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  2. Horus' Eye and Osiris' Efflux: The Egyptian Civilisation of Inundation c. 3000-2000 BCE

Horus' Eye and Osiris' Efflux: The Egyptian Civilisation of Inundation c. 3000-2000 BCE

Terje Oestigaard 2011 © BAR Publishing
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Death and the life-giving waters of the Nile were intimately interwoven in ancient Egyptian religion. The principal objective of this study is to develop a synthetic perspective for enhancing the understanding of the religious roles water had in the rise and constitution of the Egyptian civilisation during the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom. The author employs an archaeological, inter-disciplinary and comparative 'water perspective' in which water not only forms the analytical framework, but also provides empirical data that allow for new questions to be addressed. Thus, the Nile itself is used as the primary point of departure to analyse how, why and when religious changes took place, with a particular emphasis on the development of the Osiris cult. Use is made of contemporary written sources, in particular the Pyramid Texts, but also other mortuary texts as well as flood records. The evolution of the Osiris cult is then analysed in relation to the development of the mortuary monuments; the mastabas in the First and the Second Dynasties and the emergence of the pyramids from the Third Dynasty. Hence, by comparing the different funerary monuments and practices with the emergence of the Osiris cult in relation to climatic changes and fluctuations in the Nile's yearly inundation, Ancient Egyptian religion and the rise of the civilisation is analyzed according to a water perspective. It is noted that the Blue Nile was not blue, but red-brownish during the flood. When the flood started, the White Nile was not white, but green. The author argues that these fundamental characteristics of the Nile water formed the basis for the Osiris mythology. The red floodwaters in particular represented the blood of the slain Osiris.
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Series
  • BAR pre-2020
  • BAR International Series pre-2020
ISBN(s)
  • 9781407307909 (paperback)
  • 9781407337814 (ebook)
BAR Number
  • S2228
Subject
  • Multiperiod
  • Egypt and Sudan
  • Ritual / Religion / Temples
  • Epigraphy / Ancient and Medieval Texts / Papyri
Citable Link
  • Table of Contents

  • Stats

  • Front Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright
  • Preface
  • Table of Contents
  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 2: Climate and Cosmos
  • Chapter 3: Rain and River – Seth, Horus and Osiris
  • Chapter 4: Osiris’ Discharge, Isis’ Tear and Breast Milk – The Green Nile, the Red Nile and the White Nile
  • Chapter 5: The Pharaoh and the Flood
  • Chapter 6: Seasons, Ceremonies and Celebrations
  • Chapter 7: Mortuary Monuments
  • Chapter 8: The Nile, Death and the Egyptian Civilisation
  • Appendix 1 Chronology
  • Appendix 2 Nilometer measurments from the Palermo Stone
  • Appendix 3: Measurments from the Cairo Nilometer
  • Literature
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