V. Mazzuca Isis Thermouthis in The Roman PDF

JIIA ‘Journal of Intercultural and
Interdisciplinary A rchaeology’
Founded by Antonella D’Ascoli in 2003
Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology
N° 02/2015
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Scientific Committee of
‘Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology’ n°02/2015 (in progress):
Marilina Betrò (Professore Ordinario di Egittologia - Università degli Studi di Pisa)
Antonio Corso (Lord Marks Charitable Trust - Benaki Museum - Archaeological Service of
Serres (Amphipolis)
Martine Denoyelle (Conservateur en chef du Patrimoine Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art
INHA - Membre associé de l’UMR ANHIMA UMR 8567)
Andrea Vianello (Università di Oxford)
Matteo Vigo (Saxo Institute, University of Copenhagen)
Antonella D’Ascoli (indipendent researcher)
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JIIA.eu Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology
Table of Contents
Thematic issue: Renenutet/Isis Thermouthis: diffusion of this anguiform deity from east to west... 6
Antonella D’Ascoli
Renenutet - Iside Thermouthis: una breve nota introduttiva....................................................... 7
Magali Massiera
The so called statue of Nehebkau. A comparative study............................................................ 25
Massimiliano Franci
Isis-Thermouthis and the anguiform deities in Egypt: a cultural and semantic evolution.......... 35
Julie Masquelier-Loorius
A Reassessment of the Archaeological Evidence for a cult of this divinity in Economic Compounds..... 41
Frédéric Mougenot
Remarks on the four Renenutets in the temples of Edfu and Dendara ..................................... 55
Paolo Marini
Renenutet: worship and popular piety at Thebes in the New Kingdom.................................... 73
Maria Nilsson
Anguiform graffiti in the Roman quarries at Gebel el Silsila..................................................... 85
Marco Baldi
Isis in Kush, a Nubian soul for an Egyptian goddess................................................................. 97
Vito Mazzuca
Isis Thermouthis in the Roman world: some data from the Italian peninsula.......................... 123
Free Section............................................................................................................................ 132
Eugenio Fantusati, Marco Baldi, Fabio Bellatreccia, Armida Sodo, Annalaura Casanova Municchia
Seventh excavation season at Abu Erteila: preliminary report.................................................. 133
Maria Nilsson
Gebel el Silsila: field report from the Main Quarry................................................................. 147
‘Journal of Intercultural and
Antonio Corso
The Sculptures of the Tumulus Kasta near Amphipolis........................................................... 193
JIIA © 2015
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Contributors to this volume

Baldi, Marco
University of Pisa – ISMEO – Centro Studi Petrie
Email: mbaldi83@libero.it
Casanova Municchia, Annalaura

Università degli Studi Roma Tre – Dipartimento di Scienze
Email: acasanovamunicchia@uniroma3.it
Corso, Antonio
Grantee of the Lord Marks Charitable Trust – Benaki Museum
Email: antoniocorso@hotmail.com
D’Ascoli, Antonella
Indipendent researcher
Email: ad@ngi.it
Bellatreccia, Fabio
Email: fabio.bellatreccia@uniroma3.it
Fantusati, Eugenio
Università la Sapienza di Roma – ISMEO
Email: eugenio.fantusati@uniroma1.it
Franci, Massimiliano
CAMNES, Firenze
Email: massimiliano.franci@camnes.org
Marini, Paolo
Università di Pisa
Email: pao.marini@gmail.com
Masquelier-Loorius, Julie
Research Engineer CNRS, UMR 8167 Orient et Méditerranée, équipe Mondes pharaoniques
Université Paris-Sorbonne, Labex RESMED (Laboratoire d’excellence Religions et sociétés dans
le monde méditerranéen)
Email: julie.masquelier-loorius@cnrs.fr
Massiera, Magali
LabEx archimede, program ANR-11-LABX-0032-01
UMR 5140, Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University, Montpellier, France
Email: massiera.magali@gmail.com
Mazzuca, Vito
Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene – SAIA
Email: vitomazzuca@hotmail.it
Mougenot, Frédéric
Curator, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille
Email: frederic.mougenot@mucem.org
4
Nilsson, Maria
Post-doctoral researcher, Lund University
Email: maria.nilsson@klass.lu.se
Sodo, Armida
Email: sodo@fis.uniroma3.it
JIIA © 2015
5

Thematic issue:
Renenutet/Isis Thermouthis: diffusion of this anguiform deity
from east to west
6
Renenutet - Iside Thermouthis: una breve nota introduttiva

Antonella D’Ascoli
Indipendent researcher
ad@ngi.it
Renenutet
Iside1 Ermouthis/Thermouthis2, è interpretatio graeca, di epoca tolemaica, della dea-cobra

Renenutet3. La dea-cobra Renenutet4, divinità-Ureus, in epoca faraonica riveste una doppia
1 Iside è presente nel pantheon egizio sin dall’Antico Regno, a partire dal III millennio. La sua origine geografica è
associata alla zona del Delta (Hebit/Behbeit el-Hagar); molti episodi dei miti che la riguardano sono ambientati
nel Delta (qui la dea nasconde il sarcofago di Osiride recuperato a Biblo). Non è chiara l’origine onomastica del suo
nome, probabilmente inteso come ‘personificazione del trono’, dato il geroglifico corrispondente e sua traslitterazione; tale
associazione proverrebbe da un substrato africano che interpreta il ‘seggio reale come madre del capo’. Wilkinson 2003, 147.
Il mito di Iside (già nella I dinastia il faraone viene definito ‘figlio di Iside’) è menzionato per la prima volta nei
‘Testi delle Piramidi’ (testi contenenti formule magico-religiose iscritte sulle pareti all’interno delle piramidi di
faraoni e regine). In queste formule è rilevante il ruolo di Iside quale nutrice del sovrano: l’atto dell’allattamento al
seno ne garantisce l’adozione come figlio e la trasmissione, a quest’ultimo, della regalità.
Inoltre, è nei testi funerari di quest’epoca che Iside è associata a Sothis, la stella più luminosa della costellazione
del Cane Major, che annunciava l’inondazione, nonché le prime formulazioni del mito di Iside, quale sposa di
Osiride e madre di Horus, concepito da Osiride defunto, cui Iside ‘funeraria’ dona la vita col battito delle sue ali
(nel Tempio di Dendera, Osiride è raffigurato mummiforme, con Iside in forma di nibbio che si posa su di lui;
i testi confermano questo concepimento, in essi si parla della presenza del seme di Osiride nel ventre di Iside); è
nell’ambito di questi eventi che Osiride assume la funzione di divinità dell’Oltretomba, precedentemente ricoperta
da Anubis, imbalsamatore e guida del defunto nell’Aldilà (Plutarco, De Iside et Osiride).
L’aspetto di maga, astuta, emerge nelle varie vicende del mito della disputa tra Horus e Seth, che si conclude col riconoscimento
da parte del tribunale degli dei di Horus come legittimo erede di Osiride, ma anche quando guarisce il figlio della donna
ricca, che non le aveva dato ospitalità, punto da Tefen, il capo dei sette scorpioni che le facevano da scorta; quando ferma
la barca solare di Ra, per il dolore del piccolo Horus punto da uno scorpione, poi, guarito da Thot; quando esercita la sua
funzione di protettrice del genere umano dal veleno degli animali pericolosi; quando carpisce il nome segreto di Ra.
Nel Medio Regno Iside, ‘la Grande’ (Wrt), ‘la Signora dei Deserti’, ‘la Maga’, ‘Grande di Magia’ è attestata, come protettrice
del defunto, e sorella (nonché sposa) di Osiride, e di Nephthys (‘le due belle sorelle’) nei Testi dei Sarcofagi (raccolta di
incantesimi, che riprende i Testi delle Piramidi, ormai non più utilizzati solo dai faraoni, in un quadro di “democratizzazione
dell’aldilà”); è proprio sulla classe dei sarcofagi che, a quest’epoca, appaiono le prime rappresentazioni figurative di Iside.
Già nel Medio Regno si delinea un altro aspetto importante di Iside, la sua associazione con l’Occidente (‘Signora
del deserto occidentale’, ‘Signora della necropoli’, ‘Signora del bell’Ovest’), tramite l’assimilazione con la dea
dell’Occidente; essa accoglie il sole che tramonta.
Durante il Nuovo Regno Iside diventa protagonista di miti e racconti. Dal ‘Grande Inno ad Osiride’ della Stele
di Amenmose (Louvre C 286) e da altri testi (inni, miti) emerge più chiaramente la sua doppia natura, umana e
divina, donna e madre dal carattere forte, quando, vedova di Osiride, ne recupera il sarcofago a Biblo, o quando
ne ricompone i pezzi sparpagliati da Seth, o quando, assumendo il ruolo di prefica, piange insieme a Nephthys,
Osiride; quando, da sola, si trova a concepire ed allevare Horus nelle paludi di Khemmis. Lombardi 2012-2013.
2 A Narmouthis (nonché a Tebtynis), in epoca tolemaica, è attestata l’identificazione di Renenutet con Iside; Isidoro,
poeta greco-egizio, alla fine del I sec. a.C., compone quattro inni in onore di Iside Ermouthis/Thermouthis, incisi
come ex-voto sui pilastri del vestibolo del tempio di Medinet Madi; Isidoro identifica la dea con varie divinità
egizie, greche ed orientali, nonché con Agathé Tyche. Bresciani 1997, 37.
3 Renenutet era adorata a Medinet Madi (“la città del passato”, come la chiamarono gli Arabi), dove nel Medio
Regno (inizi del II millennio a.C.) Amenemhat III (in greco Porramanres) e Amenemhat IV, faraoni della XII
dinastia, fondarono nel Fayum sud-occidentale un villaggio, Gia, ed eressero un tempio dedicato alla dea cobra,
Renenutet, a Sobek di Shedet, il dio coccodrillo, e ad Horus che risiede in Shedet. Il luogo di culto ebbe continuità
di vita, con interventi ed ampliamenti monumentali fino ad età antonina. Bresciani 1997, 37.
4 Uno studio di Philippe Collombert evidenzia analogie e differenze tra Renenoutet (Rnn-wt.t) e Renenet (Rnn.t) e rispettivi
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epiteti. Queste due divinità ben distinte sin dall’Antico Regno e fino all’Epoca Tarda, sia per quanto riguarda la loro
© 2015
funzione (la prima, ‘déesse de la prospérité champêtre’, ‘déesse des moissons’; la seconda, ‘déesse du destin’, però, attestata
a partire dal Medio Regno, cioè un po’ più tardi rispetto a Renenoutet), sia per la grafia dei rispettivi nomi, subiscono,
poco prima dell’epoca tolemaica, una fusione, sia nella resa grafica dei loro nomi, che nelle rispettive specializzazioni.
Tuttavia, esse hanno in comune la funzione di “nourrice” (rnn), come testimonia l’etimologia del loro nome;
funzione esplicita nell’iconografia di Renenoutet, a testa di cobra, che allatta un bambino.
La differenziazione grafica delle due divinità, con funzioni distinte, è chiaramente attestata nel Nuovo Regno da iscrizioni e papiri.
Renenet si trova associata, nella maggior parte delle attestazioni, come paredra del dio Shai, la cui personificazione
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JIIA.eu Renenutet - Iside Thermouthis: una breve nota introduttiva
funzione, sia in quanto protettrice degli alimenti e delle provviste, sia in ambito funerario, in
qualità di protettrice del defunto, mediante la stoffa, assimilata all’occhio di Horus, o le bende,
che fasciavano il defunto; sin dall’Antico Regno, essa ha la funzione di guardiana del Tesoro reale
e dei prodotti preziosi, poi, solo più tardi, anche dei cereali.
Renenutet a partire dalla XII dinastia (Medio Regno) assume la valenza di garante dell’abbondanza
delle provviste, ed appare per la prima volta come divinità degli alimenti; questa specializzazione5
prende forma nel Fayoum (a Medinet Madi), distretto cui i sovrani della XII dinastia danno
forte impulso agricolo. Essa garantisce al sovrano Amenemhat III l’abbondanza delle provviste6.
Nel Nuovo Regno (XVIII dinastia) è patrona dei granai e dei prodotti immagazzinati.
Sebbene nelle decorazioni di alcune tombe sia associata ai lavori agricoli, ai campi di grano ed alle vigne,
e nelle fonti figurative o testuali sia invocata durante i lavori di vagliatura, che precedono lo stoccaggio
del prodotto, e come protettrice del granaio nei riti ad esso associati, così anche per quanto riguarda il
lino, sostiene Mougenot, essa non è la divinità della vegetazione, del prodotto vegetale o della tessitura,
ma del prodotto finito, del tessuto di lino; essa è la guardiana della stoffa o colei che la fornisce7.
Anche per quanto riguarda i lavori nella vigna, essa presiede ai momenti finali della produzione;
difatti, essa è raffigurata in prossimità dei canali di drenaggio o ai lati della pressa per il vino.
Dalla XVIII dinastia è prevalentemente indicata con epiteti relativi agli alimenti, al cibo, alle
provviste: ‘signora degli alimenti’, ‘sovrana delle provviste’, protettrice dei raccolti e dei granai8.
Tuttavia, parallelamente e precedentemente a questa sua specializzazione di garante e protettrice
dell’accumulo cerealicolo, dalla fine dell’Antico Regno, è identificata come un pezzo di stoffa di natura
divina9 o destinato alla divinità (nei rituali, i tessuti erano considerati essi stessi esseri divini). Questa
Renenutet tessile è anche divinità-Ureus10, stoffa essa stessa, assimilata all’occhio di Horus, posizionato
sulla fronte del defunto divinizzato, nella stessa posizione dell’Ureus, con potente funzione apotropaica.
A partire dal Nuovo Regno, sebbene nel solco dei riti evocati dai Testi delle Piramidi (nei rituali del
culto divino giornaliero e nel rituale dell’apertura della bocca) è attestata la forma tessile dell’occhio
di Horus, con cui si riveste il defunto o la statua, assimilato grosso modo ad una stoffa o ‘veste di
Renenutet’, che incute timore, e destinato a proteggere il defunto o la divinità; qui, Renenutet è colei
che offre, o fornisce la stoffa11. Il ruolo di fornitrice di bende è ben illustrato sin dalla XVIII dinastia12.
prende corpo con la XVIII dinastia (Nuovo Regno), sebbene Renenet sia attestata già dal Medio Regno.
Collombert esamina, poi, tre documenti provenienti da Deir el Medina, in cui Renenoutet, ‘maȋtresse des aliments’,
viene parallelamente invocata come ‘l’aimée, maȋtresse de la durée de vie parfaite’, con una possibile allusione alla sfera del
destino, e quindi ad una assimilazione, però marginale e sporadica, delle competenze di Renenet da parte di Renenoutet.
Renenoutet, è, poi, talvolta accoppiata al serpente Agathodaimon, ‘génie nourricier’, a partire dal Nuovo Regno.
Sebbene si riscontrino sporadiche attestazioni di poco anteriori, è, tuttavia, nei templi di età tolemaica e romana che si
osserva la completa fusione delle attribuzioni e delle grafie tra le due divinità, operata dai teologi sulla base di similitudini
fonetiche dei rispettivi nomi. Tuttavia, l’autore propende per un’assimilazione di Renenoutet delle funzioni di Renenet, ciò
confortato anche dalle funzioni di nutrice, di signora degli alimenti, nonché di signora del destino assunti dall’Ermouthis,
il cui nome greco è l’esito fonetico finale di Renenoutet. Collombert 2005-2007, 21-32.
5 Il dominio di Renenutet è stato più recentemente acutamente analizzato e storicizzato da Frédéric Mougenot, sulla base
di numerosi testi dall’Antico al Nuovo Regno, nonché di fonti di età tolemaica e romana. Mougenot 2014, 145-172.
6 Capitolo 301 dei Testi delle Piramidi. Mougenot 2014, 145-172.
7 La specifica funzione di Renenutet, in relazione alla stoffa, alle bende, ne ha fatto, incautamente, in buona parte
della letteratura scientifica (sostiene Mougenot) una divinità della vegetazione, in quanto protettrice dei vegetali,
quindi, ipoteticamente, del lino, sebbene, nelle poche attestazioni di Renenutet risalenti all’Antico Regno non si
colgono legami di questa divinità con la vegetazione, né con il lino in quanto pianta. Mougenot 2014, 145-172.
8 Bricault 2013, 480.
9 Nell’Antico Regno (Testi delle Piramidi di Pepi II e di Neith) il determinativo atteso per Renenutet è rappresentato
da un serpente arrotolato e drizzato su un cesto, che caratterizza tutte le divinità serpentiformi; invece, qui (capitolo
622 dei Testi delle Piramidi) viene adottato un determinativo che qualifica, di solito, il nome della divinità della
tessitura, Tayt, nei testi della piramide di Teti. Mougenot 2014, 146.
10 Capitolo 635 dei Testi delle Piramidi nella Tomba di Neith. Mougenot 2014, 147.
11 Mougenot 2014, 150.
12 A Luxor, in una scena di offerta della stoffa ad Ammon-Ra, da parte di Amenhotep e Renenutet (qui completamente
antropomorfa). Mougenot 2014, 151.
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JIIA.eu Antonella D’Ascoli – Indipendent researcher
In epoca tolemaica e romana la ‘veste di Renenutet’ può essere identificata, in quanto Ureus, con la
stoffa funeraria; Renenutet è preposta alla ‘Camera delle stoffe’ (Edfu, Dendera), dove si custodiscono
i paramenti liturgici, in compagnia di altre divinità tessili, pertanto, ‘la veste di Renenutet’ è stoffa.
Evidente, inoltre, sin dall’Antico Regno, la funzione di Renenutet, quale guardiana del Tesoro
reale e dei prodotti preziosi (oro, provviste, abbigliamento, stoffe ed ornamenti personali del
sovrano, olii, unguenti, profumi), come si evince dalle titolature (che contemplano cariche
amministrative e sacerdotali) di alcuni alti dignitari13 del Tesoro, Mery (metà della IV dinastia) e
Djéfaou (seconda metà della V dinastia), incaricati della gestione dei beni più preziosi e dei luoghi
in cui questi erano custoditi, e allo stesso tempo, sacerdoti di Renenutet. A quest’epoca, pertanto,
Renenutet, divinità del Tesoro, presiedeva principalmente ai beni preziosi (non commestibili),
tra cui le stoffe; pochi indizi riguardano Renenutet come divinità degli alimenti, specializzazione
che assumerà progressivamente più tardi. Renenutet manterrà questa funzione di fornitrice di
pietre (lapislazzuli, turchesi) e metalli prezioni (oro, argento) anche nei testi tardi (a Dendera).
Questa specializzazione è stata spiegata da Sydney Aufrère con l’assimilazione dei minerali al
grano, poiché ambedue prodotti della terra (come da fonti di epoca tolemaica e romana), sebbene,
come sostiene Mougenot, è solo a partire dalla XVIII dinastia che Renenutet comincia ad avere dei
legami speciali con i cereali (orzo, grano), beni considerati preziosi per un popolo di agricoltori. Lo
studioso legge in questa specializzazione di ‘signora del granaio’, che Renenutet assume a partire
dal Nuovo Regno, un legame con la sua funzione di ‘guardiana del Tesoro’, che essa ha durante
l’Antico Regno, rivestendo i cereali, la funzione di beni preziosi e ricchezze strategiche.
Iconografia di Renenutet
Sul versante iconografico, Renenutet è rappresentata come ofiomorfa14. Essa è completamente

serpentiforme con coronamento hathorico15, su una statua di dignitario, che reca un’edicola con
Renenutet, sotto forma di cobra (1479-1457 a.C.)16; è rappresentata, seduta, con corpo di donna,
ofiocefala, lactans, e grandi orecchie di prospetto (1479-1425 a.C.)17, che la includono tra le divinità
13 Era frequente nell’Antico Regno che alti dignitari cumulassero responsabilità in una funzione ministeriale e rivestissero
contemporaneamente anche il corrispondente sacerdozio della divinità specialista di quella attività, ad esempio, il primo
sacerdote di Ptah, patrono degli artigiani e degli architetti, era anche il supremo capo degli artigiani. Mougenot 2014, 145-172.
14 Nelle decorazioni parietali del tempio della XII dinastia, Renenutet è rappresentata con corpo di donna e testa di
cobra, quindi ofiocefala, con chiave di ankh nella mano (1843-1789 a.C.), poiché oltre ad essere signora dei granai,
essa è anche il cobra regale, l’ureo-Uto, che nutre e protegge il faraone (come da iscrizione sulle pareti del tempio
stesso, in cui si dice di ciascun faraone ‘amato da Uto-Renenutet-il-cobra-vivente di Gia’). Bresciani 1997, 37.
15 Il coronamento hathorico si arricchisce, in particolar modo a partire dal Nuovo Regno, di un ureus; questo tipo
particolare, cd. ‘ureus hathorico’, è il copricapo delle regine, ma, talvolta, anche dei sovrani, in particolare, associato
alla corona atef, che può veicolare connotazioni solari, in associazione con il dio Amon, ed a quella munita di
piume, nei riti di incoronazione; l’ureus hathorico rinvia direttamente alla divinità Hathor.
Nella scrittura di epoca tolemaica questo tipo di ureus diventerà il geroglifico utilizzato per indicare proprio il nome della divinità Hathor.
Questo tipo di ureus, inoltre, appare, per la prima volta, in relazione alla regina Hatshepsut, strettamente legata ad
Hathor, nel crittogramma del suo nome.
Dopo Hatshepsut sarà la regina Tiyi, moglie di Amenhotep III a sfoggiare tale simbolo (riti della prima festa Sed del
faraone: scena del baldacchino e geroglifici nella Tomba di Kheruef ), nel contesto della rappresentazione del ciclo
solare, in cui la regina, in rapporto al re, di cui è al seguito, assume la funzione di Hathor-Maat. Qui, la divinità
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Hathor indossa l’ureus hathorico; invece, nella scena in cui il sovrano e la regina escono dal palazzo reale, assente
© 2015
Hathor, è la regina che assimila la figura della divinità, indossando l’interscambiabile ‘ureus hathorico’.
Analoga problematica nella sala ipostila della Tomba di Ramose, in cui la regina, adornata dall’ureus hathorico, è
equiparata a Maat.
Nella TT 157 il sovrano Ramses II è accompagnato dalla regina Nefertari, che indossa l’ureus hathorico nell’ambito
della rappresentazione del rito del ringiovanimento. Preys 1998, 911-919.
16 Brooklyn Museum, New York, 67.68.
17 Al Museo Egizio del Cairo, JE36912, nonchè a Luxor, Tomba Tebana 57 (1427-1401 a.C.).
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che ascoltano le preghiere di coloro che le invocano18, forma di comunicazione tra umano e divino19
(si vedano, ad esempio, le “ear-stelae”20, del Nuovo Regno al Fitzwilliam Museum21, Cambridge);
completamente serpentiforme (1401-1391 a.C.)22; o anche completamente antropomorfa, seduta,
con chiave di ankh nella mano (1479-1457 a.C.)23; serpentiforme con coronamento hathorico
(1279-1213 a.C.)24; in una stele bifacciale (a Bordeaux, Musée d’Aquitaine, Inv.8635), essa è
associata a Mertseger (1279-1213 a.C.); e più tardi, in forma di cobra oppure
con corpo di donna ed ofiocefala, nel I sec. d.C., nel tempio di Dendera.
Nella complessa teologia egizia, tuttavia, non è l’unica divinità serpentiforme25.
Renenutet è apparentata ad Iside in parecchi siti del Fayoum, in particolare a Narmouthis26 e
Tebtynis27. Térénouthis28, sulla sponda occidentale del delta, invece, in epoca faraonica era un
importante luogo di culto di Hathor, sebbene, da alcuni29 considerato anche fulcro del culto di
Renenutet, contrariamente a più recenti osservazioni30, fondate sulla impossibilità di ricondurre
il toponimo al nome di Renenutet (J. Yoyotte), che compare non prima del I sec. d. C., su un
documento privato. Il sito31, con impianto ad assi ortogonali, i cui rinvenimenti sono databili ad
età imperiale, all’incrocio di rotte terrestri commerciali, al confine col deserto, e relative necropoli
(con materiali, stele funerarie, di epoca tolemaica e romana), riveste notevole importanza in quanto
18 È opinione comune che l’uso di dedicare ‘orecchie’ (Ohrenweihungen) alle divinità (i theoi epekooi del mondo
greco) sia derivato dalle ‘ear-stelae’ egiziane, mediato dalle dediche alla triade Iside, Serapis ed Arpocrate, usanza,
poi, estesa a molte altre divinità del mondo greco-romano. Gasparini analizza tale categoria di dediche isiache,
ricontestualizzandole archeologicamente e valutando la compresenza di altre analoghe categorie di dediche, quali
le impronte di piedi, come attestato a Delo, già dal II a.C., a Serrai (Macedonia), a Tessalonica, a Dion (santuario
di Isis Lochia, in cui le dediche di impronte di piedi e di orecchie erano collocate appunto nell’area ‘liminale’ della
comunicazione tra il dio e i fedeli), a Kyme (Asia Minor), dove, un paio di orecchie metalliche con tabula ansata, in
associazione con una aretalogia, furono rinvenute in un ambiente del santuario di Iside destinato ai riti iniziatici,
contesto evocativo di un’epifania divina, teatralmente sollecitata; anatomici evocativi di una reale presenza divina
(Gasparini 2016, 541-560; ringrazio l’Autore per aver concesso di leggere il suo studio prima della pubblicazione).
19 Gli Egiziani nel Fayum avevano creato una personificazione divina di questo concetto, Mestasytmis, ‘le orecchie che
ascoltano’, rappresentata da un coppia di grandi orecchie. Wagner-Quaegebeur 1973.
20 Le ‘ear-stelae’ contemplano, tra l’altro, la raffigurazione, di prospetto, di padiglioni auricolari; esse sono dedicate
a diverse divinità (a Ptah a Memphis, ad Amun a Deir el-Medina); interpretate in passato come raffigurazioni di
ex-voto, per grazia ricevuta, al pari di altri reperti anatomici dedicati alla divinità; oggi, invece, sulla base di fonti
testuali osservate sulle stele stesse, in cui è presente il riferimento al dio come ‘who hears prayers’, le orecchie sono
interpretate come il simbolo del dio che ascolta ed esaudisce le preghiere, le richieste dei devoti, nell’ambito di una
comunicazione interpersonale, di un open channel tra l’uomo ed il dio. Zivie-Coche 2002, 64; Morgan 2004.
21 Martin 2005, cat. nn. 68-74.
22 Ad esempio a Luxor, Tomba Tebana 37.
23 Luxor, tempio di Karnak, Chapelle Rouge.
24 Londra, British Museum, EA 1055.
25 Altri reperti che raffigurano divinità-cobra a testa femminile e corpo serpentiforme, anonime, sono attestate:
al Brooklyn Museum, New York, 37.1749E (1295-1186 a.C.), al Museum August Kestner, Hannover,
Inv.1935.200.682 (1295-1186 a.C.), all’University Pennsilvania Museum, Philadelphia, 57-18-1 (664-610 a.C.),
al Brooklyn Museum, New York, 16.109 (332 a.C.-100 d.C.), fino ad arrivare ad Isis-Thermouthis, serpentiforme
e con testa di donna, o serpentiforme e busto di donna, già attestata tra IV e II sec. a.C.. Mougenot 2014 (questo
studio di Mougenot è compreso negli Atti del simposio “L’homme-animal dans les arts visuels”, organizzato
dall’Università Paris X-Nanterre e dal Musée du quai Branly, celebratosi a Parigi e Nanterre 9-10 dicembre 2014,
in corso di pubblicazione in “Image et créatures hybrides, dans le temps et l’espace”, Les Belles Lettres, Paris).
26 Narmouthis (Narmuthis) - Nout-Renenet (‘Town of Renenet’) - Medinet Madi (Kom Madi)/ Arsinoites (Fayum),
merís of Polemon: http://www.trismegistos.org/fayum/detail.php?tm=1421.
27 Tebtynis (Tebtunis - Teptynis) - Touton - Tutun - Umm el-Baragat (Tell Umm el-Breigat)/ Arsinoites (Fayum),
merís of Polemon: http://www.trismegistos.org/fayum/detail.php?tm=2287&i=1.
28 Terenouthis (Therenouthis - Per-Hathor-nebet-Mefkat (Mefket) (‘House / temple / domain (of ) Hathor mistress
(of ) Turquoise-(place)’) - Pihattihurunpikki - Tarraneh - Kom Abu Billo (Kom Abu Bellu Abu Ballu); http://www.
trismegistos.org/place/2318 ; http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/727244.
29 Bommas 2006, 231.
30 Dhennin 2011, 108, nota 26.
31 Scavi ottocenteschi sono stati condotti da Egypt Exploration Fund (1887-1888), i cui materiali furono in buona parte
immessi nel Museo del Cairo; nel 1935 furono condotti scavi dall’Università del Michigan e dal Kelsey Museum di Ann
Arbor; scavi di salvataggio tra il 1969 ed il 1975, e più recenti operazioni tra il 2006-2007. Dhennin 2011, 105-120.
10
centro di estrazione del natron (cui, secondo P. Ballet, è da ricondurre la produzione di anfore LRA
5/632, contenitori di natron piuttosto che di grano) e del sale.
Iconografia di Iside Thermouthis
L’iconografia della Thermouthis, a Medinet Madi, a differenza di Iside33, è completamente

serpentiforme34, in piena sintonia e derivazione da Renenutet-Uto, oppure con parte
superiore femminile ed inferiore anguiforme, spesso, nell’atto di allattare al seno
sinistro (come Isis lactans) Horus/Arpocrate, o il coccodrillo Sobek-Horus, assimilata,
pertanto, a Neith, madre dei due Sobek, del Sud e del Nord, e venerata nel Fayoum.
Nella stele da Medinet Madi a Milano (prima età tolemaica), la divinità è caratterizzata da un volto
paffuto e carnoso, ‘parrucca libica’, coronamento hathorico, con torcia e bastone, suoi tipici attributi,
nell’atto, probabilmente (la parte destra della stele è mutila), di allattare il coccodrillo Sobek-Horus35.
Analoga stele36 a Milano da Medinet Madi, in cui, sebbene mutilo, si riconosce il calice di un fiore di loto, quale
elemento di raccordo tra le spire del serpente e il busto femminile della divinità, nell’atto di allattare Sobek.
In età romana Iside Thermouthis è rappresentata frontalmente su terrecotte votive, con busto e
testa femminili e parte inferiore serpentiforme37, oppure serpentiforme con la sola testa umana38.
Analoga rappresentazione di Isis-Thermouthis, munita di basileion isiaco, che allatta Sobek,
è su una stele in marmo39 da Tebtynis (Fayum), del II sec. d.C., al Museo Nazionale Romano
(Terme di Diocleziano); la divinità appare al centro dell’ingresso monumentale al tempio,
il cui portale presenta gli stipiti sormontati dalla tipica gorgia egiziana; su ciascuno stipite un
32 Dhennin 2011, 108; Ballet 2007, 157-160.

33 Dal punto di vista iconografico, nel Medio e nel Nuovo Regno, la triade principale è composta da Ammone/Mut/
Khonsu; Iside è rappresentata stante o assisa, vestita all’egiziana, con abito di lino, lungo, in sembianze femminili,
reca nelle mani lo scettro e la chiave di ankh, la croce ansata, simbolo della vita; come copricapo, una spoglia di
avvoltoio con un ureo protettore, come la dea madre Mut (la più antica testimonianza iconografica di Iside risale ai
sarcofagi del Medio Regno, 2065-1650 a.C.).
Nel Nuovo Regno, a partire dalla XVIII dinastia, essa mutua dalla dea Hathor il coronamento ‘hathorico’ costituito
dal disco solare racchiuso tra corna bovine. All’inizio del I millennio si amplia notevolmente la sfera di devozione
ad Iside; si afferma la triade Osiride/Iside/Horus. Leclant 1997, 19.
In epoca ellenistica, in Egitto, Iside è rappresentata, come figura femminile stante, con cornucopia nella mano
sinistra ed una patera nella destra abbassata, tipo che risale al III a.C., noto da statue ad Alessandria, a Delos, su
lucerne da Pompei; oppure, con situla nella mano sinistra abbassata ed un ureus (cobra femmina protettrice del
re), nella destra, portata in avanti; questo tipo, leggermente posteriore al primo è molto popolare nell’Egitto greco-
romano, come è noto dalle statue di culto da Ras-el-Soda, vicino Alessandria, e dal Serapeum di Luxor.
Non anteriore al I sec. d.C. sembra, invece, il tipo stante, col peso del corpo scaricato solo su una gamba stante, la
destra, e l’altra in riposo, recante un sistro nella mano destra sollevata e situla nella sinistra, pendente lungo il corpo.
Altra caratteristica dell’abbigliamento è il nodo isiaco. Il tipo iconografico della dea vestita da un leggero chiton, cui si
sovrappone un pesante himation, e le cui estremità sono annodate tra i seni pare originario di Alessandria e attestato
dal II sec. a.C.; tra la fine del I sec. d.C. e gli inizi del II d.C. diventa più frequente un abbigliamento che consta
di un chiton senza maniche o a maniche corte e un himation a frange, che formano un nodo asimmetrico tra i seni,
realizzato con un solo lembo del mantello; elemento, questo, di differenziazione rispetto alle sacerdotesse di Iside, il
cui himation a frange, presenta le due estremità annodate che formano una X sul petto. Bricault 2013, 33-34.
34 Stele Vogliano al Museo del Cairo, J.E. 66327.
35 Stele da Medinet Madi a Milano, Civiche Raccolte Archeologiche e Numismatiche: Inv. E 0.9.40114. Tiradritti 1997, cat. n. II.52.
36 Stele, ricomposta da due frammenti, da Medinet Madi, Tempio di Iside Thermouthis (Milano, Civiche Raccolte
Archeologiche e Numismatiche E 0.9.40011). Tiradritti 1997, cat. n. II.53.
37 Catalogue des terres cuites gréco-romaines d’Egypte 1990, cat. no.385-394 (Invv. AF 1044; E 29782; AF 1268;
JIIA
E 20750; E 20753; E 20786 B; E 20751; E 20748 B; E 29783; E 12421) provenienti, in parte, da Antinoe.
© 2015
Probabilmente trattasi di Iside Thermouthis, lactan ed anguipede, anche la n.484 (Inv. E 20752) al Louvre.
Catalogue des terres cuites gréco-romaines d’Egypte 1990, cat. no.484.
38 Inv. E 20749. Catalogue des terres cuites gréco-romaines d’Egypte 1990, cat. no.395.
39 N.Inv.121190; h. 47 cm., largh. 36 cm., spessore cm.11,5 donata, nel 1935, al Museo Nazionale Romano e
proveniente dalla Missione Archeologica Italiana a Tebtynis (1930-1935), diretta da Carlo Anti; Bresciani 1997,
cat. n.IV.229. Già ritenuta proveniente dal VII km. della Via Appia, nell’ambito di scavi, eseguiti nel 1929, di un
sacello con sculture ed iscrizioni dedicate a culti orientali.
11
leone accosciato, con criniera a raggera, zampe anteriori incrociate, la coda, ad andamento
curvilineo, segue il profilo della coscia. La divinità, spalle e seni nudi, appare vestita da
un corto busto con terminazione a dentelli, e parte inferiore del corpo serpentiforme, con
evidente superficie squamata; la mano sinistra tiene Sobek al seno, e la destra regge un bastone.
Su una stele al Museo Egizio di Torino40 (già nella Collezione Drovetti) è raffigurata la triade,
Isis-Thermouthis, completamente serpentiforme, ma con seni evidenziati, con sistro e basileion,
Serapide-Agathodaimon, serpentiforme, con kalathos; la presenza di spighe e del papavero da
oppio rinviano iconograficamente a Demetra ed ai misteri eleusini; nella nicchia intermedia,
tra Iside, inferiormente, e Serapide, superiormente, è Arpocrate col dito portato alla bocca.
Una analoga triade potrebbe leggersi su un tipo di terrecotte, di epoca romana, al
Louvre, con Arpocrate tra due urei41. Sarapide42, è rappresentato serpentiforme, con testa
Figure 1. National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (Inv. F 1960/9.1) CC BY licence
umana e kalathos, in coppia con Iside Thermouthis ai lati di Osiride-Canopo43 (Fig.1).

Iside Thermouthis, con coronamento hatorico, in forma di cobra, su cista, ritengo si
possa osservare su un altare da Fontana Liri44 (recuperato nel 1948, a poca distanza
dalla chiesetta di S.Paolo), datato ad età augustea (W. Hermann) o al regno di Caligola
40 Museo Egizio Torino, cat. 7149. Spagnotto 1997, 233 cat.n.IV.230.

41 Catalogue des terres cuites gréco-romaines d’Egypte 1990, cat. no. 207. In altri casi Arpocrate è affiancato da un
singolo ureus, tra attributi, o ne cavalca uno.
42 Serapis-Agathodaimon con testa umana e kalathos, per il resto serpentiforme, su terracotta votiva al Louvre (Inv. E 26920)
da Kasr Daoud (Basso Egitto), II sec. d.C.. Catalogue des terres cuites gréco-romaines d’Egypte 1990, cat. no.460.
43 Inv. F 1960/9.1, stele in calcare, probabilmente da Ossirinco (II sec. d.C.), al Rijksmuseum von Oudheden (Leida):
http://www.rmo.nl/collectie/zoeken?object=F+1960%2f9.1. Goddio 2009:254.
44 RICIS vol.2:572, cat.n.502/0601.
12
(M. Rizzello), sui cui lati sono resi a rilievo un sistro45, una situla, una patera e
festoni, oltre all’iscrizione dedicatoria: Ex testamento/Aburenae Quartae/sacra reddita.
Nella stele in marmo dal sito T di Canopo (II sec. d.C.), il coronamento
hathorico farebbe la differenza tra Iside Thermouthis ed un più generico ureus.46
Una statuetta in calcare47 (I-II sec. d.C.) al Museo Egizio di Torino mostra Isis-Thermouthis con cornucopia.
Su una laminetta in oro (pendentif) al Louvre (II-III d.C.)48 dalla Mesopotamia, Serapide
semidisteso su kline tiene nella destra una patera alla quale si avvicina un serpente, ai lati Iside
Thermouthis serpentiforme con testa umana e seni, e Iside su trono che allatta Horus (Fig. 2).
Fig.2 (tratto da Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, LIMC VII 2:512)
Antefisse49, in marmo, al Museo Archeologico di Napoli, già nella Collezione Borgia, mostrano
protomi serpentiformi, urei, che richiamano ipoteticamente Isis-Thermouthis e Serapide-
Agathodaimon (analoghe iconografie, sebbene siano osservabili varianti nella trattazione superficiale
della pelle dei serpenti, su antefisse da Roma50, probabilmente dall’Iseo Campense, ai Musei
Vaticani51, dal santuario di Giove Dolichenus sull’Aventino e da Ostia, tempio di Iside-Demetra).
Tale tipo di antefissa è tipica dell’architettura templare degli isei e dei serapei fuori dall’Egitto.
45 ‘Strumento idiofono con funzione ritmica, utilizzato nei rituali isiaci, ma ancor prima in quelli di Hathor, e, in
seguito, in quelli mitraici’: Fontana 2010, 411 p.5.

46 Concetto espresso nella descrizione (foto n.30) della stele in marmo dal sito T di Canopo (II sec. d.C.). Trattasi
di una stele di forma rettangolare, con la parte superiore arcuata, recante un disco alato; al centro della lastra, ad
altorilievo, il cobra eretto (Iside Thermouthis) con coronamento hathorico e con terminazione anguiforme ad anelli
disposti orizzontalmente. Goddio 2009, 254.
47 N.Inv. P.1026; h.35 cm.; Cortese 1997, cat. n. IV.228.
48 LIMC, VII 1:680; LIMC, VII 2:512, fig.138.
JIIA
49 N.Invv.1073, 1024. Pirelli 1997, cat. n.IV.232-233.

© 2015
50 Walker et al. 2000, cat. n.IV 39-42. Qui nell’interpretazione dell’egittologa Carla Alfano, autrice delle schede
di catalogo, i due serpenti urei, ai lati di una colonna egittizzante a motivi vegetali, o in altri casi, ai lati della
corona di Osiride, costituita da fasci di papiro, ornati alla base ed alla sommità da dischi solari e corna di ariete,
rapprensentano la coppia Iside-Thermouthis, con il disco solare sul capo, e Serapis-Agathodaimon, con il modio.
Segnalo, tuttavia, che i serpenti divini sono rivolti verso l’esterno, e non come, in molte rappresentazioni di Iside-
Thermouthis e Serapis, affrontati; tuttavia, risulterebbero affrontati con i serpenti dell’antefissa successiva.
51 N.Invv. 22860, 22861; Amenta 1997, cat. n.IV.234-235.
13
La Thermouthis è da riconoscere anche nella decorazione plastica del piede votivo52, calzato,
in marmo, di età imperiale romana, da Alessandria (dal Cesareo) al Museo Egizio di Torino53,
in coppia con Serapide, in forma di cobra, ma entrambi con testa umana, presente Arpocrate,
posteriormente, sul tallone (Fig.3).
Questo genere di offerte54, dedicate alle divinità isiache, piedi votivi (con prevalenza del piede
destro), anche calzati, scolpiti a tutto tondo (attestati anche su monete, su lucerne e sulla glittica),
detti anche “piedi di Serapide” (in quanto decorati da un busto di Serapide, da serpenti, o da altre
divinità egiziane), o impronte di piedi55 su lastre o blocchi di pietra, provengono, in epoca greco-
romana, in massima parte dall’Egitto, e la valenza simbolica e rituale di essi va ricercata proprio in
ambito egiziano56. Essi sono espressione della potenza divina, già in relazione alle problematiche idrografiche
della piena57 del Nilo (Ptah, Chnoum, Thoth, Osiris, Amun, divinità tutte implicate nella sollecitazione della
piena), quando la falda freatica si innalza, inzuppando i terreni: la divinità solleva i suoi piedi, e così facendo
determina il movimento ascensionale delle acque, nella primissima fase dell’inondazione.
In un bronzo da Cizico a Berlino58, datato al I sec. d.C., l’assimilazione con Renenutet è evidente, nel
corpo completamente serpentiforme, con la sola indicazione anatomica dei seni, e testa umana coronata
da basileion, la parte terminale della coda è annodata con quella del paredro Serapide-Agathodaimon.
Gli attributi possono essere anche cornucopia, spighe di grano, torcia; se provvista di spighe, essa viene
accostata a Demetra59/Hecate, sebbene tale automatismo non trovi riscontro sul piano storico-religioso60;
nonché situla, come si osserva in molte terrecotte, di età ellenistico-romana, rinvenute nel Fayum.
Essa appare, in posizione secondaria, su alcuni reperti che rappresentano Isis lactans, seduta in trono,
che allatta Arpocrate: su una statuetta di arenaria verde-scuro, da Carinola a Berlino61 (II sec. d.C.),
52 Spagnotto 1997, cat. n. IV.205: qui interpretati come Iside e Serapis a corpo di cobra e testa umana.
53 Inv.n.: S. 17137 RCGE 19497. http://goo.gl/nvqOcB
54 Considerate anche ex-voto che evocano l’epifania del dio Serapis, la presenza divina permanente nel tempio,
rappresentazioni simboliche della divinità e del suo potere terapeutico. Puccio 2010, 137-155.
Tuttavia, per quanto riguarda i culti isiaci, bisogna considerare tre categorie di oggetti, ciascuna con proprie
peculiarità: le impronte di piedi scolpiti nella pietra (che rientrano nell’ambito dei cd. ‘petrosomatoglyphs’; peraltro,
già attestati nell’Egitto faraonico della XIX dinastia); i cd. ‘piedi di Serapide’; gli ex-voto dedicati in virtù di una
guarigione. Quanto alle prime, esse costituiscono un’interfaccia tra due mondi, quello divino e quello umano, il cui
contatto è veicolato attraverso l’antropomorfismo della rappresentazione, che elimina il gap tra gli dei e gli uomini;
si tratta di un dispositivo, ubicato, di solito, in una zona ‘liminale’, in prossimità delle scale di accesso alla cella del
tempio, la cui gestione doveva essere regolata dai sacerdoti del tempio, che crea un open channel nella comunicazione
tra umano e divino, potenziata dal contatto del devoto con le impronte scolpite. Gasparini 2016, in corso di stampa.
55 Già attestate in Egitto sin dal Nuovo Regno; ma aggiungerei, pratica comune anche ad altre culture, se nel tempio
siro-hittita di Ain Dāra, a nord-ovest di Aleppo, Siria, figurano impronte di piedi scolpite sulla soglia.
Il tempio, di cui si sono riconosciute 3 fasi costruttive (di incerta datazione, ma le cui strutture potrebbero risalire già
alla Media Età del Bronzo; gli studiosi indicano un periodo tra il 1250 ed il 1100 a.C.), ubicato, in posizione elevata,
all’interno di un temenos, pavimentato con lastre di calcare e basalto (con uso ancora parsimonioso del bicromatismo,
tipico dell’architettura siriana, adottato, in questo caso, solo per le pavimentazioni e le soglie), è un templum in antis,
tipologia planimetrica ben attestata nell’area levantina settentrionale e in area nord-mesopotamica, dall’Antico Bronzo
III fino all’Età del Ferro. La tipologia architettonica richiama esperienze locali siriane, prive di influenze esterne.
La decorazione scultorea, invece, dal punto di vista stilistico ed iconografico, richiama l’arte dell’Impero Hittita.
Essa è costituita da ortostati e blocchi di basalto scolpiti, raffiguranti leoni e sfingi di profilo con teste di prospetto, databili
non prima dell’XI secolo a.C.; nella cella e nell’antecella, compaiono le divinità della Montagna, alternate a divinità alate
con teste di leone e aquila, che dal punto di vista stilistico ed iconografico richiamano l’arte dell’impero hittita, con
confronti, in particolare, da Aleppo e dalle cave di Yesemek; sul muro tra l’antecella, e la cella, è la divinità femminile
Ishtar, la cui iconografia (qui sono evidenziate le due funzioni della divinità: dea della guerra e dell’amore carnale) è
inquadrabile tra il tardo Impero hittita (più probabilmente) e gli inizi del periodo Neo-hittita. Novák 2012, 40–54.
56 Puccio 2010, 138.
57 La rappresentazione del II pilone del Tempio di Amon-Ra a Karnak indica questa divinità quale artefice della piena. L’Amon di
Karnak, identificato con l’Ammon libico, dio dell’acqua e della fertilità, con testa di ariete, è accostato a Zeus e Serapis, anche
questi capaci di sollecitare la piena (Sarapis Neilagogos), così come Osiride, nonché Iside, dea Nilotis. Gabolde 1955, 235-258.
58 Berlino, Statatliche Museen, Ägyptisches Museum, Inv.20428.
59 Erodoto, Historiae II, 59, 2 “..in questa città (Busiris) c’è un tempio di Iside grandissimo, e la città si trova in Egitto
al centro del Delta; Iside in lingua greca è Demeter”; Erodoto è il primo autore greco che parla di Iside.
60 Fontana 2010, 5.
61 Staatliche Museen, Ägyptysches Museum: N.Inv.:20.004; h. 27 cm.; Tiradritti 1997, cat. n. V.219.
14
JIIA © 2015
Fig.3 © Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino
15
che mostra Isis lactans con mantello a frange e nodo sul petto, seduta su trono con braccioli in
forma di sfingi con nemes sul capo, su ciascuno dei due lati del trono un grifone alato (Nemesi),
accovacciato e posante la zampa destra su una ruota; sul retro due serpenti62, ciascuno con attributi,
interpretati da G. Di Stefano, come Iside Thermouthis-Agathe Tyche e Serapide-Psai-Agathodaimon.
Analogo tipo, ma semplificato, da Ercolano (I sec. d.C.), in terracotta, riproducente Isis lactans
in trono63: lo sgabello ha terminazioni angolari in forma di teste e zampe di leone e reca una
firma d’artista, Pausanias epoi(esen), tipo realizzato a partire da un prototipo alessandrino.
Posteriormente il trono reca “une ouverture cintrée…flanquée de deux anneaux (cassées)64”,
ma i due anelli mutili, potrebbero leggersi come due serpenti, probabilmente, due divinità
serpentiformi, come nella statuetta da Carinola, qui disposti ai lati del funzionale foro sfiatatoio.
Nel santuario maltese di Tas-Silġ, in un vano adiacente al tempio, si sono recuperati, tra l’altro,
quattro frammenti65, pertinenti ad un fregio, in marmo bianco a grana fine, che doveva essere
collocato sulla parete, a mezza altezza, e la cui sintassi decorativa è analoga alla lastra di Zejtun,
in collezione privata, con motivi egittizzanti di serpenti ed urei; i due rettili identificati come
Isis-Thermoutis e Serapis-Agathodaimon anguiformi da Anthony Bonanno, erano collocati ai
lati di un ureus, e come elementi separatori, la corona atef stilizzata, alla base, e desinente in
un fiore di loto aperto con doppia corolla. Il fregio, datato alla prima età imperiale, trova
confronti con motivi decorativi pittorici dell’Aula isiaca e della Casa di Augusto sul Palatino66.
La possibile committenza, desunta da un’iscrizione latina (AE 1969/70, 204), proveniente dal
santuario, già interpretata da Cagiano De Azevedo, e più recentemente, da P.Tansey, è messa in
relazione da quest’ultimo con il longevo L. Sempronius Atratinus, consul suffectus nel 34 a.C., (e
non con un suo discendente); questi, fedele al partito di Antonio, dopo Azio, dovette ottenere
il perdono di Ottaviano se, i Fasti Triumphales registrano al 12 ottobre del 21 a.C. per Atratino
proconsole, un trionfo ottenuto ex Africa; nel 7 d.C., ottantenne, dopo lunga malattia, nominò
erede dei suoi beni Augusto. Il motivo iconografico egittizzante sarebbe collocabile negli anni
della sua presenza in Africa, periodo in cui Malta era ‘luogo di convergenza e interazione dei
personaggi che ebbero un ruolo chiave tra la fine della repubblica e i primi anni dell’Impero’67.
Ricordiamo l’altare ad Iside Thermouthis (datato tra seconda metà I e II sec. d.C.) da parte di Cn. Cornelius
Cladus, da Turris Libisonis68 (Porto Torres/Sardegna), dove la dea serpentiforme con testa umana, il
coccodrillo Sobek ed il cane Sothis/Sirio presentano alla sommità del capo, ciascuno, un fiore di loto69.
Bisogna, tuttavia, ammettere l’esiguità della presenza di Iside Thermouthis nello scenario isiaco
del Mediterraneo, soprattutto, occidentale, al confronto con altre epiclesi di Iside, maggiormente
attestate. Tuttavia, ritengo possibile ricondurre nell’orbita di Thermouthis, e quindi della familia
isiaca, alcune raffigurazioni, in cui sono rappresentati serpenti (talvolta, più genericamente interpretati
come agathodaimones), almeno, quando essi costituiscano triade con Iside, Sarapis ed Arpocrate, il
piccolo Horus,70 e quando essi siano inclusi in contesti ambientali o pittorici dichiaratamente isiaci.
Pertanto, credo sia possibile rintracciare la Thermouthis in alcune pitture parietali, la cui ubicazione
originaria era pertinente a contesti pubblici o privati dichiaratamente isiaci.
Dal tempio di Iside a Pompei71, sulla parete ovest del sacrarium, ‘Osiride in trono’ con inversione
62 Su terrecotte votive con Serapis in trono, da Antinoe (II-III sec. d.C.), sono raffigurati serpenti intrecciati, sul
pettorale di Cerbero. Catalogue des terres cuites gréco-romaines d’Egypte 1990, cat. no.457.
63 Recuperata il 5 febbraio 1936 al piano superiore della bottega 5, Insula Orientalis II. Tran Tam Tinh 1971, 56-58.
64 Tran Tam Tinh 1971, 56-58.
65 Bonzano 2012, 155-167.
66 Iacopi 2008; Iacopi 1997.
67 Bonzano 2012, 166.
68 Gavini 2008, 213-214.
69 Ricci 1997, 214 cat.n.IV.194.
70 Mathieu 2013, 1-26.
71 Gasparini 2011, 67-88.
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dello schema briassideo72, quanto al Cerbero, e che, se non fosse connotata come maschile per la
barba, avrei letto come Isis dolente73, nello schema pensoso con la mano che sorregge il mento (tipo
già presente nella coroplastica e nella statuaria greca sin dal V sec. a.C.), e la situla al braccio, l’Iside di
Taposiris, epiclesi nota dalle fonti papirologiche ed epigrafiche74 (tra l’altro, nella statuetta bronzea di
‘Isis assise sur un pilastre’ o ‘Isis trônant’, il pilastro è sorretto da divinità anguiforme con coronamento
hathorico75); questa epiclesi e relativa iconografia è introdotta anche nel mondo nabateo.76
Comunque, ritornando all’ ‘Osiride in trono’, ai lati di esso, due divinità-cobra, i cui
coronamenti, non esplicitamente hathorici, sono, piuttosto, elementi simbolici, in forma
di loto, che tuttavia, richiamerebbero il calice del fiore di loto che funge da elemento
di raccordo tra il corpo umano e le terminazioni serpentiformi della Thermouthis su
terrecotte votive ellenistico-romane e su una stele da Medinet Madi (sopra citata), nonché
il coronamento di ciascuna divinità della triade sull’altare da Turris Libisonis, nonché il
coronamento del Serapide serpentiforme sulla lastra al Museo Egizio di Torino (Fig.4).
Fig.4 © Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino
L’affresco dalla parete orientale del Sacrarium, nel Tempio di Iside a Pompei rappresenta il
ritrovamento della barca con il sarcofago di Osiride77; ritengo che la scena possa essere suddivisa in 3
registri orizzontali78, volti alla parallelizzazione e traduzione di elementi-chiave del culto osiriaco per
gli adepti della locale comunità, una forma di ‘catechesi’ per immagini. Il primo registro rappresenta
il ritrovamento del sarcofago contenente il cadavere di Osiride, attualizzata e ritualizzata nella

72 Sampaolo 2006, 109, cat. n.II.49, 1.71.

73 Bricault 1992, 92:37-49.
74 Iscrizione sulla base di statua in marmo da Fiesole, probabilmente, pertinente ad un sacello dedicato ad Iside e
Osiride in questa località, Bricault 1992, 92:38.
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75 Bricault 1992, 92:38. N.Inv.12674, Ägyptisches Museum, Berlino.

