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Sensuous Experience, Performance, and Presence in Third Intermediate Period Biography

Elizabeth Frood

in Ancient Egyptian Literature: Theory and Practice

This chapter analyses biographical motifs relating to sensory experience found in inscriptions largely belonging to one tenth-century bc priestly family in Thebes. The four statues which are the ... More

This chapter analyses biographical motifs relating to sensory experience found in inscriptions largely belonging to one tenth-century bc priestly family in Thebes. The four statues which are the focus of discussion (CG 42225; CG 42226; CG 42227; CG 42228) were dedicated in the temple precinct of Karnak by Hor IX for himself, his ancestor, and his wife. Inscriptions on a statue of Horakhbit I (CG 42231) from Karnak are also treated. Celebration of the senses is found in these texts through the fusion of biography with themes known from harpists' songs, a genre previously associated with tombs; the use of myrrh, a pleasurable and ritual substance; and through phraseology that mobilises the sensuous geographies of sacred space. Study of how such motifs relate to other features of biography across the statues offers insights into transformations of more than one genre and developments in the function of statues in temples.Less

The House of Shoshenq

Aidan Dodson

in Afterglow of Empire: Egypt from the Fall of the New Kingdom to the Saite Renaissance

The Twenty-second Dynasty. Examines a possible coregency of Shoshenq I with Pasebkhanut II; Iuput, the last in a succession of Theban pontiffs; funereal innovations during Shoshenq I's reign, from ... More

The Twenty-second Dynasty. Examines a possible coregency of Shoshenq I with Pasebkhanut II; Iuput, the last in a succession of Theban pontiffs; funereal innovations during Shoshenq I's reign, from 'Yellow' coffins to cartonnage shell; links to Byblos and the Levant; Biblical references; Nile level records at Karnak recording kings and pontiffs of second part of the Third Intermediate Period; the importance of the god's city Herakleopolis and possibly the origin there of the Twenty-second Dynasty during this period.Less

Catalog

Manniche Lise

in The Akhenaten Colossi of Karnak

There are different types of catalog derived from sources: (1) publications as indicated; (2) the archives of the Centre Franco-Égyptien d'Étude des Temples de Karnak (CFEETK); (3) the Journal ... More

There are different types of catalog derived from sources: (1) publications as indicated; (2) the archives of the Centre Franco-Égyptien d'Étude des Temples de Karnak (CFEETK); (3) the Journal d'Entrée and Temporary Register at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo; (4) personal observations of the fragments displayed in museums and those stored in the Sheikh Labib storehouse in Karnak; (5) observations and photographs by Robert Partridge of some of the fragments in the late 1990s; and (6) information and photographs supplied by Edwin Brock of objects discovered during his recent excavations at East Karnak. In connection with this, the discussion about colossi and its mutilation is presented for better understanding that gives a more detailed excavation on what happened. Moreover, classification of fragments is discussed in this chapter.Less

Luxor and the West Bank—the Thebes of Old

Deborah Manley

in Women Travelers in Egypt: From the Eighteenth to the Twenty-first Century

Many travelers in the days of sail stopped only briefly at Luxor when going south, spending a much longer time there and on the west bank while sailing north—carried along by the flow of the river ... More

Many travelers in the days of sail stopped only briefly at Luxor when going south, spending a much longer time there and on the west bank while sailing north—carried along by the flow of the river toward the end of their time in Egypt.Less

Discovery

Manniche Lise

in The Akhenaten Colossi of Karnak

Maurice Pillet was a French architect and director of works for the Egyptian Antiquities Service at Karnak. He was the first person in modern times to create astonishing sculptures of Akhenaten. This ... More

Maurice Pillet was a French architect and director of works for the Egyptian Antiquities Service at Karnak. He was the first person in modern times to create astonishing sculptures of Akhenaten. This was where he engaged himself in rescuing the enclosure of the eastern gate of Karnak temple that was affected by rising subsoil water. Despite the many circumstances of his discoveries, Pillet did not record any of his findings, but his successor Henri Chevrier wrote the records a year after. Because of this, Chevrier found a lot of Pillet's discoveries that he can continue in the Karnak temple. After the seasons of Chevrier works, he tidied up the plans for him to succeed wherein he had to avoid dumping soil.Less

