A comparative study of Herodotus III, 129–130 and of the Vatican Naophorous (VN) on the historical dynamics between 522 and 519 BCE, depicts a precise temporal succession ranging from the failure of the Egyptian physicians to heal King Darius, who was suffering due to a dislocated ankle (successfully healed by Democedes), to the sovereign ordering…
Udjahorresnet and the Royal Name of Cambyses: The “Derivative Sacrality” of Achaemenids in Egypt
The article deals with a well-known fragment of Udjahorresnet’s autobiography describing his compiling an Egyptian royal titulary for Cambyses after his appearance in Egypt and Udjahorresnet’s elevation at his court. A comparison of Cambyses’ and Darius’ I solar prenomina (Mswty-RꜤ and Stwt-RꜤ, which can be understood as “the image of Re” and “the likeness of…
Les Soutiens de Cambyse en Babylonie, de 539 à 522 av. è. c. (The Supports of Cambyses in Babylonia, from 539 to 522 BCE)
Cambyses’ relations with local elites in Babylon were marked by a phenomenon of misunderstanding when he took the title of “King of Babylon” at the beginning of Cyrus’ reign and then, fifteen years later, when he extended his stay in Egypt after the conquest of 526 BCE. While Cambyses managed to establish an effective link…
Udjahorresnet the Persian: Being an Essay on the Archaeology of Identity
This essay is an examination of Udjahorresnet’s Persian identity. Best known from the inscription on his naophorous statue now in the Vatican, Udjahorresnet was a high-ranking courtier in Egypt under the Saite pharaohs Amasis and Psamtik III, and subsequently under the Persian kings Cambyses and Darius. While his statue’s form, function and inscription make it…
Herodotus’s Perspective on the Situation of Egypt in the Persian Period from the Last Saite Kings to Xerxes’ First Years
The inscription on the famous statue of Udjahorresnet on the Musei Vaticani touches upon a number of historical events, which are reflected in Greek historiography. Taking up different aspects of Udjahorresnet’s career, the paper analyses Herodotus’ perspective on the Egyptian sea forces and the foreign mercenaries in Egypt, the different characterization of Cambyses’ deeds in…
Diplomacy in Ancient Times: The Figure of Udjahorresnet: An International Relations Perspective
For international relations (IR) scholars, the story behind the figure of Udjahorresnet might seem as an obscure phase in international history. Yet the pre-Roman period is educative for testing constitutive IR concepts such as the balance of power theory, international system, or soft power, which are still widely assumed to have become relevant only in…
The Anatomy of a Coffin Text Demon
At first glance, the vastly varying forms of the more than 400 different demonic entities described and illustrated in the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts appear strange and “monstrous,” but a more detailed analysis demonstrates that their appearances have greater symbolic and practical use than previously believed. The most frequent forms of these demons are figuratively…
Fear and Loathing at Amarna: A Case Study of the Development of Sacred Objects in Response to Communal Anxiety
Many physical and psychological afflictions were believed to have been caused by malevolent demonic beings, who could be defended against by calling upon benevolent liminal entities for aid in those times of trouble. This article applies the theory that emotions experienced at a communal level can be discerned in the archaeological record—in this case, through…
Ghosts and Ancestors in a Gender Pespective
Through an analysis of the letters to the dead, the paper focuses on the role played by women in Egyptian ancestor worship. Special attention is given to the missives addressed to the female spirits: the so-called misplaced stele of Merityfy, the Berlin bowl 22573, Papyrus Leiden I 371, and Ostracon Louvre 698. The investigation has…
The Slaughterers: A Study of the Ḫꜣ.tyw as Liminal Beings in Ancient Egyptian Thought
The ḫꜣ.tyw, otherwise known as the Slaughterers, Knife-bearers, and Plague-bringers within academic literature, are a group of liminal deities attested in the written record from the Old Kingdom to the Greco-Roman Period. They posed a significant danger in both the terrestrial and secular realms, to the living and the dead, to the gods and mankind…
The Maned Hippopotamus at Lahun: Identifying Homes and Names
In 1889–1890, Flinders Petrie directed clearance of a late Middle Kingdom town site near al-Lahun to produce a plan of the buildings and a general description of Middle Kingdom material culture. The finds include a dramatic limestone image of the mixed hippopotamus-lion known in Egyptology by the Late Egyptian name Taweret “the great (female power).”…
A Particular Depiction of Anubis from the Tomb of the Sculptor Nakhtamun (TT 335): Is Anubis a Demon?