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76 La prima attestazione sicura di Iside a Petra: iscrizione sulla roccia: ‘Questa divinità è Iside’, è pertinente al
santuario di Sidd el-Mreriye presso Wadi Siyyagh, datata all’ultimo quarto del I sec. a.C.; la rappresentazione di Isis
dolente, compassata, impotente, contemplante riprodotta, a Petra, anche nella coroplastica (dove è presente anche
Arpocrate), è attestata nel I e II sec. d.C. nel Temple of the Winged Lions, nonché nella figura matronale a rilievo
entro nicchia a Wadi Abu Olleqa. Vaelske 2013, 351-361.
77 N.Inv.8929. Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli: Sampaolo 2006, 111, cat. n. II.51, 1.74.
78 Come in tre registri orizzontali è suddiviso il rilevo citato in nota 40.
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scena di Navigium; il secondo registro con due busti di divinità, che, se divinità fluviali, farebbero
pensare ad una equiparazione tra Nilo e fiume Sarno, altrimenti, ad Osiride stesso e sua interpretatio
greco-romana, Serapis; nel registro inferiore, i due serpenti, barbuti79 e con cresta, ai lati della cista,
sembrerebbero richiamare, in tale contesto, la Thermouthis e Serapis, ai lati della cista mistica.
Un’iconografia dirimente, per una corretta lettura, in contesti isiaci, dei due serpenti, potrebbe essere,
a mio avviso, quella su rilievo80, in marmo, con Isis-Thermuthis (un cobra con coronamento hathorico)
e Serapide-Agathodaimon (con coronamento in forma di fiore di loto), serpente non assimilabile ad un
cobra, sebbene ai lati di un’ara cilindrica con offerte e non di una cista, e simboli eleusini81 (Fig.4).
Un’osservazione relativa ad una possibile frammentazione e ricezione, socialmente diversificata,
del culto isiaco, in particolare, della triade Iside Thermouthis-Arpocrate-Sarapis, analizzata sulla
sola base semantica della rappresentazione pittorica in un contesto privato, mi sembra possibile
ravvisare nella pittura parietale da Pompei (Bottega IX,7,22, corridoio g, parete sud)82, che
rappresenta Iside Fortuna con timone e cornucopia, corrispondente all’Isityche Sozousa così già
interpretata da Coarelli sulla base di un graffito dal tempio di Iside, ed accanto ad essa Arpocrate tra
due serpenti agathodaimones, nonché un graffito aggiunto posteriormente. La lettura di L.Rocco,
abbastanza corretta, ritengo, può essere ulteriormente approfondita, sia relativamente ad Iside-
Fortuna, rappresentata di dimensioni maggiori rispetto alla triade, in quanto espressione del culto
ufficialmente recepito, garantito ed irregimentato dal governo locale; ed all’occorrenza, strumento
di potenziale carriera politica supportata da una manifestazione di evergetismo/munificenza83, sia
79 Quanto ai serpenti muniti di corta barbula si è rinvenuta una indicazione sul cd. Sarcofago di Isetirdis, probabilmente
proveniente, in base allo stile decorativo, da Tebe e databile ai primi del VII sec. a.C., conservato al Medelhavsmuseet/
Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Stoccolma); qui, un “bearded snake” si osserva sul II dei
cinque registri orizzontali in cui è suddivisa la decorazione del coperchio del sarcofago esterno (anthropoid outer
coffin), nell’ambito di un contesto funerario, in cui, tra gli altri, sono rappresentati: il defunto condotto da Thoth, con
Maat dietro di esso, il serpente barbuto, Ra-Horakhty, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, i quattro figli di Horus (cat. no. 13.C).
Sul sarcofago interno (anthropoid inner bivalve coffin) “bearded snakes” sono raffigurati sul coperchio (cartonnage
dipinto) che ricopriva la mummia; la decorazione delle spalle del coperchio è incentrata sulla rappresentazione di
scettri: uno scettro con terminazione in fiore di loto, con in cima un disco solare piumato, che poggia su un simbolo
shen e tre paia di simboli menat che pendono da esso; sotto questi scettri sono i serpenti barbuti ed infine uno scettro
was con ankhs alla sommità (cat. no. 13.A). Dodson 2015, 28-33, cat. no. 13.A, 13.B, 13.C.
Tuttavia, questa corta barba di cui sono provvisti i serpenti ritengo probabile collegarla alla corta barba finta,
elemento simbolico di cui erano ornati divinità e sovrani nel mondo egiziano: mi riferisco alla barba posticcia
ricurva di Osiride, simbolo di potere divino, o alla barba diritta dei faraoni, simbolo del potere regale, alla divinità
Ptah, il dio di Menfi, la più antica capitale dell’Egitto unificato, considerato protettore della regalità faraonica e
associato alla funzione regale, ed in quanto tale munito di barba posticcia diritta. Tiradritti 2000, 52.
Nel caso di Zeus Meilichios, rappresentato come serpente barbuto su stele da Mounichia (Atene), il cui culto era
improntato ad una forte dualità dai valori simbolici opposti e contraddittori, l’elemento anatomico, trasferito sul
serpente, simbolo ambivalente di fecondità, potenza, ma anche elemento terrificante, è anche letto, ma ritengo in
maniera non convincente, con una particolare conformazione anatomica della specie Coelopeltis lacertina (diffusa
in Spagna e Siria), la cui caratteristica consiste nel possedere l’uncino contenente il veleno nella profondità della
sua gola, la qual cosa impone di aprire largamente la gola per iniettare il veleno nella preda, e secondo H. Gadow
la corta barbula rappresenterebbe proprio la gola fortemente aperta del serpente. Gourmelen 2012, 323-343.
80 Lastra di chiusura di loculo sepolcrale, arrivata da Alessandria d’Egitto al Museo Egizio di Torino con la Collezione
Drovetti nel 1824. La raffigurazione è interpretata da S. Curto ‘quale testimone importante della prima simbiosi fra
cultura egiziana e greca’, con Osiride serpentiforme a destra, divinità ctonia; al centro la pigna è associata per analogia
formale al tirso di Dioniso, a sinistra Iside. Le spighe ed il papavero ricondurrebbero a Demetra. Curto 2006, 33-45.
81 N.Inv. Cat. 7149 RCGE 19496. Museo Egizio, Torino. http://goo.gl/yOjOEg
82 Immagine letta correttamente da Rocco 2009, 424-425.
83 A Pompei si riconosce una partecipazione attiva dei Popidii nei culti isiaci; non si esclude che un Popidius sia stato
l’artefice della costruzione del tempio di Iside alla fine del II sec. a.C.; si riconosce altresì la presenza di un ramo minore,
costituito dai liberti Numerius Popidius Ampliatus e Popidius Natalis (da non confondere con gli ingenui contemporanei
Lucius Popidius Ampliatus, cadidato all’edilità, e Numerius Popidius Rufus, candidato all’edilità, duumvir, ed imprenditore
di spettacoli gladiatorii), ed un ramo maggiore della gens, rappresentato dall’aristocratico Lucius Popidius Secundus,
proprietario della celebre ‘Casa del Citarista’, candidato all’edilità con Caius Cuspius Pansa, personaggio evocato, sulla
facciata della suddetta casa, in un titulus pictus: Cuspium Pansam aed(ilem) Popidius Natalis cliens cum Isiacis ro(gat). Anche
un altro titulus menziona Isiaci: Cn(aium) Helvium Sabinum aed(ilem) Isiaci universi rog(ant). Cuspius Pansa, tra l’altro, è
sostenuto dal Sacerdos Amandus, dalla cui casa ci è pervenuta una statua arcaicistica di Iside. Gasparini 2014, 288-296.
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relativamente alla triade, di dimensioni minori, in cui si potrebbe anche ravvisare Iside Thermoutis-
Arpocrate-Sarapis, espressione di adesione sociale popolare ad una particolare manifestazione, non
ufficiale, del culto isiaco, da parte di strati inferiori della società pompeiana, e sulla quale in un
momento successivo, qualcuno, in dispregio, ed all’indirizzo di quella triade marginale, ha inciso
un graffito denigratorio e scurrile, per ragionamento associativo, tenuto conto dell’ubicazione
della pittura all’interno del contesto struttivo di appartenenza, in prossimità, cioè, di una latrina84.
Agathoi Daimones
Nel mondo greco-romano, il termine greco drakon/drakontes (s.f. drakaina)85 ed il suo derivato
latino draco/dracones designava, nel mondo reale, un serpente di grandi dimensioni, e, nel mondo
fantastico una creatura sovrannaturale o sotto il controllo di un potere sovrannaturale, spesso
dalla forma composita (umana ed animale); “drakontes were, nonetheless, a subset of the world of
snakes” (più tipicamente ophis in greco e anguis o serpens in latino)86.
Sebbene divinità anguiformi siano attestate nella letteratura greca già nei poemi omerici, in
Esiodo, nei testi dei lirici, tuttavia, la diffusione e l’ascesa della loro natura anguiforme, esaltata
sul piano iconografico, si colloca intorno al 420 a.C., periodo che coincide con la popolarità
e visibilità di Asclepio, il cui culto viene introdotto nella città di Atene nel 422 a.C., e di
Amphiaraus, cui fu dedicato un nuovo santuario tra Attica e Beozia proprio intorno al 420 a.C..
L’agathos daimon, invece, già noto in letteratura (Aristofane e frammenti di comici del V-IV sec.
a.C.),87 e su rilievi votivi pre-tolemaici, in forma umanoide,88 o serpentiforme (dalla Beozia e
da Mitilene), sebbene variamente interpretato, ora come Zeus Meilichios o altre manifestazioni
anguiformi di Zeus (sul rilievo da Mitilene, esso è associato al caduceo di Hermes, così come più
tardi, su monete o su papiri magici greci), nonché post-tolemaici,89 emerge in maniera prorompente
alla fine del IV sec. a.C., dato il ruolo importante da esso assunto nel mito di fondazione della città
di Alessandria, come trasmessoci dal Romanzo di Alessandro (il cui testo A è datato al 300 d.C. circa).
La nuova città doveva estendersi nel progetto degli architetti di Alessandro, tra due rami
del Nilo, i fiumi Drakon e Agathodaimon (quest’ultimo era il nome dato al ramo canopico
84 Barrett, C.E. 2011. Review of Egyptianizing Figurines from Delos. A Study in Hellenistic Religion, by A. D’Ascoli.
CSCT 36. Leiden - Boston: Brill.
85 Ogden 2013, 1-4. Nel suo ampio studio Ogden contempla e distingue drakontes dalla forma pura e composita.
86 Circa 80 nomi di serpenti si contano nel lessico animalistico del greco antico (essi contemplano l’erpetofauna del Mediterraneo
centrale, orientale, e dell’Oriente fino all’Indo), nella maggior parte, ofionimi dei casi costruiti dai Greci stessi, non avendo
essi un’origine indoeuropea; i criteri di formazione dei nomi potevano fondarsi su tre categorie: 1) dati zoologici (morfologia,
comportamento, bioecologia, zoogeografia ecc.); 2) sintomi dell’avvelenamento; 3) elementi antropologici.
In particolare, il termine drakon attestato già in Omero, è di formazione micenea (Aura Jorro, I, 1985 : 157, s. v. « da-ra-ko »).
Interessante il termine aspis, con valenza polisemica, ad indicare non solo una specie di serpente, ma anche lo scudo,
arma difensiva, e per metafora, il cobra africano ed il cobra indiano.
Quanto ad Ἔχιδνα, essa rientra nella categoria degli ofidi ovovivipari velenosi (maschio echis e femmina echidna),
della specie Vipera ammodytes meridionalis (vipera greca comune o vipera della sabbia). Nella tradizione antica la
femmina è considerata più pericolosa e aggressiva.

Dipsas, aggettivo qualificativo femminile derivato da dipsa, sete, è, in molti luoghi, usato come epiteto in forma
attiva di echidna, termine tossicologico, per indicare l’effetto del veleno, che procura la sete.
Mentre Dipsas, sostantivo, indica le due specie afro-egiziane di Cerastes cerastes (con o senza corna, da intendersi
come i due piccoli corni al di sopra di ciascun occhio, di cui la specie è dotata) e Cerastes vipera, appartenenti al
genere Cerastes, diffuso in Libia, in Egitto, nel Sinai, in Arabia. Bodson 2012, 73-155.
87 In queste fonti è attestata l’usanza di fare, nell’ambito di banchetti privati, a fine pasto, un brindisi agli Agathoi Daimones, con
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una piccola quantità di vino puro, usanza che più tardi (200 a.C.) è testimoniata in onore dell’Agathos Theos. Ogden 2013, 298.
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88 Su un rilievo, di tardo IV sec. a.C., dall’acropoli di Atene, recuperato in un’area ad est del Partenone, agathos
daimon appare in forma umanoide; e da Tespie, con dedica ad agathos daimon, anche qui in forma umanoide,
barbato, seduto e con aquila sotto il suo trono. Ogden 2013, 299-303.
89 Su un rilievo da Delos, dove al serpente su un altare si offre una libagione da parte di Sarapis/Agathodaimon,
alla presenza di Isis/Agathe Tyche; su un’iscrizione tardo-ellenistica da Akrai al Museo di Siracusa dove un agathos
daimon, attorcigliato ad un altare, privo di barbula, ma col capo ornato da uno pshent, piuttosto che da una cresta,
fa coppia con una Agathe Tyche con cornucopia e phiale. Ogden 2013, 299-303.
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del Nilo, come attestato in parecchie iscrizioni e nella Geographia di Claudio Tolomeo).
Questo racconto, in particolare, relativo al serpente ucciso per ordine di Alessandro, e conseguente
costruzione di un heroon voluto da Alessandro proprio in quel punto della città, implica la
creazione di un culto civico di un singolo agathos daimon, in quanto speciale protettore della
città, la cui formazione potrebbe risalire al 320-300 a.C., sotto Tolomeo Soter, periodo a cui
risalirebbe anche un particolare tipo iconografico di Alessandro, l’Alexander Aegiochus, con
lancia nella mano destra, palladio nella sinistra (con chiara allusione all’Athena Parthenos
di Fidia, per via del palladio e di Erittonio anguiforme, l’oikouros ophis della città di Atene),
e tronco ai suoi piedi attorno al quale si attorciglia, appunto, un serpente, verisimilmente
l’agathos daimon, spirito protettore della città di Alessandria, la cui iconografia (post-tolemaica),
caratterizzata dalla corona pshent, permette di identificarlo con i re tolemaici, pertanto, garante
o incarnazione della funzione regale90, anche identificato frequentemente con Serapide.
Parallelamente al culto pubblico, il mito orienta anche verso un culto privato di molteplici agathoi
daimones, protettori delle case91; questi fanno rivivere quei serpenti, benevoli e non velenosi, o
velenosi solo per autodifesa, del racconto che, in gran numero, sbucarono dal luogo dell’heroon,
raggiunsero le abitazioni vicine, ed ivi si insediarono, e che da allora vennero onorati con sacrifici
ed offerte alimentari (grano) il 25 del mese di Tybi92, come testimoniato anche da Phylarchus,
da cui sappiamo che gli aspides dell’Egitto erano molto venerati nelle case, ad essi si offrivano
pasti a base di orzo, vino e miele, e che allo schioccare delle dita comparivano o si ritiravano.
Qualcosa di analogo al mito alessandrino dell’ agathos daimon andavano costruendo, in
età ellenistica, i Seleucidi, in materia di miti di fondazioni delle città di Antiochia e Seleucia
Pieria, dove il letto del fiume Oronte, veniva identificato con l’anguipede Tifone, vittima
dei fulmini di Zeus, interpretatio graeca della mitica battaglia tra il dio della tempesta ed il
serpente, ambientata, sin dall’epoca hurritica, proprio sul Monte Kasios, ora Jebel Aqra.93
Tuttavia l’agathos daimon, divinità della prosperità, del benessere e della buona fortuna, nell’opinione comune
avrebbe ricevuto la sua forma serpentina da Šaï, divinità egiziana del destino, dopo il suo arrivo ad Alessandria.
L’agathos daimon figura nell’opera storica di Manetone, compilata sotto Tolomeo II Filadelfo94.
Nell’intrepretatio Aegyptia esso era identificato con l’anguiforme Psais (Šaï), divinità egiziana
del destino,95 interpretazione risalente probabilmente già all’epoca del Soter; nella Tomba
di Petosiris, risalente alla fine del IV a.C., Šaï ha già un ruolo di divinità protettrice locale,
un ruolo di una possibile attrazione nell’orbita delle prerogative dell’agathos daimon.
Inoltre, se l’agathos daimon era assimilato a Šaï, un analogo allineamento è confermato per la sua
paredra: Agathe Tyche con Renenwetet/Renenet96.
La presenza di Agathoi Daimones (ahaou neferou), in Egitto, è ampiamente attestata a Dendera
90 Si veda anche nota 79. Inoltre, bisogna aggiungere che nel mondo greco serpenti con vera o presunta barbetta si
avvistano già nel VII sec. a.C. su anfore proto-attiche (serpenti che sporgono dalla testa della Gorgone: anfora di
Eleusi del 670 a.C.), su alabastra corinzi dell’ultimo quarto del VII sec.; ma l’esplosione di tale dettaglio iconografico
si ha agli inizi del VI sec. a.C. e perdura fino a tutto il IV sec. a.C.. Invece, sempre sul piano iconografico, le creste,
quasi esclusivamente associate alla barbetta, appaiono nel corso del IV sec. a.C. (ad esempio, i serpenti del carro di
Medea). In letteratura la documentazione di serpenti barbuti risale agli inizi del III sec. a.C.; mentre si parla della
cresta porpora del serpente tebano già nel ‘Le Fenicie’ di Euripide (410-409 a.C.). L’iconografia romano-imperiale
di Agathos Daimon/Sarapis conferisce la barba a quest’ultimo per una questione di differenza di genere rispetto alla
paredra Agathe-Tyche/Isis-Thermouthis. Ogden 2013, 155-161.
Una corretta lettura è data dallo studioso Mitropoulou che rinvia all’iconografia egiziana, dove la barba è simbolo
di regalità o divinità per uomini, donne, bambini ed animali, inclusi i serpenti. Mitropoulou 1977, 88-94.
91 Nel mondo greco pre-alessandrino l’oikouros ophis è già attestato in Erodoto, ma riferito ad un contesto sacro,
sull’acropoli di Atene; è solo dal II d.C. che nel mondo greco sono sicuramente attestati ‘house snakes’, nonchè
collegati all’agathos daimon. Ogden 2013, 304.
92 Ogden 2013, 288-291.
93 Ogden 2013, 292.
94 Manetone di Sebennito, Aigyptiaká (opera dedicata a Tolomeo II). Meister 2006,165-166.
95 Oracolo del Vasaio, opera in greco nata in ambiente egizio (II a.C).
96 Ogden 2013, 297. Si veda inoltre nota 4.
20
(Iunet, capitale del VI distretto dell’Alto Egitto), centro di culto della dea Hathor, i cui edifici sono
databili alla tarda età tolemaica e all’epoca romana (sebbene si siano individuate fondazioni di edifici più
antichi); essi facevano parte dell’Enneade di questa città. Di questi sono noti i nomi (Dame-de-Iounet,
Fils de Hathor, Quadruple, Purificateur, Celui-qui-fait-du-tumulte, Celui-qui-massacre-le-mal, Celui-qui-
unit-le-double-pays, Shaâr)97; alcuni di essi sono rappresentati eretti, mentre altri sono distesi su zoccoli,
alcuni sono direttamente legati a Dendera o alle sue divinità, altri non sembrano originari di Dendera,
ma vi sono pervenuti per ergersi nel Tempio di Hathor. La Signora di Iunet, serpente drizzato
con testa di vacca con un disco solare tra le corna, appariva nella sua dimora come Renenutet.
I serpenti hanno, qui, in un contesto sacro, funzione apotropaica, con il loro veleno garantiscono la
protezione della divinità Hathor; il legame con la terra permette loro di approvvigionare il tempio di offerte;
sono, pertanto, essi stessi fornitori di alimenti; ma ricevono anche offerte alimentari (pani, birra, carne).
La loro presenza è attestata non solo nelle cripte (cripta est 4, cripta ovest 3), ma sugli architravi,
sulle cornici o sui montanti di porte che davano accesso alle dieci cappelle del corridoio
dei misteri, alla Camera-U, al tesoro, al chiosco sul tetto, agli ingressi laterali del tempio.
Le scene del chiosco del tetto esaltano, in particolare, il ruolo protettore dei serpenti. Questa protezione è
prima di tutto ottenuta grazie al veleno che i serpenti, dai denti appuntiti, iniettano nei corpi dei nemici.
La scena del chiosco integra così i serpenti in un gruppo più ampio di demoni che hanno per scopo
quello di proteggere la divinità durante la cerimonia dell’Unione al disco, eseguita all’interno del chiosco.
In altro contesto essi sono identificati con le divinità ancestrali ed onorati in quanto tali.
Le due cappelle del corridoio dei misteri, il Per-Nou (camera H) ed il Per-Neser (camera M), che
davano accesso rispettivamente ad altre due cappelle collocate agli angoli del tempio, cioè alla
Stanza del Sistro (angolo sud-est) ed al Trono di Ra (angolo sud-ovest; cappella solare dedicata
a Horus d’Edfou), presentano, sui montanti delle porte, scene e testi teologici (peraltro ripetuti
anche in altri luoghi del tempio) relativi alla festa della ‘Buona Unione’; questi narrano della
divinità Hathor, garante dell’inondazione, sin dal suo apparire, al levar del sole (evocazione
dell’aspetto solare della dea), del suo risveglio mediante la musica, delle divinità che si recano ad
adorarla, della toilette della dea, della sua successiva apparizione, fino all’unione con suo padre.
Anche il sovrano si reca ad adorarla, egli porta il vino, in offerta, e riceve in cambio la sua legittimazione.
Gli epiteti attestano la sua onnipresenza nel tempio, tradita dal profumo che essa emana; i toponimi,
invece, indicano il contesto rituale in cui si svolgono gli avvenimenti: Dendera, da cui la dea esce,
ed Edfu, luogo di arrivo, di ingresso, tappe decisive della festa della ‘Buona Unione’ tra Hathor
e Horus, tra Dendera ed Edfu, e conseguente viaggio di ritorno, rituale processionale, virtuale,
in quanto ambientato, nel tempio stesso di Dendera, tra la Stanza del Sistro ed il Trono di Ra.
Sull’architrave della porta del Per-Nou ancora due scene importanti per la festa della ‘Buona
Unione’: il re esegue un particolare rito di libagione w3ḥ-ḫt rivolto ad Hathor, la quale, a sua volta,
di riflesso (‘l’offrande par ricochet’ di Chr. Favard Meeks), lo esegue a favore degli dei ancestrali,
i quali sono presenti nella decorazione della porta in forma di agathoi daimones, o ba viventi,
divinità ancestrali (identificazione che trova conferma ad Edfu), che ricevono l’offerta prtḫrw di
pane e di birra; rituale, questo, virtuale, che poteva svolgersi all’interno del tempio, senza che ci si
dovesse recare alla necropoli degli dei ancestrali98.

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97 Preys 2002, 285-298.

98 Preys 2000, 195-221.
21
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24
The so called statue of Nehebkau. A comparative study.

Magali Massiera
(Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University, Montpellier, France – LabEx archimede,
program ANR-11-LABX-0032-01 UMR 5140)
Snakes have been pictured in Egypt since the Predynastic period to the end of the Roman
period, on different supports and with different shapes. The same assertion is also true about
the snake-gods, which can be portrayed fully ophiomorphic or anthropomorphic and even with
hybrid shapes. The iconography of the Egyptian goddess Renenutet, 1
, which includes
all of those types, is representative for the snake-deities. It can be compared with the one of
Nehebkau, another god she is linked with in the Coffin Texts.
One can find different kinds of representation regarding the snake-gods and goddesses. The
first of them is the figuration of their profound nature: the fully ophiomorphic type (fig. 1)2.
On the opposite, there is a fully anthropomorphic type. These two kinds of representations can
be found regarding Renenutet, the first often showing her coiled up, as an uraeus, and the second
either standing or sitting3 (fig. 3).
The snake-goddesses are also represented with a tail and a human torso, like Meresger in
the Deir el-Medina village4. This last representation is usual in the Ptolemaic Period for the
goddess Thermuthis, which is the Egyptian goddess Renenutet, that the Greek called Ermuthis or
Thermuthis, whether her name was preceded by the article tȝ or not5. In this period one can find
a lot of terracottas portraying this deity carrying a cornucopia (fig. 2), in relation with her role as
a harvest goddess making her in charge of fertility.
And finally, the most common representation for this deity is the anthropomorphic with a
snake-head type, which often pictured the goddess nursing6. One of the most famous figuration
of this type can be found in the tomb of Khaemhat (fig. 4).
Figure 1. Renenutet as a snake, from Figure 2. Thermuthis, Fouquet’s

an offering scene in TT 38 collection nr. 178 (after
(after Davies, 1963, pl. II). Perdrizet, 1921, pl. XV).
1 For an overview and a study of the different writings of the name of the deity, see Collombert 2005-2007, 21-32.
2 See also, among others, the stela BM EA 1055 or the star pattern in the tomb of Ramesses III (KV 11) (for this last one
see the Theban Mapping Project website http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/atlas/index_kv.asp). For a general
presentation of the monuments in which Renenutet is pictured in such a shape, see Broekhuis, 1971, 11-31.
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3 Broekhuis, 1971, pp. 35-8 and 46-7.

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4 This type of representation is that of the well-known Qen stela, in the Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux (inv. 8635).
For Renenutet, see Broekhuis, 1971, 31-2.
5 See Bonnet, 1952, p. 803-4, s. v. “Thermuthis” and Corteggiani, 2007, 543, s. v. “Ermouthis” which returns to p. 467-9 s. v. “Renenoutet”.
6 See Broekhuis, 1971, 43-5; and for example the statue Cairo JE 36912 ( = SR 3/6391; see the IFAO database «Cachette
Karnak»: http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/cachette/?id=273), or even in relief like in the tomb of Amenemhat (TT 48;
Säve-Söderbergh, 1957, pl. XLII). For Renenutet snake-headed but not nursing, see for instance the statue Cairo JE 36645
( = CG 39142 = SR 3/5846; see Daressy, 1906, 282, and pl. LIV; http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/ cachette/?id=15).
25
JIIA.eu The so-called statue of Nehebkau. A comparative study
Figure 3. Renenutet presenting wheat, temple of Kom Ombo by the time of Figure 4. Renenutet nursing in the tomb of Khaemhat (TT 57; after Prisse
Domitian (after De Morgan, et al., 1895, p. 60, fig. 63). d’Avennes, 1847, pl. XLII).
The snake-gods are often believed to be linked with the soil and were called sȝ-tȝ, “son of the
earth”, by the Ancient Egyptian. Once more, such a connexion made them the guarantors of
fertility and, hence, benevolent gods.
In the Coffin Texts Spell 762, Renenutet is introduced as the mother of Nehebkau7:
Hȝ Wsjr N pn, twt Nḥb-kȝ.w, sȝ Gb, ms(w)~n mw.t=f Rnnwt.t.
O Osiris N, you are Nehebkau, son of Geb, born of your mother Renenutet.
As we have seen, Renenutet is seen as a snake god, and Geb is connected, as an earth-god, with
snakes8. Introduced as their son, Nehebkau is thus considered, by the Ancient Egyptians, as a
snake-god, since the time of Pyramid Texts9. There is only a few representations known of this deity.
The first figuration of this god occurs in the chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead, in the list of
the 42 assessors of Osiris, called the “negative confession”, or, better, the “declaration of innocence”.
Here, the god is sometimes portrayed with a snake-head. Most of the time, papyri do not offer
differentiated representations for the deities in this chapter, even if so, some of the versions keep
the snake-nature of Nehebkau adding a specific determinative after his name (fig. 5d). A personal
study of 23 different Book of the Dead led to the conclusion that Nehebkau is considered nearly as
often as a snake that as an anthropoid, even if the majority of the representations is undifferentiated10.
7 CT VI, 392g-i [Sp 762].

8 See, for instance, his role in the myth of the heavenly cow (Guilhou, 1989, 11 and 113).
9 See among others occurrences Pyr. § 1146b [PT 510]: “he is Nehebkau multiple of coils”.
10 The god is pictured 14 times undifferentiated from the other deities, 5 times snake-headed and 4 times human-
headed (see pNebseni = pBM EA 9900; pAnastasi = pBM EA 9905; pOuserhat = pBM EA 10009 + 9962; pAni =
pBM EA 10470; pNakht = pBM EA 10471 & 10473; pNu = pBM EA 10477; pAmenhotep = pBM EA 10489;
pPinedjem = pBM EA 10793; pNeferrenpet = pBruxelles E5043 & Philadelphia E2775; pMaiherperi = pCG
24095; pAmenhotep = CG 40002 = JE 21369; pAmenhotep = CG 40003 = JE 95834 = SR 931; pSenhotep
= pCG 40004 = JE 95652; pIouya = pCG 51189 = JE 95839; pQenna = pLeyde T2; pPaqerer = pLeyde T4;
pAmonemouya = pBnF 36; pSoutymès = pBnF 42; pLouvre N 3073; pNeferounebef = pLouvre N3092 &
Montpellier; pSenouseret = pVienne 10.994-10.997; tomb of Ramesses IV [KV 2] and tomb of Ramesses VI [KV 9]).
26
JIIA.eu Magali Massiera, Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University, Montpellier
a b c d
Figure 5. Detail of the BoD 125: a pAni (BM EA 10470, after Faulkner, 1998, pl. 31), b pNu (BM EA 10477, after
Lapp, 1997, pl. 67), c pNakht (BM EA 10471 © Trustees of the British Museum11), d pNeferounebef, Louvre
III 93 (= Louvre N3092, after, Ratié, 1968, pl. XVII).
The second figuration, can be found in the 4th Hour of the Amduat where Nehebkau is in
a fully ophiomorphic shape (fig. 6)12. One can wonder whether this specific figuration is the
result of a naturalistic observation. As a matter of fact, in nature, two-headed snakes are not so
rare (fig. 7)13. But, even if the Ancient Egyptians had a good sense of observation, this particular
figuration is mainly due to the very nature of this god, of his duality. Since the Pyramid Texts,
Nehebkau is linked with the fate of the deceased since he provides him, once justified, with kau.
His counterpart, Nehemkau, is responsible for the negative outcome of the judgement. He takes
the kau away from the deceased, causing him a second death. The concept of kau, documented
since the 2nd Dynasty, seems to refer to both the funerary offering, the means of sustenance, and
to the deceased who benefits, himself. Nehebkau and Nehemkau form together another type of
afterlife judgement, different from the one in the Osirian court14:
Jp=f jb.w, nḥm=f kȝ.w, nḥb=f kȝ.w.
He will assess hearts, tear kau apart and tie kau 15.
Figure 6. Detail of the 4th Hour of the Amduat, Tomb of Thutmes III
(KV 34, after Bucher, 1932, pl. IV).
Those two, the 4th hour of the Amduat and the BD 125, are the only known examples of Nehebkau’s
iconography throughout the period in which the god is documented, that is to say between the end of
the 5th Dynasty, in the Pyramid Texts, and the end of the Ptolemaic and Roman period, in the temples.
Those two, quite rare, figurations of this god occurred both during the New Kingdom.
Another possible representation of this deity16 could be a statue found in the location of
the Ancient Heliopolis [pl. I], between May and June 1985, during an excavation campaign in
Mataryia. It is now located in the Matariya Open-air museum17. This is an anthropomorphic
statue in red (silicified) sandstone of 143 cm height. The subject is portrayed seated on a throne,
11 After http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_
gallery.aspx?assetId=796954001&objectId=113076&partId=1.
12 This figuration can also be found in the determinatives of his name used in the Coffin Texts: CT II, 54b [Sp 87]
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(M6C); V, 130b [Sp 398] (M6C) and V, 143a [Sp 398] (M3C ; M4C ; M6C ; M21C).
© 2015
13 G. Matz (2005, 106) indicates that at least 400 two-headed individuals were identified this day.
14 Pyr. § 161b [PT 218].
15 The translation adopted here is committed in preserving the pun present in the Ancient Egyptian language. For the
meaning of jp=f jb.w see Willems, 1998, 719-44.
16 There is a whole series of amulets and statuettes identified with the god Nehebkau, but they wear no inscriptions and it is not
possible to assert this identification. Especially since the only statuette with a text refers to Heneb (see Limme, 1988, 23-4 [5]).
17 Ramadan, 1989, 51-61 and pl. 1-2 ; Moussa, 1994, 479-83 ; Abd el-Gelil, Shaker and Raue, 1996, 138, n°17 and Raue, 1999, p. 357.
27
Figure 7. Two-headed snakes: Natrix natrix (left) and Pituophis melanoleucus (right) (after Matz, 2005, 106-7).
the hands stretched upon his knees, on top of a pleated kilt. The head is heavily damaged but we
can see that he wears a wig and a false-beard. The upper half of the head is missing, as well as part
of the legs; but the inscriptions on the side of the throne can still be read:
N(y)-sw.t bjty wsr-Mȝʿ.t-Rʿ stp-n-Rʿ, sȝ Rʿ, Rʿ-mss(w)-sw mry-Jmn, [dw] ʿnḫ mj Rʿ, (mr)y Nḥb-
kȝ.w ḥrj-jb Ḥw.t-ʿȝ.t.
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt Ousimare Setepenre, son of Re, Ramesses Meriamun, given life
as Re, beloved of Nehebkau who dwells in the Great Mansion.
According to the text this statue is either a representation of Ramesses II or the god Nehebkau.
Among the authors who have written on this topic, opinions are divided 18. First of all, comparing
the statues of Renenutet snake-headed19 to the statue of Nehebkau, one can see that the last one
was clearly human-headed. Thus, if it is a representation of the god, and not of the king, it is one
of the rare anthropomorphic ones. Often the belt loop also carries, in a cartouche, the name of the
pharaoh represented. Here, the same can be said, that for the spaces beside legs: it bears no trace
of engraving and therefore no record of the name of Ramesses II.
Others statues present the same type of texts and might shed some light on the nature of the subject
pictured here. The table below shows the comparison of different elements from a few chosen monuments:
Museum and inventory number Description Inscription
Cairo Museum Statue of Ptah-Tatenen walking

CG 38068 = JE 11248 and 12650 donated by Amunhotep II.
(After Daressy, 1906, 25 and pl. VI). The god is crowned with two
ostrich feathers and he has a beard.
Statue of Ptah donated by

Cairo Museum King Ramesses II. His body
CG 38429 = JE 30169 is contained in a shroud. He
(After Daressy, 1906, 116 and holds in his hands a sceptre
pl. XXV). made of theʿnḫ, wȝs, ḏd signs.
18 See for instance, Moussa, 1994, contra Ramadan, 1989, 55: “A red quartzite statue of King Ramses II”.
19 Cairo JE 36645 ( = CG 39142 = SR 3/5846; http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/cachette/?id=15) or Cairo JE 36912
( = SR 3/6391; see http://www.ifao. egnet.net/bases/cachette/?id=273), already quoted.
28
Museum and inventory number Description Inscription
Luxor Museum Statue of King Amenemhat III

CG 42014 = JE 36928 = SR 3/9683 walking. His hands are
(After Legrain, 1906, 10-11 and stretched upon his kilt.
pl. VIII; see http://www.ifao. egnet.
net/bases/cachette/?id=134)
Cairo Museum Aries lying on a base protecting

CG 42078 = JE 37369 = SR 4/11533 a statuette of Amunhotep II.
(After Legrain, 1906, 45, pl. XLVIII; The King is walking, his hands
see http://www. ifao.egnet.net/bases/ are stretched upon his kilt.
cachette /?id=378).
Cairo Museum Statue of King Tutankhamun

CG 42091 = JE 36583 = SR 1/3236 usurped by Horemheb. The
(After Legrain, 1906, 53-54 and pharaoh is walking and his
pl. LVII; see http://www. hands are stretched upon his
ifao.egnet.net/bases/cachette/ kilt with a belt. In the belt
?id=4). loop, in shape of a cartouche,
his name is inscribed.
Cairo Museum Seated statue of Amun or Ay.

CG 42093 = JE 36910 = SR 3/10117 The statue is headless. The
(After Legrain, 1906, 54-5 and subject wears a pleated kilt and
pl. LIX; see http://www. ifao.egnet. his left hand holds, what seems
net/bases/ to be, an ʿnḫ-cross.
cachette/?id=227).
Alexandria Seated statue of King

After LD III, 142b (see KRI II, 486, Ramesses II (cf. infra).
1-3).
JIIA © 2015
29
Museum and
Description Inscription
inventory number
Right side: N(y)-sw.t bjty wsr-Mȝʿ.t-Rʿ

stp-n-Rʿ, sȝ Rʿ, Rʿ-mss(w)-sw mry-Jmn,
d(w) ʿnḫ mj Rʿ, mry Jmn- Rʿ n(y)-sw.t
nṯr.w.
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt
Seated statue of King Ousimare Setepenre, son of Re, Ramesses
Jerusalem, Bible Ramesses II, headless. Meriamun, given life as Re, beloved of
Lands Museum The texts on the right Amun-Re, King of gods, lord of heaven.
BLJM 105520. and left sides are Left side: N(y)-sw.t bjty wsr-Mȝʿ.t-Rʿ stp-
different regarding the n-Rʿ, sȝ Rʿ, Rʿ-mss(w)-sw mry-Jmn, d(w)
deity mentioned. ʿnḫ mj Rʿ, mry Ḥw.t-Ḥr, nb.t Mḏd.
The King of Upper and Lower Egypt
Ousimare Setepenre, son of Re, Ramesses
Meriamun, given life as Re, beloved of
Hathor, lady of Medjed21.
Table 1. Presentation of different statues in which the same text as on the Matariya statue is inscribed.
First of all, we can see that the text on the statues is not sufficient evidence to determine the
category of the subject represented: both god and king statues show this text. 20 21
According to the descriptions, the seated statues represent either gods or kings. The Alexandria
monument is clearly portraying Ramesses II. It shows several signs helping to identify the subject
embodied: he holds an heqa-scepter, under the throne one can find a representation of defeated enemies
and, of course, his belt loop wears his name. Even though the statue is headless, his identification seems easy.
In the Karnak cachette, CG 4209322, there is another seated statue, headless, bearing the same
inscription. This one is considered to be the representation of the King donated to the god, and not
a portrait of the god himself. The subject wears an ousekh necklace, armbands on arms and wrists
and a corset with suspenders. The text of this statue is similar to the one inscribed on the statue
of Nehebkau, but there is the name of the pharaoh written beside the legs, accompanied with the
epithet nṯr nfr which is clearly a designation of the king23. The Matariya statue, though damaged,
shows no trace of text beside the legs of the subject, suggesting that nothing was inscribed there,
not even the names of Ramesses II, preceded by this epithet.
The closest parallel to the subject of our study is provided by the Jerusalem statue24. Here the subject
is also portrayed seated on a throne and he wears a pleated kilt. The hands are damaged and could be
stretched upon his knees, or holding an attribute. The statue is totally headless but the legs are better
preserved than those of the statue of Nehebkau and it is clear that the spaces beside the legs show no
sign of inscriptions. The only difference deals with the texts written on both sides of the throne, which
are not the same regarding the deities mentioned (Amun-Ra and Hathor). Such a thing does not occur
in any other statue studied here. The Jerusalem statue is identified with Ramesses II, certainly because
of these inscriptions: it clearly figures a male, not a woman, hence it cannot be the representation of the
goddess Hathor, and it is therefore the pharaoh that is portrayed here.
20 I want to thank here Carolyn Budow Ben-David for given me access to pictures and information regarding this
statue for research.
21 For this toponym see Hannig, 2006, 2953 {41783}.
22 JE 36910 = SR 3/10117; http://www.ifao. egnet.net/bases/cachette/?id=227.
23 Tillier, 2011, 159 : “L’expression nṯr nfr est plus connue pour qualifier un roi qu’un dieu”.
24 BLMJ 1055.
30
In every case mentioned above, there is a decisive element that enables the identification of
the represented subject. Yet, for the statue found in Matariya, none of these elements are present.
Thus, the authors have identified alternately the statue with Ramesses II25 or Nehebkau26. Both
the identifications are plausible, the king and the god having their place in the great temple of
Ra: Ramesses II is known to be a great builder and it is likely that he continued the work of his
father regarding the city of Heliopolis and his temple; Nehebkau is known to have a particular
relationship with the god Re-Atoum, the heliopolitan creator27.
The decisive evidence for the identification of the subject is provided once again by the text.
Comparing the texts of the statue CG 38068 to the other monuments clearly portraying a king,
one can see that the hieroglyphs are oriented in the same direction as the appointed representation.
On the Ptah-Tatenen statue all the signs are curved from left to right, but in the case of the
pharaohs statues dedicated to a god, the texts regarding the king and the god are faced up. Thus,
as on the monument of Jerusalem, the figure depicted here is actually Ramesses II.
Ḥry-jb ḥw.t-ʿȝ.t is the usual designation regarding the relation of Nehebkau and this particular
temple, even in the BD 125. But, in all the texts, there is only one mention of a “temple of
Nehebkau” and it is not located in Heliopolis, but in Herakleopolis28:
Jw smȝ~n=j jtr.ty Šmȝw jtr.ty Mḥw, jtr.ty rsw mḥw, m s.t tn ḥnʿ ḥw.t n(y).t Nḥb-kȝ(.w).
I have restored the Dual Shrines of Upper Egypt, the Dual Shrines of Lower Egypt and the Dual
Shrines of North and South in this place, as well as the temple of Nehebka(u).
Although there is no mention of a priesthood of this god, his festival enjoyed certain notoriety
during the New Kingdom29, and it is odd that neither temple nor a priest is specifically associated
with this event of which traces can be find throughout Egypt.
*
* *
The iconography, quite rare, of Nehebkau follows the main features of others snake-gods.
The very damaged state of the statue found in Heliopolis makes it very difficult to assert the
identification of the represented subject. Nevertheless, according to the text on the Matariya
statue, there is not doubt that it was dedicated by Ramesses II to Nehebkau. A close study of the
inscription also allows to postulate that the subject represented is actually Ramses II, not the god
Nehebkau. The presence of this statue near the Great temple of Ra, also raises the problem of the
cult of this deity, for whom the priesthood is not documented and no temple has yet been found.
JIIA © 2015
25 Ramadan, 1989.
26 Moussa, 1994.
27 Shorter, 1935 and Massiera, 2013.
28 See Vercoutter, 1950, p. 88-89, pl. III.
29 On a total of 32 listed occurrences, 21 are from the New Kingdom.
31
Bibliography
Abd el-Gelil, M., M. Shaker and D. Raue, 1996. “Recent excavations at Heliopolis”, Orientalia 65/2:136-46
Bonnet, H. 1952. Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte
Broekhuis, J. 1971. De godin Renenwetet, Assen
Bucher, P. 1932. Les textes des tombes de Thoutmosis III et d’Aménophis II, Mémoires de l’Institut
Français d’Archéologie Orientale 60
Collombert, Ph. 2005-2007. “Renenoutet et Renenet”, Bulletin de la Société Égyptologique de Genève 27:21-32
Corteggianni, J.-P. 2007. L’Égypte ancienne et ses dieux. Dictionnaire illustré, Paris;
Daressy, G. 1906. Statues de divinités, Catalogue Général du Caire
Davies, N. 1963. Scenes from some Theban Tombs, Private Theban Tombs 4
De Morgan, J., U. Bouriant, G. Legrain, G. Jéquier and A. Barsanti, 1895. Kom Ombos II/1, Vienne
Faulkner, R.O. 1998. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Book of going forth by Day, Cairo
Guilhou, N. 1989. La vieillesse des dieux, Orientalia Monspeliensa V
Hannig, R. 2006. Ägyptisches Wörterbuch II. Mittleres Reich und zweite Zwischenzeit,
Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt 112
Kitchen, K.A. 1979. Ramesside Inscriptions II, Historical and Biographical, Oxford
Lapp, G. 1997. The papyrus of Nu, Catalogue of the Books of the Dead in the British Museum 1
Legrain, G. 1906. Statues et statuettes de rois et de particuliers I, Catalogue général des antiquités
égyptiennes du musée du Caire
Lepsius, C.R. 1972. Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien III, Genève
Limme, L. 1988. “Égypte”, Bulletin des Musées Royaux d’Arts et d’Histoire 59:23-4
Massiera, M. 2013, Les divinités ophidiennes Nâou et Néhebkaou et le fonctionnement des kaou d’après
les premiers corpus funéraires de l’Égypte ancienne, Ph.D. diss., Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University
Matz, G. 2005. “Tératologie”, in Serpents, R. Bauchot (dir.), Paris
Moussa, A.M. 1994. “A seated Statue of Nḥb-kȝ.w from Heliopolis”, Hommages à Jean Leclant,
Bibliothèque d’Études 106/1:479-483
Perdrizet, P. 1921. Terres cuites grecques de la collection Fouquet II, Paris, Nancy
Prisse d’Avennes, E. 1847. Monuments égyptiens. Bas reliefs, peintures, inscriptions, etc., Paris
Ramadan, W. 1989. “Was there a chapel of Nehebkaou in Heliopolis”, Göttingen Miszellen 110:51-61 and pl. 1-2
Ratié, S. 1968. Le papyrus de Neferoubenef (Louvre III 93), Bibliothèque d’Études 43
Raue, D. 1999. Heliopolis und das Haus des Re, Eine Prosopographie und ein Toponym im Neuen
Reich, Abhandlungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Kairo 16
Säve-Söderbergh, T. 1957. Four eighteenth dynasty Tombs, Private Theban Tombs 1, 1957
Shorter, A.W. 1935. “The God Nehebkau”, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 21:41-8
Tillier, A. 2011. “À propos de nṯr nfr comme épithète divine. Contribution à l’étude d’Osiris-roi
au Moyen Empire”, Revue d’Égyptologie 62:159-174
Vercoutter, J. 1950. “Les statues du général Hor, gouverneur d’Hérakléopolis, de Busiris et
d’Héliopolis (Louvre A.88, Alexandrie s.n.)”, BIFAO 49:88-114, pl. III
Willems, H. 1998. “Anubis as a judge”, Egyptian Religion in the Last Thousand Years. Studies
dedicated to the memory of Jan Quaegebeur I, Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 84:719-44.
32
pl. I
The statue found in Mataryia in 1985, with a focus on the (damaged) face © Magali Massiera.
JIIA © 2015
33
34
Isis-Thermouthis and the anguiform deities in Egypt: a cultural

and semantic evolution
M. Franci
CAMNES, Firenze
The snake, for its primeval power and chthonic life, has always had a central but ambivalent
role, in Egypt as well as in the Ancient Near Eastern world. Here the semantic field of the serpent
is mainly negative: just for example, the god Mot, the deification of the death, can also appear as a
serpent;1 the world äl-mā-yuḏkar “snake” in the semitic dialect of Sana means “the one who is not
named” is a clear evidence of a linguistic taboo; and the Common Semitic word NAḤAŠ “snake”
was related with the meaning “prophecy” and “exorcist formula”.2
From the reading of the Egyptian documents and representations on the tomb and temple’s
walls it is clear that in Egypt the symbolic significance of the snake figure was intimately considered
powerful and productive during all the Egyptian history. It was used to express different and wide
meanings – political, religious, philosophical – because in Egypt the snake could be also seen,
at the same time, as an evil and dangerous entity (Apophis above all), as a protective deity (the
goddess Wadjet, for example): one can easily find in the Pyramid Texts a long list of serpents,
as evil entity e.g. the hpnwi-snake, as protective entity, e.g. the ḏnn-serpent, a clear evidence of
an interesting quantity of more ancient myths that merged in the Corpus of the Pyramid Texts.
The example of the snake-god Nehebkaw is paradigmatic: in the Utterance 229 the god Atum
pressing down on the vertebrae of this serpent have stilled the turmoil in Heliopolis; but in the
utterance 510 the deceased king is identified with Nehebkaw.3 A double meaning that had been
created, doubtless, by the natural relationship of the snake with the creative process, generating a
continuous contradiction, for a modern point of view.
We can briefly remind that before the primeval mound some chthonic snakes were already
created and they participated to the creative process, helping the demiurge (also represented in
the shape of a snake). But after the creation they were excluded from the created world (and likely
Apophis was one of them) and immediately destined to die; although they will have a particular
future becoming fathers of the entire living creature and/or to be the first mummified beings.4
It appears clear that in Ancient Egypt the serpent cult continued to be an integral element of
any fertility cult, until it became a fertility symbols both of the Mother-goddesses and Gods.
To underline this semantic characteristic the ancient Egyptian created different representations
of the anguiform divinities, mainly in their hybrid shape.5
But immediately the symbolic world of the snake was included in the official and pharaonic
cult. The goddess Wadjet was the right example to understand as in Egypt also an anguiform
divinity (a cobra in this case) could be associated not only with the wilderness power but also the
symbolic world of the king (or more simply the village’s chief ). Starting from a totemic use in the
Proto-Dynastic Period, when its cult was mainly worshipped at Buto, and likely related with the
fertility cult, its name means “She (who belongs) to the papyrus”,6 the goddess Wadjet became one
of the protector for the king and one of the symbols of Lower Egypt. Always in serpent form, she is
JIIA
1 Leick 1991: 119.

© 2015
2 Fronzaroli 1968: 285.

3 Cfr. Shorter 1935: 41-48.
4 Cfr. Meeks –Favard Meeks 1995: 29.
5 Creating in this way the divine level, by fusing the chaotic world of animals with that of men, because the hybrid
element is peculiar Egyptian iconography, and emphasized the divine world, characterizing it since the Predynastic
age, and throughout the course of Egyptian history, cfr. Franci 2013: 63-72.
6 For another interpretation see Shaw – Nicholson 1995: 302.
35
Isis-Thermouthis and the anguiform deities in Egypt:
JIIA.eu a cultural and semantic evolution
also represented in human (but not in hybrid) shape (usually with Nekhbet), and in leonine form;
mostly in the Late Period during the most dynamic religious syncretism. This merging involves also
the uraeus, called also wrt-hq3w “The Great enchantress” of whom we have a representation with the human
head in the shrine of the king Tutankhamon. The mainly identification is with the protector of the king
(and both are identified with the Eye of Ra).7 But beside this aspect more strong is the creative one. Another
interesting case is represented by the inscription of the temple at Esna, where a group of texts from the Roman
era investigates the primordial and creative nature of the goddess Neith, and describes the evolutionary process
that accompanies self-consciousness of the creator from the immobility in the darkness to the emergence the
earth and in the appearance of the light: in the creative process identifications is reflected in the nature of the
goddess, and in her snake form, the same of the primordial being in the early stages of existence; as a being
who is not born, but rather accompanies the creative act.8
The symbolic value of the snake in the semantic communication of the ancient Egyptian arrives
to a more speculative and philosophical definition. For examples: in their cosmological myths the
ancient Egyptians also expressed a very special concept: if the world had had a beginning then it
could also have an end. And to the words of the god Atum describe this dramatic moment: “...I
will destroy everything that I have created. The earth will return to the Nun, to the water, as in the
primordial age. I am the one who will remain with Osiris, I’ll turn back into a snake, which is not
known by men and is not seen by the gods”. It is an extraordinary image that allows you to know what
the original shape of the creator was: the snake. An outstanding representation also at the level of
symbol encapsulating both the creative forces and the chaos, and once again confirms the double
symbolic use of the snake: it is a snake who attempts to block the nocturnal trip of the sun. It’s a
snake in the depth of the cave from which comes the beneficial Nile flood, guiding the cycle of life,
death and rebirth, the balance and time. And the demiurge is a snake.
The strength of this representation is so strong hat towards the end of the fourth century CE
an alexandrinian Latin poet named Claudian in his work “On Stilicho’s Consulship” wrote: “Far
away, all unknown, beyond the range of mortal minds, scarce to be approached by the gods, is a cavern
of immense age, hoary mother of the years, her vast breast at once the cradle and the tomb of time. A
serpent7 surrounds this cave, engulfing everything with slow but all-devouring jaws; never ceases the
glint of his green scales. His mouth devours the back-bending tail as with silent movement he traces his
own beginning”. It represents the end of everything? No. And it is the same Atum to confirm this
hypothesis. He will turn into a snake. What kind of snake? But the Ouroboros, the one that bites
its tail, the snake around the world, the eternal regeneration: a new beginning. 9
Of the same philosophical depth the snake called Metwy, who is a representation of the time,
and in this mean he gives birth to the hours during the so called XIth hour in the Amduat, as is
depicted in the tomb of Amenhotep II (XVIII Dynasty).
A reflection of this belief it is still alive in the Hieroglyphika of the Egyptian writer Horapollo
of the fifth century CE, where we can read: “…To denote Eternity they depict the SUN and MOON,
because their elements are eternal. But when they would represent Eternity differently, they delineate
a SERPENT with its tail covered by the rest of its body: the Egyptians call this Ouraius, which in the
Greek language signifies Basilisk: And they place golden figures of it round the Gods. The Egyptians say
that Eternity is represented by this animal; because of the three existing species of serpents, the others
are mortal, but this alone is immortal; and because it destroys any other animal by merely breathing
upon it even without biting. And hence, inasmuch as it thus appears to have power over life and death,
they place it upon the head of the Gods (Hieroglyphika I,1)”. In reality here the author confuses
the uraeus with the Ouroboros that is described in the following paragraph: “When they would
represent the universe, they delineate a SERPENT bespeckled with variegated scales, devouring its own
7 See Shaw – Nicholson 1995: 67.

8 Cfr. Ciampini 2014: 29 and ff.
9 On this see Meeks –Favard Meeks 1995: 34.
36
JIIA.eu M. Franci - Camnes, Firenze
tail; by the scales intimating the stars in the universe. The animal is also extremely heavy, as is the earth,
and extremely slippery, like the water: moreover, it every year puts off its old age with its skin, as in the
universe the annual period effects a corresponding change, and becomes renovated. And the making use
of its own body for food implies, that all things whatsoever, that are generated by divine providence in the
world, undergo a corruption 1 into it again (Hieroglyphika I,2)”. Horapollo here is spokesman of the
“Western” tradition will choose the snake biting its tail as a magical, alchemical and hermetic symbol
(i.e. the symbolism of Gnostic Ophites), of Egyptian origin, which undergoes a reinterpretation: one
can find the scales as stars in Porphyry; and even the various naturalistic Greek writings.
The case of the goddess Mertseger is a good example of how a form of worship was able to become
a feature of the cultural identity of an entire community: Deir el Medina. The goddess was considered
the personification of the top of the hill, above the Theban necropolis and of its shrine. She protects
the inhabitants of the village, judging their behavior ready to punish, but also to forgive, the sinners.
During the time she was associated with the goddess Renenutet, and the goddess Hathor showing
how the Egyptian divinities were intimately predisposed to the syncretism.10 Its iconography, hybrid,
human or completely animal, without doubt was the most representative in the Egyptian context of
the anguiform deities, giving another dowel in the evolution of their semantic field.
With the Persian’s conquest before, Greek and Roman after, Egypt lost its centrality in the
world. Its culture and languages disappeared, and its population became citizens of low level under
foreign empires. Only its religion and philosophy, but called exoteric and magic, survived in the
darkest side of the Western mind (alchemy, masonry, etc.).
Thus, the case of Renenutet/Isis-Thermouthis concludes, in some way, a millenarian tradition.
Renenutet was already mentioned in the Pyramid texts and her cult was attested from the IV
Dynasty, when we have noticed a priest of Renenutet called Mari (mry).11 Her worship began
a royal cult with the edification of her temple at Medinet Madi and the temple of Sobek in
the capital town Shedet, under the king Amenemhat III.12 From this moment Renenutet was a
medium for the exaltation of the prosperity and power of the ruling king with Sobek, the main
Fayoum divinity; further “Renenutet, in her capacity of goddess of harvest, and Sobek, as lord of the
whole Fayyum, are beneficent gods, who distribute goods and provisions for the king’s table”:13 on a wall
the king Amenemhat III is introduced into the sanctuary of Renenutet, called the living one of
Dja.14 This relationship is very important because links the royal family (since the Old Kingdom)
also to Renenutet worship, allowing us to suggest a different interpretation of the famous Statuette
of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and her son, the king Pepy II: it is not only the representation of a
queen who was the regent during her son childhood; but probably the artist underlined her aspect
of protector of the king in the same form of Renenutet.
Renenutet, associated with the agricultural world, called Lady of the granary whom the people
make offering the 1st day of the harvest (Pakhons) thresheding the wheat, was also related with
the god Nepri: she was represented seated like a mother-goddess with a serpent head,15 suckling
a child (maybe Nepri itself ); or in other case with the head of serpent with a human body.16 This
serpent-goddess fed, nursed,17 suckled, and brought up a child (in a statue of Cairo Museum the
child was Horus) and she was connected with grain, harvest, food nursing, and, in a the tomb of
two official of Thutmosis IV also the vine was presented on her altar. For these reasons was called
10 On Mertseger see Bruyère 1930.

JIIA
11 Leibovitch 1953: 105.

© 2015
12 Cfr. Zecchi 2006: 119.

13 Cfr. Zecchi 2006: 123.
15 See for example the inscription of Amenhotep III, Sheick abd el Gurna, tomb no. 10.
17 The hypothesis which her name signified “the nurse” was wrong: it is clear the the original meaning was the great
nnwt. Nnwt was a protective figure in a snake form (well represented in the Abydos temple of Sethos II).
37
the “Lady of the Provisions”. And under Ramesse IV her epithet was “Who maintains everybody”.18
The next step is represented by Isis-Thermouthis. She was syncretical representation in the Greek period
of two different goddesses:19 Isis and the serpent goddess Renenutet, whose name was translated in Greek,
passing by the Demotic transcription T-Rmwte, Thermouthis; also written Hermouthis. We have seen
Renenutet was a divinity linked with the agricultural world, associated with the vegetation but mainly
with the fertility of the soil.20 She was worshipped not only for providing crops but slowly, passing by a
particular reading that associated her with all the good and pure things (to use an Egyptian formula), for
being the bearer of the happiness.21 The first evidence of this syncretic figure was older: she was represented
in a necklace of the king Tutankhamon with the epithet of Isis “The Great One in magic”.
During the Ptolemaic period the identification was completed,22 underlining her fertilising power.
In this sense was paradigmatic the further assimilation with the Nile good Inundation23: “Hail to you
good Isis-Ermouthis, with thy great name, magnificent, to all those who rejoice at thy feast day, thou givest
gift, the young being accomplished at the month of Pekhou for welfare of everybody…and persuading the
Nile in his golden course, thou raisest him on the land of Egypt for rejoin of all the men”.24
Isis-Thermouthis widespread characteristics grow up as we can read in the hymns of Isidore
(II-I c. BCE), on the pillars of the Temple of Isis-Thermouthis (built by Ptolemy IX Soter II))
at Medinet Madi in Fayum where was exalted the omnipotence and versatility of the goddess:25
O wealth-giving queen of the gods, lady Hermouthis, Almighty, Agathe Tyche, Isis of the great name,
Highest Deo, inventor of all life. Because of you, heaven and the whole earth have their being; And the
gusts of the winds and the sun its sweet light. By your power the channels of the Nile are filled, every one,
in the late summer season, and the most turbulent water is poured On the whole land, so that produce
may be unfailing”;26 or in the second Hymn “Hail, Agathe Tyche, greatly renowned Isis, mightiest
Hermouthis, in you every city rejoices. O discoverer of life and of crops wherein all mortals delight
because of your blessings. All who pray to you to assist their commerce, prosper in their piety forever;
And all who are bound by fate in the grip of mortal illness, if they pray to you, quickly attain your life.
How truly the Agathos Daimon, mighty Sokonopis dwells as your temple-mate, that goodly bestower of
wealth…”, and clearly he underlined the “international” aspect of the goddess.27
But the most important element in the Isidore hymns is the clear link between this goddess
and the king Amenemhat III the builder of the temple of Renenutet at Medinet Madi (that was
also dedicated to Sobek), creating an implied bond, and representing Isis-Thermouthis as the
protector of the kind and his royal family: “Who built this holy temple to greatest Hermouthis? What
god remembered the all-holy place of the immortals? As a lofty Olympus he marked out the innermost
sanctuary for highest Deo, Isis Thesmophorus, And for Anchoes the son and for the Agathos Daimon,
Sokonopis, he devised a most just haven. They say that there came to be a divine king of Egypt, who
appeared as the lord of the entire land, wealthy, pious, and with the greatest universal power, who had
glory and virtue equal to the heavens… For he was not a mortal man, nor was born of a mortal ki[ng]
but he was the offspring of a great, everlasting god Souchos, the all powerful, the great, great and greatest;
he appeared as the king and the son of Agathos Daimon. Whatever was the name of this man? What
king or prince established this? Or who among the Immortals? The one who raised him, Sesoösis, who has

19 Against the concept of syncretism see Malaise 1999 : 1-6.
20 Aeliano De Natura Animalis 10, 31.
21 van den Broek 1996:134. In ancient Sardinia it was attested also as the protector of the sailors, cfr. Gavini 2008:213.
22 Cfr. Sfameni Gasparro 2006: 49.
23 Otherwise she was the goddess of the good crops the bearer of the necessary elements for the life; cfr. van den Broek
1996:134.
25 She is Demeter, Aphrodite, Rhea, Hestia among the Greeks; Cybele at Traci; Leto at Licii, Artemis or Astarte at the
Syrians. The goddess is already the ‘’ Unique ‘, is the Myriònyma; cfr. Ensoli Vittozzi 1992:214-215.
26 For the translation of all the hymns see Moyer 2010.
27 Moyer 2010.
38
JIIA.eu M. Franci - Camnes, Firenze
gone to the western heaven, gave him his beautiful name of the brilliant sun. But when the Egyptians
translate the name of this man, they call him Porramanres, the great, the immortal.”
In this context important was also the anguiform representation of Serapis. It is well known
in the imperial coin, starting from the age of Marcus Aurelius, as a mixed representation of the
Agathodaimon: the Serapis head on the erected snake body riding on a horse;28 but also in coarse
plaster plaques.29 It is a further evidence of the will, during the Roman period but always by the
Greek culture, of unify the Greek (-Roman) and Egyptian worlds, once again using Serapis as a
medium (not only in Egypt but also in Babylon, during the kingdom of Alexander), linking it to
Agathodaimon. This identification lead to an evolution of its qualities: no a mere spirit related with
the agricultural world, but protector of the city, and associated with his paredra Isis-Thermouthis,
which is often represented, embodying the forces of male and female fertility.
JIIA © 2015
28 Dunand 1969: 25.