Pathology

Manniche Lise

in The Akhenaten Colossi of Karnak

In the 1998 writing of Marc Gabolde, Karnak colossi are described as the most “unrealistic” example of the art of the Amarna period and there are reasons which are stated in this chapter. Also, the ... More

In the 1998 writing of Marc Gabolde, Karnak colossi are described as the most “unrealistic” example of the art of the Amarna period and there are reasons which are stated in this chapter. Also, the problem in identifying a pathological condition due to lack of comparison is stated in this chapter. In connection with this, the members of the medical profession have found the case of Akhenaten irresistible and have often been quoted by Egyptologists. Problems in medicine history and the analysis of their case have been one of the main focuses in this chapter. Different interpretations and representations of mummies that helped in giving clearer identity to a medical history are presented as well. These different studies started because of the suspected abnormalities of Tutankhamun.Less

Sethy II Restored

Aidan Dodson

in Poisoned Legacy: The Fall of the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty

It is unclear whether the titulary of the restored Sethy II differed substantively from that used in his first years. Only one full titular is formally dated and while the king had a number of ... More

It is unclear whether the titulary of the restored Sethy II differed substantively from that used in his first years. Only one full titular is formally dated and while the king had a number of variant Horus and Nebti names and orthographies of his cartouche names, they cannot at present be shown to be chronologically significant. The state of the royal family at the time of Sethy II's return to Thebes is not fully clear. The only pieces of evidence for a named child of Sethy II are the secondary representations of Sethy-Merenptah B in the Karnak shrines. Sethy II erected a pair of obelisks on the Rameses II-built quay at the western limit of the Amun precinct, and nearby a stela. Sethy II's efforts in the Amun temple were largely confined to replacing erased cartouches of his father and those of Amenmeses with his own names.Less

The Nome Coins of Roman Egypt

Angelo Geissen

in Coinage and Identity in the Roman Provinces

When octavian-augustus gained control of Egypt in 30 bc he inherited the administration which had been installed by his Ptolemaic predecessors, but added the ... More

When octavian-augustus gained control of Egypt in 30 bc he inherited the administration which had been installed by his Ptolemaic predecessors, but added the Praefectus Aegypti, a Roman Eques, as the new head of the government of Roman Egypt. Augustus retained the Egyptian closed currency system, and struck only bronze denominations (those early in the reign were a continuation of those from towards the end of the reign of Cleopatra VII). Regnal years appeared from year 28 (L KH = 3/2 BC) to year 42 (L MB = AD 12/13). After a gap of about fifty years new debased silver (billon) tetradrachms were issued by Tiberius in his seventh year (L Z = AD 20/1). The tetradrachm, normally called state´r in papyri, survived as a denomination, with a decrease in its weight and silver content, until the reform of Diocletian in Egypt in AD 296/7, when the new Latin nummus replaced the old ‘Greek’ system. The bronze coinage reached its peak in the first half of the second century when it consisted of a range of denominations of the drachma and its fractions, and when the output especially of bronze drachmas became very extensive; some last examples of bronze coins appear under Gallienus and Claudius II. The typology of this coinage includes a great variety of individual reverse designs. We find Greek, Roman, and Egyptian topics. As may be expected, Egyptian religious and cultural life is represented in a wide range of images; Roman ideas and types, like images of members of the imperial family, personifications, events in Rome and elsewhere in the empire, are copied or reflected by the Alexandrian mint; finally, Greek types occur in the form of representations of deities of the traditional Graeco-Roman pantheon, or as pictorial scenes from mythology. There are some remarkable series of bronze coins preserved; among them are the so-called nome coins (or coins of the nomes of Roman Egypt). Since pharaonic times Egypt had been divided into forty-two administrative districts, which the Greeks later called nomoí (singular nomós). Classical authors give different numbers of nomes and so do the coins in question. Less

Dawn of the Golden Age

Aidan Dodson

in Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy

This chapter provides an account and discussion of the reigns of Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV. It discusses the campaigns of Amenhotep II into Syria-Palestine, his officials, the problems surrounding ... More

