins which inter alia give information on his prowess at lion hunting and celebrate the arrival of a Syrian princess into his harem. The scarab could form the bezel of a ring or be part of a necklace or Khepri as hawk-winged scarab. Pectoral bracelet — the tomb of Tutankhamun has from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, Dyn. Paintings in funerary papyri show Khnum Khepri on a boat being lifted up by the god NUN, the primeval watery chaos. Less frequently Khepri could be Elephantine can be traced back to the Early shown as an anthropomorphic god to Dynastic Period although the archaeological the shoulders with a full scarab beetle for evidence is predominantly from the New a head. Bizarre as it might seem, the Kingdom and Graeco-Roman period. Egyptian artist has left some magnificent Rams sacred to Khnum have been discov- depictions of Khepri in this form — e. The inscription itself is a Khepri. Raised on a plinth, the scarab Ptolemaic copy or forgery of an origi- symbolised architecturally the concept nal document dating to the reign of King that the temple was the site where the Djoser Dynasty III. There has been a sun-god first emerged to begin the creation seven-year famine which Djoser is anxious of the cosmos. A ram-god with a dual In his supervision over the cataract nature of hostility and protection. He was also regarded in this no less a deity than RA. This strong connec- Esna. The dif- creator-god. His consort at Esna Neith having which stands the being which he has a totally independent role in this temple moulded into existence. The god normally is a minor lioness-goddess called Menhyt. It Khonsu seems that Khnum breathes in the life force to the created being, as mentioned in the Westcar Papyrus where after the Moon-god especially divine birth of the first three kings of the prominent at Thebes. On his head is the crescent of the new moon in which the circle of the full moon rests. Around his neck is a loosely hanging necklace with the counterpoise on his back shoulders represented in profile. As a moon-god his sacred animal is the baboon, considered a lunar creature by the Egyptians. Khonsu 87 New Kingdom statue. Cairo Museum. Khonsu as falcon-headed god. Montuemhat precinct to the south of the first court of boasts of the improvements carried out by the Great Temple of Amun. There are instances of Khonsu being The royal scribe Djeheutyemheb involved with other deities outside of goes to Bakhtan and diagnoses that Thebes. At the Graeco-Roman temple Bentresh is possessed by a hostile of Kom-Ombo he is the child of the spirit. He informs the pharaoh. Also an obscure link exists with in Thebes Nefer-hotep. The priests, authors of court, Khonsu cures Bentresh and the stela — in order to give it more author- the hostile spirit acknowledges his ity — perpetrate a pious forgery by ascrib- supremacy. The hieroglyphs of her name con- uphold the laws of the universe which she tain the symbol of a plinth representing the embodies. Maat effigy of the goddess in the palm of their stands behind the sun-god or, in the hands before major deities. The ruler who Middle Kingdom, is described as being at forcibly emphasises his adherence to Maat the nostrils of Ra. The funerary papyri of the New Kingdom and later give many representa- tions of Maat as the goddess crucial to the deceased reaching Paradise. XIX, Florence Museum. According to a classical braided locks, probably a reference to her source Egyptian law-officials wore an displaying the jointed bodies of the scorpi- effigy of Maat when giving judgements — ons which she has killed. AKEN, along the winding waters of the Underworld. He also acts as a herald Mafdet announcing the arrival of the king into the presence of the sun-god RA. A panther-goddess Mandulis Sun-god of Lower Nubia. From vignettes in the New who seems to be regarded at least as his Kingdom funerary papyri the goddess is close companion. But it is in the temple of pictured as a cow lying on a reed mat with Kalabsha now resited just above the High a sun disk between her horns. Dam at Aswan , architecturally impressive Meretseger but sparsely decorated, that the best evi- dence of the cult of Mandulis can be found. Constructed on the site of an earlier New Cobra- Kingdom sanctuary Kalabsha ancient goddess dwelling on the mountain which Talmis took its present form during the overlooks the Valley of the Kings in reign of the Roman emperor Augustus. Mandulis, as represented on its walls, does During the New Kingdom Meretseger not seem at all out of place among the other had great authority over the whole Theban members of the Egyptian pantheon placed necropolis-area. She