29 Fraser 1992: 348-350.
39
Bibliography
Bruyère, B. 1930, Mert Seger à Deir el Mèdineh, MIFAO, Le Caire.

Ciampini, E. M. 2014, “«Divinità che si manifesta al principio» o «Divinità unica che diventa
coppia divina». Una nota su un epiteto di Neith a Esna”, in E. M. Ciampini – P. Zanovello
(eds.), Antichità egizie e Italia. Prospettive di ricerca e indagini sul campo, Venezia: 29-34.
Dunand, F. 1969, «Les représentations de l’Agathodémon à propos de quelques bas-reliefs du
Musée d’Alexandrie», in BIFAO 67 :9-48.
Ensoli Vittozzi, S. 1992, “Indagini sul culto di Iside a Cirene”, in Mastino, Attilio a cura di (1992)
L’Africa romana: atti del 9. Convegno di studio, 13-15 dicembre 1991, Nuoro: 167-250.
Franci, M. 2013, “The hybrid element Egyptian iconography”, in Monstra. Vol. 1 (Egitto, Vicino
Oriente Antico, Area Storico-Comparativa), Atti del Convegno “Costruzione e percezione
delle entità ibride e mostruose nelle culture del Mediterraneo Antico” 8-9-10 giugno 2011
Museo delle Religioni “Raffaele Pettazzoni” Velletri (Roma), Edizioni Quasar: 63-72.
Fraser, P. 1992, “A plaster anguiform Serapis”, in AA.VV., Alessandria e il mondo ellenistico
romano. Studi in onore di Achille Adriani, Roma: 348-350.
Fronzaroli, P. 1968 “La Natura Selvatica”, Rendiconti dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, se.
VIII, vol. XXIII, fa. 7-12, Roma: 267-303.
Gavini, A. 2008, “I culti isiaci nella Sardegna romana: le iscrizioni latine”, in F. Cenerini (ed.), Epigrafia
romana in Sardegna, Atti del I Convegno di studio (= Incontri insulari, I), Roma: 209-217.
Leibovitch, J. 1953, “Gods of Agriculture and Welfare in ancient Egypt”, in JNES 12: 73-113.
Leick, G. 1991 A dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology, Londo&New York.
Malaise, M. 2000, «Le problème de l’hellénisation d’Isis», in L. Bricault (ed.), De Memphis à
Rome. Actes du Ier Colloquie international sur les études isiaques, Poitiers – Futuruscope,
8-10 avril 1999, Leidne-Boston-Cologne : 1-19.
Meeks, D. – Ch. Favard Meeks 1995, La vita quotidiana degli egizi e dei loro dèi, Milano.
Moyer, Ian S. 2010, “Isidorus at the Gates of the Temple”, in Graeco-Aegyptiaca, edited by I.
Rutherford (to be published by Oxford University Press https://lucian.uchicago.edu/
blogs/csar/files/2010/03/Moyer-Isidorus-at-the-Gates-of-the-Temple.pdf.
Sist, L. (1979). «Stele magica con figurazione di dea serpente da Antinoe». Vicino Oriente, 2, pp. 93-97.
Sfameni Gasparro, G. 2006, “The Hellenistic face of Isis”, Laurent Bricault, Miguel John Versluys,
Paul G. P. Meyboom (eds.), Nile into Tiber: Egypt in the Roman World, Proceedings of the
IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, Leiden, May 11-14 2005, Leiden: 237-270.
Shaw I. and P. Nicholson 1995, The British Museum Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, London.
Shorter, A. W. 1935, “The God Nehebkau”, in Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 21: 41-48.
van den Broek, R. 1996, Studies in Gnosticism and Alexandrian Christianity, Leiden.
Zecchi, M. 2006, “Osiris in the Fayyum”, in S. Pernigotti and M. Zecchi (eds.), FAYYUM
STUDIES 2, Bologna: 117-145.
40
The Role of Renenutet in New Kingdom Temples:

A Reassessment of the Archaeological Evidence for a cult
of this divinity in Economic Compounds*
Julie Masquelier-Loorius
Research Engineer CNRS, UMR 8167 Orient et Méditerranée,
équipe Mondes pharaoniques
Université Paris-Sorbonne,
Labex RESMED
(Laboratoire d’excellence Religions et sociétés dans le monde méditerranéen)
Abstract
There is abundant evidence to show that the divinity Renenutet played a significant role in production
and storage compounds of New Kingdom Temples. This article focuses on some archaeological artefacts
that were not understood before as evidence for a cult of this ophidian divinity. For instance, it will show
that the different arrangement of hieroglyphic signs in the writing of the name Ren(en)ut(et) can be used
to express the various aspects of her character based on the nature and location in which the artefact
was found. In temple service compounds, if the veneration of this goddess, represented zoomorphically
with a female face or anthropomorphically with a snake’s face, is known by the sources, it will be shown
that this veneration was combined with the cult of the local god in the sanctuary, often Amun or a local
form of Horus. Furthermore, a comparison of statues of this goddess and architectural artifacts bearing
her name, found in production and storage areas, with her depiction in a variety of contexts, shows
the connection between this ophidian divinity and the temple personnel, whose functions are related to
economic structures. It is well-known that this female divinity plays an important part in supplying food
(divine offerings), but until now, it was not explicitly through the image of African Maternity, that the
ophidian effigy is the guarantor for fecundity and fertility, and thus, for harvesting, but that it was also
a factor in perpetuating social links, whilst contributing to the accumulation of wealth.
JIIA © 2015
41
The Role of Renenutet in New Kingdom Temples : A Reassessment of the
JIIA.eu Archaeological Evidence for a cult of this divinity in Economic Compounds
Contents
If it seems obvious that the cult of the main divinity of a temple took place in the sanctuary,
there is some evidence to suggest that some rites were performed in temple compounds, that is,
in areas that were known to have been used for economic activities1. We know that, in most cases,
the archaeological evidence identifies an ophidian goddess as the object of the cult. Although
Weret-Hekau is named in several sources2, the majority of examples show the divinity Renenutet,
known as goddess of nourishment and the harvest. We will show that graphical variations used in
writing the theonyme are probably equivalent to local adaptations of the goddess’ name, and that’s
why we suggest a reading of her name as Ren(en)ut(et)3. The analysis of the material show some
correspondence between the drawings of the goddess’ statue in Theban tombs and archaeological
remains (statues, stelaes) that attests the actuality of the goddess’ cult in economic compounds of
most temples, wherever they were built, in Egypt and Nubia. These information sheds on light on
the function of Ren(en)ut(et) for the economy and in society.
We can identify different types of evidence relating to the cult of an ophidian goddess (fig. 1
and 3)4, which was performed in the temple’s production and storage compounds.
1. Depictions of Ren(en)ut(et) in Theban private tombs

On the one hand, in many Theban private tombs, architectural drawings of the temple Granary
(šnwt)5 include a depiction of the goddess’ cult-statue (table 1)6. As grain storage is the last stage in
the harvest process, reproductions of the temple Granary – where we find not only different kinds
of grain, but also dried fruits and wine jars7, as well as all manner of commodities piled up in heaps
– can be found on walls from several tomb chapels of officials, especially in the Theban area, where
we also find many examples of the Granary of Amun. Predominantly these officials bear titles
relating to this iconography, such as “overseer of the Granary” (3, 4, 8 & 15)8, “overseer of Granary
Doorkeepers” (10), or “scribe and grain accountant in the Granary of divine offerings of Amun”
(11 & 12). Some of them are even “royal butlers” (6, 9 & 17), since they taste wine for Pharaoh
(and bring the drink to him)9, but not divine butlers – “butlers of Amun” – a title that is quite rare
in the sources10 and that brings to light the overlap of royal and divine institutions and also the role
of the king in the temple economy. What is noteworthy is the fact that only two examples show
a pair of snake statues placed on both sides of a stela – one in a Granary (= fig. 3), the other in a
* I’m very thankful to Benedict G. Davies for correcting and improving my English.
1 Masquelier-Loorius 2008, 57-64.
2 Relief from the Theban(?) tomb of Tjauy, a royal butler of Amenhotep III (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts,
inv. 1972.651). Cf. Simpson 1973, 70, 72 fig. 4 and 73; Clère 1981, 213-215. For the dating, cf. Geßler-Löhr
1990, 59-70. Lintel with Amun and the goddess Weret-hekau who is represented anthropomorphically with a
snake’s head, “Who stands in the Treasury” (ḥr(y)t-jb pr-ḥḏ), which was found in situ in the temple of millions of
years of Merenptah in western Thebes. Jaritz 1999, 49 fig. 18, 51.
3 Renenet refers to another divinity : Collombert 2007, 21-32. On Theban monuments dedicated to her: Grandet 2003, 213.
4 On snakes in Ancient Egypt: Keimer 1947 and Sauneron 1989.
5 About architectural drawings in these areas of private tombs, see: Masquelier-Loorius (forthcoming).
6 Offering scenes dedicated to Ren(en)ut(et) adorn many Theban tombs (Porter and Moss 1994, 489: «Termuthis»;
Davies 1917, 64 n. 1).
7 In these magazines different kinds of foodstuffs were stored. We can note that trees, such as sycamores and dom palms,
appear in the granary images on tomb walls. See Bickel 2006, 19. On the Granary of Amun depicted in the tomb of
Sennefer (Theban tomb 96), with vines reproduced under a kiosk among piles of grain, see Davies 1929, 45 fig. 8.
8 On the monuments of the overseers of the Granary, see Bohleke 1993.
9 Eichler 2000, 36-37 n. 156.
10 Eichler 2000, 183.
42
JIIA.eu Julie Masquelier-Loorius
Treasury on a Ramesside relief coming from an unidentified tomb (22)11. Therefore, surprisingly,
the cobra goddess can be found represented in Theban tombs whose owners – officials of the
House (domain) of Amun – apparently possess neither a post in the Granary of Amun, nor in the
Treasury of Amun. These include some scribes who move from one sector to another in order to
carry out their duties (18, 20, 21). In reliefs and paintings, the snake goddess is envisioned as a
cobra with head raised (table 1, in most of the examples, cf. fig. 1 = 8), and sometimes as a woman
with the head of a cobra (15, 16a = fig. 4 & 20). In this context, Ren(en)ut(et) often bears the
epithet “Lady of the Granary” (nbt šnwt). Various elements were employed to emphasize the image
of the goddess’ statue: her head can bear a modius, with a sun-disk (13), sometimes associated with
the horns of a cow (8 = fig. 1 & 18), and even with the feathers of a falcon (7, 10, 14 & 17). In the
tomb of Amenemhet Surer(16ab = fig. 4), the “hairstyle” of the goddess brings all four elements
together, but with ostrich feathers, not those of a falcon. The statue stands under a kiosk or on a
platform sometimes taking the shape of the neb-sign (a basket), associated with the ka-sign (raised
arms, 1 & 16b = fig. 4). Such iconography is rather interesting, since this is a rebus that relates to
a divine epithet sometimes written near the depiction of the statue: “Lady of the ka(w)” (nbt kȝw).
This is an epithet that recurs on two- and three-dimensional images of the goddess Ren(en)ut(et) found
in production and storage compounds (table 2) and on sigillary artifacts (see below).
2. Stone artefacts bearing the image and/or the name of Ren(en)ut(et) found in economic
compounds in Egypt and Nubia
Furthermore, during the excavation of these mudbrick buildings, stone artefacts bearing the
image and/or the name of the goddess, or three-dimensional figures, have been found.
In Egypt, statues of a snake goddess, without related inscriptions, have been discovered in
mudbrick compounds that could be identified as outbuildings of the Treasury or the Granary.
Two similar statues of a seated anthropomorphic goddess, carrying a child on her knees, were
discovered in a building linked to the Treasury administration, namely the Treasury of Thutmose I
at Karnak North (23). Only the upper part of one of these statues has been preserved, and it bears
the text: “Renenutet of the House (domain) of Montu”, “Renenutet, Lady of all the ka(w)”. This
pair of statues could have been placed on either side of a stela, at the bottom of the service area of
the magazines, since it was reproduced on an architectural drawing of buildings closely connected
with the Treasury (22 = fig. 2). Furthermore, some small statues of cobras with their heads raised
were found in the neighbouring quarters – areas that could be identified with storage compounds
that were contemporary with the building of the Treasury magazines or in the period immediately
preceeding it12. The unearthing of a fragment from a cobra statue in a mudbrick building located
to the East of the Bastet temple in Tell Basta (post-New Kingdom) does not necessarily mean that
this area was a granary13. The identification of this building as a granary is indeed dubious on account
of its variable architectural form among the mudbrick buildings which surround the temple proper. At
Qantir, in the storage compounds of the XIXth dynasty temple, two snake statues, each adorned with a
solar disk, the cows’ horns and a modius, were discovered in the same archaeological level (24)14.
In certain production and storage compounds in Nubia, there are doorframes on which
the goddess is represented and/or named (her epithets are also mentioned, table 2). The three-
dimensional image of the divinity mixes two aspects – as a human being and in her zoomorphic
aspect. Portrayed either as a woman with a snake’s face, or as a cobra with a woman’s face, her
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image is found on stone elements at Aniba, Sai and Wadi es-Sebua (26, 27 and 28). The goddess
© 2015
11 For the identification of this building as a Treasury, see Masquelier-Loorius (forthcoming).

12 Jacquet-Gordon 1999, 10. For a review of this book: Laboury 2004, 151. For small statues from the reign of
Thutmose III, cf. Laboury 2004, 154.
13 Habachi 1957, 94.
14 Information concerning only one of these statues is currently available. Retaining some polychromatic details, it
was carved from limestone in the form of an undulating body with a female head sporting a tripartite wig.
43
is also referred to as Renut(et), “the beautiful cobra, Lady of the kau” (nfr(t) nb(t) kȝ(w)), on the
monuments of various viceroys of Kush.
In both Egypt and Nubia, the goddess is always associated with the main god of the temple. In
the Theban area she is linked with Amun — and rites are carried out in honour of Amun, sometimes
in front of a stela that was presumably dedicated to Amun in the Granary15. Furthermore, a
connection with the goddess is supported by her depiction at the entrance of the building (16a:
beside the goddess we can read epithets of Amun near cords associated with land surveying). She
could also be associated with a local form of Horus at the borders of Egypt. Doorjambs from
economic areas of the temple bear alternately an offering formula to the cobra goddess and to a
local form of Horus: to Horus of Mesen in Tell Hebua (25) – and also to Amun too there – to
Horus of Miam in Aniba (26) and to Horus-the-Bull, Lord of Nubia in Sai (27). We find another
example in Athribis, where the goddess is associated with the cult of Horus-Khenty-Khety16. At
these sites, doors leading to storehouses are inscribed with offering formulae alternately dedicated
to a local form of Horus and to Ren(en)ut(et).
3. The figure of the goddess sealing containers

In addition, the figure of a cobra with its head raised frequently appears on sealings and jar-
stamps, and is even attested on wine dockets. Some of these images were found in economic
compounds, such as those found in the temple of Sety I at Gurna, the fortress of Buhen and the
temple at Amara West17. Others, however, were discovered in more domestic contexts, e.g., in
residential housing at Malqata, Amarna, and Deir el-Medina18, where they could be combined
with a number of hieroglyphic signs (fig. 5). A study of these inscriptions shows the close relation
between the snake goddess and the institution of the Granary, as well as with the cellars where wine
jars were stored. Here we can read the abbreviated name of the goddess (the cobra), together with
her commonly-used epithet, “the beautiful cobra, Lady of the kau” (nfr(t) nb(t) kȝ(w)), written as
three hieroglyphic signs placed in a random fashion beside the image of the cobra.
4. Ren(en)ut(et), fertility and the role of this goddess in society

Some nursing representations19 of Renenutet, especially suckling the king, are to be found
in a number of tomb scenes (16a = fig. 4). As her epithets demonstrate, this goddess serves as a
provider of food and a dispenser of life – a role linked with regeneration, fertility and abundance.
Furthermore, she was known to have protected cereals-crops from pests, especially rodents. These
cereals produced grains which, even in small volumes, contained more nutritional value than any
other crop. It is doubtless for this reason that the fertility of the earth and the fertility of women
are concepts that are closely bound, perhaps even confused – the role of the earth as food provider,
illustrated by the growth of cereals, and the role of “mother”, illustrated by growth that began
with milk. Moreover, milk conveys the idea of protection20.
The goddess perpetuates the cycles of production and harvest by nourishing Nepri, the
15 In one example, in the Granary represented in the tomb of Khnummose, some steps lead to a terrace where the cult
to Amun was executed in front of a stela. Cf. Strudwick and Strudwick 1996, 37-39 fig. 3.7.
16 Mysliwiec 1997, 259-66. These stamped bricks may have been used to build a granary during the XXXth dynasty. A
lintel bearing the name of the first prophet of Horus-Khenty-Khety from the time of Pharaoh Merenptah – found
in Athribis, although the precise provenance remains unclear – shows Ren(en)ut(et) as the cobra with its head
raised (Cairo, Egyptian Museum, JE 40035). Cf. Sourouzian 1989, 74, 224 and pl. 40 A.
17 Gurna: Petrie 1909, 13 and pl. XLVI (5), 16; Buhen: Smith 1976, 163 and pl. XLV (3) and pl. XLVI (30-37);
Amara West: Spencer 1997, 65 n° 162, 89 and pl. 56c, pl. 57g and also 73 n° 151 and pl. 57f.
18 Malqata: Hayes 1951, 159 and fig. 28 (SS), 160 and fig. 29 (YY), 162; Leahy 1978, pl. 22 (LXXXVI-LXXXVIII,
XC). Amarna: Petrie 1894, pl. XXI (38-40); Peet and Woolley 1923, 161 and pl. LV (GG, HH, II, RR); Frankfort
and Pendlebury 1933, 24 and pl. XXXII (6ab), 50 and p. XXXII (5); Pendlebury 1951, pl. LXXXIII (142-43); Deir
el-Medina: Bruyère 1933, 18 (third example from the right).
19 On other nursing goddesses, see: Jean and Loyrette 2010, especially 210 and 217.
20 Leclant 1951, 127.
44
personification of the grain – the grain of seed, either germinating or mature, was sometimes
replaced by an image of the king as a child in some Theban tombs (16a = fig. 4).
Initial stage Means of development Final stage
personified & vitalized Nepri > the king nursing by Ren(en)ut(et) vital energy = ka
shape
vegetal shape grain/seed growth harvest > food-
kaou
Each moulting of the snake corresponds to a completed temporal cycle21, that should be
seen within the context of the different stages of cultural development, which participate in the
blossoming of one’s vital energy, known to the ancient Egyptians by the term ka22.
The ka plays a critical role in the expression of individual and royal energy. This is transmitted
by the goddess Renenutet who is present at the origin of the production and the abundance of
(food-)kau, as is attested by the epithet, “Lady of (food-)ka(u)”, a term by which she is most
commonly known, especially on jar-stamps (where it occurs in a shortened form). The goddess is
thus the guarantor of harvests and of prosperity, within the context of the work environment, such
as in the residence of the craftsmen and their superiors. Thus she makes it possible to preserve, and
especially to perpetuate the social links23 and, indeed, the survival of the group (e.g., family, work etc.).
From an anthropological point of view, we can relate the role of this goddess more closely to
the concept of African “Maternity” – those annual agrarian rites relating to fecundity and the
prosperity of the land24. This female suckling statue, which is a generic image, reveals that a woman
nourishing a child represents the incarnation of the maternal dispenser of life par excellence, as can
be shown to be the case for Ren(en)ut(et), that is, as the source of two kinds of fertility – by breast
feeding and by growth of the land. She was displayed on certain occasions at the time of a liturgy
relating to the protection of the kingdom, and to the fecundity and fertility of the earth. Therefore,
the relationship between breast feeding and agrarian rites, during which Ren(en)ut(et) intervenes,
must be appreciated beyond the scope of a maternal aspect. Milk is regarded as the source of all life
and all production. It also serves as a strong bond for the family unit, whilst in ancient Egypt it brought
together various members of the temple staff. This is why there is a loose relationship in our sources
between the role of the snake goddess within temple magazines and her role in more domestic contexts.
21 A sign of regeneration and unpredictability ; cf. Hornung 1992, 98.

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22 Yoyotte 2005, 330.

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23 That would make it possible to explain, at least partially, the presence of clay cobras in domestic contexts. On
these cobras: Szpakowska 2003, 113-122. Perhaps in some cases, officials’ names, theophoric or formed by divine
epithets, may have been given to/chosen by these members of the temple staff, e.g., the overseer of the Granary of
Amun or a royal butler, in order to focus on their personal piety.
24 For an example, Notué 2000. Moreover, maternity is a unifying element, binding reproduction to the perpetuation
of the life. Actually, in many civilizations there is an obvious connection between the snake, agrarian rites and
female fecundity. This seems to be the regenerative foundation of a life-bearer unceasingly renewed.
45
Figure 1. The most frequently-used image of the goddess: a cobra with its head
raised. Example from the Theban tomb 79. Guksch 1995, pl. 30.
Photo reprinted with kind permission of the author, Heike Heye.
Figure 2. Two anguiform statues with female faces on either side of a stela (detail of the relief Florence inv. 5412). Photo J. Masquelier-Loorius.
46
Figure 3. Two anguiform statues with female faces (Theban tomb 284). Photo J. Masquelier-Loorius.
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Figure 4. Anthropomorphic nursing image with a snake’s face (Theban tomb 48). Photo J. Masquelier-Loorius.
47
Figure 5. a) Limestone sealing. Drawing J. Masquelier-Loorius, after Petrie Figure 5. b) Seal (private collection).
1909, pl. XLVI, 16.
48
Table 1 Two-dimensional images (statues) of the Goddess Ren(en)ut(et) on

architectural drawings in Theban Tombs of Officials
X: unexisting.
?: not well preserved, lost or still unpublished
NB: Underlined Titles of Tomb Owners show the close relation between the function of these
officials and the figuration of the Goddess in their tombs. It does not seem that officials did not
have a title relating to the Granary or the Treasury, but this one is unknown (information not well
preserved, lost or still unpublished).
Divine
Ex. Dating of the Tomb Number Owner’s Name Title of the Owner Type of Statue Goddess Name
Epithet(s)
cobra with head

1 XVIIIth dynasty TT 261 Khaemwaset wab-priest
raised
x
2 Hatshepsut/ Thutmose III TT 155 Antef royal messenger x Ren(en)ut(et)
3 Thutmose III TT 86 Menkheperreseneb overseer of the Granary ? ?
cobra with head

4 Thutmose III/Amenhotep II TT A. 5 Neferhotep overseer of the Granary
raised
x
5 cobra with head

Thutmose III/Amenhotep II TT 143 [lost] [lost] ?
raised ?
cobra with head

6 Thutmose III/Amenhotep II TT 172 Mentuyuy royal butler
raised
x
scribe counter of the

cobra with head
7 Thutmose III/Thutmose IV TT 56 Userhat bread/overseer of the
raised
Ren(en)ut(et)
cattle
cobra with head

8 Amenhotep II TT 79 Menkheperreseneb overseer of the Granary
raised
x
cobra with head

9 Amenhotep II TT 92 Suemniut royal butler
raised
x
overseer of Granary cobra with head nbt ḥtpt ʿȝt

10 Amenhotep II TT 93 Qenamun
doorkeepers raised
Ren(en)ut(et)
ḏfȝw
scribe and grain

accountant in the cobra with head špst nbt
11 Thutmose IV TT 38 Djeserkareseneb
Granary of divine raised
Ren(en)ut(et)
šnwt(y)
offerings of Amun
scribe and grain

accountant in the (naos painted in
12 Thutmose IV/Amenhotep III [unknown] Nebamun
Granary of divine black)
Ren(en)ut(et) nbt šnwt
offerings of Amun
cobra with head […?] nbt

13 Amenhotep III TT 54 Huy sculptor of Amun
raised
Ren(en)ut(et)
ȝḫt
14 [cobra with head

Amenhotep III TT 90 Nebamun chief of the Medja Ren(en)ut(et)
raised ?]
15 overseer of the Granary woman with the

Amenhotep III TT 57 Khaemhat Ren(en)ut(et) nbt šnwt
of the king head of a cobra
1) woman with the

head of a cobra
16 Amenhotep III TT 48 Amenemhet-Surer overseer of the cattle nbt šnwt(y)
2) cobra with head Ren(en)ut(et)

raised
cobra with head

17 Amenhotep IV TT 188 Parennefer royal butler
raised
x
cobra with head

18 Ay TT 49 Neferhotep scribe
raised
x
19 cobra with head

Ramesses II TT 217 Ipuy sculptor x
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raised
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overseer of the scribes in woman with the

20 ramesside TT A.18 Amenemopet
the House of Amun head of a cobra
?
21 scribe of offerings of all pair of cobras with

Ramesses III(or later) TT 284 Pahemnetjer x
the gods head raised
pair of cobras with

22 ramesside [unknown] [unknown] [lost]
female face
x
49
TABLE 2 Two- and three-dimensional images of Ren(en)ut(et) (statues depicted

on doorframes, stone statues) and mentions of the divinity (doorframes
and stelae) in production and storage subsidiary buildings
a) Egypt
Statue (S)/
Dating Location Official/function Iconography Goddess name Divine epithet(s)
(I)/Text (T)
23 Thutmose I (or later) Karnak-North x - S : woman with the head of a cobra Ren(en)ut(et) nbt kȝ(w) nbw

x - S : woman with the head of a cobra x x
24 ramesside Qantir x - S : cobra with head raised and x x

female face
x - S : cobra with head raised and x x

female face
25 Sety I/Ramesses II Tell Hebua x - T (doorjamb) x nbt pt
b) Nubia
26 Thutmose III Aniba Nehy, viceroy of - I : cobra with raised head (lintel) Renut(et) nbt kȝ(w)
Kush - I : uraei flanking the cartouche
(lintel)
27 Thutmose III Sai Nehy, viceroy of - T (doorjamb) Renut(et) nbt kȝ(w)

Kush
- T (doorjamb) Renut(et) [lost]
28 Ramesses II Wadi es-Sebua x - I : cobra with raised head (stela) Renut(et) nb(t) kȝ(w) ʿšȝwt
ḏfȝw
Setau, viceroy of - I : uraei flanking the cartouche x x

Kush (lintel)
50
Table 1 and Table 2: Bibliographical References
1 Porter and Moss 1994, 344; MacKay 1916, 125 and pl. XIV (the tomb number must be
read 260 and not 261).
2 Porter and Moss 1994, 263, (5) II; Säve-Söderbergh 1957, 17 and pl. XIV-XV.
3 Porter and Moss 1994, 175; Davies and Davies 1933, 13 and pl. XVII-XVIII. Eichler 2000, 279.
4 Porter and Moss 1994, 448; Keimer 1940, 49 et pl. II, 2.
5 Porter and Moss 1994, 255, (4), V.
6 Porter and Moss 1994, 280 (8) I ; Wreszinski 1923, 355. Eichler 2000, 37 n. 156.
7 Porter and Moss 1994, 113, (15), II; Beinlich-Seeber and Shedid 1987, 87-89, 89 fig. 40
and pl. 13. Eichler 2000, 206 n° 180.
8 Porter and Moss 1994, 157 (5); Wreszinski 1923, 256 ; Guksch 1995, 149 and pl. 30-31.
Eichler 2000, 279 n° 261.
9 Porter and Moss 1994, 189 (10) III; Baud 1935, pl. XXII. Eichler 2000, 314 n° 489.
10 Porter and Moss 1994, 193, D (b) I ; Davies 1930, 53 et pl. LXIV. Eichler 2000, 319 n° 514.
11 Porter and Moss 1994, 69, (3) II. Schott 1934, 88 et fig. 44 ; Davies 1963, 4 and pl. II.
Eichler 2000, 36 n° 156, 38 and 330 n° 583.
12 Fragment preserved in Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum, inv. 18532. Parkinson 2008, 39 (title),
118 n° 123 (naos of the goddess); Labbé-Toutée 2013, 164 n° 36 a.
13 Porter and Moss 1994, 105, (5) IV ; cf. Polz 1997, 75-77 scenes 8.3 and 8.4, and pl. 24 (cf.
color pl. 13). The epithet “Lady of Horizon” (nb.t ȝḫ.t) is attested in Dendara, cf. Broekhuis
1971, 70. Eichler 2000, 304 n° 415.
14 Porter and Moss 1994, 184, (8) ; Davies 1923b, 30-31 and pl. XXX (the text relating to
the offering, “to your ka, Renenutet”, is close to a non-preserved area on the wall, where we
could find a depiction of the goddess, according to the arrangement of the decoration in
other Theban tombs). Eichler 2000, 46 n. 178 and 73.
15 Porter and Moss 1994, 114-115, (8). Wreszinski 1923, 198; Leibovitch 1953, 82 fig. 1;
Eichler 2000, 27 n. 110.
16 Porter and Moss 1994, 88, (3) 2; Davies 1929, 48 fig. 10; Schott 1934, 88-89 and fig. 45 ;
Säve-Söderbergh 1957, 41-42 and pl. XLI-XLII. Eichler 2000, 243 n° 039.
17 Porter and Moss 1994, 294 (5); Davies 1923a, 144 and pl. XXVI; Redford 2008, pl. 17.
18 Porter and Moss 1994, 93 (15)-(16) II; Davies 1933, II, pl. XLVIII. Eichler 2000, 101 n. 471.
19 Porter and Moss 1994, 316, (5); Davies 1927, 58-59 and pl. XXX.
20 Porter and Moss 1994, 452; Broekhuis 1971, 46.
21 Porter and Moss 1994, 366, (7) I; Davies and Davies 1939, 154-156 and pl. XIX.
22 Florence, archaeological museum, inv. 5412. Cf. Porter and Moss 1979, 757; Roccati and
Capriotti Vittozzi 2002, 137-138.
23 a) Jacquet-Gordon 1999, 32-35 n° 3; b) Jacquet-Gordon 1999, 35 n° 4.
24 Leclant and Clerc 1995, 242 and pl. VIII. Excavation field Q IV/i-j 26, inv. 92/0377A. Cf.
Pusch 1996, 138-39 and fig. 139.

25 In Tell Hebua, divine epithets written on temple magazines doorjambs concern both Horus
and Renenutet, and also Nepri. Cf. Abd el-Maksoud and Valbelle 2011, 12.
26 a) Steindorff 1937, 31 fig. 3, 34 n° 1 and pl. 18-1 (door lintel of room B), Steindorff 1937,
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34 n° 4 and pl. 18-4. b) Steindorff 1937, 32 (legend on plate 16 c is incorrect) and 34 (2).
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27 a) Vercoutter 1958, 164 and pl. XLVI, D. b) Vercoutter 1973, 13 and pl. II.
28 a) Stela XII from Wadi es-Sebua (Cairo, Egyptian Museum, JE 41394), cf. Kitchen 1980,
96 (n° 30). Gauthier 1912, 37; b) Gauthier 1912, 38 and fig. 4.
51
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Remarks on the four Renenutets in the temples of Edfu and Dendara

Frédéric Mougenot
Curator, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille
During the Greco-Roman period, a transformation of the old goddess Renenutet is observed in
Egyptian temples, consisting of her multiplication into four distinct, though very similar deities.
The ancestral function of Renenutet, as a variant of the uræus cobra, is as a keeper of divine linen
and other precious artifacts, a provider of food and abundance, and a fierce guardian of households.
As such, her presence in the temples of other deities is not surprising as the very well-informed and
refined theologians of the Greco-Roman period trusted her with the temple’s wealth and prosperity.
However, multiplication of Renenutet into four dieties is significant, and is the focus of this paper.
As a note, this paper uses the name Renenutet, though in many cases the Ptolemaic spelling
could or even should be understood as Renenet, the personification of good fortune1.
Since the end of the Late Period, these two once distinct goddesses have progressively merged their
functions and the spellings of their names. As a result, it is sometimes impossible to distinguish them
in the inscriptions of the Greco-Roman period (Quaegebeur 1975: 152-153; Collombert 2007:
22). But in most cases the goddesses discused herein are more closely related to the ancient “Lady
of food” than with the abstract idea of fortune, though of course the two are intricately linked.
Figure 1. Dendara, West crypt No. 2: the four Renenutets on the west (left) and east (right) walls of the passage.
A late multiplication
Prior to the Greco-Roman period, Renenutet already served as a multiple deity, making
her mutiplication possible. Several landmarks and buildings host their own Renenutet, slightly
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different from the next one since she is specifically appointed to the welfare of one delimited
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area (Yoyotte 1961: 203-204). Yet very few texts explicitly acknowledge the existence of multiple
Renenutets. Examples of such texts include a Ramesside magical papyrus invoking “all the Renenutets
of the city-dwellers [Rnnwtt nbt nt njwtyw]” (papyrus Leiden 347, X,3: Quaegebeur 1975: 164;
LÄGG IV: 690), and the Mammisi of Edfu, in which Ptolemy VIII says: “the Renenutets (are)
1 In the same way, we transliterated Rnn(wt)t.
55
JIIA.eu Remarks on the four Renenutets in the temples of Edfu and Dendara
behind me, carrying their food [Rnnwtwt m-ḫt⸗j ẖr kȝw⸗sn]” and “the Curled Ones (are) at my
back, carrying their provisions [mḥnwt ḥr-sȝ⸗j ẖr ḏfȝw⸗sn]” (E Mammisi: 7,8 and 11,1-2, pl. XIV).
In these two texts, three strokes behind the name of the goddesses imply plurality. And in the
Mammisi, the number needs no precision since four cobras are depicted behind the king, as two
pairs in two symmetrical scenes.
A clearly defined group of four Renenutets is not firmly attested before the Ptolemaic period.
The first occurrence of the four Renenutets may be in the London Medical Papyrus, written under
the reign of Amenhotep III (14th century B.C.), in which four characters called (tȝ
4 Rnwt) are said to come carrying clothes or garments (Leitz 1999: 53, pl. 26, l. 5). It is possible
that this text could refer to the four Renenutets since the goddess has been a provider of linen
since the Old Kingdom (Mougenot 2014: 145-152). But the only unquestionable mention of the
four Renenutets as a group appears under the reign of Ptolemy XIII (51-47 BC), in the southern
crypts of Dendara, where “the four Renenutets [Rnnwtwt 4]” bring divine fabrics
(Daumas 1951: 388, 391 n. 4). The similarity of the situations may argue in favor of the similarity
of the characters. Still the spelling of the name in the London papyrus would be quite unique
for Renenutet under the 18th dynasty (Collombert 2007: 26). This argument and the very broad
chronological gap between the two mentions make this identification very uncertain.
A tale of two temples
The four Renenutets are mostly, if not exclusively observed in the Ptolemaic and Roman reliefs
and inscriptions of Edfu and Dendara2. Although Renenutet is often mentioned in many sites
of the Greco-Roman period (LÄGG IV: 686-692), these temples seem to share all the recorded
occurrences of the group of four. This commonality is not surprising, since these two sanctuaries
and their theologies share a strong link based on the intimate relationship between their primary
deities, Horus of Edfu and Hathor of Dendara (Cauville 1990: 12-13). This close bond has
repercussions on the cults and the decoration of the two temples.
Figure 2. Dendara, lintel of the gate of the Treasury: the four Renenutets as cobras behind a cobra-bodied Hathor
In many cases the four Renenutets appear in similar places inside the two temples, mostly
where their action as food providers and wardens of treasures is most needed: the Treasury [1, 2],
the Chamber of garments [7, 8], and the New Year Festival court before the wabet [3, 4]. These
three spaces are liturgically connected and this explains the recurrence of the four Renenutets in
their decoration (Baum 2007: 181, 186-187), as in the western underground crypts of Dendara
[5] where liturgical implements were probably stored in connection with the New Year court
(Cauville 1990: 55). The four Renenutet also appear in the Mammisis or birth-houses of the two
temples [12, 13]. While the exact depictions of the goddesses and the scenes in which they appear
are not exactly the same between the two temples (figs. 2 and 3), they are part of the meaningful
iconographic program of those annexes.
For instance, the silmilarities are remarkable in the New Year Festival court of the two temples.
In Dendara, two Renenutets are depicted on either doorjamb of the gate, each standing in front of
2 Given the limited amount of cases, we have added a list of occurrences with dates, iconographies, names and
bibliographical references (see below). In the following, bold numbers into brackets refer to this list.
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JIIA.eu Frédéric Mougenot - Curator, Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille
Figure 3. Edfu, walls of the Treasury: the four Renenutets behind the gods of the temple.
the masters of the sanctuary (Hathor, Isis, the sun…), offering them food and precious stones and
minerals [4]. In Edfu, the four Renenutets hold a slightly different and less prominent position
in a row behind the king, who is making offerings to Horus and Hathor, on the lintel of the door
between the New Year court and its southern annex (fig. 4) [3]. More precisely, they are depicted
on the inside of this annex, where libations, incense and ointments were prepared (Baum 2007:
183), which is in the path of the officiant entering the court – as on the gate in Dendara. It
should be noticed here that in both temples, the goddesses are not receiving any offerings but
are bringing them to the primary deities, along with or instead of the pharaoh. Their presence
make a lot of sense on the entering gateway to the New Year court. Indeed many offerings and
precious instruments were brought there to celebrate the New Year with the masters of the temple
(Cauville 1990: 60-61; Baum 2007: 181-183). In such circumstances and on this point of entry,
the endorsement of the four Renenutets, keepers and providers of goods, is of great importance.
This concept is certainly not new under the Ptolemaic rulers. It was previously manifested in a
relief of Karnak from the reign of Tutankhamun, showing the “Lady of provisions” and Hapy on
the outer wall of the Cachette court, where offerings coming from the storerooms and workshops
near the Sacred Lake entered the holy precinct of the proper sanctuary (Barguet 1962: 273-274;
Le Saout 1982: 244-245; Hovestreydt 1997: 192, 203).
If the presence of Renenutet in such rooms and scenes is simply justified by her role within
the economy of the temple, her multiplication in the same contexts in the two sites may hint at
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Figure 4. Edfu, lintel of the annex to the New Year court: the four Renenutets behind the king.
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a common pattern or source for the decorators’ work, whether drawing models or theological
considerations. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that when the four Renenutets appear in the same
rooms in Dendara and Edfu, the composition of the group is not always identical [1-2, 3-4, 7-8,
12-13]. Thus, even if the model were the same for the two temples, these variations demonstrate
specific needs and maybe evolution due to time from one site to the other.
Group pictures3
The four Renenutets appear in ritual scenes and divine processions as four lined up figures
(figs. 2, 4, 6) or, for symmetry sake, two pairs of characters distributed on parallel walls or
doorjambs (figs. 1, 3, 5).
Figure 5. Dendara, West crypt No. 1: the four Renenutets grouped by pairs on each wall of the passage.
They can be depicted as four reared cobras (figs. 2 and 5), the ancestral guise of Renenutet
(Broekhuis 1971: 11-32; Lacau 1970: 45), possibly with a human head, an iconography developed
since the New Kingdom. Then they don’t usually wear any headdress, whereas such practice was
common during the New Kingdom. In other cases, the four Renenutets take the shape of cobra-
headed women (figs. 1 and 6), a traditional appearance of the goddess since the 12th dynasty.
On fewer occasions, they are depicted as fully anthropomorphic figures, a rare iconography first
attested in the Middle Kingdom (Broekhuis 1971: 191; Reisner 1967: pl. LXXXIX). When
human-bodied, they can wear the usual headdress of Renenutet, consisting of a combination of
sun-disk, cow-horns and tall feathers (figs. 1 and 6). In the Treasury and on the gate to the New
Year Festival court at Edfu, the goddesses are depicted as four women with a reared cobra at the
top of their heads (figs. 3 and 4). This snake is here as an attribute, a reminder of the ophidian,
dangerous nature of Renenutet, and not as the usual uræus snake shared by all the gods. This
depiction may already have an early predecessor in the Middle Kingdom, on a relief from the
temple of Senusret I at Lisht, where a long cobra is outstretched on the head and rises above
the forehead of a totally anthropomorphic Renenutet (Metropolitan Museum, Inv. 09.180.40:
Broekhuis 1971: 191). Thus nothing is new in the presentation of these four Renenutets, except
for their multiplication.
3 See the iconographies in the list of occurrences in annex.
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In the group of four, each Renenutet is depicted the same way as the others, making a row of
four or two duos of cobras or women. Only details may vary, for unknown reasons. For example, in
the passageway between two rooms of the western crypts in Dendara [6], the necklaces of the two
Renenutets on the eastern wall and the braided hair of Renenutet-Serket are more detailed than those of
their counterparts on the opposite wall (D VI, pl. DLX and DLXI). Yet the general similarity of shape
and attributes show that the four Renenutets are only four versions of the same deity, whose individual
personalities and specific purposes are expressed through their names, epithets and speeches.
Four goddesses, one name, many epithets
Beside their uniform appearance, the four goddesses share the same first name Renenutet. But
while there is only a limited number of known variations, the four Renenutets are not always the
same: the identities of one or two of the group members often differ from one occurrence to the
next, to fit the ritual specificities of the rooms and the religious message of the scenes in which
they are depicted.
— The Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of goods, Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt

(12 occurrences4)
We know very little about that Mansion of the goods (ḥwt-ḫt) where one of the Renenutets holds
a prominent position. The polysemy of the word ḫt does not clarify specific items, food or other
materials and all that is used in rituals (Baum 2007: 184), and so the generic translation “goods” is
assumed. Through her other epithets and spoken words, this Renenutet is presented as a provider of
precious metals and riches [4, 6], seeds and cereals [6], and “all that exists [wnnt nbt]” [5, 6] – which
can be induced by ḫt without being specific to her.
What is more specific is that the expression ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt may derive from a very old epithet of
Renenutet: ḫntt ḥȝt-ḫt, which can be understood as “foremost in the finest goods”. The goddess
wears this epithet under the 4th dynasty, in the title of one of her priests who is also a director of the
Treasury in charge of the management of garments, food and fine products, and on a stela of the
Middle Kingdom (Mougenot 2014: 154-155). Much later it is also applied to Nenut, a Heliopolitan
version of Renenutet, on a monument of Nectanebo II (Yoyotte 1995: 664) before it is applied again
to one of the four Renenutets in Edfu, under the reign of Ptolemy IV [14]. There, in a list of gods in
the frieze around the sanctuary, the Renenutet foremost in the finest goods (ḫntt ḥȝt-ḫt) is followed
by the Renenutet foremost in the finest provisions (ḫntt ḥȝt-ḏfȝw). In the same way, in many other
scenes, the Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of goods (ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt) is followed by the Renenutet
foremost in the Mansion of provisions (ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw) [2, 4, 5, 6, 12]. This suggests a late fusion or
shift between ḥȝt-ḫt and ḥwt-ḫt, eased by the phonetic proximity of the two expressions.
— The Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of provisions, Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw

(11 occurrences)5
The Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of provisions doesn’t seem to show any fundamental
difference with her consort the Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of goods. Like her, she provides
food [4, 9], cereals [6, 7], precious minerals [4, 6] and goods called špsw [1], ḫt [5, 7] or ḏfȝw [4,
9]. Given her specific domain of expertise, the ḥwt-ḏfȝw, her speech and epithets make a more
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significant use of the stem ḏfȝ. For instance, in the western crypts of Dendara, she is the one “who
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endows [sḏfȝt] her place with all things” [5], “the lady of food who increases the provisions [ḏfȝw]”
and “the good provider [ḏfȝt] of the director of the storeroom” [6].
4 One should keep in mind that many figures and inscriptions are too damaged to identify the goddess and that some
figures can have more than one epithet, which may alter these modest statistics.
5 Actually probably 12 occurrences – see [15]
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Like the ḥwt-ḫt, the ḥwt-ḏfȝw seems to be an invention of the Ptolemaic period. On a relief
from the funerary temple of Senusret I mentioned above, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(Inv. 09.180.40), an old restoration had rebuild the expression ḫntt [ḥwt-ḏfȝw] behind Renenutet
(Broekhuis 1971: 191). Still the remainders of the signs from which the words ḥwt-ḏfȝw were
reconstructed are very scarce and the archives of the Museum provide no reason why the restorers
made this choice6. Today the restoration has been removed. It is likely that the original expression
was ḫntt ḥȝt-ḫt, the only epithet of Renenutet starting with ḫntt known by the reign of Senusret I
(see above), or maybe ḫntt ḥȝt-ḏfȝw. The title of “sealer of the finest provisions of the king of
Lower Egypt [ḫtmw ḥȝt-ḏfȝw bjty]” is attested for a director of the Treasury under the 4th dynasty
(Hassan 1944: 142). Perhaps the expression ḥȝt-ḏfȝw led to the invention of a ḥwt-ḏfȝw presided
by one Renenutet in the later periods, as we have suggested above for ḥȝt-ḫt / ḥwt-ḫt. Additionally,
another director of the Treasury under the 4th dynasty, a priest of the Renenutet “foremost in
the finest goods [ḫntt ḥȝt-ḫt]”, is also director of “the places of provisions [swt-ḏfȝw]” (Petrie,
Murray 1952: pl. XIV; Strudwick 1985: 166, 283).
The expressions ḥwt-ḫt and ḥwt-ḏfȝw may refer to several parts of the temple in Edfu (and
probably in Debndara): the Treasury and its vestibule, the Hall of offerings between the hypostyle
hall and the vestibule of the sanctuary, the whole sanctuary or the New Year festival court
(Baum 2007: 184-185). In any case, they are places where offerings are prepared or sanctified.
The Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of provisions and the one presiding over the Mansion
of goods apparently form a duo. They appear together in most of the occurrences of the group [1,
2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (?), 9 (?), 11, 12, 13, 14], always as a pair, whether on opposite walls but in the same
(second) position, or one behind another. Then the mistress of the Mansion of goods always comes
first. And when the four Renenutets are lined up, those two are the last ones, always in the same
order. On the gate of Isis in Dendara, the duo appeared on the gateway, even if the words ḥwt-ḏfȝw
are missing now, with one goddess on each side [15]. Exceptionally, they are not accompanied by
their two counterparts, and it seems then that they could have an independent role outside of the
group – unless the two other Renenutets were depicted on a parallel, still unidentified monument.
— The Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of garments, Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-mnḫt

(2 occurrences)
Contrary to the Mansion of goods (ḥwt-ḫt) and the Mansion of provisions (ḥwt-ḏfȝw), the
Mansion of garments (ḥwt-mnḫt) has clearly been located within the temples and identified as the
Chamber of garments, where the fabrics and clothes used in ceremonies were stored and blessed
by the gods (Cauville 1990: 44; Baum 2007: 145-191).
It is only inside this room that the group of four Renenutets includes the one called “foremost
in the Mansion of garments [ḫntt ḥwt-mnḫt]” [7, 8]. At the same time, it seems one Renenutet is
considered to be dwelling there permanently independently from the rest of the group. Indeed,
in Edfu, a “Renenutet in / of the Mansion of garments [Rnnwtt m / n ḥwt-mnḫt]” is listed alone
among the “gods of the Mansion of garments [nṯrw nw ḥwt-mnḫt]” (E II: 25; see also D IX:
139E II, p. 25; see also D IX, p. 139). It is not surprising then that she should be one of the four
Renenutets inside the very Mansion where she usually dwells, even if she has to replace or be
assimilated to another, more frequent Renenutet. In Edfu, she takes the place of the flourishing
Renenutet, who is otherwise the only member of the group to be always present (see below). And
in Dendara, it is Renenutet-Serket who presides over the Mansion of garments.
6 We owe this information to Mrs. Adela Oppenheim, whom we would like to thank warmly for it.
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Figure 6. Edfu: the four Renenutets in the Chamber of garments.

— Renenutet-Serket, Rnnwtt-Srḳt
(6 occurrences)
Renenutet-Serket is a member of the group in only six cases, but her name must be eroded in
several places where it would be expected [9, 10, 12]. She appears as a syncretic deity combining
the “Lady of food” and the scorpion-goddess. As Erik Hornung (1982: 91-92) established, neither
Renenutet nor Serket are dissolved in this new entity: in the frame of limited scenes and to the
benefit of specific ritual needs, the scorpion-goddess enhances Renenutet’s attributions with her
own powers and orients her action to her own area of competence.
The proximity between these two goddesses dates back at least to the Middle Kingdom, if not earlier.
Together with Neith and Senedjet, they act as guardians of the deceased’s organs on canopic chests from
El-Bersheh (Cairo, CG 4977 and CG 4980: Reisner 1967: 382, 383-384, pl. LXXXVII and LXXXIX).
Later, an inscription from the reign of Sethy I in Abydos mentions a “Serket in the Temple of Renenutet
[Srḳt m ḥwt-Rnnwtt]” (Mariette 1869: pl. 44, col. 27). More interestingly, a hymn from the Fayum,
dating to the Middle Kingdom or the Second Intermediate Period, calls the uræus-goddess successively
Renenutet, Wadjyt, “the One who holds her head up with a broad throat [fȝt tp wsḫt ḥtyt]”, Serket and
“Seshenet rolled around the papyrus [Sšnt snḥ.tw wȝḏ]” (Barucq, Daumas 1980: 61-63). Thus Serket
can be identified with the cobra-goddesses, which increases her innate power over snakes and dangerous
animals (Spieser 2006: 93-95), a power transferred to the “charmers of Serket”, who are in charge of
repelling poisonous creatures (von Känel 1984; Goyon 2012).
The only inscription giving some specifics about Renenutet-Serket’s action, (beside providing
precious products and food [6]) reveals the exact same role. She is “the one who repels the reptiles
and stops their movements toward the domain of the Noble Lady” of Dendara [5]. This is a usual
function of Renenutet, “who locks up the reptiles within the limits of her domain [ʿnbt ḏdft m šn
pr⸗s]” (E VII: 269, 12-13) and who’s installed in the foundations of the temple to defend it from
malevolent snakes (E III: 106, 8-10; Goyon 1985: 124-127). This role seems to be the same for
other snake-genii until modern times (Sayce 1893: 529). Thus, adding the powers of Renenutet
and Serket to create a combined deity is probably a way to double the defense of the sacred
building against evil forces embodied by all dangerous and especially poisonous animals.
— The flourishing Renenutet, Rnnwtt wȝḏt

(13 occurrences)
At first, it seems that Rnnwtt wȝḏt is a syncretic form of Renenutet and Wadjyt, the cobra-
goddess mistress of Lower Egypt. But in all the inscriptions the word wȝḏt has no determinative,
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whereas the name of Renenutet always ends, as expected, with a reared cobra. In the expression
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“Renenutet wȝḏt foremost in the Domain of Wadjyt [Rnnwtt wȝḏt ḫntt Pr-
Wȝḏyt]” [4], the names of the two goddesses have a determinative pointing to female deities,
and maybe more precisely uræus-deities, whereas wȝḏt does not. It is also the case when Rnnwtt
wȝḏt appears outside of the group of four Renenutets and even outside of Edfu and Dendara
(Sauneron 1968: 136, no. 251,25 and 240, no. 317,6).
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So it seems wȝḏt is more an epithet or a specification of the qualities of Renenutet herself than
the name of the goddess Wadjyt. Then Renenutet wȝḏt would be literally “the green Renenutet”, or
“the fortunate Renenutet”, which echoes her alter ego Renenet / Agathè Tychè / Bonna Fortuna, or
“the flourishing Renenutet”, which relates more convincingly to the green blooming papyrus stem
carried by the various meanings of this name. Still, the similarities between Renenutet and her
fellow uræus-goddess Wadjyt are so strongly rooted in the Egyptian traditions, and the assonance
between wȝḏt and the divine name is so meaningful that the confusion was probably intentional
– if there ever was any difference for the ancient Egyptians. The fact that both goddesses manifest
themselves through cobras living in fertile, irrigated lands and are two variants of the fierce snake
standing on the crowns of gods and kings (Mougenot 2014: 147) facilitates their proximity. This
was already expressed in the Fayum hymn to the uræus-goddess quoted above and, for instance,
in another prayer to the divine cobra from the 19th dynasty written on one of the Chester-Beaty
papyri (British Museum, EA 10684, ro 6, l. 10-11: Gardiner 1935: 30, pl. 14).
The action of the flourishing Renenutet doesn’t differ fundamentally from that of all the
Renenutets of the group: she guarantees food and riches [1, 5, 6, 10]. Only she seems more
generous when it comes to growing plants and vegetation, which is most likely to be linked to her
name. This gave the scribes an occasion to display their ability in the subtleties of their religious
poetry, as these meaningful examples should show (though any translation is bound to betray the
original assonances and alliterations):
Rnn(wt)t wȝḏt wȝḏwt m <st>-nfrt

The flourishing Renenutet, flourishing in the storeroom [10]
Rnn(wt)t wȝḏt swȝḏ(wt) wȝḏw wȝḏ(wt) ww m Jȝt-dj m wȝḏwȝḏw⸗s

The flourishing Renenutet who makes the papyrus flourish and makes the croplands of Iatdi
green with her greens [6].
Rnn(wt)t wȝḏt swȝḏ(wt) wȝḏyt swȝḏ(wt) Jdbw-Ḥr m wȝḏwȝḏw⸗s

The flourishing Renenutet who makes the papyrus-room7 flourish and makes the Banks of
Horus flourish with her greens [3].
In all the cases where Renenutet-Serket remains, she is paired with the flourishing Renenutet,
whether by following her8 or being her equivalent in a parallel scene or list. They seem to form
a duo, like the two Renenutets presiding over the Mansions of goods and of provisions (see
above). But the flourishing Renenutet seems to be the only one having an existence on her own
(LÄGG IV: 689-690), no occurrence of Renenutet-Serket, Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of
goods and Renenutet foremost in the Mansion of provisions having been recorded so far out Edfu
and Dendara (LÄGG IV: 692, LÄGG V: 919, 921).
— The good Renenutet, Rnnwtt nfrt

(9 occurrences)
The epithet nfrt or “good” is often bestowed on Renenutet in the temples of the Greco-Roman
period (LÄGG IV: 691). It has become more and more frequent since the New Kingdom, even more
perhaps since the Ramesside period, and especially when the merging with Renenet (the good fortune)
7 i.e. the hypostyle hall (Wb I, 269,7)

8 Only once [14] does she come first.
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became more significant. But it is less a specific epithet, like ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt or wȝḏt that refer to one
specialized and localized aspect of Renenutet, than a quality of the goddess in general that is here
underlined. It seems any Renenutet can be called nfrt [1, 6, 15], provided she shows the benefic attitude
that characterizes the goddess of prosperity and the concept of good chance. The adjective insists on
her benevolent aspect and summons the pacified version of the irritable cobra-goddess. A stela from
Deir el-Medina, made by the sculptor Ken, clarifies this idea by invoking “the good Renenutet, the
appeased one [Rnnwtt nfrt ḥtpyt]” and calling for her mercy (Clère 1975: 73, 76). In all the cases where
this “good Renenutet” is named, she is considered a provider of food and abundance, and it is the case
in the Ptolemaic and Roman temples, especially when she is one of the four Renenutets. For example,
she is “the one who floods the Place-of-the-Two-Gods with her goods [bʿḥwt St-nṯrwy m ḫt⸗s]” [3] and
“who endows the temples of Upper and Lower Egypt [sḏfȝwt jtrty]” [7]. She herself states to Hathor:
“(I) endow your place with food and provisions as well, and all good things are for you every day [sḏfȝ(⸗j)
st⸗ṯ m ḥw ḥnʿ ḏfȝw ḫt nbt nfrt n⸗ṯ rʿ nb]” [11]. In the same vein, the scribes have made several variations
on the stem nfr. She is “the good [nfrt] Renenutet who embellishes [snfrwt] Mesen (Edfu)” [3], or “who
embellishes [snfrwt] the storeroom [st-nfrt]” [6].
Thus Renenutet can be compared with other “good” characters, like a good fairy favoring the temple,
or a good genius (agathos daimon in Greek), a benevolent snake protecting the precinct and its riches.
This is why we chose to translate nfrt by “good” rather than “beautiful” or “perfect”, to recall the idea
of good fortune that Renenutet / Renenet tends to embrace during the Greco-Roman period, together
with Shay / Agathos Daimon, another snake-genius (Dunand 1969; Quaegebeur 1975: 152-153 and
170-176). And indeed “the good Renenutet”, in many temples since the New Kingdom, acts side by
side with other snake-deities9 as a provider of riches and a warden of prosperity.
All of the four Renenutets share that same function. In the texts, several of them are explicitly
connected with a place called “the beautiful place” (st-nfrt) [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10], a part of the
temple where riches where stored (Wilson 1997: 949; Baum 2007: 184, 545, n.13), possibly the
Treasury (traditionally called pr-ḥḏ). In the Treasury of Dendara, the Renenutet foremost in the
Mansion of provisions is said to be “within the storeroom [m-ḫnt st-nfrt]” [2]. Maybe because of
a meaningful assonance, the good Renenutet is often said to be a resident of that storeroom, an
omen of abundance and wealth. In Dendara, one of the four Renenutets on the gate of the New
Year court is “the good Renenutet foremost in the storeroom [Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt st-nfrt]” [4]. In
Edfu, Hathor promises the king “I give you arable lands until your granaries are full and the good
Renenutet is in your storeroom [rdj⸗j n⸗k ȝḫt r mḥ šnwwt⸗k Rnnwtt nfrt m st-nfrt⸗k]” (E VII: 251,6-
7). And in the Chamber of garments, the good Renenutet announces “I enter your house, I settle
in your storeroom, and I flood your Treasury with tributes [ʿḳ⸗j pr⸗k ḥms⸗j m st-nfrt⸗k bʿḥ⸗j pr-ḥḏ⸗k
m jnw]” [7]. This sentence may evoke the attitude of a cobra who chooses the quiet, food-filled
storeroom as its dwelling, where it is considered as the good genius of the building – a traditional
role of Renenutet.
Four is efficiency
The four Renenutets have inherited the same traditional functions from the original Renenutet,
who keeps existing on her own in the temples decoration and rituals. Their specificity is to gather
several versions of the same preexistent deity. This is not a unique nor even a new phenomenon
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in the Ptolemaic Period. Other gods have undergone the same process (without even taking into
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account the duplication of some divine beings in the frame of the kingship of Upper and Lower
Egypt): the seven Hathors are known since the 19th dynasty (Spieser 2011: 73-85), while the later
9 Especially the “good ‘ḥ‘-snake”, Weded, Saq-ha and Iri-denden (Habachi 1957: 105, pl. XL; E I: 287, 354; E VII:
30, pl. CLXIII-CLXIX), and of course the four Renenutets.
63
periods develop two Seshats (Budde 2000: 214-222), four Shays (Quaegebeur 1975: 151), four
Meskhenets (Spieser 2011: 71-73), four Shepsets (Quaegebeur 1975: 158-159) and several others.
At the same time the quadrifrons deities (Derchain 1972) and the theology of the four bau of gods
like Banebdjedet (Renolds 2010: 124-128) know an unprecedented vigor.
The importance and significance of the number four in the Egyptian civilization is well known
and has surely something to do with these multiplications. Four elements, often put in relation
to the cardinal points, are frequently involved in the protection and the regeneration of gods,
buildings or the deceased. Among many others, one can mention here the ritual of the four clay
balls (Étienne 2000: 36-39), the four chests for linen used in ceremonies (Baum 2007: 148-
149), the four bricks in the walls of the tomb and the four birth bricks (Roth and Roehrig 2002;
Taylor 2010: 119-121), and four goddesses recurrently cited and pictured as protectors of the
king, the deceased or the sleeper (Assmann 1972: 53 and 63 n. 31; El-Sayed 1982: 132-135;
Szpakowska 2003: 212-122). The repetition of those characters multiplies their efficiency by four,
especially by applying their action to every side of a thing and orienting it to the four cardinal
directions, which symbolize the whole universe. Thus there is no lack of coverage in the protection
of a building or of a person and no failure in the ensuring of their prosperity. Thus the quantity of
goods brought by Renenutet (from the four corners of the world?) is multiplied by four.
Figure 7. Dendara: the four Meskhenets.
The four Renenutets are also closely connected with the four Meskhenets, goddesses of birth
and rebirth, personifications of the four bricks used by women in labor (Spieser 2011: 71-73).
In the Mammisis of Edfu and Dendara, the two groups echo each other on the gates of side
chapels [12, 13]. Together with the four Rerets, the four Renenutets and the four Meskhenets are
also paired two by two in the frieze on each side of the sanctuary of Edu, among all the gods of the
temple [14]. And the two Renenutets depicted on the gate of Isis in Dendara [15] come with two
Meskhenets, and together they are probably linked with the “place of nativity” (Cauville 1999: 50-
51 and 303-304, pl. 58-58). This proximity between the divinities of childbirth and the goddess of
prosperity can be explained by the late assimilation of Renenutet with Renenet, the personification
of the individual’s fortune that starts at birth (Quaegebeur 1975: 152-160).
64
It is very significant in the frame of the Mammisi, where the birth of the child-god is reenacted
and celebrated. As Renenutets the four goddesses bring food and strength to the child and his
mother (Arnette 2015, 7, 9, 22-28), and as Renenets they ensure the newborn a prosperous life
of plentiness10.
The decision to create a group of four Renenutets, and not two or seven for instance, may
have been influenced by many intricate religious habits, starting with the “architectural” feature
of protecting buildings, rooms, chests and all kinds of containers with four corners. Perhaps,
through the familiarity of Renenet with the gods of birth, the figures of the four Meskhenets have
played a role as well. They are attested since the Ptolemaic period, but the use of four birth bricks
dates back at least to the Old Kingdom, and it is probably the number of those actual bricks
that entailed the multiplication of the traditionally single Meskhenet (Wegner 2009: 472-473).
No such equation can be established for Renenutet, except maybe (with a little imagination and
trust in a very late and sometimes extravagant source) in a text by Aelian in the early 3rd century
CE. In his compilation On Animals, he reports that the Egyptians “in their temples, as they say,
they build dens and burrows like shrines in every corner and make homes for the Thermuthes,
and at intervals they provide them with calves’ fat to eat” (X,31; translation by A. F. Scholfield).
The “Thermuthes” here are a sacred variety of cobra that bears the Greek name of Renenutet,
Thermuthis (Lacau 1970: 45-48). Considering the importance of the four corners in the rituals of
foundation, during which Renenutet was installed in the ground to protect the divine house from
evil (Goyon 1985: 124-127), Aelian’s text seems not deprived of all accuracy. Then maybe actual
snakes, considered as manifestations of the goddess, were taken care of inside the temple’s precinct:
they could have been four, the traditional and ritual number of the corners and foundation deposits
of the temple. These four Renenutets would then be an illustration of a well-spread Mediterranean
and European tradition of deference to one or several benevolent snakes living in the walls or
foundations of the house they bless by their presence (Maspero 1893: 411-412; Lecouteux 2000:
24, 66; Cour 1911: 60; Schmidt 1871: 184-187).
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10 It is maybe significant also that Renenutet-Serket should be part of these rituals, since the scorpion-goddess has to
do with the work of birth and rebirth (Spieser 2001).
65
Occurrences of the four Renenutets in the temples of Edfu and Dendara
1. Edfu – Walls of the Treasury
Ptolemy IV (222-204 BC)

Anthropomorphic with a cobra on the head
E II: 284 and 295, pl. XLV
– West
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt ḫntt St-wrt
- Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw
– East
- Rnnwtt Srḳt ḫntt st-nfrt
- Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt
2. Dendara – Gate of the Treasury
1st century BC1

Cobras
D IV: 148-149, pl. CCLXXXVIII
- Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt St-Rʿ
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt ḫntt Pr-Wʿt
- Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt
- Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw m-ḫnt st-nfrt
3. Edfu – Gate of the annex of the New Year court
Ptolemy VI (180-145 BC)

Anthropomorphic with a cobra on the head
E I: 587, pl. XXXIX b
- Rnnwtt nfrt
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
- […]
- [Rnnwt ]t […] ḫntt Ḥwt-Ḥr
4. Dendara – Gate of the New Year court
1st century BC
Anthropomorphic with a feathered hathoric headdress
D IV: 179-183, pl. CCXCVIII
– West
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt ḫntt Pr-Wȝḏyt
- Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw
– East
1 The empty cartouches in those scenes have traditionally be interpreted as a clue to date them of the last rules of the
Ptolemies or the beginning of the Roman Empire.
66
- Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt st-nfrt

5. Dendara – West crypt No. 1, between rooms A and B
1st century BC
Cobras
D VI: 72-73, pl. DXII
– West
– East
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt ḫntt st-nfrt
- Rnnwtt Srḳt ḫsfwt ḏdfw
6. Dendara – West crypt No. 2, between rooms B and C
1st century BC
Cobra-headed with a feathered hathoric headdress
D VI: 130-131, pl. DXLIX
– West
– East
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
- Rnnwtt nfrt + Rnnwtt Srḳt
7. Edfu – Chamber of garments

E I: 135-136, pl. XXI a
- Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-mnḫt
- Rnnwtt nfrt

8. Dendara – Chamber of garments

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1st century BC
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D IV: 124-125 and 140-141, pl. CCLXXX, CCLXXXV
– South
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
67
- […]2
– North
- Rnnwtt Srḳt ḫntt ḥwt-mnḫt
9. Dendara – First western chapel
1st century BC
D III: 100-101, pl. CCIII
- Rnnwtt […]3
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
- Rnnwtt […]4
10. Dendara – East crypt No. 1, between rooms A and B
1st century BC
Woman-headed cobras
D V: 7, pl. CCCXXIII
– West
- […]
- […]
– East
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
- […]
11. Edfu – Mammisi: sanctuary
Ptolemy VIII (145-116 BC)

Cobras
E Mammisi: 7-10, pl. XIV
– South
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
– North
- Rnnwtt Srḳt
2 Probably Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw, especially if you compare with [7].