This chapter provides an account and discussion of the reigns of Amenhotep II and Thutmose IV. It discusses the campaigns of Amenhotep II into Syria-Palestine, his officials, the problems surrounding that king's family and his building projects, before moving on to the issues surrounding the accession of the Thutmose IV and the probability that the latter was irregular. It then concludes with a similarly-structured treatment of Thutmose IV's reign, including the question of his role in the development of what was to become the Aten-cult.Less

The Road to Tell El-Amarna

Aidan Dodson

in Amarna Sunrise: Egypt from Golden Age to Age of Heresy

This chapter describes and discusses the first part of the reign of Amenhotep IV, down to his change of name to Akhenaten. This highlights the evolution of the way in which the king was depicted, and ... More

This chapter describes and discusses the first part of the reign of Amenhotep IV, down to his change of name to Akhenaten. This highlights the evolution of the way in which the king was depicted, and how the god Aten moved from being merely a particular manifestation of Re-Horakhty to being a deity, with a unique mode of representation and universal dominion. In doing so, the king's building projects at Karnak are described and discussed, along with other memorials of this phase of the reign. There is also a treatment of the king's foreign policy, based on the Amarna Letters, and of his family relationships, before concluding with the first phase of the foundation of the new capital city at Tell el-Amarna (Akhet-Aten).Less

The Tough Women of Luxor

Wafaa EL Sadik and Rüdiger Heimlich

in Protecting Pharaoh's Treasures: My Life in Egyptology

This chapter details the author's introduction to a group of American women who wished to finance and undertake an excavation in Karnak. These women include television starlet Diane Smith, painter ... More

This chapter details the author's introduction to a group of American women who wished to finance and undertake an excavation in Karnak. These women include television starlet Diane Smith, painter and art dealer Mary Martin, photographer and writer Audrey Topping, former skeet-shooting champion Betje Carlson, and Gypsy Grave, a director of a private archaeological museum in Florida. They were five power women who had pulled strings to get permission for the first all-female archaeological mission. They set up the private Nile Foundation, for which they collected roughly $100,000 in sponsors' money by way of charity and fundraising events. The concession of the project had been obtained through the American Research Center in Egypt, and the standing committee of the antiquities administration had approved it only with the stipulation that it be strictly scientific.Less

Introduction to the Site

Kent Weeks and Nigel Hetherington

in The Valley of the Kings: A Site Management Handbook

Thebes is one of the largest, richest, and best-known archaeological sites in the world. It includes the two huge temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor, as well as thousands of tombs, scores of ... More

Thebes is one of the largest, richest, and best-known archaeological sites in the world. It includes the two huge temple complexes at Karnak and Luxor, as well as thousands of tombs, scores of smaller temples, and numerous other buildings. This chapter briefly reviews the history of the area, discusses the sometimes debated boundaries of the protected area, and describes the general construction and decoration of the tombs.Less

Karnak’s Quaysides: The Embankments from the New Kingdom to the Kushito-Saite Period

Mansour Boraik

in Tombs of the South Asasif Necropolis: New Discoveries and Research 2012-2014

This chapter focuses on the Kushite sacred landscape and Twenty-fifth Dynasty finds at Karnak. It is based on the results of archaeological excavations undertaken by a team from the Supreme Council ... More

This chapter focuses on the Kushite sacred landscape and Twenty-fifth Dynasty finds at Karnak. It is based on the results of archaeological excavations undertaken by a team from the Supreme Council of Antiquities directed by the author in the western and southern parts of the Karnak temple complex. The chapter examines textual, iconographical, and archaeological sources that provide evidence of important movements of the Nile during the New Kingdom until the abandonment of the site. The excavations revealed a great embankment at least 6.5 meters high, roughly running on a north–south axis, parallel to the Nile. It was built of rough-cut blocks of sandstone and connected with two quays constructed in front of the temple. Based on the evidence, the chapter draws hypotheses as to the historical evolution of the embankments in front of the temple from the New Kingdom to the Kushito-Saite period.Less