We know how flexible the Egyptian iconographic system is and the limitations of our modern classifications, especially in regard to gods, spirits and demons. This paper reviews the god Anubis’ particular and completely distinctive iconography shown in the tomb of sculptor Nakhtamun (TT 335). Analysis of this means we can tackle the depictions of armed…
Symbolae Sacrae: Symbolic Formulae for Protection and Adoration within the Quarries of Gebel el-Silsila
Within the quarries of Gebel el-Silsila is a vast amount of unique symbolic representations: stylized iconographic and pseudo-scripted signs and marks that to some extent signify deities and their protection against demons, evil and mishaps. Like written protective formulae, these marks were placed within the quarries to symbolically safekeep the ancient workers and express gratitude…
The Impact of the Manifestation of Demoniacal Winds on Terrestrial Life: The Role of Demon Gangs in Dispersing the Iꜣdt-rnpt
Iꜣdt-rnpt is the most recurrent impact upon people on earth that is identified with the role of demon gangs of Sekhmet. The manifestation of demons to spread the iꜣdt-rnpt is remarkably associated with the blowing of pathogenic air, an argument that raises the hypothesis of a miasmatic role of demons as manifested winds. This article…
Baba and the Baboon Demons
Baba is a rather obscure god, occurring in magical texts since the time of the Pyramid Texts as well as in later ritual and mythical texts where he manifests as baboon or dog. This study analyzes in particular the baboon form of Baba in connection with the baboon-guardian demons in the netherworld, as they occur…
Liminal Sources of Dangerous Powers: A Case of the Black Ram
This article proposes a semiology-inspired model for the description of “demonic characters.” In this model, an image of a mythological character is seen as a kind of sign with a twofold plane of expression because Egyptian signifiers combine visual and verbal components. Each of these components could be expressed through text and/or display, as in…
The Guardians of Menekhibnekau: Chapter 144 of the Book of the Dead in the Shaft Tomb of Menekhibnekau at Abusir
Although the Saite-Persian shaft tomb of Menkehibnekau at Abusir is more conservative in its decoration programme than that of Iufaa, it nonetheless contains several interesting and unusual features. One such element of decoration is Chapter 144 of the Book of the Dead with its vignette on the southern (entrance) wall of the burial chamber. While…
Mnḥ, “The Butcher” and Lord of the Butcher Demons
This work investigates a demon, Meneh, who is attested from the Middle Kingdom until the Graeco-Roman Period in epigraphic and iconographic evidence. His epithets reflect aggression, ferocity, and violence, which Meneh uses mainly against enemies of the deities. Additionally, he can be a threat to the deceased. However, not only did he have his own…
The Bꜣw of Taweret: Vindictiveness (and Forgiveness) of the Hippopotamus Goddess
In Egyptological scholarship, the so-called hippopotamus goddess is traditionally depicted as a completely benevolent being that is the effective apotropaic protectress of women and children. Even though this picture appears quite consistent with most of the documentation, nevertheless in a few textual instances the goddess, more or less explicitly, exhibits a menacing attitude towards the…
Liminal Deities in the Borderlands: Bes and Pataikos in Ancient Nubia
This paper examines amulets in the forms of the apotropaic liminal gods Bes and Pataikos, as represented in the archaeological assemblage from the site of Tombos in Upper Nubia. Through examination of these amulets under anthropological and archaeological conceptions of materiality, they can be linked to the individuals that would have come in contact with…
Disease Demons in Mesopotamia and Egypt: Sāmānu as a Case Study
This article gives a brief overview about previous approaches whether the use of the term “demon” is constructive in Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern studies. Additionally, the similarities and differences between Egyptian and Mesopotamian representations of disease demons are compared in general, and then the demon Sāmānu/Akhu (ꜣḫ.w) is analyzed as a case study. Akhu;…
