In the footsteps of the donkey in Egyptian religion.
Sidestone| N° d'inventaire | 22949 |
| Format | 21 x 28 |
| Détails | 470 p., 39 B/W ill., 70 color ill., paperback. |
| Publication | Leiden, 2020 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9789088908279 |
The donkey, an animal essential to trade and agriculture in ancient Egypt, appears in sources of all kinds, testifying to its prevalence in the Egyptian universe. Much of the evidence relating to this animal comes from economic documents. Another reality, however, appears in religious documentation, where the donkey is most often interpreted as a representative of Seth, the evil god par excellence, master of deserts and foreign countries, enemy and murderer of his brother Osiris. Both benevolent and evil, the donkey is an ambivalent entity, sometimes granted formidable powers. The animal, the archetype of evil, was thus generally execrated and virtually killed in the sacred context of temples, while it sometimes stands out in funerary literature as a defender of the sun god. At the same time, it is both feared and revered in numerous magical texts where it appears as a powerful and protective entity. This study is based on figurative, textual, and archaeological evidence from the predynastic to the Roman period. It brings together for the first time and synthesizes existing ritual, funerary, magical, and medical documentation in order to understand the view of the donkey in ancient Egyptian religion.
The donkey, an animal essential to trade and agriculture in ancient Egypt, appears in sources of all kinds, testifying to its prevalence in the Egyptian universe. Much of the evidence relating to this animal comes from economic documents. Another reality, however, appears in religious documentation, where the donkey is most often interpreted as a representative of Seth, the evil god par excellence, master of deserts and foreign countries, enemy and murderer of his brother Osiris. Both benevolent and evil, the donkey is an ambivalent entity, sometimes granted formidable powers. The animal, the archetype of evil, was thus generally execrated and virtually killed in the sacred context of temples, while it sometimes stands out in funerary literature as a defender of the sun god. At the same time, it is both feared and revered in numerous magical texts where it appears as a powerful and protective entity. This study is based on figurative, textual, and archaeological evidence from the predynastic to the Roman period. It brings together for the first time and synthesizes existing ritual, funerary, magical, and medical documentation in order to understand the view of the donkey in ancient Egyptian religion.