3 Probably Rnnwtt nfrt, for she is carrying nfr-signs in a basket, as Rnnwtt wȝḏt is carrying wȝḏ-signs and Rnnwtt ḫntt
ḥwt-ḏfȝw some ducks that write the stem ḏfȝ.
4 Probably Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt, who generally precedes Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw.
68
12. Edfu – Mammisi: gate of the southern chapel
Ptolemy X (107-88 BC)

Cobras
E Mammisi: 44, pl. XVIII 1
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
- Rnnwtt […]5
13. Dendara – Mammisi of Nectanebo II: gate of the southern chapel
Ptolemy X (107-88 BC)

Cobra-headed
Daumas 1959: 37, pl. VIII
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
- Rnnwtt Srḳt
14. Edfu – Upper frieze around the sanctuary

Cobra-headed
E I: 53 and 66, pl. XVI-XVII
– West
- Rnnwtt Srḳt
- Rnnwtt wȝḏt
– East
- Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥȝt-ḫt
15. Dendara – Gate of Isis

Tiberius, Claudius and Nero (30-68 CE)

Anthropomorphic with a feathered hathoric headdress

Cauville 1999: 48-49, pl. 56-57
– South
- Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt ḥwt-ḫt
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– North
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- Rnnwtt nfrt ḫntt […]6
5 Probably Rnnwtt-Srḳt, if you compare to [11] and [13].

6 Probably Rnnwtt ḫntt ḥwt-ḏfȝw.
69
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72
Renenutet: worship and popular piety at Thebes in the New Kingdom*

Paolo Marini
Università di Pisa
Lady of Heaven, Mistress of the Gods, The Beautiful, The Gracious, The Beautiful Lady who
pacifies, The one who returns to kindness, The Mistress of Provisions, these and other numerous
epithets attested the many nuances that characterize the personality of the cobra goddess
Renenutet1. She was already present in the Pyramid Texts Pantheon2 and there is evidence of her
worship up to the Roman Period3. It was only in the Middle Kingdom (2055 – 1650 BC) that
such worship began to become widespread throughout Egypt, mostly in el-Fayum where her
temple is settled, the only one preserved for this period4. Scholars5 were interested in this divinity,
not because she was a very important goddess of Ancient Egypt’s pantheon - in fact she had a
minor role in it - but rather for her complex skills that are not so clear.
With the only exception of Frédéric Mougenot6, a historical approach to the study of Renenutet
seems to be missing: scholars usually tend to describe her worship through the ages without
making a temporal distinction. The analysis of New Kingdom (1550 – 1069 BC) documentation,
a period which, after the Middle Kingdom, saw a significant spread of her worship, reveals instead
how a very defined image of the goddess arises only at that time7.
Ashraf Iskender Sadek, who analyzed the evidence from Deir el-Medina site, argued that Renenutet
acquired the aspect of “provider of food” with a specific fertilizer value in the popular piety. In his opinion
this was the goddess role in the daily life of ordinary people8, but I think that things are more complex and
only a holistic approach, taking into account all the aspects of her iconography, as well as the context and
the amount of documentation, can enable us to understand where and how she was worshipped.
Despite of the earlier studies, according to me the archaeological evidence asserts that the
devotion for the goddess Renenutet is the same in private worship as well as in the popular piety.
Indeed, the main task of the goddess seems the same when she is invoked by Theban nobles as
well as by the humble community of Deir el-Medina. In both cases Renenutet is guardian of the
granary, protector of the fields of the temple of Amun as well as protector of food and guardian of
the pantry. Moreover, she is never invoked for her fertility power.
Luckily we have abundant evidence about the worship of Renenutet in the New Kingdom
from Thebes9. The most substantial corpus is dated between the reign of Tuthmosis III/
Amenhotep II (18th dynasty, 1550-1295 BC) and the period before the Amarna experience10,
and most of it comes from funerary contexts, exactly from the tombs of Dra Abu el-Naga,
1 * I would like to thank Marilina Betrò for her precious advices.
WB II, 437. For the variants see Collombert 2005-2007, 21-32.
2 PT 302b and PT 454c.
3 See Bresciani 1997, 37-41.

4 Bresciani and Gianmarusti 2012, 59-105; Bresciani 2003; 197-230; 1975, 3-9; Nauman 1939, 185-189.
5 The goddess Renenutet has a notable literature. In addition to the Lexicon der Ägyptologye entry (LÄ, V: 232-
236) and the Lexicon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen (LÄGG, IV: 686-692) the most important
publications are Broekhuis 1971, where the scholar lists an impressive number of archaeological evidence and
makes an overall study of Renenutet, and Collombert 2005-2007, who studied the evolution of the spelling of the
name, distinguishing the goddess Renenutet (Rnn-wt.t) from the goddess Renenet (Rnn.t). In Evans (2013), the
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authors try to explain why the Egyptians associated a reptile with suckling goddess. Recently Fredric Mougenot
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(2014) has analysed the nuances of the goddess and has highlighted her role of guardian of precious things.
6 Frédéric Mougenot is an exception to this. Indeed he studies a characteristic of Renenutet relating her evolution
over time. See Mougenot 2014.
7 Sadek 1987, 121.
8 Ibid., 122.
9 Broekhuis 1971.
10 The Amarna experience includes the Reign of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten (1353-1336 BC).
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JIIA.eu Renenutet: worship and popular piety at Thebes in the New Kingdom
Khokha and Sheik Abd el-Gurna, on the West-Bank of the Nile11. On these hills, there were
Theban nobles’ cemeteries of the New Kingdom, and the goddess Renenutet is represented
many times on the wall paintings and reliefs of their tombs. She is represented in agricultural
scenes, i.e. crop and Harvest12.
The agricultural scenes was very common in the wall paintings of the 18th Dynasty tombs
and, together with handicraft scenes, market scenes13 and other works scenes, there were
included by Lise Manniche in the category “scenes connected with the office of the tomb owner”14.
The purpose of their presence was not to represent the specific work carried out by the owner,
but to highlight the fact that they fulfilled offices of supervision, involving high responsibility
in the State administration.15
An example is that of Kenamun16, “foster-brother” of the pharaoh Amenhotep II. This noble
was one of the most powerful men of his time and we know a very long list of his titles and epithets17.
In his tomb at Sheik Abd el-Gurna (TT 93)18, the goddess Renenutet is represented as a cobra
erect on an altar, wearing the disk, horns and high feathers. To her Kenamun offers two braziers
with burnt offerings of fowl19 (fig. 1). Henri Wild argued that this scene represents the Harvest
Festival, during which the goddess Renenutet was celebrated20, but according to me Kenamun’s
devotion towards the goddess could be better explained through the relationship between the
administrative titles and the goddess epithets. Several Kenamun’s titles such as «Overseer of the
doorkeepers of the granaries of Amun», «Overseer of the magazine of Amun», «Overseer of the
treasury», «Chief steward of the King»21, express the range of his activities and virtues as well as his
services to the king and to the state. Moreover, Egyptologists knew a Kenamun’s statue22 dedicated
to the vulture goddess Mut, in her temple in Karnak. The statue23 portrays the noble kneeling and
bringing a naos with inside an image of Renenutet24. On this statue there are the Kenamun’s titles
«Chief Steward» and «Overseer of the cattle of Amun»25.
The tomb at Sheik Abd el-Gurna of Djeserkaraseneb (TT 38)26, is dated to the reign of
Thutmosis IV (1400-1390 BC). The owner of the tomb, among the many titles, brings that of
«Counter of the grain in the granary of divine offerings of Amun»27 and the main hall includes
a representation of the deceased offering fowl on braziers to Renenutet represented as a cobra
on a nb basket. Behind her is an ear of corn and between the goddess and the man is a table full
of offerings. This scene is just a portion of a bigger representation, divided into three registers,
where many harvest scenes are shown28 with the aim to exalt his overseer role. On the other side
of the same registers Renenutet and the deceased are represented sitting under a baldachin in
11 Broekhuis 1971.
12 Lerstrup 1992, 61-82.
13 Pino 2005, 95-105.
14 Manniche 1988, 32-42.
15 Ibid. 36.
16 The tomb of Kenamun is known since long time and some objects of his funerary equipment are stored in few
Museums around the world. The coffin of Kenamun has been recently identified by Marilina Betrò. See Betrò
2013, 15-20; Betrò 2014.
17 Davies 1930, pp. 10-16
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid. pl. 64
20 The most important feasts of Renenuter took place in the 4th month of prt (VIII) and the 1st month of Smw (IX),
see Broekhuis 1971, 63-66.
21 Wild 1957, 226.
22 Wild 1957, 211-215, pl. I.
23 Now preserved in the Cairo Museum (JE 34582). Borchardt 1930, 163, pl. 158.
24 Wild 1957, 212.
25 Ibid., 212.
26 PM, I(1): 69; Davies 1963, pl. 2.
27 PM, I(1): 69.
28 Davies 1963, pl. 2.
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JIIA.eu Paolo Marini - Università di Pisa
Figure 1. Kenamun adoring the cobra goddess Renenutet - Kenamun's tomb (TT 93) - (Fig. by Davies 1930, pl. LXIV)
front of an offering table. To them, men bring crops from the fields of the temple of Amun on
the day when the harvest is measured (fig. 2). In the tomb of Menkheper (TT 79)29 «Overseer
of the Granary of the Lord of two Lands», at Sheik Abd el-Gurna, the owner choses to represent
the goddess Renenutet as a cobra in a wine making scene. Renenutet is in front of an offering
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table, near some men who tread the grapes30 (fig. 3).
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29 PM, I(1): 157.

30 Wrezinski 1988, 256.
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Figure 2. Djeserkhara offering birds to Renenutet –Djeserkharaseneb's tomb (TT 38)

- (Photo by Wrezinski 1988 ,143)
Figure 3. Wine making scene from Menkheper's tomb – TT 79 -(Photo by Wrezinski 1988, pl. 253)
76
Furthermore, we know many other cases like the one of Kenro, «Head of the magazine
of Khons», usurper of the tomb of Huy (TT 54)31 at Sheik Abd el-Gurna. Here Renenutet is
represented in front of a granary in which the grain is stored32. Still, in the tomb of User (TT
260)33, «Weigher of Amun» and «Overseer of the ploughed Lands of Amun», the representation of
Renenutet is connected with the owner’s works as overseer34.
Another one is that of Pahemnetjer, owner of the tomb TT 28435 also at Dra Abu el-Naga,
who bears the title of «Scribe of the offerings of all the gods». In his tomb a Harvest Festival is
represented near a chapel with a snake statue inside36.
In all the above examples the god Renenutet invoked by these high officials, brings epithets
like Rnn-wt.t Sps.t nb.t Snw.ty = Renenutet the venerable of the double granary37, Rnn-wt.t nb.t
ka.w = Renenutet mistress of the food38, Rnn-wt.t nb.t Htp = Renenutet mistress of the offerings39 all
of them showing a very strong link with the noble titles of the owner. In addition, the most
emblematic case is that of the «Counter of the grain in the granary of the Divine Offering of
Amun», Djeserkaraseneb. Thus, in his tomb (TT 38) Renenutet is called Rnn-wt.t Sps.t nb.t
Snw.ty = Renenutet the venerable, mistress of the double granary. Moreover, the divinity is mostly
represented in harvest or in wine making, filling wine jars scenes, control of the assets to be
stored40. Indeed, the epithets of the goddess are numerous, and they are all connected with the
granaries, harvest and food. So, it is clear that the deceased inserts the goddess in scenes reporting his
work, and ensuring through the representation of the divinity the honesty and fairness of his actions.
A proving evidence of this is the one coming from the tomb of the Royal scribe Kaemhat (TT 57)41
who was «Overseer of the Granaries of Upper and Lower Egypt». Among the tomb’s inscription we can
find: «Offering of all good and pure things to Renenutet, Lady of the Granary, this first day of Pakhons,
day of the birth of Nepri, by the Confidant of the Lord of Egypt (of the Two Lands), the Chief of the
Granary of the South and the North, the Royal Scribe Kaemhat, may he resuscitate. Supply of all good
and pure plants for the Ka, Renenutet, Lady of the Granary be every day in the favor. From Pa-wah
Scribe… of the King of Egypt and Ra, scribe who registers the crops in the granary Pharaoh»42.
Finally, the goddess Renenutet is represented also in the tombs of people who do not have the same
titles like the previous ones, but who had important responsibility in the administrative offices as well.
Starting from the 19th Dynasty (1295 – 1186 BC) the decorative programs of the Theban tombs
changed. The scenes became more explicitly religious than in the earlier tombs, foregrounding the
tomb owner’s adoration of a range of deities. The scenes connected with the office of the tomb
owner disappeared43. As direct consequence of this change, the goddess Renenutet disappeared
too. However, the evidence proves that Renenutet worship was not abandoned, but the corpus of
records comes almost entirely from Deir el-Medina, one of the most important Egyptian sites for
the study of the “domestic religious”44. The ostraka of Deir el-Medina were used to record many
31 PM, I(1): 105.
32 Broekhuis 1971, 16.
33 At Dra Abu el-Naga. PM I(1), 344.
34 Mekhitarian 1954, 19.

35 PM, I(1): 366.

36 Davies 1939, pl. 19.
37 Ibid., 14-15.
38 Ibid., 20.
39 Ibid. 28.
40 Already Frédéric Mougenot highlights the same peculiarity for the Renenutet of the 18th dynasty Theban tombs,
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where the goddess always is presented in the part of the scene in which the sowing has already occurred and the
© 2015
harvest done. See Mougenot 2014, 158.

41 PM, I(1): 114.
42 Leibovich 1953, 74.
43 I know just an evidence coming from the Ramesses period. This is the representation of Renenutet in the Tomb of
Ipuy (TT 217). See PM, I(1): 316.
44 For the literature about this topic, see Stevens 2009. Another site very important for the study of the domestic
religion is el-Amarna dated to XVIII dynasty.
77
subjects such as prayers to divinities and ancestor, magical texts used as protection against evil45.
In addition, there are many groups of chapels, which are close, or within the village. In these
chapels, settled mostly between work-shifts at the rest-huts on the ridge, people of Deir el-Medina
worshiped their divinities46. However, the traces of the practice of religion in the village fall into
several categories: the lits-clos47, the household shrines, the cult of deceased members of the family.
The lits-clos were sacred to the deities of motherhood and childbirth, as suggested by the remains
of paintings showing the gods Bes, Hathor, Taweret, etc. There is also evidence of domestic niches
with significance cult where vertical niches with protruding edges often occurred. Particularly
in the second room, and occasionally balanced doorways. Some of them appear to have been
decorated with cult scenes, such as the worship of the Queen Ahmose Nefertari and the pharaoh
Amenhotep I (1525 – 1504 BC). These shrines were frequently found with a base to support a
stela, moreover a small table-of-offering might be placed before them48. Many were dedicated to
Meretseger, Renenutet, or to both of them, as two aspects of one and the same deity49. Meretseger
was the mistress of the Theban necropolis, especially of Deir el-Medina. She presided over the
whole Theban necropolis, her more usual name was Meretseger “she who loves silence”, which
was an apt one for the goddess of the desolate region uninhabited except by the deceased50. This
divinity is usually represented as a cobra, sometimes with a woman’s head or as a snake-headed
woman, just like Renenutet51. Bernard Bruyère argues that images of both goddess were found
particularly in the kitchens, in the space between the sideboard and the oven, but also in the
siloi, granaries and cellars. Statuettes portraying snakes in stone have been found almost all over
the houses. Moreover, the worship of Renenutet in the domestic context is attested, in the richer
houses, by stelae put on the walls or in the niches that we mentioned before, and, in the humbler
houses there were pottery or limestone ostraka fixed on the walls52.
In the Bruyère’s Reports there is much evidence of findings from Deir el-Medina known contexts,
such as the stela of Mutemopet and Iynefert, now in the Musée du Louvre (Paris E. 16360)53. This one
is divided into two registers: in the higher register there is the goddess Rnn-wt.t nb.t pt = Renenutet
mistress of the sky like a snake with a wrapped body in front of an offering table full of provisions; in
the lower register the stela owner, Mutmeopet is adoring seven cobras54. Another example is the stela
(Paris E. 2175)55, preserved in the Musée du Louvre. Here a cobra divinity is represented and it is
called Mr.t-sgr Rnn-wt.t nfr.t, nb.t ka.w = Meretseger-Renenutet the beautiful, Mistress of the food56.
In the Cairo Egyptian Museum is preserved a lintel (Cairo JE 63644)57, found at Deir el-Medina,
showing a relief with a bouquet between two snakes representing Renenutet. They are respectively
worshiped by two persons called Hornefer and Nedjefa (fig. 4). The inscriptions show: Rnn-wt.t nfr(.t)
nb(.t) ka.w ir n aA n a Hr-nfr mAa arw (xr) nTr aA; Rnn-wt.t nfr(.t) nb(.t) ka.w ir n aA n a Nb-DfA maA-xrw;
= Renenutet the beautiful, mistress of the food, make for the Chief foreman Hornefer, justified at the great
god; Renenutet the beautiful, mistress of the foods, make for the chief of the manoeuvre Nebdjefa, justified.
In the British Museum there are the remains of a limestone naos (London EA 597)58. These
45 Sadek 1987, 59.

46 Sadek 1987, 59-83.
47 Weiss 2009, 193-208.
48 About these religious cults in Deir el-Medina see Sadek 1987, 77.
49 Ibid.
50 LÄ, IV: 79-88.
51 See the many evidences cited by Loredana Sist in Sist 1987, 205-220.
52 Ibid. 205.
53 Bruyère 1934, 10-11.
54 Ibid. fig. 6.
55 Bruyère 1929-1930, 129, 140.
56 Ibid. fig. 66.
57 Bruyère 1939, 267.
58 PM, I(2): 721. Exactly, just the lintel and right jamb are preserved here, while the left jamb is preserved in the
Egyptian Museum of Turin (Inventory number 50220). See Tosi and Roccati 1972, 188-189.
78
Figure 4. Lintel of Hornefer and Nedjefa. Cairo Museum (JE 63644) - (Fig. by Bruyère 1939, 267.)
belonged to Inherkhaw and are inscribed and decorated with incised figures. On the right side of
the lintel, we see the representation of Inherkhau kneeling and worshiping Ptah and Sobek. On
the left side, we see Inherkhau kneeling and worshiping Renenutet as a cobra that is on a naos. The
inscriptions mean: Rnn-wt.t nb.t ka.w = Renenutet, mistress of the food59. The left jamb brings an
inscription where Renenutet, nfr.t = the beautiful, is invoked to guarantee a beautiful existence to
the ka of the “Mistress of the house”, Henutdueu60 (fig. 5). This kind of subject is very common.
In fact, we have other evidence such as the last mentioned above.
In the Bruyère’s reports 1945-4761 is cited a lintel with the goddess Renenutet represented
under the cavetto cornice, in front of an offering table62. The inscription recites: Rnn-wt.t nfr.t
Hnw.t DfA = Renenutet the beautiful, mistress of the provisions63. On the jambs cited in the Bruyère’s
reports 1934-3564 the goddess Renenutet is represented twisting to a stem of papyrus on both
sides: on the right side wearing the red crown and on the left side wearing the white crown. There
are also some inscriptions: on the right Rnn-wt.t Spsi nb.t Hw mry.t tw aSA ka.w = Renenutet the
noble, lady of the food, the one who is loved, rich of food, on the left Rnn-wt.t nfr.t nb.t ka Hnw.t DfA.w
= Renenutet the beautiful, lady of the food, mistress of the provisions65.
As the archaeological evidence shows, the relationship between the goddess and food is stronger
in domestic contexts than in tombs of 18th Dynasty. However, this does not mean necessarily that
the community of Deir el-Medina invoked Renenutet only as provider of food. In fact, the stelae
placed near the pantries had more a protective value than a propitiatory one. The Renenutet’s
epithets present on them increase their protective character. The cobra iconography of the goddess
shown in the funerary, such as in domestic contexts, seems to be a confirmation of that. She was certainly
associated with the use of her image with the purpose of expelling every malefic influx and guaranteeing
protection66. Her properties were those of repelling the enemies of the food, such as snakes, rats and insects. Interdisciplinary A rchaeology’
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59 Hall 1925, pl. XXVIII.

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60 Ibid. 188.
61 Bruyère 1952.
62 Ibid., pl. XI, 2.
63 Ibid., 50.
64 Bruyère 1939.
65 Ibid. 315, pl. XV.
66 Sist 1987, 206.
79
Figure 5. Lintel and Jamb of Inerkhaw (EA 597) - (© British Museum)
80
Abbreviation
BIFAO = Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale

BSEG = Bulletin de la Société d’Egyptologie de Genève (Genève)
FIFAO = Fouilles de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale
LÄ = Lexicon der Ägyptologie
LÄGG = Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen
MDAIK = Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (Kairo)
OLA = Orietalia Lovaniensia Analecta
PT = Pyramid Texts
JEA = Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (London)
JNES = Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Chicago)
WB = Wörterbuch der Aegyptischen Sprache
JIIA © 2015
81
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Betrò, M. 2014. Kenamun l’undicesima mummia, Pisa.
Borchardt, L. 1930. Statuen und Statuetten von Königen un Privatleuten im Museum von Kairo,
vol. 3, nr. 1-1294, Berlin.
Brand, J. P. 2000. The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis,
Leiden-Bostom-Köln.
Bresciani, E. 2003. Achille Vogliano a Medinet Madi. Le grandi scoperte Archeologiche, in Achille
Vogliano cinquant’anni dopo, edited by C., Gallazzi and L., Lehnus, Milano, 197-230.
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A., Arslan, Milano, 37-41
Bresciani, E. 1975. “La dea-cobra che allatta il coccodrillo a Medinet Madi” Aegyptus 55,
(gennaio-dicembre): 3-9.
Bresciani, E. and A., Gianmarusti. 2012. I Templi di Medinet Madi, Pisa.
Broekhuis, J. 1971. de Godin Renenwetet, Assen.
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Abh. 5), Wiesbaden.
Leibovitch, J. Apr. 1953. “Gods of agriculture and welfare in Ancient Egypt” JNES XII: 73-113.
Leitz, C. 2002. Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen, vol. IV. OLA 114,
Leuven – Paris – Dudley, MA.
Lerstrup, A. 1992. “The making of wine in Egypt” GM 129: 61-82.
Helck, W. and E., Otto. 1984. Lexicon der Ägyptologie, vol. V. Wiesbaden.
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Necropolis, London-New York.
Mekhitarian, A. 1954. Egyptian Painting, Geneva.
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Schwaller, R. A. 1985. Le Temple de l’homme II, Paris.
Sist, L. 1987, “L’uso della magia: alcune stele apotropaiche, in La magia in Egitto ai tempi dei
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by Roccati, A. and A. Siliotti Verona, 205-220.
Stevens, A. 2009. Domestic Religious Practices, in UCLA: Encyclopedia of Egyptology, edited by
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Tosi, M. and A. Roccati A. 1972. Stele e altre epigrafi di Deir el-Medina n. 50001 – n. 50262, Torino.
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84
Anguiform graffiti in the Roman quarries at Gebel el Silsila

Maria Nilsson
Post-doctoral researcher, Lund University
Abstract
The current issue of Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology is mainly dedicated
to the various aspects of Renenutet/Isis Thermouthis, but also snake-like deities, their iconography and
associated apotropaia. This paper will explore three main topics associated with this topic within the
sandstone quarry of Gebel el Silsila: 1) Graeco-Roman anguiform pictorial representations, 2) various
deities defined (or associated) with the demotic snake-determinative pA-Si (Shaï/Psais, also known as
Agathodaimon), and 3) a unique textual reference to the Greek/Hellenistic goddess (Agatha) Tyche
(Fate), who occasionally was regarded an ally of Isis Thermouthis and a Greek female form of the more
frequently listed Egyptian Shaï.1
Introduction
In their 1915 publication Preisigke and Spiegelberg included a list of Egyptian deities attested
in Greek and demotic inscriptions and recorded by Legrain in the sandstone quarries of Gebel el
Silsila (Upper Egypt).2 Included in the list are the Pan-Egyptian gods Amun, Horus, Hathor, Isis,
Khnum and Montu; the genius loci (protective god) Pachimesen, as well as the less distinguished
divinity Shaï.3 Since its start in 2012 the ongoing Swedish-run archaeological project has added
several new inscriptions and some divine names to these previous records.4 The aim here is to
present a selection of new deities to the list, focusing on anguiform pictorial representations,
divinities depicted with snake attributes, and textual references to the protective snake-god Shaï
or his female counterpart. The documents discussed here were all found on the eastern side of the
Nile during the ongoing mission’s 2012 concession. The ‘new’ gods to be added to the already
documented list of (Roman period) deities in Gebel el Silsila include Thoth, the sphinx-god Tutu/
Tothoes, and – exceptionally –the Greek goddess Tyche.
Graeco-Roman anguiform pictorial representations
Within the rich variety of pictorial graffiti/quarry marks – engraved and painted (simplified/
stylized) motifs – are a few that depict anguiform creatures individually or as part of a larger
composition. All examples mentioned here belong to the early Roman period, i.e. Augustus and
Tiberius, and have a textual context that include proskynēmata, give life-formulae, ‘NN standing
before [god]’, and simple name signatures with or without patronym and profession.
There is no uniformity in the style and form of serpents depicted within the Roman quarries.
Instead, it is rare to find a motif mass-produced. The examples given here include 1) an anguiform
figurehead, 2) a risen serpent adorned with a lotus crown, 3) a horned viper surmounted by an ibis,
1 Acknowledgements go to the Permanent Committee of foreign missions for giving the team permission to work at
Gebel el Silsila, and to the Inspectorates of Kom Ombo with their Director, A. Moniem Said, and equally to the
General Director of Aswan N. Salama. The archaeological work has been made possible by the generous financial
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support of the following institutions: the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of
© 2015
Letters, History and Antiquities (Enboms stiftelse), Helge Ax:son Johsons Stiftelse, Magnus Bergvalls Stiftelse,
Stiftelsen Lars Hiertas Minne, Birgit and Gad Rausings Stiftelse, Anérstiftelsen, Crafoordska Stiftelsen, and the
Swedish Research Council (VR). Naturally, the author expresses her deepest gratitude towards the entire scientific team
engaged at Gebel el Silsila, especially assistant director John Ward without whom none of this work would be possible.
2 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915.
3 Quaegebeur 1975, 94.
4 See for example Nilsson and Almásy 2015; Nilsson forthcoming a; forthcoming b.
85
JIIA.eu Anguiform graffiti in the Roman quarries at Gebel el Silsila
4) a stylised serpent surmounted by the sphinx-god Tutu, 5) double uraei as complement to the solar
disk, 6) a crowned risen serpent in association with a falcon, and 7) an anguipede (tentative hypothesis).
No. 1
The first image depicts a risen serpent – facing right/east – with a partially coiled tail. An eye is
clearly visible within the snake’s face, a solar disk is placed upon its head, and the figure surmounts
a standard-like item as a figurehead attached to a high curved bow of a large barque. The terminus
of the barque’s stern is shaped as an antelope’s head, and a large, single steering oar is levered to the
hull, navigated from a cabin.5 A series of oars are illustrated below the stern. The barque itself is
moored to a quay by means of rope. Adjacent, but disconnected, iconography includes a harpoon
located immediately to the figure’s left.
The serpent figurehead together with all the other details on the barque, reveal a far more detailed
composition than the drawing produced by Legrain as published by Preisigke and Spiegelberg.6
A rich variation of barques and other vessels decorate the corridor (Partition A) in the Main
Quarry – the section in which this illustration is located – particularly in the western entry that leads
down to a Nile-side quay. This is not the place to initiate a deeper discussion on the significance
of such vessels within the quarry, but their presence may be divided into two main categories: 1)
practical function, i.e. transportation of extracted blocks, and 2) religious/ceremonial (or 3) the
combination of both).7 The currently discussed barque, with its antelope horns in the stern and
serpent figurehead in its bow, is more likely to fall within the second category, and allude to the
workers’ wish for divine protection during the work process. It may be hypothesised that the solar
disk-adorned uraeus signified the local tutelary, but abstract anguiform deity (Shaï-) Pachimesen
(see below), whose name is recorded in two (unpublished) dedication texts within the immediate
adjacency.8 The adjacently placed harpoon, which is a symbol for Pachimesen as mentioned below,
supports the hypothesised identity of the anguiform figurehead.
No. 2
The second anguiform is illustrated three times within a small quarry dating from the reign of
Claudius (AD 41-54). All three images represent a risen, but slightly arched, stylized serpent that is
crowned with a bloomed lotus flower. All three are located within a pictorial context that includes
a palm frond. The third example was carved adjacently to a Greek signature.9 The signature itself
reveals little information as to the significance of the crowned serpents, but other text graffiti
within the quarry cast some light on a plausible identity: at least two Greek inscriptions mention
the goddess Isis; one identifies Isis as the local protecting goddess of the quarry10, and a second
gives the name of an architect/engineer (mhxaikw) of Isis.11 Further inscriptions placed within
the immediate surrounding describe the quarry as “Protected by Min” (see no. 9 below), which
combined with the chronological details (Claudius) may indicate Coptos as the intended temple
destination for the extracted stone.12 Based on these combined facts, it may be hypothesised that
the lotus-crowned anguiform in this particular context defines Isis as the Lady of Coptos.

5 For the terminology of ’steering oar’ see Doyle 1998, 80.

6 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 159.
7 The variations are summarised in Vinson 2013.
8 Inventory numbers Q34.AS.In.11, Q34.AN.In.13.
9 Nilsson and Almásy 2015, 93-94 (no. 5) with figs. 7a-b: “Harbeschinis son of Petephibis│year 6 of Claudius”.
10 Nilsson and Almásy 2015, 94-95 (no. 6) with figs. 8a-b: Adoration │of Pakoibis son of Paweris│for the greatest
god among the gods of│the quarry of Isis (?)│year 8 of Claudius, Thoth 19.
11 Unpublished inscription, inv. no. Q35.C.In.5.
12 Nilsson and Almásy 2015, 97.
86
JIIA.eu Maria Nilsson - Post-doctoral researcher, Lund University
No. 3
The third category of serpent illustration is depicted twice within the Main Quarry (Q34).
It is a form of a symbolic enigma or rebus that includes three main iconographic elements: 1)
a bird (symbolical ibis), 2) a horned viper, and 3) an ankh. The composition shows the bird in
a victorious position surmounting the horned viper, and with the life-sign located immediately
to their right. As suggested previously13, the hypothesis is that the scene demonstrates a natural
event in that the ibis bird was believed to feed on vipers14, and through its association with Thoth
simultaneously had a symbolic and superstitious value in communicating the workers’ prayer to
the god for safekeeping during their work, alternatively their thankfulness after surviving the daily
hazard that lurked in their environment every day.

No. 4
Very different iconographically, the fourth depiction links back with the third in the respect
that a predator surmounts a snake as a sign of tutelary force. Situated approximately 15 m above
the current ground level it is a depiction of the sphinx-god Tutu shown in profile and a laying
position facing right/south. The creature’s facial features are enlarged, with an accentuated eye,
pointed nose and lunar-shaped mouth. Moreover, the figure wears a crown (atef?) and holds a
sword-like object in his front paw. More importantly for the present paper, the sphinx surmounts
a stylized, stretched serpent, known to characterise other representations of the god.15 Although
considered a dangerous demon, feared more than loved, the representations of Tutu in the quarry
were likely to address the deity as a benevolent protector.16

No. 5
The fifth example depicts uraei in a very traditional style as decorating and complementing
pictorial elements to the solar disk. The serpent-adorned disk appears in a carefully sculptured
raised relief in Quarry 37 with adjacent inscriptions dating to the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius
respectively. The same quarry contains this pictorial design as a white-painted element that crown
two unpublished round-topped stelae from the end of Augustus’ rule. Dating from the same
period or slightly before, Partition A and ‘Entry above B’ equally in the Main Quarry display
the composition in a stylized form. The symbolism communicated in these images refers to the
mythological ‘Eye of Ra’, applied for protection.17

No. 6
Image number six is a rough sketch of a risen serpent with a coiled tail, adorned with a non-
defined crown (red or white?), and placed on a low plinth. The serpent faces left (west), and
immediately opposite the anguiform – standing on an individual plinth – is an image of a falcon in
full avian form. The falcon too wears a crown, although equally unrecognisable due to an eradicating
(later) rope hole. Two more falcons are depicted nearby, one of which is accompanied with an
unpublished hieroglyphic signature. Without any further iconographic details, accompanying or

descriptive texts or titles, it is difficult to identify the serpent with definiteness.

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13 Nilsson forthcoming a, 22.

14 Although the Egyptian mythology habitually depicts and describes the ibis as a snake-eater, it was clarified already by
Savigny (1805) that they merely ate snake eggs. Instead, it is more likely that the true aves depicted was a shoebill stork.
15 Kaper 2003, 83.
16 Pinch 1994, 36; Kaper 2003, 201-204.
17 E.g. Ikram 2013, 5741.
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No. 7
The final pictorial example to be discussed here is an anthropomorphic figure, which, as
suggested previously18, may represent an anguipede (cock-headed deity with serpent legs). The
figure is depicted as a simplified Roman soldier holding a spear and shield, but the face reveals
a beak, and the feet may be taken as simplified examples of snakes. In this manner the figure
may possibly characterise an anguipede, identified later as Abraxas or Abrasax.19 Traditionally, the
anguipede has been interpreted as a solar deity connected with shielding apotropaia at large.20
Shaï the snake-god and deities defined with PA-Si
Already, Preisigke and Spiegelberg have established that the somewhat abstract anguiform deity
Shaï/Shay (also Psais) held a role within the Roman quarries at Gebel el Silsila as a protective divine
force, and generally associated with the Alexandrian Agathos Daimon ‘good fate’.21 In accordance
with said publication, the name of this Egyptian serpent-god was foremost used as an epithet
or rather determinative to express the vigilant character of another, more prevalent god, such as
Montu.22 However, above all, ‘Shaï’ was used to define the personality of a local form of Horus the
elder – Pachimesen – who thereby combined the spirit of ‘good fate’ (Shaï) and ‘vanquisher of evil’
(Horus) into one. ‘Shaï’ and ‘Pachimesen’ only appear in demotic texts.
The name ‘Pachimesen’ has previously been translated as ‘He of the uplifting of the harpoon’23,
and its semiotic structure suggests an association or possibly assimilation of this local ‘daemon’
with Horus as the Lord of Mesen (‘Harpoon City’).24 Within the Main Quarry, several texts are
dedicated to Pachimesen as the “Shai of the quarry/mountain”25, and recent research on site has
revealed that the workers expressed their devotion to this god also by means of iconography/a
quarry mark, with a toggle harpoon symbolising the deity.26 Reading the quarry mark as an
identity mark of “Pachimesen, Shaï of the Quarry”, there are literary hundreds of attestations of
how important the god’s protection was for the workers.
The tutelary epithet ‘Shaï’ was recently documented as defining Min too, described as “Min,
the Great God, Shaï of the Mountain” in a small quarry dating to Claudius (no. 8).27 But ‘Shaï’
was also used, albeit occasionally, as an alone-standing definition of “good fate of the quarry”.28
Presigke and Spiegelberg suggest that ‘Shaï’ always signifies Pachimesen in these texts29, but as
more examples have been documented by the current archaeological team, including the formula
“may the beautiful name remain here before Shaï” (no. 9)30, it may be astute and more reasonable
to read it literally as the snake-god’s name instead of a definition of an unnamed deity.
Female Good Fortune
In total 487 text graffiti were recorded in the Main Quarry during the 2012 concession. Among
the more important inscriptions is an unpublished Greek adoration (no. 10) written by a “Saouas,
18 Nilsson 2014a, 136-137 with figure 10.17.
19 E.g. Bonner 1950, 123-139.
20 Bonner 1950, 127-130.
21 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, 6; cf. Martin 2013, 172; Quaegebeur 1975, 160-161.
22 For Montu see Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 285 (bis).
23 Smith 1999, 396; e.g. Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, nos. 228, 230–231, 248.
24 Gwyn Griffiths 1958, 76.
25 Twenty-three texts (documented so far) mention ‘Pachimesen’ within the Main Quarry, of which fifteen contain
‘Shaï’ as a determinative.
26 Nilsson 2014a, 129-130.
27 Nilsson and Almásy 2015, 89-90.
28 So far, eleven documented demotic texts contain the name ‘Shaï’ without additional divine name.
29 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, 23 sv. Psais.
30 Nilsson 2014a, 160 (translation by A. Almásy).
88
son of Agathinos”, dated to “15 Phaophi in year 41 of the ruling Caesar”, i.e. Augustus. The text
designates this particular part of the quarry as ‘the quarry of Amun’. What makes the adoration
unique is its aspiration to the female form of Shaï, but choosing the Greek Tyche (‘Fate’) instead
of Isis-Renenutet.31 Not only is it exceptional to find reference to Greek deities in graffiti in Upper
Egypt in general32, but this is the first recorded mentioning of a Greek goddess at Gebel el Silsila.

Brief comments
It has become evident that there are no direct mentions of the current theme’s main goddess
(Renenutet/Isis Thermouthis) within the Roman quarries at Gebel el Silsila. However, there are
various pictorial and textual references to anguiform deities. These range a wide array of religious
applications and beliefs, but first and foremost they express the workers’ collective need for divine
protection in their daily journey through a harsh and dangerous quarryscape. Each day the
workers faced fatal risks related with the extraction and transportation of the sandstone blocks
that were earmarked for one or another of the sacred edifices of Upper Egypt. But also, they were
constantly threatened by the forces of Mother Nature: from the natural fauna snakes, crocodiles
and hippopotami constantly lurked nearby, and the men were close to defenceless to nature’s forces
such as sandstorms, extreme heat, and the yearly flooding. The latter may have caused the collapse
of the entire quarry operations towards the end of Claudius’ reign as all epigraphic material comes
to an end and without any indications of any later activity on the East Bank whatsoever.
The serpents were addressed in metaphorical formulae as either tutelary genii loci, or as the
object to be defeated. Without a doubt, the favoured genus locus was Pachimesen in his serpent-
form and association with Shaï. Representations of this local deity are habitually far more elaborated
compared to serpents suppressed. Instead, when defeated serpents are depicted, they appear in a most
simplified form, with no other details than the occasional horns to identify them as horned vipers.
However, while Pachimesen and Shaï – or rather Pachimesen-Shaï – is the preferential male
anguiform, Gebel el Silsila preserves images of female serpent divinities too. Isis appears with a
lotus crown as the Lady of Coptos, and a unique text reveals a female equal to Pachimesen-Shaï in
the Greek goddess Tyche, equally symbolising fate.
The examples given above indicate a complex religious or superstitious system at Gebel el Silsila,
which reflects the fundamental life prerequisites of a regular worker – to stay alive. For this they
expressed their faith in the supernatural, asked for divine protection and uttered their gratefulness
for safe keeping towards the end of the season. With horned vipers being a constant feature of
Gebel el Silsila, and seen as demons of their time, it is easy to understand the workers’ choice in
praying that the treacherous ally – the powerful local serpent – would remain munificent. As the
saying goes, “(keep your friends close, but) keep your enemies [‘demons’] closer…”
JIIA © 2015
31 For a brief summary of Renenutet’s role as the spouse of Shaï, see Gillam 2013 with further bibliography. For
Tyche’s association with Renenutet-Isis, see Martin 2013, 172; Vanderlip 1972, 18-19; Zayadin 1991, 300-306.
32 E.g. Vleeming 2001, 82–3; Bernand 1977, 241–3, no. 83; Mairs 2010.
89
Bibliography
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Bonner, C. 1950. Studies in Magical Amulets. Chiefly Graeco-Egyptian, Ann Arbor .
Doyle, M. 1998. Iconography and the interpretation of ancient Egyptian watercraft, Unpublished
thesis, Texas A&M University.
Gillam, R. 2012. “Renenutet.”. In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, edited by R. S. Bagnall,
K. Brodersen, C. B. Champion, A. Erskine, and S. R. Huebner: 5802–5803.
Gwyn Griffiths, John. 1958. “The interpretation of the Horus-Myth of Edfu”. JEA 44: 75–85.
Ikram, S. 2012. “Aten/Aton.” In The Encyclopedia of Ancient History edited by R. S. Bagnall, K.
Brodersen, C. B. Champion, A. Erskine, and S. R. Huebner: 897-898.
Kaper, O. 2003. The Egyptian God Tutu: a study of the Sphinx-God and Master of Demons with a
Corpus of Monuments, Leuven, Paris & Dudley, MA.
Mairs, R. 2010. “Egyptian “Inscriptions” and Greek “Graffiti” at El Kanais (Egyptian Eastern
Desert)”. In Ancient Graffiti in Context, edited by J. Baird and C. Taylor. London: 153-164.
Martin, K. 2012. “Agathos Daimon”, in The Encyclopedia of Ancient History edited by R. S.
Bagnall, K. Brodersen, C. B. Champion, A. Erskine, and S. R. Huebner: 172–173.
Nilsson, M. 2014a. “Pseudo script in Gebel el Silsila – preliminary results of the epigraphic
survey 2012.” Current Research in Egyptology XIV edited by K. Accetta, R. Fellinger, P.
Lourenço Gonçalves, S Musselwhite, W. P. van Pelt. Oxford: 122-141.
Nilsson, M. 2014b. “Quarry marks in Partition B, Main Quarry at Gebel el Silsila: remarks on
their meaning and function.” JSSEA 39: 139-178.
Nilsson, M. Forthcoming a. “Non-textual marking systems at Gebel el Silsila: From Dynastic
signifiers of identity to symbols of adoration.” In: Lingua Aegyptia, Non-textual
marking systems.
Nilsson, M. Forthcoming b. “Quarry Marks in Gebel el Silsila – signifiers of men and gods
alike?” In Decoding Signs Proceedings.
Nilsson, M. and Almásy, A. 2015. “Quarrying for Claudius, protected by Min: Reflections on a
small quarry in Gebel el Silsila East.” BMSAES 22: 87-110.
Pinch, G., Magic in Ancient Egypt, London 1994.
Preisigke, F. and Spiegelberg, W., Ägyptische und griechische Inschriften und Graffiti aus den
Steinbrüchen des Gebel Silsile (Oberägypten) - nach den Zeichnungen von Georges Legrain,
Strassburg 1915.
Quaegebeur, J., Le dieu égyptien Shaï dans la religion et l’onomastique, Leuven 1975.
Savigny, J-C., Histoire naturelle et mythologique de l’ibis, Paris, Allais libraire, 1805
Smith, M. 1999. “Gebel el-Silsila.” In Encyclopedia of the archaeology of Ancient Egypt, edited by
K. Bard. London: 394-397.
Vanderlip, V. (editor). 1972. The Four Greek Hymns of Isidorus and the Cult of Isis (American
Studies in Papyrology Volume 12). Toronto.
Vinson, S. 2013. “Boats (Use of )”. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. UCLA: Department
of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. nelc_uee_8063. Retrieved from: https://
escholarship.org/uc/item/31v360n5 [2015-06-14]
Vleeming, S. P. (editor). 2001. Some Coins of Artaxerxes and other Short Texts in the Demotic Script
Found on Various Objects and Gathered from Many Publications (Studia Demotica 5). Leuven.
Zayadine, F. 1991. “L’iconographie d’Isis à Pétra.” Mélanges de l’Ecole française de Rome.
Antiquité 103 (1): 283-306.
90
Appendix
Key: Title of object; inventory number; previous publication (if any); measurements; facsimile
1. Anguiform figurehead
Inv. no. Q34.AN.P56

Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 159
180 x 80 cm (anguipede: 16 x 30 cm), located c. 1 m above the current ground level
JIIA © 2015
91
2. Risen serpent adorned with a lotus crown
Inv. no. Q35.E.P35 (the drawing also includes Q35.E.P34 and Q35.E.In.5)
Unpublished (cf. Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 299)
Uraeus c. 11 x 27 cm
92
3. Horned viper surmounted by ibis
Inv. nos. Q34.C16.P65; Q34.GS.P2

Presigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 86
54 x 55 cm; 68 x 57 cm
4. Stylised serpent surmounted by the sphinx-god Tutu
Inv. no. Q34.F2.P69

Unpublished
Located too high for measurement
JIIA © 2015
93
5. Double uraei and solar disk
Inv. no. Q37N.H.P2

Unpublished
Located too high for measurements
6. Risen serpent and falcon deity
Inv. no. Q46.P3-4

Unpublished
42 x c. 32 cm
94
7. Anguipede (?)
Inv. no. Q34.C12.P50

Unpublished
19 x 18 cm
8. Di ankh dedication to Min
Inv. no. Q35.C.In.2.

Nilsson and Almásy 2015, no. 1
41 x 125 cm
1. Min pA ntr aA pA ^Ay n pA tw

2. _I aN# n PA-Sr-aA-pHṱ sA PA-Sr-Xnm Sa D.t
3. sX (n) HA.t-sp 10.t n GlwtyAys ibd 1 Ax.t sw 1 HA.t n rnp.t
1. Min, the great god, the Shaï of the Mountain

2. gives life to Psenapathes, son of Psenchnoumis forever
3. written in year 10 of Claudius, Thoth 1, beginning of the year. Interdisciplinary A rchaeology’
JIIA © 2015
95
9. Inscription to Shaï
Inv. no. Q34.B13.In1

Nilsson 2014b, 160 (translation A. Almásy).
Located too high for measurements
Transliteration and translation:

1) <pA> rn nfr mn dy m-bAH pA ^Ay
2) tA X.t
1) May the beautiful name remain here before Shaï (“the good fate”)
2) of the quarry.
10. Dedication to Tyche33
Inv. no. Q34.F5.In4

Unpublished
320 x 60 cm
1) ϹΑΟΥΑϹΑΓΑΘΙΝΟΥΤΟΠΟϹΚΥΝΗΜΑΑΤΟΥ
2) ΩΔΕΠΑΡΑΤΗϹΤΗΧΗϹΤΗϹΛΑΤΟΜΙΑϹ ͟
3) ΤΟΥΑΜΜΝΟϹLΜΑΚΑΙϹΑΡΟϹΦΑΩΦΙΙΕ
1) Σαουας γαθίνου τὸ προσκύνημα ατοῦ

2) ὧδε παρ τς τ{η} <ν>χης τῆς λατομίας
3) τοῦ μμὡνοζ (ἐτοῦς) μα Καίσαρος φαωφί ιε
1) Saouas (son of ) Agathinos, his own act of adoration (adoration made by himself )
2) here for the Tyche34 (Fate) of the quarry
3) of Ammon. Year 41 of Caesar, Phaophi 15
33 Translation in cooperation with A. Almásy. Two additional Greek graffiti are included in the drawing, although will
not be discussed here.
34 τήχης for τύχης see Gignac 1976, 262-263. The final omicron mistakenly replaces the lunar sigma in λατομίας.
96
Isis in Kush, a Nubian soul for an Egyptian goddess

Marco Baldi
(Università di Pisa – ISMEO – Centro Studi Petrie)
Inquiry on the Napatan-Meroitic kingdom, that flourished in ancient Nubia from eighth
century BC to fourth century AD, behoves us to evaluate its strong multicultural nature, which
permeated several aspects of the Nubian society. Rich external influxes, especially coming from
Pharaonic and Hellenistic Egypt, had a strong impact on the Kushite kingdoms. Nevertheless, it was
not a simple introduction of foreign traditions passively received from culturally poor territories; a
broad secular trade network and reciprocal territorial occupations allowed a profitable acquisition
of manifold Egyptian customs by a lively context that elaborated them within a syncretic frame,
giving life to the original solutions of a “polymorphic society”1. The spread of the Isis cult in
Nubia is a significant expression of this process: the goddess conquered a relevant role in Kushite
pantheon, and her iconography and nature were rielaborated according to the local needs.
A little number of evidences suggest the Lower Nubian knowledge of the goddess ever since
third millennium BC2. Nevertheless, the Isis cult first knew an official structure in Nubia during
New Kingdom Egyptian occupation3, when the worship of her as “Mistress of Nubia”4 highlighted
her fixed tie with Kush. Temples devoted to Isis were built at Faras5 and Buhen6, and she is depicted
on wall-reliefs of several Lower Nubian sacral buildings at Qasr Ibrim7, Semna West8, Kawa9, Beit
el-Wali10 and Gerf Hussein11. Depictions of Isis and other deities were especially for conveying a
clear political message by Egyptian conquerors in places of popular religiosity.
1 According to a definition by Fritz Hintze.

2 An Early Dynastic rock-cut inscription in Buhen invokes Horus and Isis; the two deities would have been later
associated to the Egyptian town (see Török 2009, 55).
3 Cult buildings honouring several deities were erected in this period within an integration policy on ideological and
practical levels. Some ones were to constitute local centres of economic administration.
4 This epithet can be seen, for example, in the Festival hall of Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) in Karnak and in the rock-
temple of Ramses II (1279-1212 BC) in Beit el-Wali (see Ricke et al. 1967, 31, pl. 41B). See also Budge 1912, 138-39.
5 Rock temple of Isis of Ibshek, erected during the Eighteenth Dynasty co-regency of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
(1473-1458 BC) within a wide project of social, political and economic organization from the First to the Fourth
Cataract (see Török 2009, 184-85).
6 Built by Amenhotep II in the Middle Kingdom outer fortress (see Porter and Moss 1952, 129 ff.) and restored
during the Twentieth Dynasty (see Török 1997b, 97).
7 Isis is represented, in the company of Min of Koptos, on the northern wall of a local rock shrine dating to the
solitary reign of Thutmose III (after 1458 BC); the relief shows officials while presenting tribute to the king (see
Porter and Moss 1952, 93).
8 The stone temple, set inside in the local fortress and erected during the co-regency of Hatshepsut and Thutmose
III, replaced a Middle Kingdom building restored by Thutmose I (1506-1493 BC); it was again rebuilt when
Thutmose III remained sole ruler, the decoration changing to honour his accession. On the northern front, within
an investiture cycle, the king is conducted by Montu and Isis to Dedwen (see Porter and Moss 1952, 148 (26);
Török 2009, 221).

9 The Amun Temple, later rebuilt by Twenty-Fifth Dynasty king Taharqo and known as Temple A, had been erected
by Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC), and some original scenes, even if greatly damaged, can be seen; Isis is shown in
the company of Min of Koptos while receiving calves from Tutankhamun on the eastern wall of the naos (Macadam
1955, 39 ff., pl. V/b).
10 The rock temple reports a monumental investiture cycle of deified Ramses II. In the forecourt the legitimation
of him is by its military victories, Isis making one of the showed divine triads with Horus of Kuban and Ramses
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himself in a niche of a side room; the king is legitimated in the vestibule by a group of deities, including Isis, who is
© 2015
finally represented on the sanctuary walls, whose scenes conclude the investiture, while suckling the young Ramses.
In the last scene the goddess is referred to as “Mistress of Nubia”, confirming the right of Ramses to rule Kush (see
Porter and Moss 1952, 23-25 (6)-(9), (23)-(26), (28)-(30), (32); Török 2009, 246-47).
11 The Nineteenth Dynasty rock temple was devoted to Ptah and deified Ramses II. Each longitudinal wall has four
niches containing three cult statues each one; with the exception of one of them, every group represents a triad
including deified Ramses and a divine couple, of which the king is clearly presented as heir. Isis makes one of the
couples with Horus of Aniba (see Porter and Moss 1952, 34 ff. (8)-(15); Török 2009, 255-57).
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JIIA.eu Isis in Kush, a Nubian soul for an Egyptian goddess
The Napatan encounter with Isis
The poor knowledge on the Nubian history from the Egyptian withdrawal in 1.059 BC to the
beginning of the Napatan epoch in the early eighth century BC, does not allow to draw clearly
the development of the Isis cult in Nubia before the accession of Piye (747-713 BC), who was the
nearest precursor of the Nubian Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, ruling Egypt until 663 BC.
The Napatan kingdom, ruling Nubia until 270 BC, constituted a fundamental period for the
widespread diffusion of the goddess throughout Kush, laying the bases for the subsequent large
following of her cult during the Meroitic epoch. The Napatan pantheon, almost slavishly taking the
Pharaonic one, strengthened the role of Isis by exploiting the foundations of the colonial period and
the direct learning of the theological bases of her cult by the temporary control of Egypt.
So far, no Napatan Isis temples have been brought to light, nevertheless the annals of king
Harsiyotef (first half of the fourth century BC) confirm her inclusion among state cults by reporting
festivals celebrated during his first thirty-five ruling years (FHN II, n. 78 l. 146-61). According to
his list, Isis was honoured with Osiris in Pr-gm-t (Kawa), M-r3-w3-t (Defeia) (Vercoutter 1961, 97
ff.; Zibelius 1972, 125) and G3-r-r-t (?), and with Osiris and Horus in S-h-r3-s3-t (?)12.
The Temple T of Taharqo (690-664 BC) in Kawa yielded a bronze aegis, as neck ornament made
from a semicircular base surmounted by a head of Isis. An uraeus is on the head of the goddess,
who wears a two-horned crown, whereas the collar is decorated with incised geometrical motifs
and shows two falcon heads on the shoulders (Macadam 1955, 174, pl. XCII/c [0627])13. Aegises
were cultic objects devoted to Isis (or maybe Hathor) adorning prows and sterns of divine barks in
temples. The aegis was found in the hypostyle hall of the temple, as well as a coeval bronze situla,
decorated with religious symbols and a group of deities made in relief, including Isis followed
by Horus wearing the Double Crown. Situlae were used for libations, allowing revivification, in
temple and funerary contexts, and were especially associated with the Isis cult (Kormysheva and
Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 106).
The Harsiyotef ’s list indicates the Kushite worship of the Osirian triad, that had already found
evidences in some of the several little chapels built by Twenty-Fifth Dynasty pharaohs at Karnak.
On the lintel of the Osiris neb-ankh chapel, Horus receives Taharqo, who offers wine to Isis and
Osiris; the lintel of the Osiris-padedankh chapel shows two divine couples placed according to a
symmetrical arrangement: on a side Isis follows Osiris, on the other one Horus appears behind
Amun; on a block statue of Pedismen, son of Pekosh (literally “The Nubian”), the Osirian and
Amun triads are depicted side by side. Other scenes usually represent Isis stretching out her
arms behind the shoulder of Osiris (Leclant 1981, 41-42). The finding at Kawa of many bronze
statuettes representing the three deities suggests the local relevance of the triad (Macadam 1955,
143, pls. LXXVIa, e-f, LXXVIIe, LXXXIc, XCIIc).
However, Napatan kings particularly strengthened the connection of Isis with Horus. The
goddess, referred to as “Mother of the God”14, had in fact a primary role in the divine legitimation
of the king, through the association of her and her son Horus with the Queen Mother and the
king15. It is clearly indicated from titularies of Napatan queens (Török 1995, 99 ff.) and kings16,
12 On the identification of these places see Török 2009, 370-71, table J.