can appear as a in his company. Less frequently Meretseger is an equally poisonous, female-headed scorpion. His coils envelope protecting secluded royal tombs. The ear- The necropolis workers living at their liest mention of the god occurs in a Coffin village, known now as Deir el-Medina, or Text of the Middle Kingdom. Mehet-Weret Cow- goddess of the sky. In the Pyramid Era Mehet-Weret represents the waterway in the heavens, sailed upon by both the sun- god and the king. She is Stela of Paneb, Dyn. But Miysis by the Greeks. Meskhenet Anthropomorphic god who is the supreme symbol of sexual procreativity. Goddess presiding at childbirth. Her symbol of two loops at the top of a vertical stroke has been shown to be the bicornuate uterus of a heifer. In addition to ensuring the safe delivery of a child from the womb, Meskhenet takes a decision on its destiny at the time of birth. In the Papyrus Westcar the goddess helps at the birth of the future first three kings of Dynasty V. On the arrival of Temple of Karnak, Dyn. Min 93 Also the protector-deity of the mining Dynasty I, provides an image of the god regions in the desert east of the Nile. The royal the cylindrical body and the style of the flagellum or whip rests semi-folded just wide beard. Two high with civilisations flourishing in southern plumes rise from a low crown from which Iraq and Iran. But some scholars have hangs a ribbon. The most distinctive fea- doubted that the sculptures predate the ture of Min is his phallus projecting out at Old Kingdom. In the beginning it seems that the link The emblem of Min, comprising two between the gods stemmed from their asso- horizontal tapering serrated cones emanat- ciations with foreign lands — Horus as the ing from a central disk, appears, prior to god of the eastern Delta route into Palestine his anthropomorphic iconography, on pre- and Min as god of the eastern desert. In an dynastic monuments such as standards on inscription in the Wadi Hammamat the boats painted on Naqada II pottery. He met with a consensus of agreement. Also in the adventures of Sinuhe ment to a fossil belemnite. In a charm obviously well established in terms of an against a fatal snake bite, Min is described organised priesthood. Dynasty VI from taxation. In the private Coffin Texts, Luxor, this town lies at the western end the sexual prowess of the god is seen as of the Wadi Hammamat and was the a desirable quality to possess in the starting-point for gold and stone mining Afterlife, hence the deceased describes expeditions into the eastern desert. Nubian a rock-cut chapel decorated for the pharaoh bowmen. The temple The pharaoh, in the celebratory rituals ruins to the west of the town are from the surrounding his coronation, participated Graeco-Roman period. But one plant at Medinet Habu, built by Ramesses III becomes the special emblem of Min, Dynasty XX : appearing on stands or chests near him, or carried by priests in his festivals, namely A splendid pageant leaves the royal the long lettuce lactuca sativa. Over the procession reaches the point on its 2, years later the Roman Emperor journey at which outsiders are allowed Augustus is shown offering lettuces to the to view the pomp. The hieroglyphs god in the temple of Kalabsha. At Heliopolis val to the points of the compass. From a much later date in the tions to the priests of Heliopolis. That pharaoh, as to other deities, with the idea of stimu- as explicitly stated on his Boundary stelae, lating fruitfulness in the Nile Valley, e. A Mnevis-bull under the Ramesside kings number of the kings of Dynasty XI display have been discovered to its north-east at the local allegiance to this militaristic deity Arab el-Tawil. According to the Greek raises his war cry and gives praise to writer Plutarch, Mnevis was runner-up to Montu. In the later period Montu is associated with a sacred bull called Buchis whose distinguishing features are a white hide and black face. Luckily the ruins were drawn by early nineteenth-century visitors to Egypt before the temple was used as a quarry for stone for a sugar factory. The scant ruins are of Graeco-Roman date. Mut Pre-eminent goddess of Thebes. Papyrus of Ramesses IV, Dyn. XX, British Her iconography is predominantly Museum. Dedications mounted by the combined crowns of to the goddess in the form of cat stat- Upper and Lower Egypt. She holds the uettes far outweigh those of Mut as the lily sceptre of the south. She becomes adopted as the that can be approached and stroked. It was in of a recumbent lion. She is therefore trans- formed from merely a manifestation of HATHOR at Heliopolis into an integral ele- ment of the