The Kingdom of Amun

Miroslav Verner

in Temple of the World: Sanctuaries, Cults, and Mysteries of Ancient Egypt

With the reunification of the country Egypt found itself in the New Kingdom, on the threshold of its greatest era of political and cultural flowering. The political and religious center was Thebes, ... More

With the reunification of the country Egypt found itself in the New Kingdom, on the threshold of its greatest era of political and cultural flowering. The political and religious center was Thebes, although Memphis was the main administrative and, at certain periods, royal seat of the country. The Theban rulers achieved victory under the banner of their local god Amun. During the Middle Kingdom Amun had already been merged with Re, the powerful sun god of Heliopolis, in a new form: Amun-Re. The origins and initial meaning of the cult of the god Amun have been the subject of debate among Egyptologists for a long time. Amun, ‘The Kind of the Gods,’ who was honoured with many other lofty epithets, was most often represented in human form. His body was usually colored blue to signify that he is a god of the sky. He wears a crown adorned with two plumes, and sometimes also a sun disc. He was a god-creator. The temple precinct of Amun lies just a few hundred meters east of the Nile. It was originally connected to the river by a canal and the ‘Way of the Rams.’Less

To the South

in How Many Miles to Babylon?: Travels and Adventures to Egypt and Beyond, From 1300 to 1640

On August 7, 1589, an anonymous Venetian departed from Cairo, accompanied by a crew of Nubian boatmen, to fulfill his desire to explore the southern provinces of Egypt and see its many magnificent ... More

On August 7, 1589, an anonymous Venetian departed from Cairo, accompanied by a crew of Nubian boatmen, to fulfill his desire to explore the southern provinces of Egypt and see its many magnificent buildings, churches, statues, obelisks, colossi, and columns. Neither a pilgrim nor a missionary, this Venetian could speak Arabic and had resided in Cairo for some time. Ignoring the warning of friends about the dangers that lay ahead, he embarked on a journey to get a first-hand experience of the rumoured splendours of Luxor and Karnak as well as the quarries where the obelisks were extracted. The Venetian lived to tell the tale and wrote of his odyssey in a travel account, belittling the sufferings and hardships he encountered. It is not clear how many anonymous European travellers, whether pilgrims or merchants, died on their way to Egypt, but those who survived, including the anonymous Venetian, faced up to whatever dangers lurked out there. Their sojourn was immortalised in travel literature.Less

Far Frontiers Sky and Sun Together

James K. Hoffmeier

in Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism

The emergence of Amun, the sky god of Thebes, is examined here, along with the establishment of Karnak Temple. Amun is an obscure deity whose origin remains uncertain, and yet he was elevated to the ... More

The emergence of Amun, the sky god of Thebes, is examined here, along with the establishment of Karnak Temple. Amun is an obscure deity whose origin remains uncertain, and yet he was elevated to the top position in the 12th Dynasty. Then the merger between the sun-god, Re, with Amun occurred around 2000 B.C.. This merger seems to have been initiated by Amenemhet I, who sought to unify northern and southern Egypt after the previous era of civil strife. Amun-Re’s ascendency continues into the 15th century, when he vaulted to the top of the pantheon and was the unquestioned “king of the gods.” The penetrating question is, how does Amun-Re within less than a decade go from occupying such a lofty perch by Akhenaten’s predecessors to being ostracized and then persecuted by Akhenaten?Less

The Domain of Aten: The Temples of Aten at Karnak

James K. Hoffmeier

in Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism

This chapter deals with the temples that Amenhotep IV built to the Aten at Karnak. He used a unique block (called talatat) for the construction. After the Amarna period, the Aten temples were ... More

This chapter deals with the temples that Amenhotep IV built to the Aten at Karnak. He used a unique block (called talatat) for the construction. After the Amarna period, the Aten temples were dismantled and the blocks were reused elsewhere, making the original location of the temples a mystery. Excavations in east Karnak in the 1970s revealed the location of the Gem-pa-Aten Temple, which was used to celebrate his Heb Sed Festival. In connection with this ceremony, the king’s name was changed to Akhenaten. The famous colossal statues of Akhenaten were originally from this temple. The Aten temples at Thebes provide important information about the early years of Akhenaten’s religion.Less