13 On a possible relation of Isis with falcons see Gamer-Wallert 1983, 1: 195 ff. with reference to the representation
of the goddess in the Hibis Temple (cf. de Garis Davies 1953, pl. 4/3). Cf. also Török 2002a, 201, note 623.
14 On an eighth century BC example in the Nubian land see the inscription of Queen Kadimalo on the façade of the
temple of Dedwen and Sesostris III (1878-1842 BC) in Semna West (FHN I, n. 1). In the same inscription the
rarer epithet of “Mistress of all the Gods” is.
15 Cf. the Election stela of Aspelta in Gebel Barkal (FHN I, n. 37).
16 See for example the epithet “Son of Isis” attributed to Piye, who in his titulature took elements from Twenty-
Second Dynasty kings (FHN I, 49), and Nastaseñ (second half of the fourth century BC) (FHN II, n. 84 l. 3). See
also the stela of Taharqo in Tanis (Macadam 1949, pls. 9-10) and the two identical inscriptions on the pylon of his
Temple T in Kawa (Török 2002a, 84-85).
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JIIA.eu Marco Baldi, University of Pisa – ISMEO – Centro Studi Petrie
as Aspelta’s epithet “protector of his mother Isis” (FHN I, n. 40 l. 15)17. Moreover, the epithet
“mistress of Nubia”, which had been for honouring Isis during New Kingdom18, was often
associated to queens in the Napatan period19.
The mother-son relationship between Isis and Horus, that
was reflected in the one between king and queen mother, had
been already in Egypt and was emphasized in Kush, conferring
a very high place to royal women20 and so greatly favouring the
widespread of the Isis cult. The association between the two
deities was a common theme in Kushite inscriptions and artistic
media. It had the emblematic very recurrent expression in the
intimate and strongly symbolic act of nursing; though a little
number of evidences show the same gesture sometimes made by
other goddesses in Kush, as Mut21, Bastet22 and Hathor23, Isis
still preserved a pre-eminent role. The nursing allowed to share
the essence of royalty, as well as when Isis suckled the king, who
was sacralised and introduced into the divine sphere (Lohwasser
2001a, 70)24. The act was an integral part of the ritual bound to
king’s birth, coronation and rebirth in the afterworld.
Such theme, that had been sometimes depicted in wall reliefs,
was first represented in the statuary in Egypt just during the Twenty-
Fifth Dynasty. Early examples were bronze statuettes possibly
reproducing the features of God’s wife of Amun Amenirdis I
Figure 1. Begrawiya West, Pyra- (Kashta’s daughter)25 and a granite statue representing her successor
mid 846, Amulet show- Shepenwepet II (Taharqo’s sister)26 (Leclant 1981, 41).
ing seated Isis suckling
Many Napatan objects showing Isis lactans have been brought
her son Horus. Gold.
25th Dynasty (after Wil- to light, especially as grave goods (fig. 1). Isis was generally shown
dung 1996, cat. no. 189). wearing her typical originally Egyptian crown, in form of a sun disc
between cow horns; a decorated band under the crown, spreading
17 This was an unique adaptation of the royal epithet “Horus, protector of his father (Osiris)” (see Onasch 1984, 141).
The reign of Aspelta was on the first half of the sixth century BC.
18 See note 4. In the Napatan epoch, for Isis as “mistress of Nubia” in the room B 502 of the Temple B 500 in Gebel Barkal
under Piye see Török 2002a, 63. In the Ptolemaic temple of Bigeh Isis is “ruler of Nubia” (Blackman 1915, 14, pl. XIV).
19 On Qalhata – Shabaqo’s wife and Tanwetamani’s sister – see the “Dream stela” of Tanwetamani from Temple B 500
(664 BC) (FHN I, n. 29 l. 21-22 of the text under the winged sundisc); on Aspelta’s mother Nasalsa see the Election
stela of the king from B 500 (FHN I, n. 37 l. 1 of the scene at the top and l. 19, 21 of the main text) and the Adoption
stela of the same king from Sanam (?) (FHN I, n. 39 l. 1-2 of the text above king’s mother and l. 10 of the main text);
on Malotaral – Atlanersa’s wife and Senkamaniskeñ’s mother – see the inscription on a serpentinite heart scarab in
her tomb in Nuri (Nu 41) (Dunham 1955, fig. 31) and an inscribed New Year seal (from Thebes?) (Letellier 1977,
44); on Harsiyotef ’s mother Atasamalo see the annals of the king (FHN II, n. 78 l. 1 of the text above the queen); on
Nastaseñ’s mother Pelkha see the annals of the king (FHN II, n. 84 of the text behind the king).
20 The concept of Kushite queenship was strongly influenced from the institution of Divine Adoratrice.
21 See an aegis of Kashta (Leclant 1963, figs. 2-5) and an amulet from Sanam (Griffith 1923, 135, 166, pl. LV/12).
22 See a menat of Taharqo (Leclant 1961, pl. I) and a faience amulet from a Napatan tomb of an unidentified child in
the western cemetery in Meroe (Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 167). See also the Nastaseñ
stela (FHN II, n. 84 l. 32-33).
23 For the only known representation of Hathor suckling a Twenty-Fifth Dinasty queen see Török 1997b, fig. 1.
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24 Cf. note 10. See for example a faience Napatan amulet from a Sanam tomb, showing Isis suckling a child having
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the Double Crown (Griffith 1923, 135, 157, pl. LV/8); a bronze statuette of Taharqo from Temple T in Kawa
showing a child crowned with two uraeus (Macadam 1955, 143, pl. LXXVII); a gilded silver amulet from El Kurru
(tomb Ku 52 of queen Nefrukekasta, Twenty-Fifth Dynasty) (Dunham 1950, 82 n. 1145, pl. LX/c, LXX/b/4/1).
Other references in Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 63, 99. For a Napatan silver amulet
representing a rare figure of a queen suckled by Isis, see Wenig 1978, cat. no. 95.
25 Berlin 2878 and Hildesheim 1739. The reign of Kashta was from 760 to 747 BC.
26 Tam Tinh Tran 1973, fig. 7.
99
from Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, was characteristic for Nubian images. Physical features of round
sculptures, as wide shoulders, short neck and massive feet, were ancient Sudanese contributions
as well27. Very common iconography represents Isis sitting on a throne and holding a child in her
lap28, whereas a few items show the goddess and Horus standing, she giving breast to the child29.
Goods representing Isis were mainly recurrent in royal women tombs, in order to highlight
their identification with the goddess. The association of the Kuhite queens with Isis, that mainly
justified their relevant role in royal ideology, could have found expression in the burials of some of
them at Abydos during Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and the immediately previous period, Egypt being
opened to the Napatan kings30. Abydos was in fact one of the most important sites of Osiris and
Isis cult, and burying queens here strengthened their link with the goddess.
The Twenty-Fifth Dynasty pharaohs especially exploited the Isis legend in order to legitimate
their rule on Egypt, as significantly suggested by a stela of Taharqo (690-664 BC), set in a Kawa
Amun Temple (Temple T) to commemorate an exceptional inundation of the Nile in the sixth year
of his reign (FHN I, n. 22; Török 1997b, 225-26). The inscription glorifies the king and in its final
part offers legitimation to his power through the association of Queen Mother Abar and Taharqo
with Isis and Horus: recalling his ascent, it describes the visit of Abar at Memphis on Taharqo’s
enthronement and compares the joy of the Queen Mother with the reaction of Isis seeing her
son Horus crowned, in accordance with the Chemmis legend31. The essential royal function of
the goddess is expressed by the coeval onomatology as well: it is especially significant the name
Diise-hebsed (“May Isis grant the Sed-feast”), in addition to other ones as Hetep-iset (“May Isis be
in favour”), Horsiese (“(A second) Horus, son of Isis”). Iset-khal, the name of Atlanersa’s wife (mid-
seventh century BC), is composed from the name of Isis and the unclear element –khal.
On the other hand, the occurrence of royal women in the coronation and cult scenes was a very
recurrent theme of the Napatan period32. Mother, wife and sisters of the Nubian king held in this
occasions a greater role than their Egyptian counterparts, and they were often entrusted with ritual
duties that were only made by men in the Pharaonic kingdom.
Depictions showed king’s female relatives accompanying the king, playing the sistrum as
preliminary activity to the ritual33, and pouring libations to Amun, in the lunettes of royal stelae34
27 See for example a faience amulet from El Kurru (tomb Ku 53 of Queen Tabiry, Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, ca 716 BC)
(Dunham 1950, 88 n. 1381, pl. LI.A-B; Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 3).
28 See for example the faience statuette, of doubtful source, attributed to the Napatan period, in Kormysheva and
Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 150; a faience amulet from El Kurru (tomb Ku 51 of an unidentified queen
of Piye, Twenty-Fifth Dynasty) (Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 19) and an analogous
piece from the same cemetery (tomb Ku 52 of queen Nefrukekasta, Twenty-Fifth Dynasty) (Dunham 1950,
82 n. 1092, pl. LIII/a-b); from this latter tomb see a lapis amulet showing the same motif (Dunham 1950, 82
n. 1046, pl. LXX/b/3/2). See the two Twenty-Fifth Dynasty gold statuettes in Meroe West cemetery: tomb W
832 (Wildung 1996, cat. no. 188) and W 846 (Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 189).
For a bidimensional representation see the Napatan steatite rectangular plaque showing Isis nursing Horus in a
swampland in Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 51.
29 See for example a faience double-sided amulet from El Kurru (tomb Ku 51 of an unidentified queen of Piye,
Twenty-Fifth Dynasty) (Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 20).
30 Kashta’s wife Pebatma (mother of Piye and Shabaqo), Piye’s wife Petekereslo/Peksater and Shebitqo’s wife Istemkheb
were buried at Abydos (see Wenig 1990; Leahy 1994; Török 1997b, 234-35).
31 Cf. Altenmüller 1974; Bergman 1968, 137 ff. The same model was later used to legitimate the ascent of Anlamani
(see FHN I, n. 34) and Irike-Amannote (second half of the fifth century BC) (see FHN II, n. 71). The actual
occurrence of this journeys by mothers of the kings on the coronation ritual cannot be proven.
32 See for example the internal wall reliefs of the room B 303 in the Temple B 300 in Gebel Barkal, showing Taharqo
followed by his mother Abar and by his wife Takahatamani respectively (Robisek 1989); the “Dream Stela” of
Tanwetamani in Temple B 500 in Gebel Barkal, its lunette showing the king followed by his wife Piye-ere in the left
scene and by his mother Kalhata in the right scene (FHN I, n. 29); the enthronement stela of Anlamani from Kawa
(late seventh century BC), showing the king while offering to Amen-Rȇ in the company of the Queen Mother
Nasalsa (Macadam 1949, 44-50, pls. 15 f.)
33 The sistrum was generally associated with Isis and Hathor. For a faience Meroitic sistrum see Kormysheva and
Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, n. 141.
34 For Tanwetamani see Grimal 1981, pl. I; for Harsiyotef see Grimal 1981, pl. X; for Aspelta see Macadam 1949, pl.
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as well as in temple reliefs35 and royal funerary chapels36 (Lohwasser 2001a, 67 ff.). Differently
from Egypt, Kushite royal women participated actively in the rite, communicated directly with
the gods and, in their identification as Isis, could mediate between people, king and deities (Török
2002a, 304; Bergman 1968, 202). In the coronation scenes, symbolizing the restoration of order
after the death of the previous king, mother and/or wife of the new sovereign legitimated his rule
through their identification with Isis; this confirms the very relevant role of the female counterpart
of the king in Kush (Lohwasser 2001a, 68).
According to Török (1997b, 235), the appointment of royal women as priestesses concealed
also more pragmatic considerations, they having to be distinguished as predestined king’s mothers.
In this sense, royal women were sometimes assigned to priestly offices which were connected to the
power of the king. Twenty-Fifth Dynasty Kushite women as God’s Wives of Amun in Thebes were
especially to legitimate the Nubian pharaohs in Egypt. Representation of them close to the king in
official scenes in Egypt, substituting the queen, was the right compromise for the spread of Kushite
ideology of queenship among Egyptian people, who were not used to see women accompanying
the king in cult and coronation depictions (Lohwasser 2001a, 70).
The influx of Philae on Meroitic Isis
According to the actual knowledge, the Napatan kings had determined a new phase in the
religious history of the Nubian territories. Isis, as well as several Egyptian deities, had been first
accepted in the pantheon of an indigenous Nubian state, and she had conquered a pre-eminent
role in the Kushite royal ideology. The Meroitic rulers, ascending in 270 BC, respected the Napatan
heritage and increased the relevance of Isis37, who was to oversee several aspects of the Kushite life38.
Meroitic Isis resulted from a general review of the Nubian religion, that feed on a deeper
elaboration of the Egyptian theology than Napatans had done, by promoting the ascent of
autochthonous and Hellenistic deities. The syncretic process of indigenous traditions and foreign
influxes greatly marked the Meroitic identity, that found in the Isis temple in Philae, at the first
cataract, the main elements towards a revision of the nature of the goddess. The early religious
interest of the Kushite kingdoms for this territory, as early as 690 BC, is suggested by a granite altar
dedicated to Amun of Takompso (arabic Maharraqa) and showing the cartouche of Taharqo39.
Isis as “Mistress of Philae” was worshipped on the island of Philae first on Twenty-Sixth
Dynasty (Giammarusti and Roccati 1980, 58 ff.), but the building program of the temple complex
started under Nectanebos I (380-362 BC) and was continued by Ptolemy II (285-246 BC) and
Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246-221 BC)40. Building activity by Nubian king Arkamani (270-260
BC) highlights the active presence of Meroites at Philae during the Ptolemaic period. The great
attention to the Isis cult in Philae would be derived from the association of the goddess with
Ptolemaic royal ideology and, more pragmatically, was part of a religious policy that the Hellenistic
kings inaugurated after the revolt in Upper Egypt between 207/206 and 186 BC. According to
Török (2009, 406), they oriented the temple towards south, therefore towards Nubia, not because
40; for Nastaseñ see Schafer 1901, pl. I.

35 On Temple B 300 of Taharqo in Gebel Barkal see Robisek 1989, 113-14; on Temple B 700 in Gebel Barkal see
Griffith 1929, pl. V; on Temple T of Taharqo in Kawa see Macadam 1955, pls. 14b, 64e-i. In Egypt, this rite was
reserved for the king.
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36 According to Török (1997b, note 463), earliest known example is on the pyramid Nu 6 of Anlamani (623-593 BC)
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(Dunham 1955, pl. XX/A).

37 For Mediterranean literary references on the local worship of Isis see Agatarchides of Cnidus in Diodorus Siculus
3.9.2, and Strabo XVII, 2, 3.
38 As in the Napatan times, Meroitic onomatology confirms the spread of the Isis cult in theophoric names as Wosmol
(REM 0214), Wosmẖeye (REM 0211), Wosn.s (REM 0118), Wosptkide (REM 0292), Wostkel (REM 0386).
39 This altar, later set in the south-eastern corner of the forecourt of the Isis temple, highlights the most ancient known
cult activity at Philae (Griffith 1931, 128).
40 See Török 2009, 386 and further references in his note 47.
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they considered Isis a Nubian goddess, but because the inundation arrived from south. Isis was
associated in many ways with the Inundation, as confirmed by a Ptolemaic hymn from the Philae
temple, which defines her as
giver of life, residing in the sacred mound, [...] she is the one who pours out the Inundation41.
The Nubian origin of the annual Nile inundation was alluded by ritual objects, as a fine terracotta
statuette representing a female Nubian attendant of Isis of Philae, depicted in kneeling position
while performing a Greek-type mortuary wine libation. It was probably made in Alexandria during
the second third of the second century BC42. According to Török (2009, 4), the object, identified
as a libation vessel, could have served as a container for the holy water of the Nile inundation43.
The temple in Philae acquired a central role in the geopolitical context of the Lower Nubian
region, and conserved its relevance after the Roman conquer of Egypt, as main theatre of diplomatic
relations between the northern rulers – Ptolemies before and Romans later – and the Meroitic
kingdom to the south. Philae was considered the frontier between Egypt and Nubia in the Roman
period (Török 2009, esp. 20-21, 443); a Greek epigram, inscribed in 7 BC on the south pylon of
the temple by the Alexandrian pilgrim Catilius, reports that the personified
Philae calls out: “I am the beautiful border of Egypt

and the far-off limits of the land of the Aithiopians”44.
In AD 141-142 the Greek orator Aelius Aristides, who had travelled until the Egyptian frontier
region, wrote:
When I was on my way south [from Syene] to the Altars where the Aithiopians have a garrison,
the road took me far from the river bank; but I cut over to the anchorage which is the first above
the First Cataract (Katadoupoi), and passed over to Philae. This is an island on the border between
Egypt and Aithiopia, no larger than the city on it45.
The (symbolic) donation act of Dodekaschoinos to Isis by the conquerors of Egypt highlights
the politic power granted to the temple institution in Philae (Török 2009, 400-401). A Ptolemy
VI Philometor’s (180-145 BC) decree donating the region was carved in 157 BC on a stela set in
front of the eastern tower of the second pylon of the temple, and later englobed inside a chapel
built around it46. Augustus was represented while donating Dodekaschoinos to Isis in a relief on
the eastern exterior wall of the temple (Hölbl 2004, fig. 106).
The wealth of the temple was assured from taxes on goods transported on the Nile from Egypt
to Nubia47, donations48 and tributes, as suggested by a list, inscribed under Ptolemy II after c.
41 Žabkar 1988, 51.
42 It is actually kept in the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. no. T 534.
43 For this statuette see Török 2009, 1 ff.
44 FHN II, n. 169.
45 Aelius Aristides 36.48; FHN III, n. 230. See also Török 2009, 21, notes 79-80. Other sources regarding Philae as
frontier: on a Greek epigram on the south pylon of the Isis temple see FHN II, n. 170; on the Strabo’s report see
1.2.32 and FHN III, n. 188; on the emperor Septimius Severus’ account see Cassius Dio 76.13.1 and FHN III, n.
241; on Heliodorus’ Greek novel Aithiopika see 8.1.2-3 and FHN III, n. 274.
46 On the text of the decree see Török 2009, 400.
47 Cf. Török 2009, 401 and note 156 for explaining and further references. Cf. also Kormysheva 2010, 150-51 and
notes 1315-17.
48 The temple would had already received donations from Alexander IV (317-305 BC), son of Alexander the Great
(see Locher 1999, 133, note 63, and Török 2009, 386). On donations from Meroitic kings and officials see for
example the graffiti reported in FHN III, nn. 253, 260, 262. Cf. Kormysheva 2010, 150-51, note 1316.
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275-274 BC in the Isis temple, reporting Lower and Upper Nubian nomes bringing tribute to the
goddess (FHN II, n. 112)49.
The several graffiti on the temple, in Hieroglyphic, Demotic, Greek and cursive Meroitic writings,
represent the most direct evidences of the great flow of pilgrims to Philae from Egypt and Nubia50. The
words left on the walls communicate the religious sentiment of the period men, describing a way of
worship that preserved Egyptian traditions but also expressed typically African forms of piety; requesting
prophecies was common. Moreover, they offer a cross-section of the political relations made by the temple
institution with the Meroitic court; Kushite kings received and elaborated from diplomatic network
specific aspects of Philaean theological speculations, imposing a new character of Isis to the royal territories.
Supplications and devotion messages of Meroitic people, in Philae and other Lower Nubian places51,
sometimes report in fact offices and actions made honouring the goddess, as well as dating. In addition
to humble pilgrims, graffiti were made by Meroitic priests (FHN III, n. 256; Dak. 32), ambassadors to
Philae and high officials in the administration of Dodekaschoinos temples, clearly operating on behalf
of the Nubian king and as vehicle of Egyptian knowledge to the Kushite territories. Officials’ Demotic
inscriptions especially combine proskynema with accounts of their diplomatic missions52.
The occurrence of Meroitic envoys to Philae has its main evidence in the so-called “Meroitic chamber”,
a side room in the forecourt of the Isis temple53, depicting an embassy dated around the mid-third
century AD, maybe under Nubian king Laẖidamani (Török 1978, 313-14) (fig. 2). Two processions of
Meroitic officials, flanked by inscriptions in Meroitic cursive script54, are depicted along the west, north
and east internal walls of the room, for a total of eighteen figures representing six different men55; the
multiple engraving of some dignitaries suggests that each of them carries out more than one action. They
pay homage to Isis, offer letter and gifts of the king to the goddess, while an official is represented making
a sacrifice in her honour. The occasion the mission arrived to Philae for is unclear56.
Several official titles accompany the figures. According to them, the Meroitic dignitaries
making this and other embassies57 were members of a priestly college of Philae controlling the
temples of Dodekaschoinos in the second half of the third century AD; they were also, in an
unclear manner, representatives of the Nubian king. For example, the title “chief ritualist of the
49 The preserved names report nomes of Senmut (Biggeh), Ḥwt-ḫnt, “Nearer-compound” (Philae), Pr-mrt, “House-
of- the-margin-of-the-desert ”, B3kt, “Taxer” (Kuban), Ỉtfy (= I”tfAt) (Sedeinga), T3-w3ḏ, “Green-land” (Dongola
region?), P3A-nbst, “House-of the-zizyphus-tree” (Pnubs=Kerma), P-t-tn- Ḥr /P-t-n-3, probably for Pr-gm-Ỉtn
(Kawa), Nỉpt (Napata), Mỉ-r-wA-ỉ (City of Meroe), Pḥ(w)-Kns(t) (Farthest Upper-Nubia); for the translation see
Török 2009, 386. The temple obtained one tenth of income of Meroitic kings, royal legates and other officials: see
graffiti Ph. 54/8-13; Dak. 12; FHN III, nn. 253, 260, 261. Cf. Kormysheva 2010, 150-51.
50 Many pilgrims arrived for sure from Nubia; several graffiti in Arminna and Karanog include the invocation “Oh,
Isis, take me to Meroe unscathed” (see Millet 1977, 318). On Isis as patron of pilgrimage see FHN III, nn. 260,
262. Juvenal mentioned the pilgrimage to Philae from Meroe in his sixth satire (l. 527 ff.)
51 Lower Nubian proskynemata by Meroites have been found in Isis temples at Debod, Kertassi and Maharraqa,
besides Philae, and in temples devoted to other gods at Kalabsha, Dendur, Dakka and Korte, as well as in Amara,
Arminna, Faras, Karanog, Toshka, Nag Gamus and Argin. Moreover, in Upper Nubian sites as Sedeinga, Gebel
Barkal and Meroe similar graffiti were noted (cf. Bumbaugh 2009, 8-11; Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss
2006, 21). Graffiti by Meroitic people were sometimes written in Demotic or Greek, besides in the Meroitic
language. Twenty-seven inscriptions written in Demotic, two in Greek and thirty-one in cursive Meroitic were
attributed to Meroites (see Bumbaugh 2011, 66).
52 Two cursive Meroitic graffiti carved on the Isis temple could suggest a personal visit of king Yesebokheamani to
Philae (REM 0119, REM 0120; cfr. FHN III, n. (276)). For a literary evidence of rites in Philae ordered by a
Meroitic king see Pope 2014, esp. 580-81.
53 Griffith 1912, 34 ff., pls. XVIII-XXX; REM 0097-0111; FHN III, n. 267.
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54 The room yielded the largest concentration of inscriptions in Meroitic script in Philae.
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55 They hold a peculiar sceptre made from superimposed upside-down triangles, often called “Isis flower” (see Roeder
1910). Contra: Žabkar 1975, 111-12.
56 On this topic see Török 1978, 315-16; Bumbaugh 2011, 69.
57 On the embassies in AD 252 and 253 reported by Pasan see FHN III, n. 260; on the embassy of Tami and Abratoye
in AD 260 see FHN III, nn. 265-66. Moreover, in a graffito dated to AD 253 in Philae a Meroitic man called Sasan
identifies himself as Meroe’s “Great Envoy to Rome” (FHN III, 260 l. 1; cf. Burstein 2009; Pope 2014); it is the
only appearance of such a title in known Lower Nubian graffiti, and seems to suggest a political task.
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King of Kush” (Demotic ḥr-tp n nsw n Kš), attributed also to Wayekiye (FHN III, n. 245) and
Hornakhtyotef II (FHN III, n. 251), could suggest intellectual contacts between the Meroitic
court and influential priestly members of Nubian origin in Egyptian Dodekaschoinos (FHN III,
971-72). The association between the offices of Peseto (Meroitic viceroy in Lower Nubia) and
Perite (“agent of Isis”)58 is significant as well (Edwards 2004, 161). Other titles, most of them
unclear, indicate different offices serving the goddess59.
Despite the religious titles, the role of the all abovementioned officials was generally priestly in
name only; their real activity concerned the economic affairs of the temples60. According to Török
(1984, 166), for example the title “High priest of Amun in Akiñ (i.e. Lower Nubia)” (wo Mni-s-lẖ
Akiñ-te), borne by Abratoye (REM 0321) and Ḫwitror (REM 0247), could have indicated a sort
Figure 2. Philae, Meroitic chamber, Images and inscriptions. Mid-third century AD (after Griffith 1912, pl. XVIII).
58 The title perite/pirite, deriving from the Egyptian p3rwd, p rt, appears in several sources dated from second century
BC to late fourth century AD (see FHN II, nn. 162 l. 1, 180 l. 1, 181 l. 1, 182 l. 3, 183 l. 3, 185 l. 8; FHN III,
nn. 231 l. 2, 244 l. 2, 249 l. 5, 250 l. 2, 251 l. 2-3, 252 l. 4, 253 l. 1, 256 l. 2, 257 l. 1, 262 l. 4; REM 0088 l. 8;
REM 0099 l. 4-5; REM 0111 l. 1-5; REM 0122; REM 1003 l. 10, 12; Edwards 1994, 21 l. 4). The title, usually
associated to the name of Isis (Demotic and Hieroglyphic ‘Ist, Meroitic Wos/Wosse), could have indicated a temple
official, with probable financial tasks, serving a centralised authority maybe coinciding with the priestly college
leading the main temples in Dodekaschoinos (see esp. FHN III, 968; Török 1979, 35-41). Perite/pirite was often
associated to the Meroitic title qoreñ/qȇreñ, the same person generally holding at the same time (see FHN II, n.
155 l. 5; FHN III, nn. 231 l. 1, 244 l. 2, 245 l. 12, 249 l. 5, 250 l. 2, 251 l. 2, 252 l. 4, 256 l. 1, 257 l. 1, 262 l. 4;
REM 0088 l. 7; REM 0089 l. 6; REM 0100 l. 2; REM 0111 l. 1-5); this title, as well as the rarer qer (REM 0109
l. 5-6; REM 0111 l. 1-5), indicated a relation with the Meroitic king (called qore) and can be generically translated
as “regal man” (see Török 1979, 42-48).
59 “Hont-priest of Isis” (D. ḥm-ntr n ‘Ist) appoints a prophet (see FHN II, n. 185 l. 11; FHN III, nn. 249 l. 4, 250 l.
3, 257 l. 1, 262 l. 5, 306 l. 1). “Waab-priest of Isis” (D. p3 w’b n ‘Ist) would indicate a low hierarchic level in the
priesthood of a temple (see FHN II, nn. 162 l. 1, 185 l. 1; for interpretation see FHN III, 971). The term “arbetegaye”
(D. 3rbtg’y3), regarded as a Demotic transcription of the Meroitic title arbetke/arbtke and translated as “measurer
of corn”, indicates a tax-collector (see FHN III, n. 261 l. 1; REM 0292; REM 1020; REM 1116; for interpretation
see Griffith 1937, 120; Török 1979, 3-13; FHN III, 1014). Other noted titles, of unclear meaning, are “overseers of
singer of Isis” (D. mr-ḥsỉw n ‘Ist) (see FHN II, n. 182 l. 6), “shrine-openers of Isis” (D. wnw n ‘Ist) (see FHN II, n.
185 l. 2) and “khuite of Isis” (D. ḫwyṱe n ‘Ist) (see FHN III, 263 l. 2). It is unclear if the term “semte of Isis”, only
known from funerary texts, describes an administrative position, being applied to women; hypothetically translated as
“sister of Isis”, it could indicate a person devoted to a goddess but not belonging to her official cult (see REM 0252;
REM 0521 l. 4-5; REM 1281; Rilly and Francigny 2010, 66, note 10; 2011, 77-79, fig. 2, pl. 4).
60 See Török 1984, 165.
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of supervision over the Amun temples of the province. Moreover, some officials, as Manitawawi
and Hornakhtyotef II, were “agents of the King of the Land of Nubia” (rṯw n Pr-‘3 n P3-t3-n-
Nḥs), “princes of the country of Takompso” (rpyw n t3 ḫ3st n Ty-km-600) and “chiefs (?) of the
Triacontaschoinos” (rpḥtp n p3 ṯ3y-n-30): it suggests that they appeared as (hereditary) princes
(rp’i) of the southern Dodekaschoinos and governors of Lower Nubia by the king of Meroe (Török
1997b, 474). Moreover, since the late second century AD Meroitic dignitaries held more once
in the Isis temple the office of “lesonis-priest” (mr-šn)61; the title designated the high priest of a
temple, appointed by the priestly college for a tenure of one year. He probably had administrative
and economic duties and led daily offer rituals and annual feasts bound to Isis (FHN III, 946;
Kormysheva 2010, 151-52)62. Such positions increased the influence of this officials on the territories
and on the Meroitic court, and made them political tools of the king himself at the same time63.
Such feasts attracted a massive pilgrimage; the festivals more often mentioned in graffiti by
Meroites are Khoiak64 and Isis’ Feast of Entry, that represented the main occasions of journeying to
Philae for Meroitic envoys and pilgrims. The Festival of Entry provided for a visit by Isis to the tomb
of her husband Osiris in Abaton on Biga island – very close to Philae – in order to offer him milk
libations; two Ptolemaic decrees carved on the Hadrian’s Gate of the Isis temple describes the ritual
(Junker 1913, 12-17, 55-57). This occasion would seem have been particularly significant for the
Meroites, judging from Lower Nubian inscriptions65 and especially from offering tables from Meroe
pyramids showing Abaton-style milk libations, usually performed by Anubis and Nephthys (Yellin
1982b); it suggests that, at least since first century AD, the mortuary practices in the southern half of
the Meroitic kingdom, in contact with Philae, were strongly influenced from its rituals.
The month of Khoiak, lasting from 27th November to 26th December, marked the end of the Nile
flood; at this time the resurrection of Osiris was celebrated in order to assure the continued richness
of the soils, his cult being intimately linked with the fertility of the land (Stadelmann 1982, 1162).
During Khoiak, and in other boat processions, Nubian deities visited the Isis temple, strengthening the
connection of the Meroitic society with Philae and its goddess. A Greek epigram inscribed around the
beginning of the Christian epoch on the south pylon tower of the Isis temple reports so:
Having arrived at the island, the limits of Egypt, most beautiful, holy,
(place) of Isis, in the face of Aithiopia,
we saw in the river Nile fast-sailing ships
which carried the Aithiopians’ shrines, worthy of the gods,
to our land, the wheat-bearing, worth a visit,
which all mortal men on earth revere (FHN II, n. 170/II).
The constant contact with the island assured by high officials, pilgrims and trade network, as
well as the knowledge from Greek-Roman temples in Dodekaschoinos, brought coeval Egyptian
theology to Kush, “Isis of Philae” (Wos Pileqe-te) first appearing on Meroitic monuments in the
late third century BC (Baud 2010b, 220).

The wider authority of Isis than past in Egypt and Kush was the result of a deep syncretic
process, the Philae priests unifying different original forms of the goddess in an unique divine
entity who preserved her Egyptian tracts lacking Hellenistic influxes. In my opinion, in fact,
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61 For Meroitic “lesonis-priests” see FHN III, nn. 232 l. 2, 251 l. 11.
62 For the direct witness by this priests see FHN III, nn. 245 l. 12-14, 251 l. 6-8, 260 l. 6-7 12-14, 261 l. 7-8.
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63 A significant place is to be reserved to the Kushite family of Wayekiye, a very powerful group in Lower Nubia from
the end of the second century to the late fourth century AD (see Török 1978; 1979).
64 Three inscriptions by Meroites are certainly dated during the month of Khoiak (FHN III, nn. 260, 263; Ph. 449).
Cf. also Bumbaugh 2011, 67-68. According to Leclant (1981, 49-50), a Greek proskynema by the Meroitic envoy
Abratoye would indicate his participation to this feast (see FHN III, 265).
65 See FHN III, nn. 244, 245, 251, 253. Cf. also Bumbaugh 2011, esp. 68; Pope 2014, esp. 581.
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Meroitic Isis was an elaboration of Isis of Philae66, Nubian priesthood adapting the new cult
to local needs and specifying the relations of the goddess with the other deities of the renewed
Kushite pantheon. Other views have recognized in Kushite Isis the Hellenistic form of the goddess
(Kormysheva 2010, 153-54; Hofmann 1984, 128). Nevertheless, Hellenism outlined an exactly
opposed course respect to one seen in Philae and Kush, giving life to manifold expressions of
Isis, often identifying them with deities of the Greek-Roman tradition. In Philae and Kush she
acquired her new form without losing her identity and without suffering the fragmentation in
several entities that was a typical tract of Hellenized Isis67.
Isis in the Meroitic royal ideology
The Meroitic rulers gave continuity to the Napatan heritage emphasizing the role of Isis in the
divine legitimation of the king68, as especially reflected in the decoration program of Musawwarat es
Sufra buildings, whose core is dated to Arnekhamani (235-218 BC). Significant scenes appear among
reliefs adorning the peristyle of Hall 101 of the Great Enclosure, that reports the investiture-cycle of
the king. In the back scene of the column 7 Isis, wearing the two-horned crown, presents the king
by offering him the Lower Egyptian crown, while he is embraced by Horus, placed before Isis, and
Thot from behind (fig. 3)69. An analogous coronation scene can be seen in the first century AD Amun
Temple in Naga. The next step of the
investiture-cycle in Hall 101, depicted
in the frontal scene of the column
8, shows the king in full regalia and
protected by a male deity70 while Isis
assures him the divine legitimation by
touching his crown ribbons (Török
2002a, 181, fig. 27 right; Hintze et al.
1993, fig. 179).
In Musawwarat es Sufra itself the
ruling-right of the Meroitic king was
strengthened from the relationship
of the goddess with Horus in their
identification with queen mother
(kandake) and king (qore). The reliefs
of the coeval Apedemak Temple and
Temple II A shows Isis suckling Horus Figure 3. Musawwarat es Sufra, Great Enclosure, Hall 101, Column 7.
in accordance with the Egyptian 3rd century BC (after Török 2002, fig. 26).
and Napatan traditions; while the
Chemmis motif appears in the Apedemak Temple in a more general context of legitimacy (Hintze
et al. 1971, pl. 81), the Temple II A shows a scene cycle directly linked to the dynastic succession71.
In a stela in Philae, Isis, presented as mother of king Adikhalamani (ca. 207/6-186 BC), says “(I)
66 Cf. Leclant 1981, 49; Millet 1984, 120; Onasch 1984, 140; Welsby 1996, 75-76.
67 However, in a few cases the Meroitic representation of Isis was influenced by the Hellenistic style (see a statue from
the Amun Temple at Naga in Wildung 2001, 326-29, taf. 10.1-4). Hellenism undoubtedly influences the Meroitic
culture: for a my brief account see Baldi 2012. Cf. also Török 2006; 2011.
68 Significantly, the epithet “beloved of Isis” (Mrỉ-‘Is.t) is included in the Son-of-Rȇ name of Meroitic kings, maybe
under the impact of Ptolemy IV’s titulary (222-205 BC): for Arnekhamani see FHN II, n. (124); for Arkamani see
FHN II, n. (128); for Adikhalamani see FHN II, n. (130). For the occurrence of Mrỉ-‘Is.t in a stela of Adikhalamani
from Philae see FHN II, n. 132.
69 See Török 2002a, 181, fig. 26 left; Hintze et al. 1993, 108, abb. 58 right.
70 According to the conservation state, the depicted god could be Amun of Thebes or Sebiumeker (see Török 2002a, note 621).
71 For the Chemmis scene see Török 2002a, fig. 38.
106
have granted you power (just) as (I once did to my) son [Horus]”72. The goddess was sometimes
associated with queen and king’s mother at the same time, as well as in the Napatan period; in the
temple of Debod she is “consort and sister73 of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt74”, “the divine
mother of powerful Bull” (Roeder 1911, 80, § 216, taf. 31)75.
The Chemmis myth appears in a stela in Egyptian hieroglyphic script by king Aryamani
(third century BC) found in the Temple A at Kawa (Macadam 1949, 76-81, pls. 32-34), and
Isis lactans was a recurrent theme in the Meroitic media, as already in the Napatan period, in
temple76 and funerary77 goods (figs. 4, 5). The divine family was traditionally completed by
Osiris78, as highlighted by the fragment of a stela of king Adikhalamani reused as building
material in the temple of Amasis (570-526 BC) and Nectanebos I (380-362 BC) at Philae:
in the inscription the king, shown while offering to Osiris, Isis and two forms of the god P3 nty n
p3 ỉw-w’b79, is son of Isis and Osiris and thus heir of Osiris (FHN II, n. 132).
Underworld deities
The association with Osiris was especially recurrent in the funerary context, Isis worshipped as
underworld goddess according to the Egyptian tradition. The depiction of the divine couple is on
granite stelae of Napatan kings80, queens81 and highly-ranked people; the stand figure of the dead
is shown while worshipping Osiris, stand or seated on a throne, whereas Isis is behind the god and
stretches out her arm towards him as protection; in a few cases Anubis is also represented behind
the goddess. The scene is usually on the lunette, surmounting the invocation text.
According to a custom unknown in Egypt, in the tomb of Tanwetamani (664-656 BC) in El
Kurru (Ku 16), that has partly preserved its painted decoration, the doorjambs leading from the
anteroom to the burial chamber show the figures of Isis and Nephthys symbolically furnishing
bandages to the king82. The protective function of Isis founds a peculiar expression in tombs
72 FHN II, n. 132 l. 1 of the scene in front of the Isis’ crown.

73 The term “sister” often identified the king’s wife.
74 Although the Nubian kings had lost the control of Egypt, this title was often still used.
75 Cf. Troy 1986, in part. 89-91.
76 For a bronze image and a stone statuette in the Isis Temple at Meroe see Garstang et al. 1911, 18. For two faience
amulets from Meroe see Shinnie and Bradley 1980, figs. 60, 63. For a faience statuette in the Amun Temple at
Naga see Wildung 2001, 308, taf. 3.1-4. For a serpentinite statue in the Amun Temple at el-Hassa see Baud 2010a,
cat. no. 313. For a granite statue found in Temple B 500 at Gebel Barkal see Leclant 1981, 55; REM 0075. For a
plaquette from Sanam see Griffith 1923, 133, pl. LII/3-4.
77 For goods from western cemetery see Dunham 1963: for W 611 see p. 6 n. 217, fig. 2/e/1; for W 630 see p. 6 n.
236, fig. 3/d/1-3; for W 493 see p. 3 nn. 48-49, fig. 1/c/5/4-5; for W 486 see p. 15 nn. 105-107, fig. 11/n/6-8; for
W 761 see p. 22 n. 462, fig. 16/g/1; for W 832 see p. 26 nn. 626-27, figg. 18/f, h/1-5; for W 508 see p. 26 n. 178,
fig. 19/h/1/6, p. 28 nn. 180, 182, fig. 19/h/1/7-8; for W 609 see p. 36 nn. 50, 58, fig. 24/b/2/9, 3/6; for W 643
p. 39 n. 305, fig. 28/a/1/5, p. 41 n. 315, fig. 28/a/2/10; for W 846 see p. 50 n. 656, fig. 36/d/3; for W 120 see p.
227 n. 50c, fig. 159/4/1; for W 614 see p. 298 n. 224, fig. 177/15; for W 760 p. 317 n. 457, fig. 182/14; for W
787 p. 320 n. 524, fig. 183/14/2/7. For a tomb in Kawa see Welsby 2011, pl. 18 upper. See also Priese 1994.
78 In the Apedemak Temple in Naga the royal family is assimilated with Osiris, Isis and Horus.
79 For this god see Török 2009, note 103.
80 Examples from Nuri: for king Siaspiqo (487-468 BC), whose stela shows also Anubis, see tomb Nu 4 in Dunham
1955, 176 n. 1910A, fig. 212, pl. LXIXa; for king Baskakereñ (second half of the fifth century BC) see tomb Nu
17 in Dunham 1955, 219 n. 249, fig. 169, pl. LXIXc.
81 Examples from El Kurru: for queen Tabiry (Twenty-Fifth Dynasty) see tomb Ku 53 in Dunham 1950, 87 n. 1366,
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fig. 29f, pl. XXXa. Examples from Nuri: for queen Amanikataye (first half of the sixth century BC), whose stela
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depicts also Hathor, see tomb Nu 26 in Dunham 1955, 148, pl. XLIVb; for queen Batahaliye (second half of the
fourth century BC) see Nu 44 in Dunham 1950, 231 n. 76, fig. 177, pl. LXXb. For a wall scene from Nuri, for
queen Yeturow (Twenty-Fifth Dynasty) see tomb Nu 53 in Dunham 1950 35, fig. 21, pl. IXc. For the stela of
queen Sakhmah (late fourth century BC) see Kormysheva and Hassan Hussein Idriss 2006, cat. no. 131; Sakhmah
was buried in tomb Nu 15, but her stela was moved to temple B 500 at Gebel Barkal, for unknown reasons.
82 For the Tanwetamani’s tomb see Dunham 1950, 60-63, figs. 21/a-d. For a similar scene showing Isis while offering bandages
to the dead, on the east wall of the early Meroitic pyramid Beg S 7, in the southern cemetery of Meroe, see el-Saady 1994.
107
Figure 4. El Hassa, Amun Temple, Statuette represent- Figure 5. Begrawiya North, Pyramid 6, Seal ring deco-
ing Isis lactans. Serpentinite. Third century rated by an image of seated Isis suckling her
BC (after Baud 2010a, cat. 313). son Horus. Gold. First century BC (after Priese
1994, fig. 36a).
of Napatan dignitaries in Sanam, that yielded among grave goods faience amulets and plaquettes
reporting propitiatory formulas associating the goddess to “life and force” or to a “happy new year”83.
In the Meroitic period Isis conserved and strengthened her role in funerary beliefs. Winged Isis
protecting dead king or queen84, seated on a throne, is a very common occurrence in wall reliefs of
the royal chapels of Begrawiya North and Gebel Barkal cemeteries (fig. 6), whose scenes are based
on a mixture of Egyptian sources and indigenous elaborations. Especially since the second half of
the first century AD, the goddess was sometimes depicted among gods accompanying Re and the
dead in the Sun Bark, whose journey was part of the process allowing the transfiguration of the
king into a divine being. Anubis, Isis and/or Nephthys are often shown while pouring libations,
that recall the Isiac mysteries of Abaton (Yellin 1982b); the same depiction is common on the
funerary offering tables (fig. 7)85. Moreover, the triad composed by Osiris, Isis and Nephthys is
made in relief on the lids of the three known stone royal coffins in Meroe (Reisner 1922, 185).
The tombs of the Nubian ruling class people were modelled on the royal ones, although smaller
and having more modest decorations86, and were sometimes surmounted by pyramids (Yellin
1995, 2879-81; Török 2002b, 63-69). Libation and offering wares among grave goods suggest
the making of rituals linked to the Isis cult (Lenoble 1995; 1998; Baldi 2014, 77-80), as well as
scenes engraved on offering tables87, widespread in royal, elite and even poorer burials. The figured
tables show Anubis and a female deity, Isis or Nephthys usually, while pouring libations, according
to an image unknown in Egypt and in Napatan Nubia (Hainsworth 1976; Yellin 1995, 2881-
84)88. Funerary texts in Meroitic cursive script, and in a few cases in Meroitic hieroglyphs, were
83 See for example the rectangular plaque, showing a wḏ3t on one face and an inscription on the other one, in Griffith
1923, 134, 153, pl. LII/17.
84 Isis in her winged form emphasizing her protective function is a recurrent decorative theme of grave goods in many
royal and aristocratic Kushite tombs. Among royal burials, for the representation on gold cylinder sheaths in the
tomb of Napatan king Aspelta in Nuri (Nu 8) see Gänsicke and Kendall 2004; for a gold pectoral ornament in
the tomb Nu 10 of king Amani-natake-lebte (second half of the sixth century BC) see Dunham 1955, 155 n. 6,
fig. 117, pl. CXXII/b/1/2. The Egyptian type of Isis protecting Osiris is here received in the identification of the
dead ruler as new Osiris proposed by the Meroitic funerary belief; the same model inspired the recurrent Kushite
representation of goddesses with outstretched wings.
85 Cf. also Yellin 1982a. For the fragment of a libation ware from Kawa showing the bust of Isis, see Hofmann 1996.
86 On the west wall of tomb W 14 in the western cemetery of Meroe the non-royal dead and Osiris appear seated on thrones opposite
each other, each one with a figure of Isis behind (see Dunham 1963, 84, fig. 65a; Chapman and Dunham 1952, pl. 21e).
87 The tables are in sandstone and rarely granite.
88 In a few cases, more than two figures are depicted (see for example REM 0839).
108
Figure 6. Begrawiya North, Pyramid 17, Relief on the chapel wall (after Lepsius 1849-1856, V: fig. 50d).
engraved on the frame of tables, as well as on stelae89, according to a standard structure for the
non-royal inscriptions, based on the royal ones. The double invocation of Isis and Osiris (Wosi90
Soreyi)91 is followed by the nomination of the deceased, of his/her mother and of his/her father,
and by the description of the titles of the dead, in addition to the final benediction in the form of
utterances on mortuary offerings; a concluding invocation of the two deities was sometimes added
(Török 2002a, 458; Heyler 1964)92.
Isis and Apedemak: a Meroitic couple

The Meroitic theology established a peculiar association of Isis with the main autochthonous male
deity of the pantheon, lion-god Apedemak, replacing Osiris93. This connection was suggested by a
89 Non-royal stelae were often unfigured. Among examples of non-royal figured stelae, see the tomb of Teqedeñ in the
western cemetery of Meroe (W 19, second century BC) (Dunham 1963, 82 n. 23-3-871, figs. 60b-d), the pyramid 2 of
Sedeinga (Welsby 2009, Colour plate XXXII), and a stela from an unidentified tomb at Jebel Dabarosa (REM 1229).
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90 The name of the goddess is usually written wos, more rarely wis or wes, and exceptionally ws.
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91 In an unique known funerary inscription Isis is not associated to Osiris but to Mash-Amani: REM 0430 reads Wosi
Msmni (“Oh Isis, oh Mash-Amani”). Mash was probably a Meroitic form of Amun (see FHN III, 955). REM 0089
does not report, in an unusual manner, the initial invocation, but starts with the nomination of the dead.
92 According to Török (2002a, 459), the earliest known non-royal funerary inscription comes from the tomb of
Lower Nubian Viceroy Tasemerese in Faras, dated to the late second century BC (REM 0543). Contra: references
in Török 2002a, 459 note 321.
93 On this topic see Žabkar 1975, 17-21; Millet 1984, 120; Kormysheva 2010, 142-43, 256-57. Contra: Hofmann
109
Figure 7. Begrawiya North, Pyramid 28, Offering table representing Isis and Anubis pouring a libation. Sandstone.
Mid-third century AD (after Wildung 1996, cat. no. 281).
stela from Meroe showing a Meroitic inscription reporting the names of Apedemak, Isis and Horus
in association with some sanctuaries, and not of Osiris (Garstang et al. 1911, 65 ff., pls. XXIV, LXIV;
REM 0407). Such a link could be confirmed from depictions in the Apedemak Temple in Naga,
Apedemak and Isis respectively leading the male and the female divine processions towards the royal
family, and in the Apedemak Temple in Musawwarat es Sufra. In this latter, on the outer southern wall
Apedemak leads a procession comprising prince Arka and king Arnekhamani, who is protected by Isis;
the goddess is indicated as “mistress of ’Ipbr-‘nḫ (Musawwarat es Sufra)” (Hintze 1971; taf. 17a, 21),
strengthening her relationship with the lion god, who had in this site his main cult place.
Moreover, Isis is accompanied by a hymn entirely based on an Isis hymn from Philae, reported
in the Kiosk of Nectanebos and in the Mammisi ascribed to Ptolemy II or III, strengthening the
link of the Meroitic theology with the religious speculations in Philae:
Utterance: Hail to you, Isis,

Goddess, Mother of a god, Who created [her perfection],
Edjô94, Whose magic is great, Lady of the crown in the [hidden chapel?],
Whose seat is prominent in the (Solar) Bark of a Million Years95.
1984, 126; Onasch 1990, 52, anm. 15.

94 A cobra-goddess.
95 See Hintze 1962a, 43-44, abb. 21, taf. XVIIIb; FHN II, n. 127.
110
The words “Mother of a god, Who created [her perfection]” and her association with Edjô
confirm the role of Isis in the divine legitimation of king, the goddess granting the right to rule and
sacralising the royal authority. Her power in creating the perfection had been already expressed in
Egyptian texts (Münster 1968, 143; Onasch 1978, 61).
The connection between Isis and Apedemak was proposed also for Amara, basing on wall
reliefs (Török 2002a, 257)96, and for Debod with reference to an inscription on a lintel, reporting,
within cartouches, the name of Apedemak on a side and the name of Isis on other one97. This
association was probably to emphasize their roles in the renewed Kushite pantheon: the authority
of Apedemak, lacking in a legitimating worship past, was justified by the link with the main female
deity; the new manifold functions of Isis received legitimacy through the powerful local god, who
had been among creator deities, oversaw the war and was intimately connected with water.
An universal goddess
In addition to her place in the kingship ideology, the Meroites contextually imposed the
universal character of the goddess fixed by theological speculations in Philae. Meroitic Isis led and
influenced manifold aspects of human lifecycle: she granted strength, love, favour of the rulers98,
and oversaw birth and all daily activities. Epithets by Meroites in Lower Nubian graffiti highlight
the new greatest relevance of her: Isis was “great mistress of the entire land” (FHN III, n. 249 l.
9), “queen of the whole land” (FHN III, n. 253 l. 2), “mistress of the countries” (FHN III, n. 245
l. 5), “mistress of the south, the north, the east, and the west” (FHN III, n. 260 l. 2), “mistress
of heaven, of earth, (and of ) the underworld” (FHN III, n. 261 l. 2). On the other hand, the
recurrent depiction of Isis on several items of various materials throughout the kingdom, suggests
the relevant spread of her cult among differently ranked Meroitic population.
Among her new features in the Kushite territories, in the Meroitic period Isis determined the
richness of soils. Kings clearly worshipped her as goddess of fertility in the dedications in Dakka
(Kormysheva 2010, note 1284) and Debod, where she says “I give you land with its fertility”
(Roeder 1930, 81, § 220, taf. 32). While the Natapans had not entrusted the goddess with the
protection of soils, the Meroites followed the example of Philae; nevertheless, she was already
worshipped as goddess of fertility in Egypt in her form Thermothis, who had assimilated the earlier
snake-goddess Renenutet. The Kushites knew Renenutet, as suggested by a stela of Shabaqo99, and
later Isis-Thermothis, who was depicted in items from Karanog100 and Gebel Barkal101 in addition
to a faience plaquette of unknown source (fig. 8). Representations of snakes on wooden plaques at
Qasr Ibrim were hypothetically associated to the Isis cult as well (Driskell et al. 1989, 21, pl. VIa).
No evidence shows however that she was worshipped in Nubia; the few objects were importations
or local makings without accepting, or knowing, their theological meaning.
Moreover, the association with Apedemak could have strengthened the suggested identification
of Isis as war-goddess (Kormysheva 2010, 142). On a gold ring from the pyramid Beg N 6 of
kandake Amanishaketo (late first century BC) in Meroe cemetery, Isis runs an enemy through
with a lance (Priese 1994, fig. 36c). The words of Isis in the temples in Dakka (Roeder 1930, esp.
187, § 427, taf. 76a) and Debod102 highlight her role in a military context, that finds evidence
in the northern outer wall of the Apedemak Temple in Naga, Isis shown while holding a group
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96 In the temple built in the late reign of Natakamani and Amanitore.

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97 Roeder 1911, 49, § 128, taf. 10a. Contra: Hofmann 1978.

98 See for example FHN III, n. 245 l. 7-8; n. 252 l. 7-10; n. 261 l. 8-10.
99 Found in Theban region (Leclant 1965, 186 B/a).
100 On a ring from the local cemetery (O’ Connor 1993, 151, n. 117).
101 A faience plaque originally decorating a wall of the palace B 1500 (Bosticco 1989, 780).
102 “(I) shall make your enemies fall at your feet, so you are gonna do with them what you will like” (Roeder 1911, 45,
§ 115, taf. 41; transl. writer).
111
of prisoners in her right hand (Gamer-

Wallert 1983, 3: taf. 27a, bl. 6a) (fig. 9),
as well as in the pyramid Beg N 6. The
northern outer wall of the Apedemak
Temple in Musawwarat es Sufra shows Isis
closing the procession behind Horus, on
who she lays her left hand as protection;
the goddess is preceded by an inscription,
also on the great pylon of the Isis temple
in Philae, confirming her martial role:
“[...] I give thee all the lands in peace, all
foreign countries are overthrown” (Hintze
1962a, 45, abb. 22, taf. XVId; Žabkar
1975, 18).
The making of the same gesture by
kandake Amanitore (second half of the
first century AD) on the northern tower
of the pylon of the Apedemak temple
in Naga, confirms the connection of Isis
with the Meroitic queens (Gamer-Wallert
1983, 3: taf. 7); on the northern wall the
wearing of the same crown, made from
Figure 8. Egypt (?), Fragment of plaquette representing goddess
Isis-Thermothis inside a chapel. Faience. sun-disc flanked by horns, highlights the
Late first century BC – early third century AD association between them as well (Gamer-
(after Baud 2010a, cat no. 159). Wallert 1983, 3: taf. 28b, 30b). Moreover,
it is recognizable from the titles of Isis in
Dakka, where she is “queen, ruler, mistress of crown (?)” (Roeder 1930, 196-97, § 447, taf. 77).
Such a role was also known in the Mediterranean world, Apuleius writing “regina Isis” with reference to
Egypt and Meroe (Snowden 1956, 116).
The cycle of the divine birth of king, depicted on Amanishaketo’s rings (Priese 1994), highlights
in some scenes the identification of queen-mother with Isis. The delivery of the child to the queen
by Amun, and then to the king by the queen, shows this latter wearing a head-ornament in the
form of crowned scorpion, that was typical of Isis103. In a single known occasion a crown in form
of a scorpion is worn by a king, depicted in front of Isis, on a Musawwarat es Sufra column (Hintze
1971, taf. 97/6/2/1); this could confirm the inclusion of the goddess in the kingship ideology. A
sun disc between two horns and mounted on a skullcap more often associated the royal women
with Isis104; the goddess sometimes wears a two-feathered crown with sun disc105, as a queen in the
coronation stela of Anlamani (late seventh century BC) in Kawa (Macadam 1949, pls. 15-16). A
peculiar Napatan female crown consisted of three long plumes each springing from the figure of a
goddess, Tfenet (?), Isis and Nephthys (Welsby 1996, 31, fig. 9). In a few offering tables Isis wears
a peculiar three-tiered crown106 that, according to Rilly and Francigny (2012, note 9), could be a
Meroitic reinterpretation of Isis’ traditional seat-sign.
103 On this topic see Wenig 1978, 251-52, cat. no. 183-84.
104 The connection was sometimes with Hathor, who could wear the same crown.
105 For an example from the temple of Sethi I in Abydos see Calverley 1933, pls 17, 18, 20, 22, 23.
106 From Karanog (REM 0278) and Sedeinga (Rilly and Francigny 2012, pl. 11).
112
The places of Meroitic devotion
In Meroitic times sacral buildings were

devoted to Isis, who was worshipped in as
temple mistress or guest deity. In addition to
Isis of Philae and of Abaton, epigraphic sources
quote several local forms of the goddess, that
had evidence in a few cases in remains of cult
places. Among Lower Nubian sites, a Meroitic
form of the goddess is associated to Qasr
Ibrim (REM 1082), where the excavators have
hypothetically bound a multi-roomed temple
to Isis. In addition to a horned altar in the naos,
the building yielded an offering table showing
projecting horns and disc motif, scratched on a
potsherds too, and a wooden arm attributed to
a statue of the goddess (Driskell et al. 1989).
A temple in Dakka was dedicated by
Arkamani to Osiris, Isis, Thoth and Arensuphis
(Roeder 1930), whereas a sacral complex in
Debod, built by Adikhalamani, celebrated
the Osirian triad, Isis presented as “mistress
of Debod”. Isis is depicted while giving to
Adikhalamani the power of Min, according to a
peculiar version of the mythology of the goddess
as wife of Min (Roeder 1911, 74-75, §203, taf.
28)107. In Karanog a chapel was devoted to Figure 9. Naga, Apedemak Temple, Relief representing
the goddess in the local Amun Temple (REM Isis on the exterior northern wall. Second half
of the first century AD (photo Baldi).
0215, 0326, 0332; Török 1977, 414 ff.; 2002a,
321-22), while only a text suggests the Isis cult
in Arminna (Edwards and Fuller 2000, 89).
The widespread of the Isis cult finds a further confirmation in quoting local forms of her in
Upper Nubian places. Isis of Sedeinga (Meroitic Wos Atiye-te), whose priestesses are frequently
mentioned in the texts of the local cemetery (Rilly and Francigny 2012, 64), appears in a stela
of Yesebokheamani (late third century AD) in Meroe (REM 0407 l. 6-7). The cult of queen Tiy,
whom husband Amenhotep III (1386-1349 BC) dedicated here a temple, could have favoured the
worship of the goddess, nevertheless no evidence shows the erection of an Isis temple. Although
the coexistence of two forms of the goddess in so close sites is unlikely, a mention of Isis of Sai
(Meroitic Wos Tsye-te) is in the stela of Tañyidamani (late second century or early first century BC)
in Gebel Barkal (REM 1044 l. 51)108.