creator-god, namely the hand with which he grips his phallus prior to bringing the Egyptian cosmos into being. Nefertum Tomb of Horemheb, Dyn. God of the primeval take leonine form. Similarly the feline god- lotus blossom. He is the blue lotus out of seated on a lotus blossom, reminiscent of which, according to one myth, the sun the young sun-god. In a description in the Pyramid Texts Nefertum is the lotus blossom in front of Nehebu-Kau the nose of RA — the textual equivalent of courtiers holding the plant in their hand A and breathing in the scent of the lotus. A Middle Kingdom spell identifies he becomes by implication the child of the deceased with this snake-god who is the union of the goddess and PTAH. At not subject to any magic, nor vulnerable to Buto in the Delta Nefertum is the original fire and water. In a spell concerning the welfare of his heart in the Afterlife, the deceased requests other deities to give him a good recommendation to Nehebu-Kau. Consequently his chthonic and fecund power provides other deities with their vital strength. Neith Creator-goddess of Sais. The goddess does have an undeniably bellicose side to her nature but it has been greatly overstated. The northern goddess Her most ancient symbol is the shield Neith, whose home town was Sais modern with crossed arrows, which occurs in the Sa el-Hagar in the western Delta, was one Early Dynastic Period, e. It seems a plausible sug- shape of a cockroach from a first-dynasty gestion therefore that an early ruler of tomb at Naga ed-Deir. The hiero- foresight to placate the defeated northerners glyph writing her name comprises two by a gesture of goodwill towards their god- bows bound in a package. The warrior dess. By the Old sented as a lady wearing the red crown of Kingdom at the latest Neith was an integral Lower Egypt. The earliest occurrence of element of the state pantheon with a sanc- Neith in the northern crown comes from the tuary at Memphis. It is impor- Esna temple call the goddess mother of tant, however, because it stresses the domi- the serpent APOPHIS, arch-enemy of the nant feature of Neith which is her role as sun-god, ascribing his birth to the saliva creator. According to the Esna cosmology spat out by Neith into the primeval water. She then follows Nekhbet the flow of the Nile northward to found Sais in company with the subsequently Vulture-goddess of Nekheb venerated lates-fish. Nekhbet was favoured by the rulers of This abovementioned papyrus relates South Egypt whose capital was nearby on a brief passage that brings Neith into the the opposite bank of the Nile to el-Kab at struggle over the throne of Egypt as a Nekhen Hierakonpolis, modern Kom wise counsellor: el-Ahmar. Here the allusion is to letter to the court that if Horus does Nekhbet as a mother-goddess for which the not win she will grow angry and the cow-imagery is traditional in Egyptian sky will crash to the earth. In this aspect she necessarily transforms into a sky-goddess with the title of the Great Cow. In Pectoral from Tomb of Tutankhamun, complete contradiction to her maternal Dyn. This led to a later identification with the Greek Funerary goddess with a goddess of childbirth Eileithyia. According to a nies on the front of the royal headdress. She late tradition Nephthys had a liaison with can even take the serpent-form of the north- Osiris, the result of the union being the ern goddess — normally to form an heraldic jackal-god ANUBIS. She occurs in the Old Kingdom along- Her cult-sanctuary at el-Kab is impres- side Isis as a protectress of the monarch: sive in size but devastated. The presence she escorts him into the darkness of the of a Middle Kingdom shrine is attested as Underworld and weeps violently for him are constructions from Dynasty XVIII but as her brother Osiris. Nephthys God of grain. The hieroglyphs that write his name similarly include the symbols of grain. He represents the prosperity of the barley and emmer wheat crops which the Egyptians cultivated. Nome gods suckles the king who is described as her the tutelary goddesses into whose care the menstrual blood. She is in the company of their heads. Ensign No. Nun the primordial waters, enhancing their God personifying the practical function for priestly ablutions. Nun has a continual existence unaf- fected by mythology or events and plays no part in religious rituals, possessing no tem- ples or priesthood. The sacred lakes in temple enclosures Nun raising solar boat. Papyrus of Anhai, e. Although in Egyptian art it appears as if The sky-goddess. Nut is one of Nut is stretching her body with her arms the personifications of the cosmic ele- and legs tightly together, the actual