Underworld Demons in the Decoration of the Large Late Period Shaft Tombs at Abusir
In the decoration of the large shaft tombs at Abusir, dated to the late Twenty-sixth/early Twenty-seventh Dynasty, several series of the underworld demons can be found. They appear in different positions—either separately, as on the inner sarcophagus of Iufaa and on the outer wooden coffin of Nekau (buried in one of the lesser burial chambers…
An Egyptian Private-Name Scarab Impression on a Clay Sealing from the City of David
A tiny fragment of a clay sealing impressed by an Egyptian scarab was unearthed in 2014 during excavations by the Tel Aviv University at the City of David. The legible hieroglyphs form part of an inscription that provided the name and title of the seal owner, most likely a dignitary from the time of the…
Technical and Analytical Study of One of Tutankhamen’s Inlaid Walking Sticks
This paper describes the techniques and deterioration of a walking stick from the tomb of Tutankhamen (Carter no. 135e) by examining and analyzing its various decorative layers. Several scientific and analytical methods were applied. A visual assessment was done to understand aspects of its deterioration, which were then scientifically analyzed through means of infrared photography,…
Transient or Eternal? Cross-regional Identity Display Reconsidered: The Missing Head of the Statue of Darius I (NMI 4112)
The statue of Darius I found at Susa provides a striking example for petrifying an identity construction that is transient in nature. Darius I is simultaneously Persian Great King and Egyptian pharaoh. Usually, either one or the other aspect is put to the fore in the preserved media of presentation. The statue in its current…
The Wise Woman and the Healing Practice (O. OIM 16974)
This paper publishes the hieratic ostracon O. OIM 16974 and studies the relation between the wise woman mentioned in the text and healing practices. It is a letter to an unknown woman concerning the wise woman and the death of two infants. The palaeography and the subject, which appears to be the same event recorded…
Are Women the Key to Understanding the Kushite Presence in Egypt? Several Remarks on Thebes during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty
This paper highlights several issues regarding the Kushite presence in Twenty-fifth Dynasty Thebes. The Nubian influence in the iconography of the chapel of Osiris Heqa-Djet is discussed, as well as problems related to the identification of Kushites in the Theban necropolis, with the possible hints pointing to the Kushite connections of the deceased individuals previously…
Coffins as Statues? The Study of Cover British Museum EA 55022 from Roman Egypt
This article explores notions of traditions and materiality in the production of standing coffins during the Roman period. The coffin cover British Museum EA 55022 is carved in the shape of a standing man dressed in Greek clothing. The detailed study of this piece led to the investigation of parallels from Abusir el-Meleq, where the…
Egyptian Shabtis Discovered in Various Regions of Europe
In this paper the author analyzes the presence of ancient Egyptian shabtis discovered around Europe. These are commonly related to the diffusion of ancient Egyptian cults during the Late and Greco-Roman periods. The first section discusses the role of shabtis in Egyptian religious and funerary custom. The second describes the production of shabtis. The third…
Mediterranean Influence in the Ceramic Assemblage of the Small-scale Settlement of Al-Qārah al-Ḥamrā
This paper explores the ceramic repertoire of Al-Qārah al-Ḥamrā, a small settlement in the Fayyūm on the north shore of Lake Qārūn, dating from the Hellenistic to Early Roman period. A selection of wares discovered is discussed and broadens the picture of activities occurring at the site. The paper further contributes to the understanding of…