As the above mentioned stela of Yesebokheamani highlights, Isis of Abaton, Philae and Sedeinga
were worshipped in the capital Meroe, but other sources suggest also a local form. In addition to a
graffito in the Meroitic Chamber in Philae (REM 0103), Isis of Meroe is reported in a unusually
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oval granite stela found at the Temple M 600 of the city (REM 0412); it shows a crudely made
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representation of king Teriteqas (late first century BC) before Isis, who stretches out towards him
107 For a similar case see Qasr Ibrim under Thutmose III (Caminos 1968, 39-42, pl. 10).
108 Timothy Kendall hypothesized the dedication of Temple B 1330 in Gebel Barkal to Isis, Hathor or Mut, basing on
a fragmented inscription reporting ḥrj-ỉb Npt (Kendall 1994, 144). The suggestion cannot be shared on the actual
knowledge.
113
a palmbranch, whose leaves are in the form of ankh-signs, in order to give him longevity109; a
libation cup is placed between them highlighting the ritual character of the scene (Baud 2010a,
cat. no. 224). This stela, in addition to findings110, justified the identification of M 600 as Isis
temple, the stela giving the dating of (Garstang et al. 1911, 17-19, pls. XIV-XIX; Török 1997a,
170-173, figs. 1, 28, 65; Zach and Tomandl 2000, 134; Wolf 2006, 256).
Another potentially significant inscription is on the northern wall of the Apedemak Temple in
Musawwarat es Sufra, showing crown prince (paqar) Arka and king Arnekhamani stand before the
enthroned lion god. Arka is “King’s Son, Priest of Isis of ’Ipbr-‘nḫ and ’Irbỉklb”, i.e. Musawwarat es
Sufra and Wad ben Naga (?) (Hintze 1962a, 20)111. Although the goddess is a recurrent figure in
the wall reliefs in Musawwarat es Sufra according to her manifold roles, no architectural evidences
of Isis temples in the site have been brought to light; nevertheless, according to Hintze (1962b,
456), the inscription is on a reemployed block, originally coming from an earlier temple called I D,
devoted to the goddess and now destroyed112. On the actual knowledge, the suggestion cannot be
however accepted. Furthermore, a Latin inscription on sandstone block (CIL III: n. 83), brought
to light in the site, reads: “bona fortuna dominae reginae”113; the dedication was hypothetically
attributed to Isis (Török 1986, 357), but in my opinion the writer honoured the Meroitic queen
in the context of diplomatic contacts with Rome.
An Isis temple, able to confirm the suggestion by the inscription on her local cult, was brought
to light at Wad ben Naga114 and dated to Natakamani and Amanitore’s rule115. The building has
been attributed to the cult of the goddess from inscriptions on a sandstone altar found in the
northern court116, and showing four figures, one for each face, while holding up the heaven (REM
0041)117. Isis receives a title, “mistress of the Underworld”, that is not known in Egyptian documents.
Another proposed Isis, Mut or Hathor temple has been identified at Soba in the most southern
Meroitic monumental building actually known, where a sandstone capital, showing the head of
Hathor on two faces, was found (Zach 1992, 31; Zach and Tomandl 2000, 130). Nevertheless,
such an indication needs a deeper inquiry.
109 According to Lohwasser (2001b, 293) a palmbranch ending with ankh was only typical of Isis in Kush.
110 The building yielded the fragment of a sandstone statuette representing enthroned Isis with Horus child (see
Tomandl 1989; the author gives to the item a dating to the second century AD without argument), and a now lost
bronze statuette representing the goddess (see Török 1997a, 173).
111 Priese (1984a, 18) has refused the identification of ’Irbỉklb with Wad ben Naga and has associated the name with
Araba. Before his ascent, Arkamani received the same title (see FHN II, n. (128)).
112 Cf. also Näser 2011, 327-28.
113 It is the southernmost Latin inscription known, dated to AD 103-107 (see Shinnie 1961; Hintze 1964; Leclant
1981, 56; Török 1986, 357; Łajtar and van der Vliet 2006).
114 For the architecture of the temple see Priese 1984b.
115 See Vercoutter 1962, 295. Although the attribution of the temple to Natakamani and Amanitore is accepted, later
studies have suggested a later dating of their rule than Vercoutter’s report. Their reign is now dated in the second
half of the first century AD. See also Porter and Moss 1952, 263.
116 Cf. Leclant 1981, 55; Török 2002a, 31. Contra: Priese 1984a, 17 ff.; Zach and Tomandl 2000, 131.
117 The figures are Natakamani, Amanitore and Ahe and Twe, two of the four goddesses who rule the directions of
the heaven (see Wildung 1996, cat. no. 279). Natakamani is flanked by two identical inscription in Egyptian
script: “Well established upon thy great place, O Isis, Lady of the Underworld, like the living Aton in the horizon.
Thou hast confirmed thy son Natakamani upon his throne”; the inscriptions nearby the figure of Amanitore read:
“Established art thou upon thy great place, O Isis, Lady of the Underworld, like as the moon is established firm in
the egg, circling round heaven: may she give life to the daughter of the Sun, Amanitore”; the inscription flanking
Ahe reads: “I have uplifted the sky for Isis, giver of life, I have separated (?) her place from her (?) Creator, that
she may shine therein in her bark like the Aton in the sun boat”; the inscriptions on the sides of Twe are: “I have
uplifted the sky-depths for the Mistress of Earth. I have separated her place from her mother (?), that she may shine
in it in her bark like the Creator voyaging in his bark” (Griffith 1911, 67-68).
114
Conclusion
The Nubian cult of Isis, that found first little evidences ever since Old Kingdom, highlights
a deep integration of the goddess in the local cultural milieu. After the colonial and Napatan
experiences, that laid the bases for her diffusion, the Meroitic rulers gave a stronger official
patronage to her worship in wake of the Philaean model. Isis was an universal deity whose influence
was extended to manifold aspects of social and daily life, in addition to her traditional role as
underworld goddess. Her pre-eminent place in the local pantheon, as established by the Napatan
kings, was reaffirmed and strengthened by the association with autochthonous gods, giving life to
new theological speculations and worship expressions. Isis arrived from Egypt, but Meroe could
re-think and precise her nature giving her a Nubian soul.
JIIA © 2015
115
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Museen NF 43: 303-30.
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122
Isis Thermouthis in the Roman world: some data from the Italian
peninsula
Vito Mazzuca
Research Fellow S.A.I.A. (Italian School of Archaeology at Athens)
This paper constitutes an attempt to consider Isis Thermouthis1 in the Roman world starting
by the images of the goddess coming from the Italian peninsula from the late Republican period
through the Roman Imperial age. Despite many images of this goddess have been preserved in
Egypt, they are very rare in other areas during the Roman Imperial period.
Thermouthis, an Hellenistic deity, is represented snake-legged or snake-bodied with the face of
a woman. She was created in the city of Narmouthis during the Ptolemaic age, combining Isis
and Renenutet2, the ancient goddess known from the Old Kingdom, depicted as a cobra snake
wearing the crown of Hator. Renenutet was closely linked with wheat and harvest, granaries and
generally food and her cult naturally spread in Egypt, where the grain growth was at the very
base of the inland economy. During the Pharaonic age, beyond be linked to the harvest, she was
especially the royal cobra feeding and protecting the Pharaoh, as evidenced by inscriptions placed
in the vestibule of the great sanctuary at Medinet Madi3. Here, the inscriptions glorify the two
sanctuary’s founders Pharaohs calling, everyone, “beloved of Uto-Renenutet, the living Cobra of
Gia”. The place of birth of the cult of Renenutet was situated in the rich oasis of Fayum, a real
source of water and agriculture for the Egypt from the Middle Kingdom, when Amenemhat III,
Pharaoh of the 12th dynasty, brought Egypt to the golden age and promoted a reclaim of the
entire area of the Fayum.
A cult of a cobra-goddess, guardian of the harvest, became therefore clear in an area where cobra
had the primary function in preserving grain from mice and other noxious insect as destroyers
of cornfields and grain. The main places of worship were situated in the Fayum: Terenuthis and
Narmouthis. The former is on the western side of the Delta and became famous for being the most
important place of the cult of Renenutet during the Pharaonic ages; the second centre, current
Medinet Madi, was the place in which Renenutet was worshipped with Sobek and Horus4 in a
great sanctuary from the reign of Amenemhat III. The temple lives a renovate prestige during the
Ptolemaic age, precisely under Ptolemy IX Soter II, and another renovation was made during the
Roman period at least until the end of 2nd century AD. Altough not sources and ruins of others
temples are known, the spread of this cult was largely in Egypt and worshipped in little shrines as
demonstrate also by the engraved images of the goddess on votive stele.
During the Hellenistic period Thermouthis assumes a different aspect from that previously
known in Egypt. The Hellenistic culture, in fact, elaborates a new image for her: she is now
portrayed frontally, not yet in profile as in the conventional Pharaonic depictions, with a cloak
tight on the chest in the typical knot of Isis. The goddess could also be shown seating on a throne
in the act of nursing Sobek, the crocodile-god, sometimes identified with Horus. Her attributes
are the sistrum and the situla, as request from Isis’cult, but also the torch as for the Greek Demeter.
A confirmation of a close relation with this last goddess could also be found in the Greek text of
the Four Hymns of Isidorus, engraved on the columns of the entrance to the great sanctuary of
Thermouthis at Medinet Madi by an isiac priest during the 22th year of Ptolemy IX reign (96 BC):
the goddess is prayed as Demeter and together with other Egyptian and Greco-Oriental gods.
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After the Roman conquest of Egypt, the cult of Thermouthis continued to have large approval5.
© 2015
1 Opelt 1959; Deschênes 1978; Deschênes 1980; Vàzquez Hoys and Poyato Holgado 1994; Bommas 2006.
2 Leibovitch 1953; Dunand 1969; Broekhuis 1971.
3 SEG 8: 548-51; Vanderlip 1972.
4 The cult and the temple of Renenutet at Narmouthis is well discussed by E. Bresciani (1997, 37-41 with previous
bibliography).
5 Deschênes 1978, 314-15.
123
JIIA.eu Isis Thermouthis in the Roman world: some data from the Italian peninsula
It is believed that the period of maximum diffusion of this cult was during the reign of Hadrian, in
particular between the 10th and the 11th year of his reign6. During the 2nd c. AD, especially between
Trajan and Antoninus Pius reigns, many coins representing Thermouthis alone or with Serapis-
Agathodaimon were minted by the mint of Alexandria under the name of emperors and their wives7.
Among the many deities incorporated in the Roman “pantheon”, Isis certainly had an important
role. From the 3rd millennium BC her cult spread throughout the Mediterranean basin and in
many inland regions, becoming the goddess of Eternity and of Resurrection, Mistress of Heaven
and of Earth, Ruler of the Sea, goddess of the living and of the dead. She arrived in Rome through
the main harbours of the peninsula like Puteoli and Ostia between the late 2nd and early 1st c.
BC, gaining immediately a large number of devotees in the lower and middle class of the Roman
society as several epithets indicate; nothing clearly testify the same diffusion for Isis Thermouthis.
In some scholars opinion8 this is due to a cultural rejection, probably related to the characteristic
anguiform aspect of Isis Thermouthis as rejection of idolatry of theriomorphic deities.
In the Greek and Roman religion the snake has different meanings depending on the quality of the
god whom is referred to. It can, in fact, represent a large number of gods, including those normally
human-shaped, is always connected with the earth and symbolizes its qualities: death, evil, power,
terror, fertility and healing. Deities connected with fertility and the image of a snake are Demeter,
Kore, Dionysos and Kybele.
In the ancient world also many deities can have the aspect of this animal. For example, Zeus Ktesios9
worshipped in Greece in Thebes, Piraeus, Phyla and Panamara, Zeus Philios10 the god of the friendship
worshipped in Athens, Zeus Meilichios11 the god of the individual prosperity and of purification
worshipped in Greece, Kyrene, Egypt and Italy, Agathodaimon12 the “Good Spirit” that was originally
the male ancestor of the family and responsible for fertility and wealth, his consort Agathe Tyche,
Dionysos13 and for the last Glycon14 worshipped during the 2nd c. AD15.
6 The first known coin representations of Agathodaimon and Thermouthis as sacred snakes in partnership date from
the tenth year of Hadrian.
7 Vogt 1924; LIMC 5:788 n. 341, s.v. “Isis”. The first image of Thermouthis alone on coins appeared during the reign
of Domitian.
8 Iside 1997, 23-4.
9 Unfortunately, there is only one relief inscribed to Zeus Ktesios preserved in Thebes Museum (Inv. n. 330) found in
1891 at the Kastro at Thespiae in Beotia, dated in the 3rd century BC. We know that this god was worshipped in
Piraeus but unfortunately the reliefs representing snakes don’t bear any inscriptions (Nilsson 1908).
10 Mitropoulou 1977, 97-112.
11 Mitropoulou 1977, 112-55; Giuman 2008.
12 Pietrzykowski 1978, 959 at footnote 1 with previous bibliography.
13 There is a small marble stele from Naukratis preserved in the collection of British Museum depicting a snake-legged
Dionysos (Bailey 2007).
14 The particular story of the creation of this cult is told in detail by Lucian of Samosata in his essay entitled “Alexander
the False Magician”, in which the author outlines with rhetorical skills a more reliable character to expose his
deception. Maybe Lucian may have met Alexander in person, probably about 162 AD. (Robert 1980; LIMC
4:279-83, s.v. “Glycon”; Flinterman 1997, 282).
According to the Greek author (Alex., 10.21) Alexander, assistant of a magician, buried some bronze tablets on
which was written the prophecy forecasting the coming of Asclepius and his father Apollo in Abonoteichus, in the
area of the temple of Apollo in Chalcedon. The inhabitants of the small town were informed about the prophecy,
were impressed and they decided the construction of a temple dedicated to the god. After the temple foundation,
Alexander moved to the town of Abonoteichus and there buried the egg of a goose filled with a new-born snake:
the next day he publicly unburied the egg showing the truthfulness of the prophecy concerning the coming of
Asclepius under the aspect of the snake named Glycon.
Lucian (Alex., 12; 16; 18; 26) also describes how Alexander the prophet - as he liked to be called – deceived people
while making the oracles: to represent the head of the snake, he used a kind of animal face (dog or sheep) made of
cloth, human ears and hairpieces; the god showed himself appearing in a dark and hidden place, from which the
voice of an assistant told the oracular responses. (Alex., 35.17) In order to obtain more credit on the cult, Alexander
also said that Glycon ordered to him to give the daughter born by his union with the goddess Selene in marriage to
the governor of the province of Upper Moesia Publius Mummius Sisenna Rutilianus.
15 The image of Glycon is documented by the famous well-preserved statue found at Tomis and by some small bronze amulets
conserved in Ankara and Athens (Burr Thompson 1962, n. 79; Bordenache 1964, pls. 6-7; Robert 1981; Rusu 1981-1982).
124
JIIA.eu Vito Mazzuca, Research Fellow S.A.I.A. (Italian School of Archaeology at Athens)
In the light of the success of Isis in the Roman world, obtained at the end of a long political rather than
religious opposition, it must be asked what do we know about Thermouthis outside Egypt in Roman
times and which kind of evidences were yielded by the sites of the Italian peninsula in concrete terms.
The scholars of the oriental religions in the Roman world paid little attention to these questions and in
general to those objects not made by Egyptian artisans found in other regions of the Roman empire.
The present study aims to provide an overview of the cult of Isis Thermouthis in Italian
peninsula in particular during the Imperial age, making a review of the archaeological evidences,
certain and probably, regarding this snake-bodied deity16. Archaeological data coming from Egypt
always show Thermouthis alone or with Serapis-Agathodaimon, while in the images from Italy
Thermouthis is never alone and always in couple with Serapis-Agathodaimon.
Looking at the present documentation about this topic, we can first said that almost the whole
documents are sculptural objects, as the following list shows:
1) Egyptianizing relief in Italic white marble, almost entirely reconstructed from 18 fragments17.
Rome, Antiquarium of St. John Lateran (Spinola 2001). The relief was yielded by the excavations
in the area of St. John Lateran, precisely the Lateran Baptistery, between 1963-1967. The relief can
be dated to the end of the 1st century BC, probably 20-10 BC, and can be considered a remarkable
artistic product of the Augustan age. In this period during which the Egyptian cults seem not to
enjoyed a particular popularity, if looking at the contemporary political context18.
The relief is profusely decorated with a vegetal motif. In the main part it generates a basileion,
composed of a solar disk between two horns; above, from a calyx is growing up a vegetable shrine
characterized of two little horns decorated with isiac crowns and on the top a pine cone. On each
side of the shrine are two snakes, the most important attributes of the scene: on the left one is a beard-snake
wearing a double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, on the right is a cobra crowning with solar disk.
The two snakes can be differently explained: they can be a divine couple Osiris and cobra-goddess
Renenutet, or the “Good Spirit” Agathodaimon with Isis Thermouthis. This uncertainty is due
to the various forms that the snakes may have, so prudently I can support that the snakes recall
through their attributes all these deities. At Rome during the Augustan period, in fact, sometimes
we do not have a precise correspondence between the Egyptian deities and their attributes. In any
case, the two snakes depicting on the sides of a small shrine and above the pine cone are a quite
common iconographic motif in the Roman world: they are represented in the private lararia
and within the worship places, as depictions in the lararia of Pompei19 and on the fresco from
Herculaneum20 demonstrate. Furthermore a marble relief preserved at the Egyptian Museum of
Turin shows Thermouthis and Agathodaimon on sides of a shrine with cone21.
The relief deserves particular attention, considering its great historical and artistic value. It shows
attributes of Egyptian cults as interpretatio graeca of Ptolemaic syncretistic theology and therefore
it cannot be considered an expression of the so-called “Egyptomania”, which satisfied the exotic
and archaic taste of late-republican and imperial ruling class. It could be a mistake, in fact, made
by local artisans just like an answer to an exotic taste and ignore the cultural background which
consists of a long and well-structured system of commercial exchange22.
The architectural element in question was the coating of a corner pilaster of a portal. For the
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16 In this paper I did not take into account the certain images of crowned uraei.
© 2015
17 Spinola 1998, 82 n. 415; 2001.

18 Malaise 2011 with previous bibliography and see also Mazzuca 2014a.
19 Boyce 1942; Laforge 2009.
20 Gasparini 2006.
21 From Drovetti Collection, unknown provenience maybe from the Egypt (Inv. n. 7149) (Tran Tam Tinh 1972, pl.
VII, fig. 8).
22 In 273 BC Ptolemy II Philadelphus initiated diplomatic relations with Romans by sending ambassadors to Rome.
125
richness of the decoration belonging to the world of Isis, it has been therefore suggested that it
has to be referred to the architectural decoration of a place of worship dedicated to the Egyptian
gods. The building did not have to be exactly in the Lateran, but we can assumed in its vicinity:
if considering this element, we can therefore think at the Iseum Metellinum; the structure, whose
position has been much discussed23, was probably restored for the direct intervention of Augustus
- just following the aforementioned order of 28 BC - since the gens of Caecilius Metellus, founder
of Iseum, was extinct.
2) Bone handle of mirror or knife, from Cerveteri, Bruxelles Musée Royal (Inv. n. R 1515).24
The handle has a triangular base and on each face there is a deity on a podium. There are Serapis,
Isis and Isis-Thermouthis in a fully-snake version crowned with basileion and resting on a pillow
of a seat. The manufacturing seems to date during the 1st century AD.
3) A funerary altar of C. Cornelius Cladus founded in 1927 at Turris Libisonis (Porto Torres),
Sassari “G. Sanna” Museum.25
The altar was decorated on a side with the image of Thermouthis crowned with lotus and voted to
this Goddess maybe after C. Cornelius Cladus survived a shipwreck. This altar is dated to 1-125 AD.
In Italy we find other four members of the gens Cornelia devoted to the Isiac cults26. Furthermore,
it must be remembered also an Aulo Cornelio therapeutes at Serapeum C27, contributor of the
sanctuary for the religious practices living at Delos during 1st century BC.
4) A statuette maybe from Carinola (Campania) representing Isis lactans (nursing Isis) sitting
on a throne decorated on the back with the couple Isis Thermouthis and Serapis-Agathodaimon,
Berlin Ägyptisches Museum (Inv. n. 20004) (Malaise 1972).28
On the back of the throne are depicted a snake and an uraeus. The snake has a poppy and wears
the crown of Lower Egypt, while the uraeus has a crown of Hator and two grain’s ears. The former
snake represent certainly Agathodaimon, the second may represent Isis Thermouthis. The presence
of symbols linked to fertility, as a grain’s ears, might in fact suggest that is indeed an image of
Thermouthis. On the base of the stylistic elements the statuette seems to be of Hadrianic date.
5) A small marble relief from Rome depicting Serapis-Agathodaimon and Isis-Demeter, Rome
inside the garden of “Istituto Massimiliano Massimo dei PP. Gesuiti” (Gallo 1982).29
At the beginning of the 18th century this relief was inside Vigna Palombara. It is very interesting
because shows a rare image of Isis – Demeter in couple with Serapis-Agathodaimon. The presence
23 Some scholars identified the Iseum Metellinum on the Caelius: near the church of SS. Pietro e Marcellino (Colini
1944, 310-11; Mazzuca 2014b), in the lower area of vicus Capitis Africae (Coarelli 1982) or in the upper area of
vicus Capitis Africae (Pavolini 2006). A second hypothesis identified Iseum with the structures of via Pasquale
Villari on the Oppius (De Vos 1997; Ensoli 1997, 308-9; 2000, 268-9; Gasparini 2008, 69; Carandini 2012, pl.
108; Häuber 2014).
24 Tran Tam Tinh 1983, 108-9 n. IB 7, fig. 33 a,b,c; LIMC 5:771 n. 135, s.v. “Isis”; Iside 1997, 283 n. IV. 326;
Malaise 2004, 20.
25 AÉpigr 1932, 63 = SIRIS 521 = RICIS 519/0301; Taramelli 1931; Gavini 2008, footnote 33 with previous
bibliography; 2014.
26 CIL 6 3880; CIL 6 707; CIL 14 4290; CIL 14 343 (Gavini 2008).
27 Mora 1990, 78 n. 596.
28 Malaise 1972, 250 pls. 30-4; Tran Tam Tinh 1972, 78-80; 1973, 57-8; LIMC 5:778 n. 229, s.v. “Isis”; Iside 1997,
521 n. V. 219.
29 Grossi Gondi 1910; Kater-Sibbes 1973, n. 686, pl. XIX; Pietrzykowski 1978, 960; Gallo 1982.
126
of Agathodaimon could allow us to connect the figure of Isis-Demeter with Isis Thermouthis,
usually depicted with Serapis-Agathodaimon. The representation could be viewed as an attempt of
Roman syncretism. The relief dates to the Hadrianic period.
6) Ivory sandaled right foot, unknown provenience probably from Rome, New York
Metropolitan Museum of Art (N. 25.78.43 gift of John Marshall).30
The foot comes from an half-life size statue. The wide lingula bears a personification of the river
Nile holding a reed and a cornucopia while seated on a sphinx; at the top there is a part of a curled
tail maybe representing Serapis-Agathodaimon or Isis Thermouthis.
The chronology is uncertain, it is dated from Augustan period to the 2nd century AD.
7) Three inscriptions from Rome using the words: Thermutario, Thermuthis and Thermitarion
(CIL 6 4169 – CIL 6 23253 – AÉpigr 1916, 57).
The first says Livia Augustae l(iberta) Thermutario. It is referred to a liberta of Livia Augusta, buried
in the columbarium of the freedmen of Livia on the via Appia and is dated to 14-50 AD. From
this context come also three copper sheets representing Isis, an uraeus, Sobek and Harpocrates. All
these deities may allude to Isis Thermouthis.
The second says D(is) M(anibus) M(arco) Oct(avio) Chrysantho coniugi pientissimo Oct(avius)
Thermuthis b(ene) m(erenti) f(ecit).
The third says Thermitarion Alexandrin(i) vix(it) ann(is) XXIII. It is a columbarium inscription,
dated between 1-100 AD and coming from Rome, probably from via Po’.31
In all these three examples, the names made by the word Thermouthis could be referred to the
place of birth of those persons; it must be also remembered that these are very common names in
the Greco-Roman Egypt, especially in the region of Fayum.
In conclusion, according to our documentation therefore no literary sources nor archaeological

evidences seem to testify for Thermouthis a well-structured cult with worship places, priests and
rituals, despite the numerous places dedicated to Isis known in the Italian peninsula, Sicily and
Sardinia.
In this study nine documents have been collected (six images and three inscriptions), but only three
(no. 2-3-4) can be attributed to image of Thermouthis for sure. One (no. 1) can be recognized also
as images of Agathe Tyche or an uraeus, one (no. 5) representing Isis-Demeter could allude to Isis
Thermouthis and the other (no. 6) is incomplete.
Three documents can be attributed to unknown worship places (no. 1-3-5) and two documents
(no. 2-4) can be considered decorative objects. Finally, if terms using in our inscriptions (no. 7)
can be referred to the place of birth of people and they cannot be considered as certain expression
of devotion to Thermouthis. The first one (CIL 6 4169) found in association with three copper
sheets representing Isis, an uraeus, Sobek and Harpocrates could therefore allude to Thermouthis.
Despite this poor documentation some observations can be done. The first interesting note is that
we do not have images of Thermouthis in the two main forms attested during the Ptolemaic and
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Roman period in Egypt, the first human-bodied with a snake’s tail and the second snake-bodied
© 2015
with human head. In our data the deity is always represented in the fully-snake version in couple
with Serapis-Agathodaimon, so she is never alone as in the Egyptian documents.
This should not to be surprising: the Romans created some new images of deity, as Isis Sothis
30 Richter and Alexander 1939, 26, fig. 62 and see also Lapatin 2001, 130-2, 150 n. 47 with previous bibliography.
31 NSc 1915, 49 n. 43.
127
shows32, rather misleadingly considered an expression of the so-called Egyptianizing style. This
goddess – riding a dog carrying a star on its head – became widely popular in Rome and found
solid basis in Egyptian mythology where Isis had for long been assimilated to Sothis, but not in
Egypt where her representations are rare if not practically absent certainly none including a dog.
Inside the Isis cult, Thermouthis seems to represent an aspect of the personality of Isis. She symbolized
the protection and the fertility of the earth. In addition to Ceres-Demeter the Romans already had many
local deities linked to the earth, harvest and fertility: although linked to Isis the cult of Thermouthis,
therefore, was never locally worshipped in Rome and the few images coming from the Italian peninsula
seems to be consistent with this. The poor documentation could not be to due to a cultural rejection
related to the characteristic anguiform aspect of Isis Thermouthis; it seems more reasonable and simply
to explain it considering how traditional and local was her cult, so deeply settled in the Fayum area. Her
presence in the Italian peninsula would be therefore appeared very unusual.
All these evidences points to the conclusion that in the Imperial period in the Italian peninsula
Thermouthis is represented only in her fully-snake version and always in couple with Serapis-
Agathodaimon, reproduced with no more than small changes in most of the monuments listed.
In these representations she recalls the figures of home33 and funerary guardian snakes34, in this
perspective being closer to the images of Agathe Tyche rather than Thermouthis.
32 Clerc 1978.
33 See footnote 14.
34 See the decoration of the pediment of the so-called “Grotta della vipera” at Cagliari. It was mausoleum of a roman
matrona Atilia Pomptilla and was decorated on the pediment with two snakes. In this case the snakes seem to have a
chthonic function. The tomb is dated, thanks to an inscription founded inside, between 131-171 AD. (Pesce 1978, 86).
128
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Seventh excavation season at Abu Erteila: preliminary report
Eugenio Fantusati (Università la Sapienza di Roma – ISMEO)

Marco Baldi (Università di Pisa – ISMEO – Centro Studi Petrie)
Fabio Bellatreccia, Armida Sodo, Annalaura Casanova Municchia (Università Roma 3)
The seventh season of the Italian-Russian mission at Abu Erteila (Sudan)1 lasted from 18th
November to 24th December 2014. In addition to co-directors Eugenio Fantusati (ISMEO) and
Eleonora Kormysheva (IOS RAS) the campaign was attended by Richard Lobban (SSA), Maria
Rita Varriale and Sergey Vetokhov (architects), Marco Baldi, Silvia Dall’Armellina, Maxim Lebedev,
Sergey Malykh and Mikhail Yakomulskiy (archaeologists), Svetlana Malykh (ceramologist), Angel
Marie Des Marais and Irina Reshetova (physical anthropologists), Emily O’Dell (assistant).
NCAM was represented by inspector Tysser Mohamed (fig. 1).
Excavation work on kom II
Figure 1. Abu Erteila in the island of Meroe (drawn by Baldi)

During the seventh season, the mission saved its attention for kom II, where a rectangular
survey sized 13 m EW x 5 m NS was made to the north of the previously excavated area. Excavation
work yielded several occupation phases of the area, confirming and enriching the evidence brought
to light in the course of the previous seasons (fig. 2).
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1 Abu Erteila project is the result of an international agreement between IsIAO (“Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e
l’Oriente”), actual ISMEO (“Associazione Internazionale di Studi sul Mediterraneo e l’Oriente”), and IOS
RAS (“Institute for Oriental Studies – Russian Academy of Sciences”). Excavation license is granted by NCAM
(“National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums of Sudan”). The mission highly thanks Gianluigi Croce and
Piera Muretti for the economic support assured to the seventh campaign.
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JIIA.eu Seventh excavation season at Abu Erteila: preliminary report
Figure 2. Abu Erteila, Kom II, General view of the excavated area. Red circles and numbers show the position of the burials
brought to light at Abu Erteila until now (drawn by Varriale and Baldi).
134
Eugenio Fantusati, Marco Baldi, Fabio Bellatreccia,
JIIA.eu Armida Sodo, Annalaura Casanova Municchia
The more ancient visible anthropizathion presents its structural remains in clay materials walls
of K 1021, a room which has been already recognized during the sixth excavation season (Fantusati
and Kormysheva 2014, fig. 4), and of northern limit of K 1022. The western limit of K 1021 can be
hypothetically interpreted as perimeter wall of the building K 1000, as previously suggested for its southern
extent (Fantusati and Kormysheva 2014, 15, fig. 9). Nevertheless, its northernmost tract suffered a deep
destruction that does not allow to confirm its original width and composition. An adobe masonry, made
from mud bricks sized 36 x 17 x 7 cm, is partly preserved for four courses 40 cm wide as a maximum.
According with its southern tract, which followed a very common Meroitic custom for perimeter
walls, an external red bricks facing strengthened and protected the wall, but it has almost entirely
disappeared. The very few collapsed red bricks to the west of the masonry suggest that the damages
of the facing were mainly due to the reemploying of materials in other structures rather than a deep
collapse. The nature of clay mortar, that allowed a very good adhesion of adobe but was unable to
assure a durable bond among red bricks and with mud ones2, probably helped looters’ work.
The internal wall, 60 cm wide, which closed K 1021 to the east, appeared better preserved. As for
its already known southern extent, an adobe structure supported upper courses from burnt materials,
following the alternation of stretcher and header courses laying in a clay mortar unusually spread in only
horizontal layers. A few irregularly set red bricks strengthened the adobe fitting, whereas the only survived
red bricks course3 was made from a stretcher and a header rows in addition to rubble as filling material.
Both walls intersect the northern limit of the survey, as well as an enigmatic red bricks structure
brought to light inside the room. A middle single-course body is flanked by two slightly projected
two-courses same-sized wings. The uninterrupted plaster from external to internal sides of both
wings, and the symmetrical arrangement of same painted motifs, make this structure as original
making. A probably later red bricks masonry, a course survives of, surmounts it.
A red bricks wall runs parallel to the northern limit of the survey, projecting 21 cm from4;
its erection would seem coeval to K 1021 and to the first recognizable occupation of the area.
This wall, 7,5 m long, leads off the eastern side of K 1021 and intersects the eastern limit of the
survey, closing to the north the room K 1022. Well-preserved painted plaster entirely covers the
visible facing of the wall with the exception of great part of the header upper course5. The survived
covering is 30 cm high as a maximum, nevertheless the irregular break of its ends and the painted
themes suggest an original greater extension of the plaster.
The mission brought to light, among collapsed materials, red bricks having a corner that was
round in shape and projected outwards6, in addition to right angle-shaped bricks and other ones
having a concave corner that was covered by painted plaster. Such bricks, well attested in Egyptian and
Nubian architecture, were usually employed for exterior and interior corners of official monuments.
The chronology of this phase was suggested by the radiocarbon exam of charcoal found in the
north-eastern corner of K 1022, dated to 20-140 AD in calibrated age7.
2 For the case of Awlib see Baldi 2014b: 51.

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3 Red bricks size 32 x 16 x 7 cm.

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4 The survey was enlarged in correspondence of the easternmost tract of this wall, but a superimposed masonry does
not allow a complete visibility of it.
5 The upper course, the only visible one, is made from bricks 17 cm wide and 7 cm high, whereas it could not verify
their length.
6 One of them was included in the masonry made from re-employed materials surmounting the enigmatic structure
found inside K 1021.
7 The exam was made by prof. Gilberto Calderoni on laboratory Rome-2299 of University La Sapienza in Rome.
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A later ephemeral occupation of the area was suggested from the finding of sandstone
architectural elements, scattered in K 10228. The room yielded seven column drums (fig. 3)9,
two fragmented decorated lintels (fig. 4)10 and an unidentified piece11, in addition to other big
fragments; they had come from a temple context and had been clearly brought here to be re-
employed in masonries; work was not made and this pieces were left.
Although the distance between the two areas cannot confirm the suggestion, according to the
stratigraphical inquiry this phase was coeval with the erection of K 900, that was made from re-
employed materials and is datable to the AD second century12. New masonries from re-employed
materials, that should have completed the survived walls, were evidently to give new life to the
abandoned building, but the project was only partly realized.
Figure 3. Abu Erteila, Kom II, Building K 1000, Column drums (photo Fantusati).
8 A hypothetically coeval small amount of charcoal, probably as result of a hearth rather than a fire event, was noticed
to the north-eastern corner of K 1021.
9 Columns B and D contain big traces of kaolin, visible to the naked eye; this could suggest the sandstone quarry for
making them.
10 One of them shows a solar disk flanked by uraei, according to a very recurrent theme in Nubian and Egyptian
temple architecture and already known in Abu Erteila: see Fantusati 2013, fig. 14. The other one, partially plastered,
shows badly preserved sunbeams made in relief.
11 It could be part of an original lintel. Eight engraved shallow holes on a side probably indicate its re-use for some
game similar to draughts. See also Woolley 1911, 19, pl. 15 nn. 9123, 9127, 9129; Frend 1974, 39; Näser 2004,
220. For an early 20th century example see Budge 1907, 433.
12 Radiocarbon dating of charcoal, probably result of a fire event: Fantusati 2013, 235.
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Figure 4. Abu Erteila, Fragment of a temple lintel (drawn by Varriale).
An eighth drum, set on the western wall of K 1022, confirms the discontinuity respect to the
previous anthropization.
The eight drums, from 12 to 38 cm high according to the dissimilar conservation, have a
diameter varying between 43 and 50 cm. Very differently preserved traces of plaster are on all of
them, whereas only a column (the closer one to the southern limit of the survey in fig. 3) shows
decorative motifs, as eight sorghum plant pictures made in relief (fig. 5)13. Moreover, a hole having
diameter of 11 cm pierces this drum in the middle for its entire preserved height. The making time
of this hole is not sure, nevertheless, according to the ephemeral nature of the building project from
re-employed materials, it was probably made in connection with the original manufacture of the
drum. Its function is unclear; it could have held a wooden pole, which was used, usually in addition
to another one, as mark in some Nubian temples; this poles were often set outside buildings14.
Another anthropic phase was identified after an enlargement of the survey towards north to its
north-eastern end, that led to excavate a further area sized 5 m NS x 3 m EW. The found structural
remains are very probably later than K 1000, whereas it is unclear the relation with the attempt
for erecting new structures of re-employed materials. The stratigraphical observation could suggest
the simultaneous nature of them, but the very different character of building projects and works
indicate a chronological discontinuity.
A wall intersecting the opposite western and eastern limits of the enlargement, in axis with the
northern limit of the original survey, was found. It is made from mixed clay materials: an adobe
core was strengthened by a red bricks southern facing, in addition to rubble as filling material,
giving the preserved width of 60 cm15. Six courses of the facing are preserved; bricks were laid
according to the usual alternation of header and stretcher courses.

The employ of red bricks screens strengthening an adobe core was very common in the Meroitic
architecture, especially in monumental buildings; the stronger facings of burnt material made both sides
or only external one of perimeter walls16, but never only internal side. Upper wall, closing to the south K
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1201 and K 1202, was therefore for sure the southern perimeter wall of a new building: K 1200.
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13 For a similar picture see the rock carving at Jebel Qeili: Welsby 1996, fig. 68.
14 For the case of el-Hassa see Grimal & Adly 2004, 144.
15 Red bricks size 32 x 18 x 7 cm, whereas the damages the adobe core suffered – it would seem to have been cut along
its northern face – do not allow to verify the dimensions of the mud bricks.
16 The use of masonries having red bricks facings is rare for internal walls, although known: for the Hamadab temple
see Wolf 2002, farbabb.3; Baldi 2014c: 71; for the building M 998 in Meroe see Török 1997, 227-32, fig. 10,
pl.183.
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Figure 5. a. Basa, Sorghum plant (photo Fantusati). b. Abu Erteila, Kom II, Room K 1022, Detail of the decoration on a column drum. Sandstone (photo Fantu-
sati). c. Gebel Qeili, Rock relief by king Sherkarer. AD 20-30 (after Welsby 1996, fig. 68).
The artefact, corresponding to the southern perimeter of a building, lied on a basement protruding
21 cm from the wall, and entirely covered by a layer of painted plaster: a masonry analogous to the
wall realized in Naga Amun temple by the royal couple Natakamani and Amanitore (fig. 6).
The fresco, till now brought to light for a length of 3 m, appeared depicted on a white plaster
surface, stressing sunbeams and ring-shaped forms achieved with brilliant colours (fig. 7).
Even if this excavation needs to be deepened in the future, all the data at our disposal, combined
with the close concentration of column drums, allow our hypothetical preliminary interpretation
glimpsing since now how this masonry could have been part of a temple.
To the actual evidence, K 1200 is made from two rooms, partly recognizable, set to the north-
eastern corner of the excavated area. They are separated by a north-south adobe wall, 64 cm wide
and made from mud bricks sized 30 x 15 x 7 cm, laying in mortar clay according to the usual
alternation of stretcher and header courses; six courses are still preserved. In the southern end of
this wall an opening links the two environments.
A mud bricks masonry closing K 1202 can be seen on the north-eastern section of the
enlargement of the survey. Traces of a possible irregular red bricks floor inside K 1201 highlight
an occupation phase of this building; although this floor has an upper level respect the foot of the
138
Figure 6. a. Abu Erteila, Kom II, Building K 1000, Masonry from a Temple structure (photo Fantusati). b. Naga, Amun temple, Masonry (photo Baldi).
JIIA © 2015
Figure 7. Abu Erteila, Kom II, Building K 1000, Detail of the painted wall (photo Fantusati; drawing Baldi).
139
southern perimeter wall of K 1200, the actual evidence does not allow to recognize two different
phases. A grindstone found to the south-eastern corner of K 1202 could suggest, as in the case of
the others buildings set on kom II, a very late domestic occupation of the room.
At a distance of 5 m south respect K 1200, a closer new building, K 1100, has been brought to the light
during the same campaign. It is an one-roomed rectangular (5,50 x 3,50 m) construction, characterized
by an entrance facing east and red bricks walls: future researches on the field will contribute to specify its
role as well. At the moment, on the basis of its orientation and proximity to K 1200, this little room may
have been linked to the religious sphere of the site during the Meroitic age.
Burials
During excavation work, fourteen burials were found in 2014 on Kom II. Some of them in
good conditions, others badly preserved. All the burials brought to light in the site are simple
little-deep pit graves; the bodies, differently oriented and generally deprived of goods, were laid in
elongated position, on back or side, and were originally wrapped in woollen shrouds (Baldi 2012;
Giuliani 2013). The concentration of bodies in this area confirms that the place, in the course of
its latest period of life, was transformed in a cemeterial space (fig. 2).
Even if the rarity of grave goods and the observed millenary longevity of similar funerary customs
do not permit a precise dating of the bodies, we are equally allowed to consider them coeval to the
similar samples found on Kom I between 2010 and 2011 and submitted to radiocarbon analysis,
giving a dating between twelfth and thirteenth century (Fantusati, 2013, 248).
Findings
A bronze ring, found in K 1104, is decorated by the image of a gryphon or a winged sphinx,
according to an iconography well diffused in the Meroitic jewellery production (fig. 8)17.
Among the fourteen burials brought to light, only two yielded grave goods. In T 215 it was noticed
a total of 106 perforated disk-shaped beads of white-milk ostrich shell, originally making necklaces or
bracelets; the beads have a diameter of 0.4 - 0.5 cm and are ca. 0.15 cm thick. T 216 was accompanied
by eleven perforated different-sized beads from various materials, as glass, carnelian and ostrich shell.
Archaeometrical inquiries
Fieldwork at Abu Erteila has been being supported and enriched by lab analyses on excavation
materials18. Following X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) of all selected pieces19, able to reveal their physical
composition, the thin-sections of seven samples – five potsherds and two plaster pieces – were
observed under Cross Polarized Light (XPL) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).
In its salient features, pottery of Abu Erteila embraces the ceramic tradition of Meroitic Butana. A
great amount of domestic pots for cooking and storage needs represents the most of the local collection,
in addition to finer wares including the typical Meroitic egg-shell made from kaolin. The production was
mainly wheel-made, whereas the hand-made manufacture was limited to humbler pots and to specific
typologies, as sherds by a fine burnished black production as result of firing in a reducing atmosphere.
According to our observations of Meroitic pieces coming from excavation on kom II, in addition
to the very common use of quartz, mica, k-feldspar and plagioclase, the inclusion of organic matters,
as dung and grass, strengthened the tempering compound of the fabric, used by potters in order to
give a strong skeleton to wares, reducing the shrinkage of clay and therefore the risk of cracks. The very
variable grain-size and the angular shape of many quartz crystals, maybe after grinding, suggest additional
17 Cf. Wildung 1996, cat. 341.

18 Archaeometrical inquires have been made in laboratories of the University Roma 3.
19 The research regarded pottery and building materials as sandstone, bricks and plaster.
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Figure 8. Abu Erteila, Kom II, Room K 1104, Ring. Bronze. Meroitic (photo Lebedev).
inclusions by potters, although its occurrence has been noted in the supposed raw material, recognized in
Wadi el-Hawad clay, examined as well20. The tempering function was sometimes increased by adding of
kaolin, that absorbs little water and has little shrinkage during cooling. In some pots so-called chamotte,
as fragments of crushed pottery, had been used because having same properties.
Other elements, as iron and titanium oxides, were able to consolidate the clay by binding its
components and by giving mechanical strength to the pot. They were already present in the raw
material and were sometimes added by potters to the fabric; moreover, iron and titanium oxides
could lower the melting point of the ware during firing (fig. 9). A poor quantity of iron has been
recognized in the cooking pots, it occurring only in the few oxides that were already in the source
clay; a greater inclusion would have made the wares non-fireproof, bringing to rapid cracks in
direct contact with fire or embers. Furthermore, our observation has showed that potters usually
made cooking pottery more porous than other production, by including in the fabric greater
temper grains and plentiful organic materials, which absorb much water during both drying and
cooling, producing voids in the wares. High porosity assured thermal strength to the pots, the voids
allowing with no cracks expansion when cooking food and shrinkage during cooling (fig. 10).
Furthermore, Raman spectroscopy was carried on twelve painted ceramic fragments, with
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the aim to characterize the red and white pigments and the composition of the engobe layers.
© 2015
Raman spectroscopy is a vibrational spectroscopy technique that provides the molecular structural
information, useful for sample identification. This technique is based on inelastic scattering of
20 By Mario Gaeta (Dipartimento di Scienze della terra, University of Rome “La Sapienza”): see Baldi 2014a, 21-22,
nota 19, fig. 12.
141
monochromatic light (Raman effect), where the incident photons exchange part of their energy
activating molecular vibration modes in the sample. The shift in wavelength of the scattered
photons with respect to the incident light provides the chemical and structural information.
Raman measurements have been performed by using a Labram Micro-Raman spectrometer
by Horiba, equipped with a He-Ne laser source at 632.8 nm (nominal output power 18 mW).
The backscattered light is dispersed by a 1800 line/mm grating and the Raman signal is detected
by a Peltier cooled (-70° C) 1024 X 256 pixel CCD detector. Nominal spectral resolution was
about 1 cm-1. Spectral acquisitions (3 accumulations, 10 s each, in the range 100-2000 cm-1) were
performed with 20x, 50x and 100x objectives.
Some examined pieces have showed specific composition and making conditions for engobe (fig. 11),
that contains calcium, never found in paste. This indicates for coating a firing temperature lower than
800 °C, at which the decomposition of carbonates occurs. Moreover, the spectra of all twelve potsherds
undergone Raman analysis21 have showed in the engobe, in addition to quartz22, the presence of anatase,
a titanium oxide that is transformed in rutile at 600 °C (fig. 12). Although further inquiries are necessary,
the preliminary analyses could therefore suggest the engobe was cold-applied in some cases.
Raman spectroscopy also offered data on pigments for decorating pottery.
All red pigments, used on the nine examined egg-shell sherds, are composed by hematite, whereas
the white decoration observed in the fragment from a cooking-pot has showed the only presence
of anatase, suggesting the use of a white clay (kaolin?) as pigment.
In a preliminary way, X-Ray Diffraction and SEM images have showed a lime-based quartz-rich
composition of the two samples of plaster, decorated by blue and yellow pigments, coming from the
reported painted wall23. According to Raman spectrosopy, the blue pigment is a so-called “Egyptian
blue”, produced by firing a mixture of quartz, lime, a copper compound and an alkali flux to a
temperature in the range between 850 and 1000 °C. It was mainly used for decorating small objects.
In Egypt the earliest surviving use of Egyptian blue is dated to the reign of ‘Ka-sen’ (i.e. 2900 BC)
(Hatton et al. 2008). Finally, the yellow pigment was obtained from a yellow earth (goethite).
21 Among them nine samples were Meroitic kaolin egg-shell fragments.

22 The occurrence of quartz was probably associated to impurities present in the clay used in the engobe material.
Unfortunately, from Raman spectroscopy it is not possible to obtain more information on the clay material of the
engobe layer, because clay minerals as kaolin give a very weak Raman spectrum, that could be mask by the strong
Raman signal of the anatase.
23 According to the common making of plaster covering Meroitic monuments: see Hinkel 1989; Bouchar 2010 for
El-Hassa; Letourneux & Feneuille 2010 for Doukki-gel and Gebel Barkal; Sweek, Anderson & Sanimoto 2012,
13-15 for Dangeil.
142
Figure 9. Abu Erteila, Ceramic sample C2, SEM image (by Bellatreccia).
Figure 10. Abu Erteila, Ceramic sample C2, Thin section.

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143
Figure 11. Abu Erteila, Ceramic sample BP1, Paste and engobe layers (SEM image) (by Bellatreccia).
Figure 12. Abu Erteila, Ceramic sample R7, Raman spectrum (by Sodo & Casanova Municchia).
144
Bibliography
Baldi, M. 2012. “Textiles.” In E. Fantusati, E. Kormysheva and S. Malykh. “Abu Erteila.

Preliminary results of the Italian-Russian archaeological mission excavations, seasons
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di scavo ad Abu Erteila: rapporto preliminare.” In Atti della Quarta Giornata di Studi
nubiani - A Tribute to the Nubian Civilization, edited by M. Baldi and E. Fantusati,
20-33. Rome: Scienze e Lettere.
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Válek, C. Groot and J.J. Hughes, 55-63.
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Gebel el Silsila: field report from the Main Quarry1

Maria Nilsson (main author)
with contributions by John Ward, Sarah K. Doherty and Adrienn Almásy
Abstract
The Gebel el Silsila Project is a multi-disciplinary Swedish mission dedicated to the study of the
archaeological remains at Ancient Egypt’s largest sandstone quarry of Gebel el Silsila, Mountain of Chain,
just north of Kom Ombo in the Aswan region. This paper presents a general summary of the epigraphical
and archaeo-topographical survey of the largest quarry on the east bank – Quarry 34 or the Main Quarry.
JIIA © 2015
1 Acknowledgements go to the Permanent Committee of foreign missions for giving the team permission to work
at Gebel el Silsila, and to the Inspectorates of Kom Ombo with their Director, Mr. Abd el Menum, and equally
to the General Director of Aswan, Mr. Nasr Salama. The archaeological work has been made possible by the
generous financial support of the following institutions: the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish
Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (Enboms stiftelse), Helge Ax:son Johsons Stiftelse, Magnus Bergvalls
Stiftelse, Stiftelsen Lars Hiertas Minne, Birgit and Gad Rausings Stiftelse, Anérstiftelsen, Crafoordska Stiftelsen,
and the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet).
147
JIIA.eu Gebel el Silsila: field report from the Main Quarry
Introduction to the site
The ancient site of Gebel el Silsila (hereafter referred to as “GeS”) is located in Upper Egypt,
between Kom Ombo and Edfu at the point where the Nile reaches its narrowest point. Once a
cataract-like area, the site is now divided into east (Gebel el Silsila) and west (Ramadi Gibli) with
ancient quarries that run for 2.5 and 5 km along the Nile respectively (including the northern
site of Nag el Hammam). The total area covered by the concession measures approximately 30
km2. GeS is famous for its many New Kingdom stelae, funerary shrines, and the rock-cut temple
previously known as the Speos of Horemheb.2 It was also ancient Egypt’s largest sandstone quarry
that provided the ancient architects with the most desired blocks for the construction of some of
the world’s most renowned temples, including Karnak, Luxor, Ramesseum, Dendera, Edfu, Kom
Ombo and many more.3 What is more, GeS is preserved with not only evidence of ancient extraction
methods and transportation techniques, but also a great variety of textual graffiti and figurative
representations at least from Epipalaeolithic prehistory and throughout all subsequent ancient periods.
The site was known to the ancients as Kheny, possibly “Rowing place”, or Pa mu wab, “The
Pure Water”.4 Its Arabic name – Gebel el Silsila, “Mountain of the Chain” – is believed to derive
from one of its ancient names Khol-khol, meaning “barrier” or “frontier”, and later transformed to
Sil-sil by the Romans.5 This ancient meaning may be connected with a local tale that describes how
a chain was tied between the two banks to stop passing-by ships for taxation reasons.6 In modern
times GeS gave name to an Epipalaeolithic industry – the Silsilian/ Ballanan-Silsilian – found in
the northern part of the Kom Ombo plain.7
Except for minor excavations conducted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Legrain
and Sayce the site has never been properly excavated.8 It was made the responsibility of Caminos
under Egypt Exploration Society to systematically record and publish the ancient remains of
GeS. Unfortunately, with the passing of Caminos only one monographic volume was completed,
leaving large areas of research still unpublished.9 The current project resumes Caminos’ study, but
significantly expands into incorporating a comprehensive archaeological documentation of the site
for the first time. Since fieldwork continues the report is of a preliminary character.

Quarry 34, the Main Quarry
From the time of Napoleon’s scientific expedition this particular quarry has received more attention
than any other quarry at GeS. However, despite visits from numerous acclaimed archaeologists,
including Petrie, Sayce, Weigall, Legrain, and in later years Caminos, Klemm and Klemm, etc., no
comprehensive epigraphical, topographical or archaeological inventory has been published until now.10
Quarry 34 (hereafter Q34), the main quarry, named after its grand size (c. 50.000 m2), is
centrally positioned among a total of 52 quarries on the east bank, some 50 m east of the Nile. The
quarry is reached from the main pathway that runs along the Nile and connects the northern-most
section to those in the south. Entry is made via two long and narrow corridors that run in an east-
western direction. A series of pathways located on the quarry’s spoil heaps additionally connects
2 For an initial and very brief discussion on the older chronology of the speos, see Dr. Martinez’ work summarized
in Nilsson and Ward 2015.
3 Harrell 2013; Klemm and Klemm 2008; Kucharek 2012.
4 Kucharek 2012.
5 Weigall 1910, 360.
6 Harrell 2013.
7 Smith 1966.
8 Legrain 1903.
9 Caminos and James 1963.
10 Petrie 1888, 14-17 with pl. XIX; Sayce 1907; Weigall 1910, 356-373, esp. 371-373;Caminos 1955; Caminos and
James 1963; Klemm and Klemm 2008.
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JIIA.eu Maria Nilsson, John Ward, Sarah K. Doherty, Adrienn Almásy
Q34 with a second large passage route on top of the plateau. Archaeological, topographical and
epigraphical material indicates not one, but two quarries during the Pre-roman period. Each
quarry had its own transportation corridor: the northern and southern corridors respectively (see
below). The survey revealed that the two quarries were separated by a southern quarry face (i.e.
wall) that was broken through during the time of Augustus or Tiberius. A preserved Roman ramp
currently connects the two quarries and gives an impression of one large quarry in accordance with
which it was divided into seven partitions (figure 1), arranged as follow:
North:
• Partition A – the northern corridor
• Partition B – the northern partition
• Partition C – the eastern partition
• Partition D – the western partition
• Partition E – the central corridor: a smaller, partially buried corridor located on top of the
plateau/spoil heap between the northern and southern corridors
South:
• Partition F – the southern partition
• Partition G – the southern corridor
Recording methodology
Digital archaeological methods were implemented on site during the 2014 campaign, but
the initial survey work was conducted by means of more traditional recording methods. As such
photographic and analogue methods were used to record 1) general overview of the quarry in its
entirety, 2) general overview of each partition, 3) overview of each quarry face, and 4) details of
each individual graffito, including quarry marks, etchings, textual inscriptions, so called pilgrim
gouges; as well as archaeological features: foot holes, rope holes, post holes, and examples of
extraction tool marks. Finally, graffiti with a pictorial or textual context were photographed within
their contexts. Epigraphic material located within reach was measured and copied on acetate.
Following the preliminary classification of the separate quarries at GeS, which determined the
main quarry as Q34, the quarry was divided into seven partitions and further into 64 quarry faces
in accordance with their orientation. For example, Partition B, the northern section, comprises 17
separate quarry faces designated as Q34 B1-17. The division was made in accordance with Table 1.
Displayed epigraphic material was furthermore categorized as ‘In’ (Inscription – textual graffiti)
and ‘P’ (Pictograph – pictorial graffiti) followed by recorded number. The classification system has
proven more effective, adequate and adjustable than Legrain’s (unpublished) method as it enables
later additions to a quarry face without disorganising the complete quarry records. Legrain, in
contrast, used a consecutive number sequence from south to north, which was disrupted by later
additions, recorded as ADD with chalk on the quarry faces, each time he returned to GeS.11
In addition to the quarry faces proper, all extracted and prepared stone blocks and collapsed
(quarry) face fragments within Q34 were documented. Blocks with incisions (textual/pictorial)
were photographed, drawn and measured. Extracted stone blocks and collapsed fragments were
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recorded as an independent category separated from the partitions (excluded here).