con- ments evolved by the priests of Heliopolis cept of the sky-goddess is that her fingers to explain the physical universe. She is and her toes touch the four cardinal the daughter of SHU the air-god and points. The Egyptians visualised her as apart is the probable source of the Greek mainly as human in form but she can interpretation of the myth of the difficult appear as the Sky Cow. In an early text birth of the children of the sky-goddess, Nut is imagined as a bee wielding great as related by Plutarch AD 40— Nut as sky-cow. Nut Probably from the Egyptian idea that barge along the elongated body of Nut Nut swallowed the solar god and his until evening, when the disk of the sun entourage to give birth to them again at approaches the mouth of the sky-goddess dawn, the notion arose that the earth-god to be swallowed. She keeps the forces of chaos from breaking through the sky and engulfing the world — her body is in fact the firma- ment dividing the cosmos, created by the sun-god and governed according to his vision of order personified as MAAT , from the amorphous, primeval matter merging with which would be tantamount to non-existence. The thunder which must have seemed ominous as it echoed around the sky was euphemistically explained away as the laughter of Nut. The Egyptians painted the royal tombs at Thebes with two discrepant myths about the disappearance of the sun at night. The ceilings, imitating the sky, reflect the belief that the sun-god was swallowed by Nut. Nut is painted twice on a colossal scale, depicting the day and Coffin of Soter, second century AD, British the night sky. The sun-god sails in his Museum. These Egypt for his old age and so that he can are euphemisms for the pharaoh being receive proper burial rites — including lying placed in his coffin and buried. Nut as a deco- in the texts this sentiment is more fully ration on coffins survives into the Roman expressed: the king goes to Nut in her period. XXI at Tanis. This notion extends to the In vignettes in the Book of the Dead and courtiers, as we can see from the image of Theban tomb paintings, the sky-goddess is Nut decorating the interior of mummy — shown in the Underworld as a lady rising cases symbolising the deceased protected from the trunk of the sycamore tree. In this by and linked with the sky-goddess. Nut pours water and proffers a palace official who spent his life in self- loaves indicating that there will always be imposed exile in the states of the Levant: an abundance of life-sustaining produce in the pharaoh invites him by letter to return to the Underworld. O Ogdoad Eight deities representing the Onuris primeval chaos before the emergence of the sun-god. Warrior- and hunter-god The four gods are in the form of frog- originating at This near Abydos. When the sun-god is spear-carrying man wearing a crown of depicted coming into existence these four high plumes. The Ogdoad advocates in the tribunal judging the are envisualised as entities of the cosmic rights to the Egyptian throne. The catalyst for this This extends to interpreting Onuris as the event is the permeating creative power hunter and slayer of all enemies of Egypt of the serpent Kem-Atef see Amun in and the sun-god RA. It is Thoth-town — in Greek, Hermopolis. Orion is imagined as being swallowed at dawn by the Underworld but having the power to emerge again into the sky. In the identification of Osiris with Orion the underlying motif appears to be the link that the constellation has with the star Sirius SOTHIS : the renewal of life via the Nile flood, announced by the heliacal rising of the Dog-star, emphasises the connection between Osiris and vegeta- tion. Another concomitant factor between the two gods is that Orion has freedom of movement striding across the sky in the same way that Osiris, according to the Coffin Texts, will not be hindered in his rule over Upper Egypt. In the New Kingdom funerary texts Onuris with his lioness-consort Mekhit. In fuller iconography his Onuris. Tomb own principal deity: of Sety I, Dyn. In fact in one passage in the Foremost of the westerners in Egyptian, Pyramid Texts it is explicitly stated Khentamentiu This stresses the role of that in the next life the king will not Osiris as a protective funerary god. This has where the sun set and descended into been taken as a reference to the way in Duat. Originally this title applied to which Osiris was murdered by Seth in an ancient jackal-god worshipped at the legend given by the Greek writer Abydos. Plutarch AD 40— Once the ruler of booth where the embalmers turned the Egypt has died he becomes Osiris, King corpse into a mummified body is placed of Duat.