© 2015
11 Many of Legrain’s original chalk numbers are still visible on the quarry faces and show a traditional numerical
system to which any later found graffiti was appended to the closest recorded number with the abbreviation ADD.
Spiegelberg reorganised Legrain’s original number system for the 1915 publication: Preisikge and Spiegelberg 1915.
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Preliminary topographic results (John Ward)
The aim of the survey work was to establish a general understanding of Q34 including a
documentation of the relation between its series of pathways, spoil heaps and series of stone
structures located on top of the heaps and on the plateau immediately above the quarry. Five
distinct sectors of ancient ruins were recorded; three were located on top of the heaps and two
on the plateau, containing a total of 54 clearly defined huts made up by stacked stone that in
general measured between 2.5 x 2.5 m and 4 x 5 m. Archaeological material presented on the
surface, including pottery, charred coal, red bricks, slag products and layers of organic material
now exposed by foxes or wild dogs, indicate that many of the structures on top of the heaps were
used as shelters/temporary habitation. The organic material indicates the application of grass or
reed as bedding material, but without a proper excavation no such conclusion could be confirmed.
Considering their limited number, it is plausible that the structures were used by the overseers and
upper hierarchic strata. At present there are no indications of a larger permanent workforce on site,
although it is plausible that the workers themselves slept on the quarry floor.
Since the area is under continuous study, the preliminary results will here be limited to the first
sector, an area which measured approximately 175 x 65 m (E-W, N-S) and was situated on top of
the southern heap (fig. 2). The sector was subdivided into six smaller areas:
Area 1 consisted of two semi-circular stone shelters (nos. 45-46) situated on a levelled ground
overlooking Partition G. The shelters equally measured 2 x 1 m, and 80 cm high. The spoil from
Area 1 ran in a south-westerly direction towards Partition E and in a northerly direction down
upon Area 2, against what appears to be a poorly preserved retaining wall. There were remnants of
fire pits. Two pathways were recorded in this area; one leading to Area 6 and the other to Area 2.
Area 2 was located in a depression of the southern heap and was connected with the main
quarry floor by a pathway. Area 2 was labelled ‘the block storage’ because of a series of large, pre-
dressed sandstone blocks that are placed in defined rows, assumingly having been prepared for
shipping. The visible extracted blocks were of a larger size (60 x 120 cm) compared to the (Ptolemaic
and) Roman blocks (55 x 110 cm) documented in the same quarry, and were engraved with quarry
marks not compatible to the general style of quarry marks in Q34. From a visual inspection these
blocks continued under the spoil debris from Area 1, and this may have been an area used during
previous Pharaonic quarrying, for either storing blocks prior to removal or a workshop.12 The low
level of the area (as compared to the other areas) could be an indicator of its age and usage.
Area 3 is situated at the highest elevation of the southern heap and thus commands a strategic
view over the southern part of the quarry and two of the corridors (Partitions F and G). It consists
of a retaining wall in its northern part (superimposing Partition E) and thirteen interconnected
rectangular stone shelters (nos. 37-53) grouped in three identifiable clusters. Their size varies from
3 x 3 m, 120 cm high (no. 37) to 3.5 x 5 m wide, 1 m high (no. 53). The first cluster consists of
three stone shelters (nos. 42-44) with their outer walls and doors partially intact. The walls were
constructed with double-lined stone blocks filled in with smaller debris and pottery sherds. The
shelters abut an abandoned quarry face to its southern and western sides, providing more stability
to the structures. The second cluster consists of eight stone shelters (nos. 37-41 and 51-53) most
of which are in a very poor state of preservation; disturbed by both natural and artificial forces.
The majority of the shelters were built using a double coursed wall with an inner core of smaller
debris. A pathway connected these ruins with Partition D. The thirds cluster consists of two
poorly preserved shelters (nos. 49-50) constructed with a double layered wall filled with debris.
Area 4 is located in direct connection with Partition E, centrally placed on the heap, and runs
in a west-east orientation. The ground is heavily strewn with larger debris mostly deriving from the
collapsed retaining walls to Area 3 and Area 6 respectively. The area’s western side is surrounded
12 The 2014 ceramic analysis indicate Ramesside activity in the area.
150
by large spoil heaps that have gradually enclosed the remains of the corridor (Partition E) as it
emerges in Area 5, parts of which are still visible.
Area 5 represents the western remnants of the corridor in Partition E and consists of an
accumulation of loose chipping, pottery sherds and other quarry debris that was thrown from Area 4.
Area 6 represents the uppermost part of the southern heap, and is situated at an elevated
position overlooking Partition E on a ground that was made up of various spoil heaps. A well
trodden pathway meanders through this area and provide access to Areas 1 and 2. Along the
pathway was observed what appeared to be a series of badly damaged stone ruins. Due to their
apparent disarray it was difficult to define their individualities, except for one semi-rectangular
ruin which was identified as a shelter (no. 54). This example presented clean dry stone walling with
two courses and an inner smaller core. The four sides of the outer wall measure 3.5 x 3 x 1.7 x 2 m
with the doorway of 1.5 m with a height of 130 cm. It was recorded that one of the stones within
the west-facing wall had been adorned with an etching of an offering table, similar to the quarry
mark depictions seen on the quarry faces. Situated beneath and farther to the south of shelter no.
54 stood two other rectangular stone shelters (nos. 47-48). No. 47 was buried within debris, but
shelter no. 48 stood relatively clear, although had its pathway access obstructed by the level of spoil
in the area. Its south-facing wall had collapsed with the retaining wall of Area 3, above Partition E.
Its three measurable walls were recorded as 1.5 x 2 x 3.2 m with a height of 90 cm. Close to the shelter
and beneath the fallen spoil was recorded a small area that had been disturbed by local wildlife, which
now revealed a layer of organic material consisting of a mixture of fine grass, silt and fine charcoal.
The southern hill presented the most intact and complex series of stone structures within
Q34. The structures generally follow a rectangular design with slightly curved corners. The
concentration of pottery sherds on the hill and a preliminary analysis indicates that the shelters
were in use contemporary to the quarrying, i.e. early Roman period. The pathways that connect the
various shelters were limitedly used, some partially covered by debris. The area of and surrounding
Partition E, the corridor, indicate an earlier quarrying period that later became obsolete as Q34
expanded in size and depth. With the exception of Area 5 it is difficult to estimate whether the
spoil heaps that make up the southern hill are indicative of the later quarrying activity, and further
analysis is required before establishing a date. Equally, further analysis is necessary to establish a
relative date for the extracted blocks in Area 2. Currently preserved there is only one main pathway
that led to the southern hill, and connected Partition D with E and farther west.
In addition to the huts all walls made up by stacked stone were recorded. These were located in
direct connection with the quarry faces, plausibly placed there to protect the workers and keep the
main pathways free from falling debris. Eight ramps were recorded within the main quarry, which
based on their state of preservation indicate different stages of quarrying. Among the miscellaneous
items found on the ground or on top of the debris piles that are formed around the quarry are
the following items: a fragment of a chisel; several fragments of wood, some plausibly of wedges;
pottery; a fragment of cloth. Finally, a high concentration of burned red bricks, charred coal, large
pieces of slag and clear flakes of iron were recorded in Section C, indicating a workman’s corner,
plausibly suggesting a blacksmith’s workshop.
Preliminary results from the ceramic analysis (Sarah K. Doherty)

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Methodology (GeS in general)

© 2015
As the pottery of GeS has never before been studied, a new typology for the site must be
developed, to then be compared with sister sites around Egypt. In order to achieve this, a full
collection of diagnostic surface sherds must be undertaken and then fully processed and studied.
The method employed is as follows: (1) individual sub sites are identified from field surveys and are
151
ascribed an area number, (2) sherds are gathered into baskets (maktafs) at the sub site, (3) the sherds
are separated into diagnostics (i.e. bases, handles, rims, and those sherds that have distinguishing
features such as spouts, lids, paint, decoration or pot marks) and body sherds (where it is not
obvious which vessel the sherd came from). The body sherds are further separated out into their
different clay types based on the Vienna System of classification (Marl Clay, Silt, Roman, Aswan,
Islamic, Modern).13 These are then counted and weighed. (4) The diagnostic sherds are washed
and dried. Afterwards they are sorted into their defining characteristics and sub-divided by shape,
form and other features. If there is more than one type, all are counted, made a note of in the bulk
recording form and pottery field notebook, and the best example is set aside to be registered for the
database. (5) The selected sherds are given an identifying ceramic number for the database, and all
the details are recorded into a ceramic record form. Measurements are taken of the height, width,
length and thickness, and characteristics such as colour, clay type and manufacturing marks. This
data will later be input into the ceramics database. Each sherd is then labelled with the site code
(GES), the year (14), the sub-site e.g. (Q34) and the ceramic number e.g. P24. Example: GES14/
Q34/P24. (6) The labelled diagnostic sherd/vessel’s profile is then drawn on permatrace using a
7H pencil, contour gauge, ruler and callipers. (7) The sherd is photographed using a Digital SLR
Canon EOS 550 D camera or Sony SLT A35 with an EF 60mm macro lens, and then bagged to
be stored, or returned to site. (8) The drawings are later redrawn into Photoshop, and the ceramic
forms, bulk recording forms and photographs are all entered into a Filemaker Database.
Typology
Each type is given a number e.g. Cones= 1, and defining characteristics (subdivision) are given
a further number e.g. Pointed Cone= 1.1. If more than one Pointed Cone 1.1 are found, then the
best (most complete) example of 1.1 is taken to be registered, drawn (scale 1:1), photographed and
entered into the site database. The other parallel examples are counted and weighed, and the data
is added to the database. As more types are added to the typology, the process speeds up. To date,
313 types have been added to the typology, measured, drawn and photographed.
So far, following previously established classification systems14, and previous ceramic
analyses at Heit el Gurob15 the typology consists of 15 Types:
1) Bases of Amphorae Cones, 2) Bases of Squat Amphorae, 3) Bases of Jars, 4) Bases of Bowls/Fine jars,
5) Bases of Bread trays, 6) Handles of Amphorae, 7) Handles of Jars, 8) Rims of Jars, 9) Rims of Bowls,
10) Rims of Modelled Jars, 11) Lids, 12) Rims of Basins, 13) Funnels and Sieves, 14) Spouts, 15) Pipes
Q34
For the ceramic analysis Q34 was subdivided into different sections: Partition A, Partition B1-11,
Partition B11-16, Partition C2- Partition F, and Southern Hill (including block storage area and Partition G).
Partition A – the northern corridor

Partition A was further divided into upper and lower sections for the pottery analyses. The lower
section yielded only 23 diagnostic sherds (1.2kg), compared to 300 body sherds (4.6kg), which is
perhaps unsurprising as the corridor was likely to be a thoroughfare in ancient times. The sherds were
quite abraded, suggesting they had been rolled around quite a bit. Items of note: 5 rims of jars, 2 rims
13 Nordström and Bourriau 1993. The Vienna System is used to identify the clays of dynastic sherds, and defines
ceramics using various methods: hardness, sound, amount of sand particles and other inclusions, and colour.
14 Peacock, 1977; Tomber, 2006; Wodzińska, 2010.
15 Gasperini, el-Senussi, Doherty, Bagh, Tambs, & Maaranen, 2012.
152
of bowl, corded ware bowl body sherd, body sherd with black painted lines, 2 handles amphorae of
North-West coastal wares, 3 basin rims, 3 footed ring bases. Most of these date to Early Roman Period.
The upper section consisted of the escarpment immediately above Partition A, where
some dry stone walled huts have been located. Twenty-nine new types were located here (22 rims
(1.36 kg), 3 bases (1.15kg) and 4 handles (0.2kg)), with a further 7.8 kg of diagnostic material
processed, and 52.84 kg of body sherds. These new types contained a mixture of 21% Early
Roman sherds, 17% Ptolemaic and 10% 18th-20th dynasty sherds. 0.2kg of slag was also found
here, as well as a Nile silt sherd that had a “V” shaped hole drilled into it.
Partition B
Partition B was separated into three areas: B1-11, B11-16 and B16-C2. B1-11 yielded 28 new
types: 16 rims, 4 base, 7 handles and 1 knobbed lid (GES14/Q34/B13, see figure 3), with 299
body sherds (6.6kg). Most are dated Early Roman.
B11-15 had 7 new types: 3 Bases (2 Early Roman, 1 19th dynasty Amphora base) and 4 Rims (Early
Roman, of which one was an Egyptian Red Slip ware bowl), compared to 29 body sherds (0.702 kg).
B16-C2 contained 115 body sherds (3.12 kg), and 10 new types (4 bases (of which 2
amphora cones), 3 rims, 2 handles (1 amphora and 1 water jar) and 1 ostraca GES14/Q34/B47
bearing Arabic names inscribed with charcoal of Osama Hamuda (obverse) and Hussein (reverse).
Apart from the ostraca, these all were dated to the Early-mid Roman period.
Partition C
C3-C7 yielded 3 rims (one basin, and one rim of a bowl dating to Ptolemaic period) and 2
bases (of which one was a pilgrim flask, other amphora cone) and 38 body sherds (1.26 kg). Apart
from the Ptolemaic bowl, the diagnostics were Early Roman.
Twenty-five diagnostics came from C8-C9 (18 rims, (including 4 large basin rims <50cm in
diameter), 8 bases, 5 handles) with 2 indecipherable Arabic ostraca, and 287 body sherds (8.32 Kg). These
dated to the Early Roman period. Within this area 25 pieces of fired mudbricks were found (1.2 kg).
In the western-most corner of Partition C, a surface workshop, possibly a blacksmithing
area had been noted in previous seasons, with extensive areas of burning. Within this area, 2 pieces
of pipe rim (Islamic period) and a narrow Early Roman bottle rim with painted black stripes were
uncovered. Some additional materials were uncovered too, such as a metal buckle, a green stone,
piece of flint and a reworked hollowed out sherd. The non-diagnostic body sherds weighed 0.42 kg.
In grid C10-11 159 body sherds (3.26 kg) and 26 diagnostic sherds were collected (15
rims, 7 bases and 3 handles, 1 painted body sherd). Of these, 57 % were Early Roman, 35%
Ptolemaic and 7 % 18-19th dynasty.
Partition D
C16- Partition D contained 16 diagnostics (12 rims, 4 bases and 3 handles 0.59kg), of which 3 were
new types (8.27 (squared neck jar), 8.28 (pointed, thick triangular rimmed jar which had been overheated
to the glassy stage) and a modern (20th C) white glazed tile, possibly for mixing watercolour paints. There
were 108 body sherds (1.34 kg). A piece of soapstone was also found here. Most of the diagnostics were
Early Roman, but the two new types were of Nile B2 clay, so were likely to be of an 18-19th dynasty date.
JIIA © 2015
Partition E
Partition E yielded a 55 diagnostics (1.92 Kg, 37 rims, 4 bases and 4 handles and 10 new
types). All dated to the Early Roman Period, consisting mostly of amphorae, bowls, and jars. There
were also 2 pieces of Ceramic Based Material (CBM).
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Partition F
Partition F contained no new types, 121 body sherds (3kg) and 14 diagnostic sherds (0.385 kg,
10 rims, 2 handles and 2 bases), all dated to the Early Roman Period.
Southern Hill camp site, including block storage and Partition G

Some 3,931 body sherds were gathered from this area, with 426 diagnostic rims, 92 bases and
28 handles. Ten new types were identified, 9 rims and 1 complete profile of type 9.16.1 (shallow
dish with carinated, outer rolled rim and ring base that dates to the Early Roman Period, 12cm
diameter, which was underfired in the kiln GES14/Q34/S2, see figure 4.
Preliminary results from the epigraphic survey
In total 487 textual inscriptions were recorded in Q34, including 155 Greek, 1 Latin, 330
demotic, and 1 pseudo scripted text. Here is presented the publication of 40 inscriptions, including
78 names as listed in 26 Greek, 1 Latin and 13 demotic texts (see addendum). Thirty-six texts are
simple signature graffiti, while four inscriptions are categorized as adorations.16 As the project is
ongoing, the texts published here are merely a selection, elected based on work completion. The
texts include the correction of a few previously published texts copied by Legrain and published by
Preisgke and Spiegelberg (1915), followed by Bernand (1989), and a larger body of unpublished
examples. A comprehensive inventory is currently prepared for monographic publication.
The Greek and demotic texts from GeS have been well known for centuries, but remain
poorly published. With only brief references to Greek graffiti in Petrie’s ‘A season in Egypt’, and
a somewhat more thorough compilation in Bernand (based on Legrain’s facsimiles) Presigke and
Spiegelberg remained the main references for demotic inscriptions at GeS. The recorded textual
material exceeds by far the selection of inscriptions previously published.17
Like many of the graffiti at GeS these texts were produced by workmen, scribes, officials,
expedition leaders or possibly priests, who had been assigned to extract stone for the construction
or renovation of temples, shrines, pylons and gates in Upper Egypt. The texts presented here chiefly
date to the earliest Imperial Period, i.e. Augustus and Tiberius, approximately 2 BC – AD 36. The
bulk of the 487 inscriptions are categorized as adorations, i.e. proskynēmata. Another large body
of texts initially appear as simple name graffiti — signatures, but since many of these inscriptions
are situated directly or close to quarry marks that depict offering tables, ankhs, libation jugs, et
cetera, many could still be considered as adorations despite the lack of an opening proskynēmata.
Among the more important inscriptions is text no. 25, which is a graffito written by a
Petearensnouphis, son of Kteson. According to the text he came to the quarry as an officer of Ammon
and Athena, described as the greatest god and goddess respectively. Not only is it very exceptional
to find reference to Greek deities in graffiti in Upper Egypt in general18, but this is the first recorded
mentioning of a Greek goddess proper (in contrast with Tyche as the personification of Fate, below)
at GeS.19 In addition to this rare inscription is an adjacent adoration inscription dedicated to Tyche
(Fate); a Greek form of the more frequently listed Egyptian form Shaï.20 In addition to this rare
reference the text designates this particular part of the quarry as ‘the quarry of Ammon’ and provides
us with a date of the carving: 15 Phaophi in year 41 of the ruling Caesar, i.e. Augustus.
16 The adoration inscriptions are currently prepared for a separate publication.

17 Despite a visit to Gebel el Silsila Bernand 1989 did not publish any new material from the Main Quarry, and
republished Legrain’s sometimes inaccurate facsimiles resulting in an incorrect transcription and translation.
18 E.g. Vleeming 2001, 82–3; Bernand 1977, 241–3, no. 83; Mairs 2010.
19 The significance of referring to Athena (paired with Ammon) in an Upper Egyptian quarry will be discussed in
detail elsewhere (currently prepared for publication).
20 Eg. Quaegebeur 1975, 94.
154
Quarry marks (pictorial graffiti)
Terminology
Despite the common misconceiving association of the non-specific term ‘quarry mark’ with
masons’ marks or identity marks, the term is here applied for all non-textual markings at GeS
simply because they are all located within a quarry, regardless of function or meaning; engraved,
sculptured or painted.21 The sporadic use of ‘graffiti’ elsewhere22 appears inappropriate as its
etymological meaning (from graffiato ‘scratched’) conventionally incorporates any kind of textual
or pictorial inscription scratched, engraved, carved, scribbled, painted, or drawn.23 Graffiti may
range from simple scratched marks, dipinti or even tituli picti to elaborate carved and painted
scenes. Moreover graffiti are habitually characterized by spontaneous, personal, arbitrary, and non-
official creations.24 Quite the opposite the quarry marks at GeS appear well prepared, occasionally
with preliminary lines drawn prior to incision, and they are spatially well arranged. What is more,
one must raise the question as to what point the much wider term ‘graffiti’ is to be differentiated
from ‘rock art’, ‘pictographs’, ‘petroglyphs’ if not only in terms of chronology. The terms ‘rock art’,
‘pictographs’, ‘petroglyphs’ are avoided here simply because the marks represented at GeS include
variants that resemble alphabetic letters, thus non-pictorial. Without entering an exhaustive
interpretational discussion on function and meaning, and although the term evidently requires
secondary categories, ‘quarry mark’ remains the more favourable alternative presented thus far.
Repertoire
3.087 quarry marks were initially recorded, displayed in accordance with Table 3. The corpus
in the northern section (A-D) is dominated by harpoons, which with 1.281 examples represent
41% of the total number of quarry marks in Q34. The northern section, furthermore, display a
considerable amount of ‘hourglasses’, (264 examples), circles crossed by a vertical or horizontal bar
(123 examples), offering tables (158 examples) and horned altars (136 examples). Additional, less
frequent representations include tridents, anthropomorphic figures, quadruped animals, crosses,
squares, pentagrams, Greek letters, birds, and so on.
The harpoon
The harpoon is illustrated in all the northern partitions (A-E), but never in the south except for
four examples in the western opening of Partition G. Using Partition C for a statistic demonstration,
the harpoon appears with 781 examples, divided into nine sub-variants displayed on 18 quarry
faces, making up 50% of the total amount of marks in this partition. An identical percentage rate
is presented in Partition B where the harpoon appears with 188 examples on 11 quarry faces. 226
examples were recorded in Partition A, again representing 50% of the total; in Partition D the
harpoon appears with 82 examples, making 57% of the total.

Based on the simplest form – a vertical line with a toggle head – the sub-variants are divided
in accordance with minor dissimilarities (morphemes) in terms of additional details and/or
a horizontal orientation instead of vertical. In contrast with its simplest form the harpoon is
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occasionally illustrated in raised relief, or inserted in a plaque. The term ‘harpoon’ is preferred
© 2015
rather than ‘arrow’ due to its characterizing additional details, such as a handle or a rope on
21 Nilsson forthcoming a.
22 Kucharek 2012.
23 E.g. Hahn 2012.
24 Ibid., 2 (= 2975 in printed version).
155
the shaft.25 The harpoon occurs as a singular sign, in pairs and in larger groups, or in clusters
without any linear or direct attachment to another. When incorporated in groups, it is found with
other harpoons, hourglasses, circles, horned altars, or as held by anthropomorphic figures with
zoomorphic elements (mainly a beak). The harpoon is often found next to demotic inscriptions,
especially in Partitions C. It frequently appears in connection with the name ‘Pachimesen’; a
name of a local protective deity loosely translated as ‘He of the uplifting of the harpoon’.26 The
name Pachimesen suggests an association or assimilation of this local Shaï or ‘daemon’27 with
Horus as the Lord of Mesen (‘Harpoon City’).28 Except for the four harpoons in Partition G, all
partitions that display harpoons also include the name Pachimesen. In the vicinity of one of these
inscriptions is a falcon god depicted with a double crown, and an adjacent inscription refers to the
northern quarry part (A-E) as the ‘Quarry of Horus’.29
Documented as a weapon already during Egyptian Prehistory, the harpoon was included in the
mythic trial of strength between Seth and Horus30, and became an attribute of Horus (‘Lord of
the harpoon’), representing strength, power, protection and victory over the enemy (enemies).31 As
suggested elsewhere32, Pachimesen represents a local form of Horus, and the harpoon symbolically
represents the deity, thus acting as an identity mark. Depictions of anthropomorphic figures wearing
Roman armour and depicted spearing a crocodile with a harpoon, support this interpretation.33 At
present there is nothing to suggest that the harpoon had a function as a ‘mason’s mark’, ownership
mark, or any practical, non-symbolic significance.
Jug, ankh and offering table
The quarry mark repertoire and associated occurrence rate is far more limited in the south than in
the north, with 536 and 2.551 marks respectively. The motif corpus in the south (Partitions F-G) is as
an alternative dominated by a vessel (Gardiner’s W9; Xnm) and an ankh, often found coupled in series
and frequently also include offering tables. In the south, the ankh is recorded with 157 examples (29%
of the total), the vessel with 128 examples (24%), and the offering table with 79 examples (15%),
together making up 68% of the total amount of quarry marks displayed. While the majority of quarry
marks appear in various sub-groups, and interchanging horizontal and vertical orientations, the ankh is
always represented in an upward, traditional position. The jug appears in two variations, altering a left or
right orientation (mirror reflected), and always standing on its foot. The offering table is represented in
various sub-groups and with several additional details. All three marks are found with single and double
outlines equally. The significance of the ankh will not be discussed here, although it can be stated that
it is often found in direct connection with textual media, primarily dedications or ‘give life’-formulae.34
The vessel is frequently situated immediately next to adoration texts, type proskynēmata. The
vessel may, thereby, be a symbolic indicator of a physical act of adoration. What is more, there are
repeated textual references to Khnum in the southern part of Q34. These remarks are recorded in
dedications to the ram-god, and in workers’ titles, including ‘overseer of the work for Khnum’ and
‘superintendent of the Temple of Khnum’35. Indeed, one unpublished text describes the southern
25 See also Preiskge and Spiegelberg 1915, 4: “Horus-Harpune”.

26 Smith 1999, 396; Preiskge and Spiegelberg 1915, nos. 228, 230–231, 248.
27 For Pachimesen’s epithet ‘Agathodaimon’, see Preiskge and Spiegelberg 1915, nos. 189, 194, 212–213, 217, 222–
224, 226–227, 229, 232, 235–236).
28 Griffiths 1958, 76.
29 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 240.
30 Sweeny 2002, 154.
31 E.g. Finnestad 1983, 15; Blackman and Fairman 1944.
32 Nilsson 2014a; 2014b; forthcoming a; forthcoming b.
33 Nilsson forthcoming a; forthcoming b.
34 Currently prepared for publication.
35 Idem; Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, nos. 98, 100 and 102.
156
part as the ‘Quarry of Khnum’. With a few exceptions, the vessel is always located on quarry faces
that also contain references to Khnum. Moreover, an unpublished demotic inscription informs us
that the quarried stone was destined for a ‘Temple of Khnum’.
The vessel, as is generally known, forms the first sign in the hieroglyphic name of Khnum. Favorable
for the sake of argument, there are various carved illustrations of rams in the southern part, some in
direct proximity of jugs and Khnum-inscriptions.36 Additionally, there are various personal names that
include the name of the god, such as Petechnoubis (Petechnoubios/Petechnoumis).37 The vessel, as a
consequence, may be symbolically associated with Khnum, or with individuals working on behalf of
the god. The Temple of Khnum has been identified by the author elsewhere38 as the sanctuary in Esna.
The offering table is recorded in fifteen main morphemes, each of which can be divided further
based on variations of single or double outlines, as well as sunken or raised relief. Its simplest form
illustrates a rectangular shape with a mouth (open or closed). Additional details include a stylized
winged solar disc, crossed inner bars, or conventional offering items such as lotus flowers and
libation jars.39 Similar graffiti are found in proliferation in the Nile valley. They are incised into
the walls of temples and tombs, on rocks and panels along trade routes and in mountain areas.
Somewhat controversially this t-shaped mark was interpreted as a grave indicator by Carter and
some of his followers, using it as an indicator of undiscovered tombs in the Theban Mountains.40
However, based on its frequency throughout the various ancient periods; its presence in temples,
quarries, trade routes and other non- funerary locations; its pictorial context that often include
horned altars and other ceremonial items; and its additional iconographic details such as sacrificial
objects, all points to an identification with the item actually depicted – an offering table.
Similar to above mentioned quarry marks, the offering table occurs in association with textual
graffiti, and habitually seems to emblematically replace the textual proskynēmata formula, thus acting
as an indicator of adoration. Among various other examples, this is demonstrated in inscription no.
23; a signature of Epidiaros son of Petebekis, dating to AD 10/11, and situated to the immediate
left of an offering table. In addition to adjacent placement, several examples of offering tables with
enclosed texts were recorded in Q34, especially in the two larger corridors (Partitions A and G).41
The application of offering tables as enclosure for signatures or dedicatory text can be compared
with the various examples of tabulae ansatae at GeS.42 Offering tables are represented in all seven
partitions in Q34 (and equally in all contemporaneous quarries, including Q24, Q35-37).
Discussion on meaning and function
Signifiers of predestined temples?
The connection between specific quarry marks and textually confirmed deities, such as briefly
theorized above (harpoon – Pachimesen/Horus; jug – Khnum), could hypothetically establish
the quarry marks as ‘signifiers’ for a temple or shrine for which the extracted stone was intended.
Indeed, specific temples are mentioned in the texts, even though the geographic location remains
unnamed. Temporal information, i.e. ruler combined with building activity recorded during the
particular reign, can provide at least plausible temple identification. Although the temple has
36 Idem; Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 112, 131 and 133. However, it cannot be dismissed that the ram is associated
with Amun instead, alternatively reflecting a syncretism of Amun and Khnum.
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37 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, nos. 92, 98, 103, 110, 115, 142 and 261. Additional inscriptions with these names
© 2015
are currently prepared for publication.

38 Nilsson forthcoming b.
39 See for example Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, no. 41 (central image).
40 E.g.Carter 1917, 111; Unpublished papers of Jaroslav Černý (1898-1970) in the Griffith Institute, Oxford: MSS.
6.13, 28; Romer 1981, 232; Peden 2001, 140, 26, 264.
41 Preisigke and Spiegelberg 1915, nos. 83, 198.
42 Ibid, nos. 91, 115-118, 195.
157
already been established as that of Esna, two examples were initially considered, including the
Temple and temple terrace of Khnum at Esna and Elephantine, which may be plausible destination
candidates for the stone extracted in the southern parts of Q34.43
While a function as ‘destination signifiers’ may be theoretically reasonable, one would expect to
find related, if not identical marks situated on the stone blocks within the final temple structure.
However, while there are various examples of ‘quarry marks’ that are technically executed analogously
with those in situ at GeS, the motif repertoire presented within the structures of the Temples
at Edfu, Esna, Elephantine and so on, reveal neither absolute nor convincing identification.44
The motif corpus at Temple of Edfu, for example, does include a limited amount of harpoon-
like objects, but the more frequent mark shows a horizontal line crowned at both ends by two
leaves/blades. Triangles, offering tables, ladders, and fork-like objects occur too. And despite Jaritz’
generally accepted association of marks situated within the terrace structure at Elephantine, only
two examples of vessels are registered.45 At present the metaphorical dimension of the quarry
marks at GeS is unlikely to signify predestined temple location.
Quarry marks as religious symbols?
From at least the New Kingdom the religious aspect of GeS was intimately associated with the
Nile and its inundation, noticeable in the designation “the Pure Water” and for which festivities were
held biannually.46 Other cultic associations with the Nile waters are attested in various inscriptions
on the west bank, including “Geb and Nut who are in the Waters of Libation”, and “[…] within the
Waters of Libation”, or “Holy Water”.47 And despite previous attempts in dismissing any religious
activity on site after the 19th Dynasty these references play an integral role in later dedications and
adorations.48 In addition to the depiction of situlae in quarries dating to Claudius (textually associated
with milk and Isis)49, the more commonly depicted object associated with libations (oil) and possibly
Nile water is that of a stone vessel generally known in accordance with the hieroglyphic sign W9.50
In addition to the hypothetical association between a quarry mark and a ritual act, such as
between the Xnm-vessel, proskynēmata -inscriptions and physical act of libation, there are various
motifs that indicate a more metaphorical or even apotropaic significance.51 The ancients believed
every carved image to hold an essence of the true object depicted. As such each image was
considered to contain an amuletic property and signified concepts related to adoration, protection
and giving thanks.52 This is particularly true for the Roman period.53
A potential example of an apotropaic (protection) mark at GeS is the depiction of an ibis-bird
positioned as a defeater of a horned viper. Still today horned vipers form a lethal threat to its visitors54,
43 Cf. Jaritz 1980.

44 Quarry marks within temple structure have been examined since 2007 by the author and J. Ward in order to study
comparable engraved and/or painted marks.
45 Jaritz 1980.
46 Caminos and James 1963, 34, pl. 25/4; Kucharek 2012, 4. A closely related epithet “of the Pure Water” for Taweret
is attested in various examples at Deir el Medina, believed to be an import from Gebel el Silsila. See Kucharek
unpublished master thesis, 86-87. The finding of an incised pictorial graffito on the plateau of the west bank during
the 2013 season, combined with various previously known graffiti of the goddess strongly emphasize Taweret’s
importance at Gebel el Silsila.
47 Weigall 1910, 358.
48 Idem: “After this period, however, the gradual cessation of the rapids, and the turning of the neighbourhood into a
huge quarry works, caused the religious aspect of Gebel Silsileh to be forgotten, and one hears no more of that side
of its character”.
49 Nilsson and Almasy 2015.
50 Gardiner 1957, W9.
51 Nilsson 2014a.
52 Kleinitz 2009.
53 E.g. Betz 1985; Bonner 1950; Dzwiza 2013;);
54 Cf. Caminos 1955, 51.
158
and it is reasonable that the ancient worker engraved a mark to represent their wish for safekeeping
during their work. Alternatively it can be suggested that the workers had completed their task and
wished to express their gratefulness towards the gods for having been kept safe. As a zoomorphic
symbol for Thoth, the ibis was certainly considered a blessing in the harsh quarryscape.
Several additional (Roman) examples of marks that may have been created with an apotropaic
function in mind are preserved within Q34. Anthropomorphic figures are considerably frequent;
dressed as Roman soldiers they generally hold a shield and spear, and include zoomorphic elements
such as a beak. One of the more interesting illustrations shows a falcon-headed figure seated on a
throne superimposing a crocodile (figure 5). The figure wears a double crown and holds a harpoon
in his hand; a snake is seen behind the figure’s back. As the (to the author) only known example this
representation shows a seated victorious Horus figure alluding to Cippi figures (Horus stelae). Such
an image is generally interpreted to symbolize Horus’ magical powers to protect the owner from evil.55
Could the seated figure at GeS be the first known example of a quarry drawing of the traditional Cippi
motif, and similar to the ibis-bird have been engraved to protect the workers against snakes and other
dangerous animals that constantly threatened their everyday life within the quarry?
Indicators of extraction methodology (main author and John Ward)
In terms of technical analysis of the tool (extraction) marks, chisel and groove size, preliminary
results indicate the use of three main sizes of chisels in Q34, ranging with smaller differences
between 4 and 7 mm in width and with a flat chisel head-size of 3-4 cm. Pointy chisels were used
too (8-11 mm wide at its point). The tool marks on extracted blocks and the gap from which
they were extracted demonstrate parallel diagonal pattern and the so called herringbone pattern.
Thus, Klemm and Klemm’s theory must be questioned: their conclusion in dating the herringbone
pattern to the 18th Dynasty56 has been proven inadequate since it is evident that this pattern was
produced also during later periods, in particular during the Roman period. Moreover, their dating
of Q34 to the Ptolemaic period57 is not convincing: without any difference in the tool marks, they
separate Ptolemaic quarrying from Roman by the amount of outlines of quarry marks: a single outline
represents Ptolemaic activity, and a double Roman extraction. This system is ambiguous and misleading
since Q34 equally display examples of singular and double outlined marks, often placed next to each
other. What is more, while remaining cautious in dating a quarry based on its graffiti, the majority of
the textual inscriptions belong to the early Roman period with no reference to Ptolemaic activity.
Included in the technical analysis, a differentiation was recorded between the size and execution
of wedge marks, temporally developing from large, sloppy grooves to smaller and more precisely cut
holes. The most common feature within the main quarry is a wedge mark marked out and made by
four initial chisel lines/cuts into the stone: those belong to the latter part of the quarry’s time periods.
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55 E.g. Seele 1947.

56 Klemm and Klemm 2008, 196-197.
57 Ibid, 189.
159
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Addendum – Inscriptions
(Maria Nilsson – Greek and Latin; Adrienn Almásy – Demotic and Greek)
Abbreviations used in the addendum:
Bernand: Andre Bernand, de Thébes á Syéne (Paris 1989)

BGU: Aegyptische Urkunden aus den Königlichen (later Staatlichen) Museen zu Berlin, Griechische
Urkunden, Berlin 1895-
CDD: Chicago Demotic Dictionary, ed. J. H. Johnson (Chicago, 2001)
http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/cdd/
DNB: Erich Lüddeckens, Demotisches Namenbuch I-II (Wiesbaden, 2000)
EG: Wolja Erichsen, Demotisches Glossar (Kopenhagen, 1954)
PS: Friedrich Preisigke and Willhelm Spiegelberg, Ägyptische und griechische Inschriften und Graffiti aus
den Steinbrüchen des Gebel Silsile (Oberägypten) - nach den Zeichnungen von Georges Legrain (Strassburg, 1915)
SB: Friedrich Bilabel, Sammelbuch griechischer Urkunden aus Ägypten, Band 3 (Berlin und Lepizig, 1926)
TM: Trismegistos Database: http://www.trismegistos.org/
TM NAM: Trismegistos Name: http://www.trismegistos.org/nam/search.php
TM ID: Trismeistos personal identity number: http://www.trismegistos.org/per/search.php.
162
Latin
1. Signature of Faustus
Inv. no. C7.In.4
Unpublished
Measurements: c. 18 m above ground
1. FAUSTUS
1. Faustus
Commentary:
The background has been smoothed (rubbed) to create a plaque-like impression. An engraved
depiction of a harpoon is situated immediately to the left. No previous attestations at GeS.58
Greek
2. Signature of Pampos
Inv. no. C16.In.1
Unpublished
Measurements: c. 14 m above the ground
1.) 
2.) 
3.) L
1.) 
2.) 
3.) L (tous)
1.) Pa(mpos)
2.) Pampos
3.) year [ ]
Commentary:
JIIA
An illustration of a harpoon is situated to the left of the inscription, and a canine illustration to the
© 2015
right. L1 was plausibly intentionally interrupted due to the lack of space to complete the name, thus a
58 Trismegistos Name (“TM NAM”) 7418. Hereafter, references to “TM” without further specification refer to
this database: http://www.trismegistos.org/; “NAM” refers to the name database: http://www.trismegistos.org/
nam/search.php, and “ID” to the personal identity number given in the database: http://www.trismegistos.org/
per/search.php. Cf. TM ID 85958, 393763.
163
repetition of the name Pampos, suggesting that the canine depiction was carved prior to the text. The
name Pampos is not previously attested. On palaeographic grounds the carver may be identified with a
Pampos, son of Pamptos, recorded in an adjacent inscription (quarry face C17), no. 3, below.
3. Signature of Pampos son of Pampotos

Inv. no. C17.In.1
Unpublished
1.) 
2.) 
1.) 
2.) 
1.) Pampos
2.) (son of ) Pampotos
Commentary:
It is likely that Pampos is identified with the carver of no. 2. The name is connected to a
pictorial image – a horned altar – possibly suggesting a symbolic adoration. Neither Pampos
nor Pampatos59 is previously attested. Plausibly, “Pampatos” is a variant of “Pachompatous” (TM
NAM 8156), as recorded in Partition C.60
4. Signature of Harkinis son of Pachnoumis

Inv. no. C21.In.1
Unpublished
Measurements: 18 cm H x 238 cm W, c. 4.5 m above the ground
1.) 
2.) vvv
1.) 
2.) 
1.) Harkinis (son of ) Pachnoumis, Pachois (son of ) Pambe[---]
59 Cf. TM NAM 8153.

60 Unpublished demotic inscription incised on quarry face C10.9.
164
2.) and Pachois the brother
Commentary:
The inscription is surrounded by various quarry marks including seven harpoons, a boat and two
individual Greek letters (phi and omega). A large harpoon is situated in the centre of the inscription,
filling the vacant space in L2, and has divided the name Pachnoumis – superimposing the nu – in L1.
With no previous attestations at GeS Harkinis61 may have a parallel in an adjacent unpublished
graffito (inv. no. C17.In.5): .
Pachnoumis is recorded in various inscriptions in the southern section of the main quarry.62 Pachois
is attested in various inscriptions at GeS63, in demotic and Greek, but without an identifying patronym.
5. Signature of Andron
Inv. no. F1.In.1
PS 148; Bernand 138; SB III 6900; TM 54274; TM ID 113 854.
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Andron
Commentary:
Despite its closeness to no. 6 the inscription is here divided into two separate signatures (nos.
5-6) based on clearly distinct style and size differentiations. Tool groves and technique of no. 5
correspond with those of the quarry mark series situated above the text, including (l-r) a jug, an
offering table and an ankh. Cf. no. 9 ‘Andron son of Andreas’.64
6. Signature of Siepmous son of Chairon65

Inv. no. F1.In.2
PS 148; Bernand 138; SB III 6900; TM 54274

1.) 
2.) 
1.) 
JIIA
2.) 
© 2015
1.) Siepmous
61 TM NAM 8768.
62 TM NAM 674. Nilsson, Almásy and Ward.
63 Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos..49, 206, 209, 212; TM NAM 643.
64 TM NAM 2039 (Andron).
65 See facsimile for no. 6.
165
2.) (son of ) Chairon
Commentary:
Based on Legrain’s facsimile, PS and Bernand published an incomplete and incorrect reading.
The names are not previously attested at GeS.66
7. Signature Anoubion son of Prempouisousios

Inv. no. F2.In.5
Unpublished
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Anoubion (son of ) Prempouisousios
Commentary:
The reading and identification of  with Premporisousios is based on palaeographically
comparable adjacent adoration inscription, no. 8, which is situated on the same quarry face. PS
125 and Bernand 120 incorrectly misread the lunar sigma as an epsilon.
8. Adoration of Anoubion son of Prempouiousios

Inv. no. F2.In.34
PS 125; Bernand 120; SB III 6882; TM 54249; TM ID 113 816-7
Measurements: c. 12.5 m above the ground
1.) 
2.) 
3.) 
1.) 
2.) 
3.) 
1.) Act of adoration (of )
2.) Anoubion
3.) (son of ) Prempouiousios
Notes:
L2: Legrain’s facsimile (PS 125; Bernand 120) excludes the initial alpha and nu, and misreads
66 TM NAM 1114; 2561.
166
a tau for the ypsilon.

L3: PS 125 and Bernand 120 misreads an epsilon for a lunar sigma, thus misreads the name
as Prempouioueios.
9. Signature of Hermon
Inv. no. F2.In.47
Unpublished
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Hermon
Commentary:
Based on a comparable palaeography and its adjacent location to inscription inv. no. F2.In.21
(PS 124), the person may be identified with TM ID 113 814, Hermon son of Apollonios.67
10. Signature Andron son of Andreas

Inv. no. F2.In.1
Unpublished
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Andron (son of ) Andreas
Commentary:
Based on a comparable palaeography, combined with adjacent location to inscription inv. no.
F1.In.1 (PS 148), the person may be identified with TM ID 113 854, here providing also the
patronym. The name Andreas is not previously attested at GeS.68
11. Signature Orsenouph(i)os son of Pachnoubios

Inv. no. F2.In.62
Unpublished
JIIA © 2015
67 TM NAM 3003 (Hermon).

68 TM NAM 2039 (Andron), 2024 (Andreas).
167
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Orsenouphios (son of ) Pachnoubios
Commentary:
The spelling of Orsenouphios with an ending omicron instead of iota and omicron has no
previous attestations,69 “Osenouphios”, however, is attested at GeS with different filiations.70
“Pachnoubios” is attested in various variants at GeS, including “Pachnoumis”.71
12. Signature of Agathinos son of Platon

Inv. no. F2.In.65
1.) 
2.) 
1.) 
2.) 
1.) Agathinos
2.) (son of ) Platon
Notes:
L1: Legrain interpreted a natural strata break as a horizontal bar, misreading the omicron for a theta.
The facsimile in PS 139 and Bernand 132 incorrectly replace the ending lunar sigma with an epsilon.
Commentary:
Cf. no. 14, below.72
13. Signature of Agathinos

Inv. no. F2.In.66
Unpublished
69 Cf. TM NAM 568 (Orsenouphis); 674 (Pachnoumis).

70 E.g. Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 93, 188.
71 E.g. Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 261 (Bernand 152), 128 (Bernand 123).
72 TM NAM 1757 (Agathinos), 5157 (Platon).
168
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Agathinos
Commentary:
While the inscription is situated equally adjacent to no.12 (Agathinos son of Platon) and no. 16
(Agathinos son of Drakon), palaeographic details, including the style and carving technique (and
the size of the tool) are identical to those of no. 12, suggesting identification with TM ID 113 839.
14. Adoration of Agathinos son of Drakon

Inv. no. F2.In.64
1.) 
2.) 
1.) 
2.) 
2.) Agathinos (son of ) Drakon
Notes:
L1: Legrain’s facsimile (PS 136; Bernand 129) reads kappa instead of gamma.
L2: Legrain’s facsimile excludes the nu in Agathinos.
Commentary:
The carver replaced the omicron with an omega in the definite article and the name of Drakon,
and replaced the kappa with a gamma in proskynema. Cf. nos. 13-14, 16.
15. Adoration of Agathinos son of Drakon

Inv. no. F2.In.68

JIIA © 2015
1.) 
2.) 
3.) 
169
1.) 
2.) 
3.) 
2.) Agathinos
3.) (son of ) Drakon.
Notes:
L1: Legrain’s facsimile (PS 135; Bernand 128) excludes L1. The use of gamma instead of kappa, omega
instead of omicron, combined with a comparable palaeography suggest a carver identical with nos. 13, above.
16. Signature of Pamchemis

Inv. no. F2.In.89
Unpublished
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Pamchemis
Commentary:
It is possible that the inscription was included in an inscription situated above (inv. no.
F2.In.88 = PS 138) or below (inv. no. F2.In.90, unpublished). Other than no. 4, above, the name
has no previous attestations at GeS,73 but no palaeographic details (no. 4 applies eta, while no. 17
uses the epsilon) nor geographic associations (the inscriptions are situated in different Partitions –
C and F) indicate any connection between no. 4 and 17.
17. Signature of Asklas son of Asklepiades

Inv. no. F2.In.91
Measurements: 7 cm H x 120 cm W, c. 8,5 m above the ground
1.) 
2.) 
1.) 
2.) 
1.) Asklas
2.) (son of ) Asklepiades
73 Cf. TM NAM 17283 (variant of Pampchemis).
170
Notes:
L1: Based on Legrain’s facsimile, PS and Bernand incorrectly read the final letters as alpha and
phi, and neglect the final lunar sigma, misreading Asklas for Asklepiades.74
18. Signature of Pothos

Inv. no. F3.In.5
Unpublished
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Pothos
Commentary:
The pi is written in a slightly cursive, lunar style. The name is not previously attested at GeS.75
19. Signature of Hermonax son of Patas

Inv. no. F3.In.8
Unpublished
1.) Ξ
1.) 
1.) Hermonax (son of ) Patas
Commentary:
Neither Hermonax nor Patas are attested previously at GeS.76
20. Signature of Psenapathes son of Pachnoubis

Inv. no. F3.In.31
Unpublished; chalk marked by Legrain; pencil traced by unknown visitor.

Measurements: 9 cm H x 34 W, c. 1 m above the current quarry floor

JIIA © 2015
1.) 
74 Cf. TM NAM 2362 (Asklas), 2372 (Asklepiades).

75 TM NAM 5254.
76 TM NAM 4491 (Hermonax); 4938 (Patas).
171
2.) 
1.) 
2.) 
1.) Psenapathes
2.) (son of ) Pachnoubis
Commentary:
Psenapathes is not previously attested at GeS.77
21. Signature of Parauis son of Psares

Inv. no. F3.In.25
Unpublished
Measurements: 7.5 cm H x 27 cm W, c. 5.5 m above the ground
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Parauis (son of ) Psares
Commentary:
No previous attestations at GeS.78
22. Signature of Petorsnouphis
Inv. no. F5.In.1

Unpublished
Measurements: 79 x 12 cm; the inscription is situated on an extraction ledge c. 1.5 m above
ledge, c. 22 m above the ground.
1.) 
1.) 
1.) Petorsnouphis
Commentary:
77 TM NAM 966.
78 Variant of TM Name 11236 (Paraus); TM NAM 33995 (Psares).
172
“Petorsnouphis” is a variant of Petearensnouphis,79 which appears in a longer inscription on the

same quarry face, and twice in Partition F.80 Inscriptions nos. 22 and 23 are situated to the right of
two large quarry marks depicting (l-r) an offering table (32.5 x 70 cm) and a trident (30 x 138 cm).
23. Signature of Kesonios81

Inv. no. F5.In.2
Unpublished
1.) 
1.) ()
1.) Kesonios
Commentary:
The name is situated immediately below inscription no. 22, but the two names are here divided as two
separate texts based on palaeographical differences: no. 23 has been composed with smaller letters and lunar-
shaped epsilons instead of squared like seen in no. 22. The name Kesonios is not previously attested at GeS.82
24. Signature of Phopysneus son of Papotaus83
Inv. no. F5.In.3

Unpublished
1.) 
2.) 
1.) 
2.) 
1.) Papesneus
2.) (son of ) Paptaus
Commentary:
“Phopusneus” is likely to be a variant of Papesneus,84 and “Papotaus” could be identified as
either Paptaus or Paptaes/Paptais.85 The name is situated to the left of two quarry marks depicting
(l-r) a jug (33 x 50 cm) and an ankh (28.5 x 37 cm).
25. Graffito of Petear(en)snouphis son of Ktesion
Inv. no. F5.In.5

Unpublished
JIIA © 2015
79 TM name 836.
80 Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 96 (Bernand 99, TM ID 113782), 143 (Bernand 136, TM ID 113849).
81 For facsimile see no. 22.
82 Cf. TM NAM 30574.
84 TM NAM 18621.
85 TM NAM 33488 alt. 33643.
173
Measurements: 252 x 59 cm (5.5 mm tool groove); the inscription is situated on an extraction

ledge c. 1.5 m above ledge, c. 20 m above the ground.
1.) 
2.) 
3.) 
4.) 
1.) 
2.)  
3.) 
4.) η{α}<λ>θε
1.) Petear(en)snouphis (son of) Kteson
2.) officer of Ammon, the greatest god
3.) and of Athena, the greatest goddess
4.) came to the quarry
Notes:
L1: The nu in ‘Kteson’ is incorrectly written in inverse. The signature “ Petear(en)snouphis son
of Kteson” is found also on quarry face F1 in the main quarry.86
L3: “Athena, the greatest goddess” is written in nominative instead of genitive.
L4: The second letter is incorrectly carved as an alpha instead of a lambda.
Commentary:
The inscription is situated between two quarry marks to the left and a series of three marks to
the right, depicting (l-r) a jug (23 x 37 cm), an ankh (19 x 31 cm), an unidentified object (16 x 33
cm) and two jugs (12 x 28.5 cm; 15 x 35 cm).
26. Adoration of Saouas son of Agathinos87

Inv. no. F5.In.4
Unpublished
Measurements: 320 x 60 cm (6 mm tool groove), the inscription is situated on an extraction
ledge c. 1.5 m above ledge, c. 20 m above the ground
1.) 
2.) 
3.) L
1.) 
2.)  τ{η}<υ>χης
86 Preisigke and Spiegelberg, no. 143 (Bernand 136), the name Petear(en)snouphis is here written in the alternative
form Petraomnouphis.
174
3.) () 

1.) Saouas (son of ) Agathinos, his own act of adoration (adoration made by himself )
2.) here for the Tyché (Fate) of the quarry
3.) of Ammon. Year 41 of Caesar, Phaophi 15
Notes:
L2:  for  see Gignac I, 262-26388; the final omicron mistakenly replaces the lunar
sigma in .
Commentary:
The inscription is situated immediately below nos. 22-24. “Saouas” has no previous attestations,
while Agathinos is a rather common name at Gebel el Sisila.89
27. Signature of Epidiaros son of Petebekis

Inv. no. GN.In.2
PS 85; Bernand 92; SB III 6854; TM 54216; TM ID 113 775
Measurements: 155 x 26 cm [6 mm tool groove), the inscription is situated c. 1 m above the ground
1.) 
2.) L
1.) 
2.) L
1.) Epidiaros
2.) (son of ) Petebekis, year 40 of Caesar.
Notes:
L1: Bernand incorrectly replaces the rho with an iota, and a tau for the lunar sigma.
Commentary:
L1: the final (and superfluous) pi was more likely intended as the initial letter in the name
Petebekis (L2), then interrupted due to lack of space in relation to the offering table. This would
suggest that the offering table was carved prior to the text.
L2: the beta in Petebekis, and the word kaisaros were intentionally erased during antiquity. A
pictorial representation of an offering table is situated immediately to the right of the inscription, and
has been partially eradicated similar to the text. The name Epidiaros was likely a variant of Epidoros.90
Demotic
28. Signature of Pachois son of Peteharsomtous
JIIA
Inv. no. B3.In.1

© 2015
PS 252; TM 54334 ; TM ID 55247, 55661, 55248, 55662; chalk marked as 138
88 F. T.Gignac, A Grammar of the Greek Papyri of the Roman and Byzantine Periods, vol. I (Milano, 1976).
89 For Agathinos see Preisigke and Spiegelberg nos. 91 (Bernand 94; TM ID 113839), 135 (Bernand 128; TM ID
113833), 136 (Bernand 129; TM ID 113833), 139 (Bernand 132; TM ID 113839).
90 TM NAM 2966; Petebekis: TM NAM 7920.
175
Measurements: 32 cm H x 250 cm W, following the current ground surface (the quarry face is
partially buried under a spoil heap)
1.) Pa-xy (sA) PA-di-@r-smA-tA.wy Pa-xy (sA) PA-aXm-bk ¤i-@w.t-@r

2.) Pa-xy (sA) PA-di-<…>
1.) Pachois (son of ) Peteharsomtous (and) Pachois (son of ) Pachembik (and) Si-hathyris
2.) Pachois (son of ) Pete(...)
Notes:
L1: The second Pa-xy is missing in PS 252.
In the name PA-aXm-bk the noun aXm has been written without –m (see: EG 70).
L2: The patronym is unfinished. The second line is likely a repetition of the first.
Commentary:
“Si-hathyris”91 is not previously attested in GeS, while Pachois son of Peteharsomtous92 is
attested (see no 35, below).
29. Signature of Petebouchis son of Psenamounis
Inv. no. F1.In.2

PS 146
1.) PA-di-bX sA PA-Sr-(n)-Imn

1.) Petebouchis son of Psenamounis
Notes:
PA-di-bX: the writing of the name is uncommon. “Petebouchis”93 is not previously attested at
GeS, but “Psenamounis”94 is attested twice.95
30. Signature of Paneithes son of Peteharsomtous
Inv. no. C8.In.7

Unpublished
91 Erich Lüddeckens, Demotisches Namenbuch I-II (Wiesbaden, 2000), 903. Hereafter, references to “DNB”
without further specification refer to this work. TM NAM 7989
92 DNB 404-405, 556; TM NAM 643 (Pachois); DNB 334-335; TM NAM 860 (Peteharsomtous).
93 TM NAM 32294
94 DNB 224, TM NAM 963
95 Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 146, 259.
176
1.) Pa-Ni.t sA PA-di-@r-smA-tA.wy

2.) pA rmt hy (n) @t-@r
1.) Paneithes son of Peteharsomtous
2.) the labourer of Hathor
Notes:
L2: the signs @t and @r have been incorrectly interchanged in the name of Hathor, and the @r-sign
has been written slightly above L2. It is plausible that the author inserted it after finishing the original text.
Commentary:
“Paneithes” is not previously attested at GeS.96 In this context the word hy97, ‘forced labour’,
must refer to the physical work.
31. Signature of Phatres (son of ) Pachois
Inv. no. C8.In.6

Unpublished
1.) PA-Htr (sA) Pa-xy

2.) Phatres (son of ) Pachois
Commentary:
“Phatres”98 is attested in PS 227, 285 (L3); Bernand 149, and “ Pachois”99 in PS 204, 209,
252; Bernand 146, but never attested together. The text is situated immediately above no. 30.
32. Signature of Haremsynis and Pachompsais

Inv. no. C10.In.8
Unpublished
JIIA © 2015
96 DNB 385; TM NAM 729; for “Peteharsomtous” see TM NAM 860; PS 183, 194, 198, 209, 252.
97 CDD H 9-10; EG 266; WB 475-7.
98 DNB 206-7; TM NAM 900.
99 DNB 404-5, 556; TM NAM 643.
177
1.) @r-msn (sA) PA-di-m...(?) pA rmt hy (n) @t-@r

2.) PA-aXm-pA-¥y
1.) Haremsynis (son of ) Pete-m(?), the worker of Hathor
2.) Pachompsais
Notes:
L1: The patronym is unidentifiable.
Commentary:
For Haremsynis at GeS see PS 168, 172, 177, 235; Pachompsais in PS 229.100 The text is
situated between a series of quarry marks, depicting (l-r) two hourglasses and a harpoon, to the
left and a single depiction of a harpoon to the right.
33. Signature of Pachompatous
Inv. no. C10.In.3

Unpublished
1.) PA-aXm-pa-tA.wy
1.) Pachompatous
Commentary:
The name Pachompatous appears in GeS in the Greek version “Pampotous”.101 The inscription
is situated between two depictions of harpoons; the right harpoon is embossed.
34. Name list
Inv. no. C10.In.12

Unpublished
100 DNB 821; TM NAM 260 (Haremsynis); DNB 170; TM NAM 8147 (Pachompsais).
101 DNB 171 ; TM NAM 8156
178
1.) PA-Sr-(n)-Wsir sA PA-aXm Hna PA-Sr-(n)-Wsir (sA) PA-Sr-(n)-Is.t

2.) Hna @r-msn (sA) PA-Sr-(n)-Wsir Hna PA-aXm
1.) Psenosiris son of Pachoumis and Psenosiris son of Psenesis
2.) and Haremsynis (son of ) Psenosiris and Pachoumis
Commentary:
For “Psenosiris” see PS 231; “Psenesis” in PS 180, 266, 285; Bernand 149.102
35. Signature of Pachois son of Peteharsomtous
Inv. no. C10.In.1

Unpublished
1.) Pa-xy (sA) PA-di-@r-smA-tA.wy Pa-xy

2.) PA-@r-(...)
1.) Pachois (son of ) Peteharsomtous, (and) Pachois
2.) (son of ) Pahor(...)
Notes:
L2. The name is unfinished.
Commentary:
“Pachois” and “Peteharsomtous” are equally well attested in GeS,103 and the combination of name and
patronym is attested in PS 209, 252, and no. 28, above. The signs of the second line are finer indicating
that it was probably another inscription. The inscription is situated to the left of a harpoon illustration.
36. Signature of Petosiris son of Pbekis

Inv. no. C17.In.6
Unpublished
1.) PA-di-Wsir sA PA-by[k]

JIIA
1.) Petosiris son of Pbekis

© 2015
102 DNB 232; TM NAM 986 (Psenosiris); DNB 228-229; TM NAM 976 (Psenesis).
103 DNB 404-405, 556; TM NAM 643; cf. Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 206, 209, 212, 252; Bernand 146
(Pachois); DNB 334-335; TM NAM 860; cf. Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 183, 194, 198, 209, 223, 252
(Peteharsomtous).
179
Commentaries:
“Petosiris” is attested in PS 189,104 although in a reversed patronymic relationship (Pbekis son of (?) Petosiris).
37. Signature of Signature of Pachom
Inv. no. C17.In.8

Unpublished
1.) PA-aXm<…>
1.) Pachom
Commentary:
“Pachom” is graphically identical with PS 220. 105 The sign written after the name shows that
the inscription is unfinished.
38. Signature of Baibios son of Nechtenebis

Inv. no. F1.In.17
Unpublished
1.) Bjw-bjw sA Nx.t-nb=f

2.) pA mr-kA.w(t) n tA X.t n £nm
1.) Baibios son of Nechtenebis
2.) the overseer of work of Khnum’s quarry
Commentary:
“Baibios son of Nechthenebis” is attested also in Q24.106 Related inscriptions date to the 16th
year of Tiberius (PS 268, 269), it providing a plausible date for no. 38. Inscriptions in Q24
describe Baibios as the overseer of work, and as a blacksmith.
39. Signature of Psenamounis son of Paminis
Inv. no. F1.In.11

Unpublished
104 Cf. Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 27, 51, 146.