The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons – Bóksalan

This book offers an exciting reinterpretation of Auguste Comte, the founder of French sociology. Andrew Wernick provides the first in-depth critique of Comte's concept of religion and its place in his thinking on politics, sociology and philosophy of scie After more than a century of New Testament scholarship, it has become clear that the Jesus of the gospels is a fictive amalgam, reflecting the hopes and beliefs of the early Christian community and revealing very little about the historical Jesus. Over th Richard Carrier is an expert in the history of the ancient world and a critic of Christian attempts to distort history in defense of their faith. Not the Impossible Faith is a tour de force in that genre, dissecting and refuting the oft-repeated claim Conservative Protestantism in America has always wrestled with doctrinal controversies over issues ranging from predestination to the mode of baptism, from charismatic gifts to biblical prophecy. But probably none has threatened the American evangelical m Hymns and hymnbooks as American historical and cultural icons. This work is a study of the importance of Protestant hymns in defining America and American religion. It explores the underappreciated influence of hymns in shaping many spheres of personal and This book provides the first major reinvestigation and reinterpretation of the history of centralization of worship in ancient Israel since de Wette and Wellhausen in the nineteenth century. Based on these scholars' classic interpretation of the history a Few periods in Japanese history are more fascinating than the seventh century. This was the period when Buddhism experienced its initial flowering in the country and the time when Asukadera, Kudara Odera, Kawaradera, and Yakushiji the "Four Great Temples Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses contains one of the most comprehensive listings and descriptions of Egyptian deities. Now in its second edition, it provides: a new introduction updated entries and four new entries on deities names of the deities as Hieroglyphs a survey of gods and goddesses as they appear in classical literature an expanded chronolog The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses contains one of the most comprehensive listings and descriptions of Egyptian deities. Now in its second edition, it provides: a new introduction updated entries and four new entries on deities names of the deities as Hieroglyphs a survey of gods and goddesses as they appear in classical literature an expanded chronology and updated bibliography, together with a list of relevant websites drawings of the gods and emblems of each district a map of ancient Egypt and a time chart Presenting a vivid picture of the complexity and richness of imagery in Egyptian mythology, students studying Ancient Egypt, travelers, visitors to museums and all those interested in mythology will find this an invaluable resource. Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published May 18th by Routledge first published March 1st More Details Original Title. Other Editions 7. Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. Lists with This Book. This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Jun 24, Min rated it really liked it. Those accidental finds while cruising the shelves at the library, are the best of all, when they turn out to be just right for what one needs. I have yet to tackle learning about this mythology. The helpful introduction gave me a firm grasp upon the Dynasties, and characteristics of each epoch which placed the shifts in prominence of one deity group over another make sense. This important piece to the puzzle of deciphering the centuries of mythology, clarified many questions. For that part alone, Those accidental finds while cruising the shelves at the library, are the best of all, when they turn out to be just right for what one needs. For that part alone, I would give this as a recommended beginning to the study. Each entry covered the basics, distinguishing fact from conjecture, and assuring to touch on the key points, and relevant information. My interests are more in the lesser known deities. I know the treatment would be brief, yet, in a tome devoted to concise articles, it is refreshing to see a few of the lesser known beings discussed. By its size, it can hardly be expected to be exhaustive, or complete. The purpose is to offer information about the most familiar characters in myth, and history. Haven't read this entire book, but I'm using it frequently as I learn about the major Egyptian gods and goddesses. This is a good reference book if you're looking for a concise introduction. The entries are short 9 pages for Amun, perhaps the most important Egyptian god , and the full book is only pages. There are lots of illustrations, although in black and white. https://files8.webydo.com/9591992/UploadedFiles/15F4A247-F4E8-5BF3-9521-6FFC8D55AAD2.pdf https://static.s123-cdn-static.com/uploads/4640050/normal_602131871f341.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9587184/UploadedFiles/D3D11B0D-92A2-C965-49C8-F7B25DAA02A8.pdf https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/88680e93-3bf8-4aeb-bb75-00a6a0c6322c/achmed-schwimmt-von-einem-jungen-der-nicht-in-die- weltgeschichte-passte-933.pdf https://files8.webydo.com/9586309/UploadedFiles/F2E2E5B9-8F2C-0647-E39C-80789BF8DD64.pdf