105 DNB 165-167.
106 DNB 137; TM NAM 13762 (Baibios); DNB 652-653; TM NAM 515 (Nechthenebis); Preisigke and
Spiegelberg, nos.264-265, 268, 269 (Baibios son of Nechthenebis).
180
1.) PA-Sr-(n)-Imn sA Pa-

2.) Mn
1.) Psenamounis son of Pa-
2.) minis
Commentary:
“Psenamounis” and “Paminis” are both previously attested in GeS, but not together.107 The
inscription is situated encircled by three quarry marks that depict an offering table (left), an
ankh (above), and a jug (right). The area in which the inscription is located contains totally 11
inscriptions (Greek and demotic) and eight quarry marks (ankhs, jugs and offering tables).
40. Signature of Pa-(...) son of Paminis
Inv. no. F1.In.8

Unpublished
1.) Pa-[…] Pa-..(?).. sA Pa-Mn

1.) Pa-[…] son of Paminis
Notes:
The initial signs of the identical (?) name Pa-[…] are repeated to the right of the main inscription.
JIIA © 2015
107 DNB 224; TM NAM 963; Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 146, 259 (Psenamounis); DNB 368 and 551; TM
NAM 716; Preisigke and Spiegelberg, nos. 98, 143.
181
Name list
A P
Agathinos (13) Pa-(...), son of Paminis (40)
Agathinos, son of Platon (12) Pachembik, father of Pachois (28)
Agathinos, son of Drakon (14, 15) Pachnoubis, father of Psenapathes (20)
Agathinos, father of Saouas (26) Pachnoubios, father of Orsenouph(i)os (11)
Andreas, father of Andron (10) Pachnoumis, father of Harkinis (4)
Andron (5) Pachois (29, 35)
Andron, son of Andreas (10) Pachois, son of Pambe[---] (4)
Anoubion, son of Prempouisousios (7, 8) Pachois, father of Phatres (31)
Asklas, son of Asklepiades (17) Pachois, son of Pachembik (28)
Asklepiades, father of Asklas (17) Pachois, son of Pete(-) (28)
Pachois, son of Peteharsomtous (28, 35)
B Pachois, the brother (4)
Baibios, son of Nechtenebis (38) Pacho(umis) (37)
Pachom (29)
C Pachompsais (32)
Chairon, father of Siepmous (6) Pachoumis (34)
Pachoumis, son of Patous (33)
D Pachoumis, father of Psenosiris (34)
Drakon, father of Agathinos (14, 15) Pa-minis, father of Psenamounis (39)
Pahor(...) (34)
E Pambe[---], father of Pachois (4)
Epidiaros, son of Petebekis (27) Pamchemis (16)
Paminis, father of Pa-(...) (40)
F Pampos (2)
Faustus (1) Pampos, son of Pampotos (3)
Pampotos, father of Pampos (3)
H Paneithes, son of Peteharsomtous (30)
Haremsynis, son of Pete-m.(?) (32) Papotaus, father of Phopysneus (24)
Haremsynis, son of Psenosiris (34) Parauis, son of Psares (21)
Harkinis, son of Pachnoumis (4) Patas, father of Hermonax (19)
Hermon (9) Patous, father of Pachoumis (33)
Hermonax, son of Patas (19) Pbekis, father of Petosiris (36)
Petear(en)snouphis son of Ktesion (25)
K Petebekis, father of Epidiaros (27)
Kesonios (23) Peteharsomtous, father of Pachois (28, 35)
Ktesion, father of Petear(en)snouphis (25) Peteharsomtous, son of Paneithes (30)
Pete-m.(?), father of Haremsynis (32)
N Petosiris, son of Pbekis (36)
Nechtenebis, father of Baibios (38) Petorsnopuhis (22)
Phatres, son of Pachois (31)
O Phopysneus, son of Papotaus (24)
Orsenouph(i)os, son of Pachnoubios (11) Platon, father of Agathinos (12)
Pothos (18)
Prempouisousios, father of Anoubion (7, 8)
Psares, father of Parauis (21)
182
Psenapathes, son of Pachnoubis (20)

Psenamounis, son of Pa-minis (39)
Psenesis, father of Psenosiris (34)
Psenosiris, father of Haremsynis (34)
Psenosiris, son of Pachoumis (34)
Psenosiris, son of Psenesis (34)
S
Saouas, son of Agathinos (26)
Siepmous, son of Chairon (6)
Si-hathyris (28)
JIIA © 2015
183
Fig. 1: Plan drawing of Q34 marked with its seven partitions.
Fig. 2: Plan drawing of the Southern Hill
184
Fig. 3: Knobbed Lid GES14/Q34/B13 from B1-16, Q34 ©Gebel el Silsila Survey Project 2014. Scale 8cm
Fig. 4: GES14/Q34/S2 Type 9.16.1, bowl with carinated outer rolled and pointed rim with ring base.
JIIA © 2015
185
Fig. 5: Drawing of seated Horus figure
Fig. 6: Distribution of inscriptions included in this report
186
Tables
Table 1: Division of the partitions in Q34
Partition Quarry faces total amount Designation

A 2 Q34 AN (N: north) and Q34 AS (S: south)
B 17 Q34 B1-17
C 21 Q34 C1-21
D 5 Q34 D1-5
E 2 Q34 EN and Q34 ES
F 17 Q34 F1-17
G 2 Q34 GN and Q34 GS
Table 2: Distribution of epigraphic material in Q34
Quarry Quarry Greek Demotic Total Total

number marks inscriptions inscriptions inscriptions graffiti
Q34 AN 239 16 16 255
Q34 AS 212 1 38 39 251
TOTAL Q34 A 451 1 54 55 506
Q34 B1
Q34 B2
Q34 B3 1 1 1
Q34 B4
Q34 B5 4 4
Q34 B6 1 1
Q34 B7 26 1 1 27
Q34 B8 38 38
Q34 B9 2 2
Q34 B10 8 8
Q34 B11 1 1
Q34 B12 16 1 1 17
Q34 B13 7 1 1 8
Q34 B14 5 5
Q34 B15 12 3 3 15
Q34 B16 81 4 4 85
Q34 B17 175 8 8 183
JIIA
TOTAL Q34 B 376 0 19 19 395

© 2015
Q34 C1 22 1 1 23
Q34 C2 10 1 1 11
Q34 C3 7 1 1 8
Q34 C4 26 26
Q34 C5 8 8
187
Q34 C6 107 2 1 3 110

Q34 C7 177 3 + 1 Latin 4 181
Q34 C8 149 2 14 16 165
Q34 C9 47 4 37 41 88
Q34 C10 157 1 17 18 175
Q34 C11 269 34 34 303
Q34 C12 202 21 21 223
Q34 C13 65 3 3 68
Q34 C14 4 1 5 5
Q34 C15 32 4 3 7 39
Q34 C16 64 2 1 3 67
Q34 C17 94 5 10 15 109
Q34 C18 0
Q34 C19 82 11 11 93
Q34 C20 12 1 2 3 15
Q34 C21 24 1 2 3 27
TOTAL Q34 C 1554 34 156 190 1744
Q34 D1 29 7 2 9 38
Q34 D2 19 3 3 22
Q34 D3 84 1 10 11 95
Q34 D4 2 4 4 6
Q34 D5
Q34 D6
Q34 D7 1 1
TOTAL Q34 D 131 8 19 27 162
Q34 EN 5 5
Q34 ES 18 18
TOTAL Q34E 23 23
Q34 F1 63 5 14 19 82
Q34 F2 116 70 40 110 226
Q34 F3 98 18 17 35 133
Q34 F4 8 8
Q34 F5 40 6 6 46
Q34 F6
Q34 F7
Q34 F8
Q34 F9 2 2
Q34 F10 1 1 1 2
Q34 F11 4 4
Q34 F12 5 1 1 2 7
Q34 F13
Q34 F14
Q34 F15 4 4
188
Q34 F16 16 16
Q34 F17
TOTAL Q34 F 359 101 72 173 532
Q34 GN 79 4; 1 pseudo sc 5 10 89
Q34 GS 98 8 5 13 111
TOTAL Q34 G 177 13 10 23 200

TOTAL 3075 157 330 487 3562
Table 3: Distribution of quarry marks in Q34
Partition
Illustration A B C D E F G TOTAL
Quarry Mark
Total amount 454 376 1554 144 23 359 177 3087
Harpoon 226 188 781 82 — — 4 1281
Hourglass 48 26 169 16 4 1 — 264
Ankh 5 — 9 5 — 98 59 176
Offering table 10 22 39 2 6 66 13 158
Horned altar 10 27 81 2 — 12 4 136
Uncategorized Ex. 22 14 71 2 1 13 7 130
Jug — — 1 — — 83 45 129
Lined circle 8 3 96 13 — 3 — 123
Boat 15 11 32 2 — 11 6 77
JIIA © 2015
Anthropomorph 3 26 28 — — 10 2 69
189
Quadruped an-
9 13 26 1 — 11 2 62
imal
Square 9 5 18 3 11 9 4 59
Cross 9 4 26 3 — 4 12 58
Angle 10 1 16 2 — 11 2 42
Greek alphabetic Ξ, Ρ, Φ
3 5 19 3 — — 3 33
letters
Bird 3 4 8 — — 4 1 20
Obelisk/pyramid 2 6 11 1 — — — 20
Pentagram 15 4 13 1 — — — 33
Tree 5 1 11 1 1 1 — 20
Lotus — 2 12 — — 1 4 19
Key 1 — 10 — — 4 2 17
Solar wheel or
6 5 3 — — 2 — 16
swastica
Trident 7 3 2 — — 2 1 15
Naos/shrine 5 — 5 — — 1 — 11
Abnormal sign 9 — — — — — — 9
Composition
1 — 7 — — — — 8
mark
Situla 2 — 5 — — — — 7
190
Sun or winged
2 1 1 1 — — — 5
sun disc
Triangle 1 — 4 — — — — 5
Technical sketch 1 1 2 — — 1 — 5
Deity 1 — 2 — — 1 1 5
IIIIIIIIIIII
Counting system — — 3 — — — — 3
Other 6 4 43 4 — 10 5 72
Ex.
JIIA © 2015
191
192
The Sculptures of the Tumulus Kasta near Amphipolis

Antonio Corso
Grantee of the Lord Marks Charitable Trust – Benaki Museum
antoniocorso@hotmail.com
a. General presentation of the monument

The tumulus Kasta is a very large monument near the ancient town of Amphipolis in northeast
Greece. The region of Amphipolis was regarded part of Thrace until the Athenians colonized this
region in 437 BC and especially until it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Macedon by
Philip II in 357 BC. From that year this area shared the vicissitudes of the Macedonian state.
The tumulus has a circular base and a conic elevation. Its base is marked by a retaining wall of
pseudo-isodomic masonry. Above this wall, the tumulus has the appearance of a natural hill. On
top of the tumulus, there is a base for a huge monument: a large lion in Thasian marble which at a
later moment was moved a few kilometers to south, near the river Strymon and the coast (fig. 1).
JIIA © 2015
Figure.1. Lion of Amphipolis, in situ (Courtesy of © Arch. Silvestrini Alberto)
193
JIIA.eu The Sculptures of the Tumulus Kasta near Amphipolis
The original presence of the lion on the summit

of the tumulus is guaranteed by the circumstance
that a fragment of the lion, corresponding to its left
shoulder, was discovered on the tumulus.The base
of the lion was endowed with a relief frieze of which
two fragment survive: in the first fragment a warrior
wears helmet and Macedonian shield. His face looks
a portrait. Behind him, a fig tree is represented and a
snake is coiling around the tree. The head of the snake
goes very close to the helmet of the warrior. Behind
the young man, there was a horse (fig. 2).
In the second fragment, the rear legs of a rearing up
horse are represented (fig. 3).
The tumulus has also a succession of rooms which
lead to a burial chamber (fig. 4). From the external
circuit the entrance to this sequence of rooms takes
place through 15 descending steps. These steps occupy
most of the first room. The floor of the remaining
part of the room is a stone chips pavement bearing a
decoration with geometric patterns.
Above the entrance to the second room (fig. 5), there
is an Ionic architrave with three fasciae which supports
two Sphinxes (fig. 6).
The preservation of the bodies of the Sphinxes is quite
good, large fragments of their large wings have been
found, the head of the Sphinx at the viewer’s right
has been recovered (fig. 7) while the head of the other
Sphinx is missing.
The second room is a long rectangle. Its ceiling is a
barrel vault, while its pavement is a stone chips one but
without geometric patterns. However, a rectangular
area in the center of the room is framed by stone chips.
This fact suggests that a base supporting a statuary
monument was placed there.
The room no. 2 ends toward the internal part of the Fig. 2. Fragment no. 1 of the relief frieze,
tumulus with two high bases without upper moldings Amphipolis, Archaeological Museum
(photo courtesy of Dr. Lefantzis).
which support two pillars and, in front of these
pillars, two female architectural figures, called korai (popularly denominated Karyatids) (fig. 8).
They were standing, looking forward, with a foot more advanced than the other. They wear chiton,
himation, indented sandals, girdles below their breasts, their external hands were lowered and
held their draperies. Their internal arms are not preserved but the surviving fragment of a hand
suggests that these arms were outstretched and brought wreaths toward the person represented in
the middle of the room.
The heads of these korai wear high poloi with which they hold an Ionic architrave with three
fasciae. Only one face of the two korai survives (fig. 9) and bears the typical late classical anatomic
grammar. The hair is divided in the middle and is characterized by wavy locks.
Behind the korai there is a narrow third room which is endowed with a floor pebble mosaic
representing the kidnapping of Kore (fig. 10) as well as with a painted upper cornice.
The third room leads through a typically Macedonian marble door to the fourth and last room:
194
JIIA.eu Antonio Corso – Grantee of the Lord Marks Charitable Trust – Benaki Museum
Fig. 4. Succession of the 4 rooms of the tumulus, reconstruction drawing by Lefantzis (courtesy of Dr. Lefanzis).
there the rests of the cremation of a young man have been found, a woman was thrown on this
spot without an orderly re-composition of her body. Bones of two headless men who were 35 to
45 years old and of a child were also thrown on the spot.
Finally, a stele representing a fig tree with a snake coiling around the shaft of the tree, being not
corroded by the weather must have been exposed inside one of these four rooms: probably it stood
in the fourth room because only there the pavement allows the setting of this element (fig. 11).
The sculptures of the tumulus Kasta are Thasian marble.
b. The lion of Amphipolis

The lion of Amphipolis in Thasian marble is a
very large statue, 5. 3 m. high.1 Its original setting
on top of the tumulus Kasta is proved by the find
of a large piece of this statue, pertinent to its left
shoulder, on the tumulus itself.
The lion stood on a limestone base which consisted
from below to top of a podium in isodomic
masonry, of a cubic body with half columns which
probably were Ionic, of a pyramidal roof with
several steps and finally of the proper base.
The general schema of the lion and its anatomic
grammar, make it similar to the lion of Chaeronea
(fig. 12) which dates soon after 338 BC.2 Since,
as we shall see, the tumulus Kasta is very tied to
the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, this lion may
be a stone imitation of the golden lion dedicated

by Croesus in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi

(Herodotus 1. 50). Moreover, the patron of this
lion probably had in mind also the lion above
the monument of Leonidas in the Thermopylae Fig. 3. Fragment no. 2 of the relief frieze, Am-
JIIA
(Herodotus 7. 225 and Simonides, Anthologia phipolis, Archaeological Museum (photo

© 2015
courtesy of Dr. Lefanzis).
1 About this sculpture, see J. Roger, ‘Le monument au lion d’Amphipolis’, BCH 63 (1939) 4-42; O. Broneer, The
Lion Monument at Amphipolis, Cambridge Mass. (1941); S. G. Miller, ‘Architectural Blocks from the Strymon’,
AD 27 (1972) 1. 140-169; Γ. Μπακαλακης, Οινος Ισμαρικος, Θεσσαλονικη (1990) 653-660 and D. Lazaridis,
Amphipolis, Athens (1993) 86-88.
2 About this lion, see J. Ma, ‘Chaironeia 338’, JHS 128 (2008) 72-91.
195
Fig. 5. The fronts of the rooms 2, 3 and

4 of the tumulus, reconstruction
drawing by Lefantzis (courtesy
of Dr. Lefanzis).
196
Fig. 6. The Sphinxes of the tumulus Kasta, reconstruction drawing by Lefantzis (courtesy of Dr. Lefantzis).
JIIA © 2015
Fig. 7. Head of Sphinx from the tumulus Kasta, Amphipolis, Archaeological Museum (photo of the author).
197
Fig. 8. Korai of the tumulus

Kasta, in situ
(photo of the author).
Fig. 9. Face of Kore of the tumulus Kasta, in situ (photo of the author).
198
Fig. 10. Kidnapping of Kore, pebbles
mosaic in room 3 of the
tumulus Kasta, in situ
Fig. 11. Stele with fig tree and snake

coiling around it. Amphipolis,
Archaeological Museum
(photo courtesy of Lefantzis).
JIIA © 2015
199
Fig. 12. Lion of Chaeronea. Photo Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 01 Apr. 2016
<http://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Chaeronea/images-videos/Funerary-statue-erected-to-mark-the-common-tomb-of-more/4752>
Graeca 7. 344): as the lion of Leonidas commemorated the victory upon Persia in the Persian wars,
this lion may have commemorated a new, definitive victory upon Persia, of course that obtained
by Alexander the Great. The probability that lions became symbols of the fight against Persia is
strengthened by a passage of Herodotus (7. 125) who informs that many lions attacked the army
of Xerxes while the latter passed by Macedon.
Finally golden lions adorned the pyre of Hephaestion (Diodorus 17. 115) where they probably
were symbols of the heroic and semi-divine status of the friend of Alexander: thus the lion on
tumulus Kasta, which is known from epigraphic evidence to have been a heroon of Hephaestion
may have been endowed with the same function as well.
The basement, with its podium supporting a columned body and a stepped upper part, may have
been inspired by the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.3
The lion with its vertical schema was fitting as the top of a tumulus. Its upright head may have
suggested pride and security.
The time of the removal of the lion from the tumulus can be argued. Amphipolis sided with
Mithridates (see Memnon, FGrH 434. 1. 22. 12): this fact resulted in a wide destruction of this
town by Sulla.4 Thus the army of Sulla may have removed the colossal lion from the top of the hill
in order to bring it to Rome. It may have been difficult to carry such a heavy monument on the
soft and marshy ground around the mouth of the Strymon River and thus the lion may have been
3 About the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, see e. g. W. Hoepfner, Halikarnassos und das Maussoleion, Mainz (2013).
4 See Μπακαλακης (note 1).
200
Fig. 13. Farnese Herakles, Naples, The National Archaeological Museum, detail (photo of the author).
left where it was found in the second decade of the 20th century.
From a stylistic point of view, the vertical schema of the lion and the rendering of the mane with flat
locks made of curved strips fit well the visual definition of these animals in the oeuvre of Lysippus
(fig. 13).5 The master of Sicyon fleshed out a lion outside of any narrative context at Lampsacus in
Troad (Strabo 13. 1. 19. 590): this monument probably
commemorated Alexander’s victory at the Granicus river.6
Although it is unlikely that Lysippus, being a bronze sculptor,
carved also works in marble, his workshop delivered also
marble sculptures as the carved base of Lysippus’ bronze statue
of Polydamas at Olympia demonstrates.7 Thus it is possible to
conclude that the lion of Amphipolis had been made by a
workshop near that of Lysippus, perhaps even by the same
workshop of the Sicyonian master. Proximity to Lysippus as
master implies also proximity to the royal court as possible
patron of the monument.
c. The relief frieze

The base of the lion was endowed with a relief frieze.
Two fragments of this frieze survive. In the larger and more
important of these fragments, a Macedonian warrior is

represented in profile view, walking, bearing a Macedonian Fig. 14. Head of Alexander Dres-
shield and a helmet. His face bears features which lead to his sel, Dresden, Staatliche
kunstsammlungen, Skulpturen-
identification as Alexander III.8 (fig. 14) Behind him there is sammlung (photo of the author).
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5 About lions of Lysippus (the lions on the base of Polydamas at Olympia, in the lion’s hunting by Alexander
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and Krateros at Delphi, in the Dodakathlon of Herakles and in the Farnese type of Herakles) see P. Moreno
(ed.), Lisippo, Rome (1995) 63; 91-93; 103-110; 173-177 and 266-277 and Idem, ‘Il Polidamante di Lisippo’,
NumAntCl 44 (2015) 81-159, particularly 90-92 and 96-97.
6 See Moreno, Polidamante (note 5) 90-91.
7 This base is kept at Olympia, Museum, no. 306. See Ξ. Αραπογιαννη, Ολυμπια, Αθηνα (2009) 232-233.
8 The portrait of Alexander which is closer to this head is the Dressel one at Dresden. Another copy of the same
type is kept at Schloss Fasanerie near Fulda. This type of portrait is attributed to Lysippus and its original is dated
201
Fig. 15: Hunting frieze on the royal tomb no. 2 of Vergina. Reconstruction by Franks (from Franks 2012).
a fig tree with a snake coiling around it. The head of the snake goes close to the helmet of the
warrior. The fig was sacred to Demeter who was thought to have created this tree for the first time
at Eleusis.9
Thus the snake may be Zeus who according to the Orphic tradition assumed the shape of the snake
in order to have sex with Persephone, who generated from him Dionysos Zagreus.10 According to
this explanation, the snake would get close to the head of Alexander because the king, as Dionysos,
was also son of Zeus.
Alternatively, the snake may be Ladon, the serpent who usually coils around the tree in the garden
of the Hesperids.11 Its presence would be explained with the tradition which located snake and tree
near the Strymon River12 and moreover would have the purpose to underline that the warrior near
the tree – Alexander – is the new Herakles.
Figures of snakes adorned also the pyre of Hephaestion (Diodorus 17. 115) where of course they
expressed the new status of the honoured dead as hero. Snakes represented on the tumulus Kasta
may have had the same function.
From a stylistic point of view, the tree is represented in a simplified form, with a thick shaft and a few
boughs. It is similar to trees represented in the hunting freeze of the royal tomb no. 2 of Vergina13 (fig.
15) as well as in the mosaic with the battle of Alexander from the House of the Faunus at Pompeii (fig.
16).14 Thus thanks to these comparisons the tree suggests a close link with works of art commissioned
by the royal power during the age of Alexander and the first Diadochi. Should that tree be later, it would
be more naturalistic (fig. 17).
The warrior wears a shield and a helmet, which are not appropriate to his size but are larger: perhaps he
is wearing the weapons of the warrior who is commemorated with the frieze. The mythical antecedent of
this situation – that of a hero who wears the weapons of another hero – was the Homeric representation
still before 330 BC. Probably it was made before the beginning of the expedition, in Macedon, which is why this
iconography was locally reused. General shape of the face, shape of eye and of eye socket, of the forehead as well as
of the locks of hair above the forehead are very similar in the face on the relief and in the Dressel type of Alexander.
For the Dressel Alexander, see A. Stewart, Faces of Power, Berkeley (1993) 106-113.
9 Sources in LSJ, s. v. Συκη.
10 Sources ad hoc in C. Gasparri and A. Veneri, ‘Dionysos’, LIMC 3 (1986) 414-514, particularly 417, and R.
Lindner, ‘Zagreus’, ibidem 8 (1997) 305-306, particularly 305.
11 See I. McPhee, ‘Ladon I’, LIMC 6 (1992) 176-180.
12 See C. Weiss, ‘Strymon’, LIMC 7 (1994) 814-817, particularly 815, no. 1.
13 See e. g. H. M. Franks, Hunters, Heroes, Kings: the Frieze of Tomb II at Vergina, Princeton (2012).
14 See e. g. A. Cohen, The Alexander Mosaic, Cambridge (1997).
202
Fig. 16. Battle of Alexander from Casa del Fauno at Pompeii, Naples, the National Archaeological Museum (from Cohen 1997).
Fig. 17. Painted garden, Villa of Livia ad gallinas albas, Rome (photo of the author).
of Patroclus who goes to the battle wearing the weapons of Achilles (Homer, Iliad 11. 798-803 and 16).15
Moreover, the episode of the dispute between Odysseus and Ajax for the weapons of Achilles16 offered the
archetype of the current thought that wearing the weapons of an admired hero was a sign of distinction
and of unusual honor. Since epigraphic evidence reveals that the tumulus Kasta was inter alia also a heroon
of Hephaestion and since the represented warrior appears to be Alexander, we can conclude that probably
Alexander is wearing the weapons of his beloved companion Hephaestion after his death.
The warrior is represented in front of a horse which is also represented in profile view and whose
head can be appreciated: the anatomic grammar of the horse’s head together with the mane find
close comparisons in representations of horses in the late classical Artemision of Ephesos (fig. 18).17
A second fragment preserves the frontal legs of a rearing up horse.
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A head of a young man in Thasian marble, once pertinent to a relief, is in keeping with these two
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fragments for date, size, style and profile representation (fig. 19): it was found in Amphipolis18 and
15 See O. Touchefeu-Meynier, ‘Patroklos’, LIMC 8 (1997) 948-962, particularly 949-951.
16 See O. Touchefeu-Meynier, ‘Odysseus’, LIMC 6 (1992) 943-970, particularly 952-953.
17 See A. Ruegler, Die columnae caelatae des Juengeren Artemisions von Ephesos, Tuebingen (1988) pls. 6-7 and U. Muss
and A. Bammer, Der Altar des Artemisions von Ephesos, Vienna (2001) pls. 192; 195; 207-210 and 280.
18 The head is kept in Paris, Louvre, DAGER, no. MA 2460: see M. Hamiaux, ‘Tete de jeune homme’, S. Descamps-
203
may come from the same frieze.

The scene surviving in the first fragment
probably was the most important part of the
relief frieze, thus placed in the middle of the
frontal side of the lion’s base, because it became
the source of inspiration of a marble votive relief
of the late 3rd c. BC which represents a high
ranking official of the Macedonian army while
he is outstretching a phiale near an altar, in front
of a warrior with round shield and helmet who
bears the same position of the warrior of our
frieze (fig. 20). In the background of this warrior,
a horse with the same profile view and with the
same configuration of the horse of our fragment
is represented.19 Perhaps the high official is
represented while he is attending a libation on
an altar near the lion, on the tumulus Kasta: this
Fig. 18. Head of horses from the late classical altar of the Artemi- location was made clear with the representation
sion of Ephesus: drawing of the profile by Muss
(from Muss and Bammer 2001). of the most renowned section of the relief frieze
displayed there. It is also possible that even the
libation scene of the 3rd c. relief imitates a similar pattern carved in front of the warrior in the relief of
the lion’s base.
Another echo of our frieze can be found in the late 4th c. BC votive relief dedicated to Hephaestion
as hero and kept in Thessaloniki, The National Archaeological Museum, no. 1084 (fig. 21).20 This
relief also represents a young standing man with a horse in the background. The man represented
in the relief at Thessaloniki may be the same Hephaestion because of the close similarity of his head
with the head of Hephaestion which is now at Madrid and will be considered later. In the relief at
Thessaloniki, a not young lady draped with chiton and mantel welcomes our hero by pouring wine
from an oinochoe on a phiale which is outstretched by the hero. She also holds a jar for incense,
thus revealing her function in the cult of this hero. Thus probably she played an important role
in the institution of the heroon of Hephaestion and thus she may represent Olympias: this queen
played an important role in the enhancement of the sanctuary of the Great Gods of Samothrace
and thus may have led also to the establishment of the religious function at Kasta which, as I shall
point out below, was closely linked with Samothrace.
The face of the young man in the fragment at Paris is similar to the face of the young man in the relief from
Thessaloniki and thus may be also that of Hephaestion, who of course could not be absent from the frieze.
These considerations lead to the possible conclusions that Hephaestion and the lady offering him
wine represented in the relief at Thessaloniki copy a previous scene of the relief frieze at Kasta and
that the head of Hephaestion from this scene survives and is the head now at Paris.
Here probably Alexander is represented while he leads the funerary procession in honour of
Hephaestion. This conclusion would be in keeping with the information by Arrian, Anabasis 7.
14. 5 that the same king led the chariot carrying the body of his beloved friend.
d. The first room

At the basis of the tumulus there is a retaining wall in pseudo-isodomic masonry. In its southern
Lequime (ed.), Au royaume d’Alexandre le Grand, Paris (2011) 423, no. 264.
19 The relief is kept at Amphipolis, Museum, no. L 119. See E. Kosmidou and D. Melanidou, ‘Arms and Armour from
Amphipolis’, Anodos 4-5 (2004-2005) 133-147, particularly 140-143.
20 See E. Voutiras, ‘Votive relief to the hero Hephaistion’, G. Despinis et alii (eds.), Catalogue of Sculpture in the
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (1997) 1. 42-44, no. 23.
204
Fig. 19. Head from Amphipolis, Paris, Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, storeroom (from
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Descamps-Lequime 2011).
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205
Fig. 20. Relief at Amphipolis, Archaeological Museum (from Kosmidou and Melanidou 2004-2005).
Fig. 21. Relief with dedication to Hephaestion as hero, Thessaloniki, The National Archaeological Museum (photo
courtesy of My favourit planet.com)
206
stretch this wall gives way to a succession of four rooms inside the tumulus.
From outside, the first room consists of a descending flight of 15 steps. The walls of this room
are also pseudo-isodomic. Between the steps and the wall which ends the first room toward the
internal side, there is a rectangular stone chips pavement, decorated with geometric patterns, of a
type used in the late 4th c. BC.21 The roof was gabled.
A round hole in this pavement probably is due to the insertion of a small circular altar or of a tripod.
Room 1 is divided from room 2 through two side walls which give way to an opening in the
middle. They mark this opening with two pillars with Ionic capitals. Walls and pillars support a
three ribbons architrave. Above the architrave, the ceiling is constituted by a barrel vault.
In the semicircular space created by the architrave and the barrel vault, there are two Sphinxes in
Thasian marble in heraldic position. The head of the Sphinx at the viewer’s right has been found, it
carries a polos and is carved separately from the body. These two Sphinxes have large wings, whose
size and shape are still in the Praxitelean tradition of winged beings,22 before the establishment of a
preference for short wings operated by Lysippus.23
The muscles are well evidenced throughout the bodies of the two Sphinxes and their treatment is
in keeping with the rendering of muscles introduced by Lysippus.24
Moreover the surviving head of a Sphinx is very close to the head of Dionysos from Thasos,25 (fig. 22)
so far to justify the attribution of these Sphinxes to a Thasian workshop of around 320 BC. Other close
comparisons can be made with the head of Dionysos in the west pediment of the late classical temple
of Apollo at Delphi26 (fig. 23) as well as with the head of Demeter from Knidos:27 (fig. 24) these close
relations both in anatomic grammar and in style also suggest a date
not later than the 320s BC.
Finally, the surviving neck of the Sphinx displays an anulus
Veneris similar to that shown by the Knidian Aphrodite.28
Free standing statues of Sphinxes in heraldic positions were
often placed in front of sacred buildings, in the upper parts
of facades, on or near the roofs, throughout the archaic and
classical periods.29 More specifically, according to the mysteries
of Dionysos Bakcheios, the sacred palace of the initiated to
these mysteries was endowed with Sphinxes of white marble:30
thus in late classical vase painting two Sphinxes appear in the
upper section of the propylon to the palace of Persephone and
Hades, above Ionic columns, while Orpheus plays his cithara
near them.31 (fig. 25) In other words, in the Orphic mysteries Fig. 22. Marble head of Dionysos at
Thasos (Courtesy of the ©
they were important figures of the underworld of the blessed. Archaeological Museum of
Probably they were regarded warders who allowed the initiated Thasos)
21 See, e. g., A. Kottaridi, The Palace of Aegae, Thessaloniki (2009) 64-73; 131; 134; 138-139; 154; 157 and 185; R.
Westgate, ‘Mosaics’, T. J. Smith (ed.), A Companion to Greek Art, Oxford (2012) 186-199, particularly 192-194
and Α. Κοτταριδη, Αιγες, Αθηνα ( 2013) 228-230.
22 See e. g. Ν. Καλτσας and Γ. Δεσπινης (ed.), Πραξιτελης, Αθηνα (2007) 138-139΄158-159 and 170-173.
23 See Moreno, Lisippo (note 5) 111-129; 166-168 and 190-195.
24 See e. g. L. Todisco, Scultura greca del iv secolo, Milan (1993) figs. 241; 249; 252; 259; 272-274.
25 This head is kept at Thasos, Archaeological Museum, no. 16. See e. g. Y. Grandjean and F. Salviat, Οδηγος της
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Θασου, Αθηνα (2012) 306-307, no. 22.

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26 See F. Croissant, Les frontons du temple du IVe siecle, Athens (2003) 85-87, no. 33, pls. 40-41.
27 See e. g. C. Maderna, ‘Die letzten Jahrzehnte der spaetklassischen Plastik’, P. C. Bol (ed.), Die Geschichte der antiken
Bildhauerkunst 2, Mainz am Rhein (2004) 303-382, particularly 358, pl. 324, figs. a-c.
28 See Καλτσας and Δεσπινης (note 22) 104-107, nos. 16-17.
29 See T. Petit, ‘The Sphinx on the Roof ’, BSA 108 (2013) 201-234.
30 See Herodotus 4. 79.
31 See M. Maass, Maler und Dichter, Karlsruhe (2007) 120-125.
207
Fig. 23. Head of Dionysos from the west pediment of the late classical temple of Apollo at Delphi, Delphi,
Archaeological Museum (photo courtesy of the Archaeological Museum of Delphi).
208
to enter, while keeping the unworthy out.32

In the tumulus Kasta, probably the Sphinxes are meant
to express the notions that only the worthy / initiated
could go beyond room 1 and that from that point
onward the space was sacred to Persephone and Hades.
Sphinxes are found in Macedonian tombs of late
classical times:33 thus in that region their association
with the kingdom of the dead was accepted.
The Sphinx at the viewer’s right looked outside,
while the Sphinx at the viewer’s left looked inside:
thus one of them looks to the world of the living
humans while the other looks to the world of the Fig. 24. Demeter from Knidos, London, The British Muse-
dead. In that way they epitomize their control of um, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities
both the living and the dead. (photo courtesy of the British Museum).
Fig. 25. Orphic underworld by the Lykourgus Painter, Karlsruhe, Museum (drawing by Maass 2007)
e. The second room

Beyond this entrance, there is room 2: a rectangular space covered by barrel vault roof, which was
largely used in Macedon in the late 4th c. BC.34
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The stone chips pavement of room 2 has in the middle a rectangle which is framed by four lines
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of chips: probably it was the place for the base of a statue. Since epigraphic evidence refers to
32 See T. Petit, ‘Sphinx, Cherubins et “gardiens” orphiques’, Museum Helveticum 72 (2015) 142-170.
33 See e. g. Descamps-Lequime (note 18) 386.
34 See e. g. K. Rhomiopoulou, ‘Les tombes “macedoniennes”, Descamps-Lequime (note 18) 514-516 and Κοτταριδη
(note 21) 339 and 357.
209
the monument as the ‘heroon of Hephaestion’, it is probably here that the bronze monument of
Hephaestion conceived by Lysippus35 and materially made by Philon36 stood.
Since Tatian saw this statue in Rome, this masterpiece was removed from Amphipolis probably
when the town, having sided with Mithridates, fell to Sulla and thus was brought to Rome in the
occasion of the huge triumph of this Roman general.37
There are two surviving elements of a bronze equestrian statue from Rome which probably were
part of the monument of Hephaestion made by Lysippus and Philon:
• a bronze horse found in Rome and kept there, in the Capitoline Museums, no. 1064,
whose Lysippan pedigree has been established;38 (fig. 26)
• a bronze head once in the Farnese Collection, then in the Collection of king Philip V of
Spain, in San Ildefonso, Palacio Real, now at Madrid, Prado, no. 99 E,39 which has been
recognized to be the portrait of Hephaestion.40 (fig. 27)
A general idea of this equestrian monument may be offered by
the painted representation of a young knight on a horse in the
royal tomb of Svesthari of the early 3rd c. BC, which displays
female architectural supports also derived from those of the
tumulus Kasta. The horse with the knight is represented in the
semicircular section of a short side of the burial room of the
tomb of Svesthari, above the Caryatids and bears both position
and shape of the bronze horse in the Capitoline Museums.41
(fig. 28) Probably the tumulus Kasta was very renowned and
thus picking up patterns of this monument was regarded a
dignifying practice by the Thracian elites.
The necessity to make space to this equestrian monument would
justify the noteworthy size of room 2.
The passage from room 2 to room 3 is made by a succession,
from below, of two pseudo-isodomic bases supporting two
pillars above which there is an architrave with three fasciae. The
semicircular space between the architrave and the barrel vault is
closed with pseudo-isodomic masonry.
In front of the two pillars, two female architectural supports are
represented: they are statues in Thasian marble of young girls
(korai) with polos, girdle below the breasts, long legs. Only the
face of one of these two girls is preserved. They wear chiton and
himation, with their external arm they hold the drapery while the
other arms, of which one hand is preserved, were outstretched,
Fig. 29. Female face from the Her- probably in order to carry a wreath and to award the knight
akleion of Thasos, ibidem, who was in front of them. A tall girl is represented while she is
Archaeological Museum (photo awarding the knight with a wreath also in the above mentioned
courtesy of Dr. Korka).
representation of Svesthari.
Their draperies bear in the area of the belly a triangular pattern with borders decorated with zigzag
patterns. The strap of the mantel is disposed across the chest and is decorated with oblique lines.
35 See Pliny 34. 64: DNO, no. 2209.

36 See Tatian 34. 36: DNO, no. 2671.
37 Evidence about Sulla’s removal of antiquities from Greece in A. Corso, The Art of Praxiteles iii, Rome (2010) 141, note 464.
38 See G. Calcani, Cavalieri di bronzo, Rome (1989) 91-127. See also C. Parisi Presicce, ‘Ein Bronzepferd’, V.
Brinkmann (ed.), Zurueck zur Klassik, Munich (2013) 169-179.
39 See S. F. Schroeder, Katalog der antiken Skulpturen des Museo del Prado in Madrid 1, Mainz am Rhein (1993) 75-77, no. 9.
40 See P. Moreno, ‘Efestione’, EAA Suppl. 2. 2 (1994) 418-420.
41 See M. Cicikova, ‘Svestari’, EAA Suppl. 2. 5 (1997) 505-507.
210
Fig. 26. Bronze horse in the Capitoline Museums, Rome (photo of the author).
Fig. 27. Bronze head at Madrid, Prado (photo courtesy of the Prado). Interdisciplinary A rchaeology’
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Fig. 28. Knight garlanded by girl, Svesthari, Royal tomb, burial chamber, in situ
211
Their internal legs are more advanced than the external and they wear sandals bearing indentations
between the big toe and the other toes.
The surviving face is very close to a female head from the Herakleion of Thasos:42 (fig. 29) this fact
suggests that the workshop responsible for these korai was a Thasian one, perhaps the same or near
that which delivered the head from the Thasian Herakleion.
The peculiar rendering of the drapery of these Korai with the triangular pattern with zigzag borders
on the belly and the strap with oblique lines can be found also in a statue of Dionysos from the late
4th c. phase of the theatre of Euonymos.43 (fig. 30) This statue was dedicated by Olympiodoros son
of Diotimos, who is known to have been active in Athenian politics in the 330s and 320s BC.44
Girdles below breasts are ubiquitous in Greek imagery after 340 BC45 as well as sandals with
indentation.46
Moreover slender girls with long legs, holding their drapery with one hand and outstretching the
other, used as architectural supports, appear in front of the columned propylon to the palace of
Persephone and Hades in a vase painting dated around 340-320 BC and representing the underworld
according to the Orphic mysteries (Orpheus is playing his cithara near that palace).47 (fig. 31)
The slender proportions of the girls appear indebted to the Lysippan kanon of the human body.
Concerning the function of these architectural females, the korai with similar schema in the above
mentioned vase painting suggest an Orphic interpretation: with their beauty, youth, smiling face
and dancing attitude, they welcome the ‘worthy’ visitor into the space where contact with the
underworld is possible.
Fig. 32. Dancers, Hall of Choral Dancers, Samothrace (photo courtesy of the Archaeological Museum of Samothrace).
More specifically, comparison with the relief frieze of choral dancers in the hall of choral dancers
on Samothrace is enlightening48: (fig. 32) even these Najad Nymphs wear poloi, belts decorated
with oblique lines across their chests and their chitons and himatia determine triangular patterns
with borders decorated with zigzag folds. The close relation of the Najads of the great mysteries of
Samothrace with the Korai of the tumulus Kasta leads to the possibility that the Korai of Kasta are
also Najads of the Samothracian cult and that exactly in the position where they are they welcome
the initiated to the great mysteries.
Needless to say, the late classical date of the Najads of the choral dancers hall confirms ad abundantiam the
late classical date also of the Korai of Amphipolis.
Finally, since it is well known that Olympiad, Alexander’s mother, was endowed with a religious
42 See Ντ. Κατσονοπουλου and Ε. Κορκα, ‘Μαρμαρινη γυναικεια κεφαλη Σκοπαδικης επιδρασης’, D.
Katsonopoulou (ed.), Skopas of Paros, Athens (2013) 499-510.
43 See Κ. Καρα-Παπαγεωργιου, Η αρχαια αστικη οδος και το μετρο κατο απο τη Λεωφορο Βοθλιαγμενης, Αθηνα
(2016) 120-127.
44 See J. S. Traill, Persons of Ancient Athens 13, Toronto (2004) 454, nos. 743090-743095.
45 See A. Corso, ‘Small Nuggets about late-classical Sculpture’, NumAntCl 29 (2000) 125-161.
46 See H. Froning, ‘Die Sandale des Hermes des Praxiteles in Olympia’, E. Christof (ed.), Potnia Theron, Vienna (2007) 95-101.
47 Krater, at Naples, National Archaeological Museum, no. 81666=H3222: see L. Todisco (ed.), La ceramica a figure
rosse della Magna Grecia e della Sicilia, Rome (2012) 1. 120, no. V 20; 2. 312-317 and pl. 123, fig. 4.
48 About this relief, see C. Marconi, ‘Choroi, Theoria and International Ambitions’, O. Palagia (ed.), Samothracian
Connections, Oxford (2010) 106-135.
212
Fig. 30. Marble statue of Dionysos from the theatre of Euonymos, Athens, The National Archaeological Museum;
from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:7662_-_Piraeus_Arch._Museum,_Athens_-_Statue_
of_Dionysos_-_Photo_by_Giovanni_Dall%27Orto,_Nov_14_2009.jpg
Archaeological Museum of Piraeus (Athens). Photo by Giovanni Dall’Orto
Fig. 31. Orphic Underworld by the Under-

world Painter, Naples, the National
Archaeological Museum (photo cour-
tesy of the National Archaeological
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Museum of Naples).
© 2015
213
capacity in the sanctuary of the great gods of Samothrace,49 the connection of the dancers of
Samothrace with the female architectural supports of Amphipolis suggests that Olympiad may have
been among the patrons if not the main patron of the architectural enterprise of the tumulus Kasta.
f. The third room

Beyond the korai, there is room no. 3.
The pavement of this room is a pebbles mosaic with the representation of the kidnapping of
Persephone by Hades.
The general schema of this mosaic is similar to the painting with the same subject at Vergina.50 The similarity
between these two representations of the same episode is probably to be explained with the circumstance
that both mosaic and painting are inspired by the picture with the kidnapping of Persephone made by the
renowned painter Nikomachos (Pliny 35. 108) who worked for the Macedonian royalty.51
The presence of this sacred representation probably makes it clear that room 3 is the sancta
sanctorum of this complex, the very place where something very important took place.
A circular hole in the middle of the mosaic perhaps is due to the setting of a circular altar or of a tripod.
The cornice of room 3 was painted on the north side – i. e. toward room 4 or toward the burial
chamber, above the marble door, as well as on the short east and west sides. (fig. 33)
The paintings on the west cornice do not survive.
The north side from the viewer’s left to right displays first of all a human with his head looking
forward, toward the rest of the frieze: his arms are also outstretched. He may hold a stick in his
left hand. Comparison with the seer who with a similar position sees the race between Pelops and
Oenomaus in the east pediment of the temple of Zeus at Olympia52 leads to the suggestion that
this is a seer who sees all the oracular happenings which are displayed in the following part of the
north frieze. Who this seer is will be clarified below.
After this man, we have a probable Sphinx above a column, a garlanded bull between two Centaurs
who are pouring wine to the bull. At both sides of the Centaurs there are vases which probably
contained the liquids which are about to be poured by the Centaurs.
Two interpretations are possible:
• The bull is Dionysos Tauros53, the Centaurs would be represented because of their
proverbial love for wine54 which makes them timely presences in the retinue of the god of
wine. The Sphinx was also regarded close to Dionysos.55
• The garlanded bull is the king of Macedon Philip II, defined such in an oracle of the Pythia
who predicted his imminent death,56 the Centaurs may represent the homage of Thessaly
to the king who subdued it, while the Sphinx above the column may represent the Sphinx
of the Naxians at Delphi,57 thus making clear the place where the prophecy was uttered.
Alternatively, the Sphinx may be here a death daemon: this is a well known function of this daemon.58
Centaurs were represented also on the pyre of Hephaestion (Diodorus 17. 115), where they
expressed the heroic identity of the deceased: thus the Centaurs in the painted frieze may also
reveal the mixed nature which by now characterized Hephaestion as a semi-god.
49 About the agency of Olympias in the cultic sphere, see M. F. Baslez, ‘Olympias, la royaute et le sacre’, P. Cabanes
(ed.), L’Illyrie meridionale et l’Epire dans l’antiquite iii, Paris (1999) 389-393.
50 See Κοτταριδη (note 21) 282-283.
51 See Plutarch, De exercitatione 186: see DNO, nos. 2717 and 2725.
52 See e. g. X. Arapoyianni, Olympia, Athina (2001)
53 About Dionysos Tauros, see Gasparri and Veneri (note 10) 414.
54 See T. Sengelin, ‘Kentauroi et Kentaurides’, LIMC 8 (1997) 671-721, particularly 672.
55 See Lycus, Περι Θηβων, FGrH 380, frg. 1. See N. Kourou, ‘Sphinx’, LIMC 8 (1997) 1149-1174, particularly 1150.
56 See Diodorus 16. 91. 2 and Pausanias 8. 7. 6. See J. Fontenrose, The Delphic Oracle, Berkeley (1978) 67 and 337, no. Q 213.
57 See e. g. Ε. Παρτιδα, Δελφοι, Αθηνα (2009) 187-192.
58 See Kourou (note 55) 1165.
214
The general schema of the human, frontal parts of the Centaurs derives from that of Praxiteles’ Pouring Satyr:59
this fact reveals the appeal of famous opera nobilia on patrons and artists charged of the tumulus Kasta and in
particular the importance of the Praxitelean formal heritage in the imagery of the late 4th c. BC.
After this episode, two winged females are disposed in heraldic diagonal position at the sides of a tripod:
they may be Nikai and represent the victory upon Persia which was also due to oracles uttered at Delphi
upon request from Alexander60 and symbolized by the tripod. Both Nikai appear to be on prows of boats
and thus they announce victory in an overseas expedition: the Nike on the prow of a boat on a coin type
struck by Demetrios Poliorketes in the late 4th c. BC may be suggested for a close comparison.61
Prows of boats also appeared on the pyre of Hephaestion (Diodorus 17. 115), which was clearly a
source of inspiration for both patron and painter of the frieze.
The tripod between the Nikai rests on a red purple fabric. Fabrics of this colour had been exposed also on
the pyre of Hephaestion (Diodorus 17. 115) and of course advertised the royal patronage of the monument.
After the two Nikai with the tripod, a sea horse emerges from the sea with the upper section of its
body: probably it marks that we are still on the water. It derives from the sea thiasoi which, after a
famous creation by Skopas (Pliny 36. 25-26) were very trendy in the 4th c. BC.62
This scene is followed by another which unfortunately is not well preserved but seems to represent
a boat supporting a tripod.
Probably it epitomizes the expedition of Alexander in its making and expresses the concept that its
victory delivers the prediction of Delphic Apollo.
After the boat, there is a scene representing a man with a semicircular hat: his right leg is bent and
his left leg straight, probably he is running. His right arm is brought forward and uplifted. In the
background there is a horse, behind it a chariot, above which there are two persons who compose
an X schema. They are followed by a charioteer with his body bent toward the horse.
I suggest that here we have the representation of the kidnapping of Kore: the running figure is
Hermes, who is running both in the mosaic of the same room no. 3 and in the famous painting at
Vergina. However, the position of his right arm makes him closer to the Hermes at Vergina. The
figures composing the X pattern are Hades and Persephone: Hades with his torso forward and his
right arm also brought in front, while Persephone has the usual oblique position of her body which
characterizes the very moment of her kidnapping. The wild hair of Hades is visible.
The charioteer behind them is very bent forward: this feature is typical of charioteers in the visual culture
of Macedon in late classical times.63 Before this period, in early and middle classical times, charioteers were
represented with upright positions64 and will be again endowed with erected torsos in late Hellenistic times.65
The sacred story of the kidnapping of Kore announces the death of a renowned person but in the
same time foreshadows the afterlife, eternal, blessed life of the deceased.
Below the charioteer, there are waves which of course refer to the sea and there is an object which
has the shape of an omphalos, perhaps again on a purple red fabric: it conveys the message that
everything represented in the frieze is accomplished according to predictions of Delphic Apollo.
After the omphalos there is a high slightly tapering building which seems followed by a panoplia
above which an eagle is flying toward a standing man with the kausia hat. Of course the man
with the kausia is King Alexander,66 the eagle flying toward him reveals that he is the son of Zeus,
probably he is accomplishing the sacrifice on the panoplia in front of the pyre of Hephaestion,
59 See Καλτσας and Δεσπινης (note 22) 150-159, nos. 42-46.

JIIA
60 See Fontenrose (note 56) 338-340, nos. Q 216-219.

© 2015
61 See A. Stewart, Art in the Hellenistic World, Cambridge (2014) 70, fig. 38.
62 See H. Franks, ‘Traveling, in Theory’, The Art Bulletin 96 (2014) 156-169.
63 See e. g. Κοτταριδη (note 21) 130-131 and 337.
64 See e. g. Ρ. Κολωνια, Το αρχαιολογικο μουσειο Δελφων, Αθηνα (2006) 254-267 and C. O. Pavese, L’auriga di
Mozia, Rome (1996).
65 See e. g. E. La Rocca (ed.), I giorni di Roma, Rome (2010) 232 and 311, no. iii. 22.
66 See Franks (note 13) 16-21.
215
Fig. 33. Painted frieze, tumulus Kasta, in situ. Reconstruction drawing by M. Lefantzis (courtesy of Dr. Lefantzis).
216
JIIA.eu
Antonio Corso – Grantee of the Lord Marks Charitable Trust – Benaki Museum

217
© 2015
JIIA
which would be the tall tapering building. Thus we have here the farewell ceremony by Alexander
to Hephaestion.67 According to Diodorus 17. 115, the pyre of Hephaestion had a square base and
looked like a tall tower. It had prows of boats at its base and a prow is detected at the viewer’s left of
the tower. This observation strengthens the identification of the tower as the pyre of Hephaestion.
Moreover, the upper part of the pyre was endowed with representations of eagles ready to flight.
Thus the eagle represented between the tower and Alexander may refer to this decoration. Of
course eagles also announce the heroic and divine status of the deceased.
According to Aelian, Varia Historia 7. 8) a panoplia was thrown on the pyre of Hephaestion. Moreover,
another panoplia was represented on the pyre, as it argued by Diodorus 17. 115: thus Alexander is
represented while he is acting at the ceremony in front of the panoplia thrown on the pyre.
The slender proportions of Alexander are in keeping with the Lysippan kanon.
Behind the eagle a face appears: it is much larger than other faces on the frieze, it has pathetic eyes
and a large, semicircular beard: of course he is Zeus who sent the eagle toward Alexander, in order
to underline his protection upon his son.
The pyramid which follows probably refers to another important oracular statement: that of the
oracle of Zeus Amon at Siwa which imposed the institution of sacrifices to god Hephaestion.68
After this episode there is a procession of knights, probably attending the funerary honors to Hephaestion, the
representation of one of them with a kausia suggests that Alexander was also portrayed in this section of the
frieze. Knights were an obvious presence in triumphal friezes from the time of the Parthenon frieze.
In the east side, the cornice shows probably the funerary kline, which is so important in Macedonian
official imagery:69 probably we have here the prothesis of Hephaestion on his kline. Then a theory
of dignitaries attends the prothesis. A round shield is visible and suggests that the represented
dignitaries are high ranking officials of the Macedonian army (Hetairoi?). The recognition of the
figure of a tropaion among these standing figures strengthens the impression that we have here a
martial, military attendance to the prosthesis of the deceased here.
Then there are two winged females (Nikai?) carrying a tripod above a semicircular red purple fabric
which may be a Macedonian chlamys in profile view: this scene announces the divinization of the hero.
Then there is an assembly of gods who welcome the new god: this divine series includes a Rhea
represented frontally with the same iconography of the Meter of Agorakritos.70 Rhea was a very
important figure in the Orphic mysteries: in the shape of a snake she had sex with Zeus who also
had a similar metamorphosis, and she generated Persephone.71
Macedoniam pezetairoi, one displaying his round schield with episema, are standing at the end of
the figures of gods: they convey the notion that the achievements of the honoured hero were in
service of the Macedonian state.
Then there is a frieze of weapons, of which a helmet is clearly preserved and which gives the information
that the hero took part to important military campaigns: friezes of weapons were also typical of
Macedonian official imagery72 and, as above stressed, also decorated the pyre of Hephaestion.
The frieze reveals the typical way to refer to places through sparse and simplified representations of few
monuments, leaving the imagination of the environment to the fantasy of the viewer. This fact reveals that
the frieze is still late classical: should it be later, it would have substantial elements of landscape.
Also, the frieze is entirely bi-dimensional, thus before the establishment of the sense of space as
a visual pre-condition of any representation: the latter feature is typical of Hellenistic art already
67 About the pyre of Hephaestion, see R. Belli, ‘ “L’intera costruzione era alta piu’ di 130 cubiti”. Per un’interpretazione
della pira di Efestione’, Xenia Antiqua 8 (1999) 5-50 and O. Palagia, ‘Hephaestion’s Pyre’, A. B. Boworth (ed.),
Alexander the Great, Oxford (2000) 167-206.
68 Testimonia in Belli (note 68) 6-8.
69 See Κοτταριδη (note 21) 357.
70 See DNO 2. 390-407, particularly 393-394, work no. 2, source no. 1440.
71 Evidence in F. Gury, ‘Rhea’, LIMC 7 (1994) 628-632, particularly 628.
72 See Descamps-Lequine (note 18) 263.
218
about 300 BC, as it is revealed by the late production of Lysippus (for example, the Apoxyomenos)
or of the elder son of Praxiteles, Kephisodotos the Younger (for example, the Capitoline Aphrodite).
The shaping of figures is obtained through the drawing which prevails upon the application of
colors: this fact is typical of the Sicyonian school and of that of Apelles and, since Apelles was the
official painter of Alexander the Great,73 it is possible that the frieze has been done by painters of
his school. Even the prevalence of drawings upon colors is typically late classical: with the early
Hellenistic period, the shaping of figures through colors prevails.
Finally, the painters of the frieze used only 4 colors (red, yellow, white and black): thus they
adhered to the tetra-chromatic ideology asserted by the Sicyonian school and by Apelles.74 This
observation strengthens both the closeness of this painting to the school of Apelles and of course
its late classical date, because the tetra-chromatism was abandoned in later periods.
The continual narration of several episodes was already established in Ionic friezes of the late 5th
c. BC (for example in the temple of Athena Nike and in the friezes of Trysa)75 and thus is not a
new feature: these episodes are disposed in a sequence in the painted frieze of the tumulus Kasta
because they all respond to a very powerful message: that everything happens because it is decided
by the gods and that it is the duty of Delphic Apollo to predict it.
Thus the sophistic and Thucydidean concept that history is determined by purely human factors
is over, on the contrary the Homeric concept of history determined by oracles, predictions etc is
restored. The importance of oracles in the history narrated in the frieze is remarkable and suggests
that the function of room 3 was an oracular one.
In particular, it is possible that the round hole on the pebbles mosaic held a tripod. The name of
the seer who managed this oracle can be suggested: Peithagoras of Amphipolis, perhaps the most
important seer of his age, who in Babylon already predicted the deaths of Hephaestion and of
Alexander and probably here predicted the deaths of Perdiccas and of Antigonus (Arrian 7. 18).76
Thus Peithagoras probably is the seer who is represented in the beginning of the northern frieze.
Below the north frieze, there is a typical Macedonian marble door which can be compared to the
corresponding examples of this type of funerary door in Vergina and elsewhere in Macedon and
which also suggests a date around 320 BC.77
g. The fourth room

Room no. 4 was the burial chamber: the kline had the cremated rests of a young man whom
epigraphic evidence identifies as Hephaestion, the dearest friend of Alexander.
A lady was thrown on the kline: she may be the heroine Phyllis whose mound near Amphipolis
was well known in antiquity (see Antepater Thessalonicensis, Anthologia Graeca 7. 705). Since an
almond tree blossomed on the mound of Phyllis,78 this feature would explain why the upper part
of the heroon Kasta was left green.
Moreover, bones of two men and one child were found in this chamber and may be similar to
those found by the Athenian Cimon in the 460s and recognized to have been those of Theseus,
then preserved as reliquiae in the re-founded heroon of Theseus in Athens.79 In other words, they
may be bones attributed to mythical heroes who were regarded the founders of the religious and
mystical identity of Amphipolis. These heroes may have been first of all Rhesos, whose heroon
was placed in this valley according to Euripides, Rhesus, vv. 961-982. Then perhaps some of these
bones were attributed to Orpheus, in keeping with the Orphic symbolism, which is conveyed
JIIA © 2015
73 See DNO 4. 125-205, sources nos. 2846-2990.

74 See J. J. Pollitt, ‘Peri chromaton’, Color in ancient Greece, Thessaloniki (2002)
75 See A. Landskon, Das Heroon von Trysa, Vienna (2015) 1-8.
76 See A. V. Tataki, Macedonians abroad, Athens (1998) 59, no. 108.
77 See the similar doors in Descamps-Lequime (note 18) and Kottaridi (note 21).
78 About Phyllis, see U. Kron, ‘Phillys’, LIMC 7 (1994) 407-408.
79 See R. Di Cesare, La citta’ di Cecrope, Athens (2015).
219
through the imagery of this tumulus. Finally the bones of a boy may have been regarded those of
Akamas, the son of the local heroine Phyllis.80
The stele with the snake coiling around the fig tree may have stood in room 4, the only place where
the floor allows for such an insertion. The possible interpretations suggested for the snake coiling
around the tree in the above considered relief frieze may apply also to this stele. In both cases, this
iconographic pattern was symbol of a happy after life, in the world of the blessed.
General interpretation of the tumulus

The tumulus was the heroon of Hephaestion, as epigraphic evidence suggests, but clearly was
also, or became, an oracle: otherwise the Sphinxes, the tripods and the oracular themes in the
painted frieze would be unexplainable.
From a stratigraphic point of view, two phases can be detected: a first phase sees the tumulus only
as heroon of Hephaestion and should date in the late 320s. Probably Alexander the Great promoted
this heroon. A coin struck by him found in the tumulus is in keeping with this conclusion.
In the second phase, the wall dividing room 3 from room 4, which is clearly later than the pebble
mosaic, on which it rests, was set up, the marble door between room 3 and room 4 was made,
the painted frieze was created which implies the function of the complex as an oracle. From that
moment the tumulus worked as a place where a seer predicted the future.
The years when this transformation took place are probably the same years when the seer Peithagoras
came back home from Babylon and may have predicted the deaths of Perdikkas and Antigonus in room
3 of the tumulus, i. e. the year after the death of Alexander the Great, the late 320 BC.
From an artistic point of view, the lion was made by a follower of Lysippus, the other sculptures
by Thasian workshops which assimilated both Lysippan and Praxitelean styles. In any case they
guaranteed a very high quality, which is testified especially by the head of the Sphinx: indeed one
of the highest works of art of late classical times.
The painted frieze was made quickly by a painter who followed both the prevalence of drawing
upon colors and the tetrachromatism of Apelles.
The pebbles mosaic may have been made by a follower of Gnosis because of the close stylistic link
of the Kasta mosaic with that signed by Gnosis at Pella.81
The architecture reveals the personality of an extremely talented expert educated in the tradition of
the Artemision, in any case in the Ionian late classical tradition of Asia Minor.
Perhaps he can be identified with Dinocrates.
The entrance to the tumulus was closed with a pseudo-isodomic wall perhaps at the end of the
Macedonian kingdom in the second quarter of the II c. BC or sometime in the late Hellenistic period.
In front of the tumulus there may have been a propylon in Doric order. The propylon led to a
lower terrace, which was provided with other, important monuments.
A processional road led from Amphipolis to this terrace, thus to the tumulus.
In conclusion the tumulus Kasta was the spiritual cradle of the Macedonian state.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Dr. Katerina Peristeri, the head of the excavations at tumulus Kasta and Dr.
Michalis Lefantzis, the architect charged with this tumulus, for the continuous discussions about
this important monument. The research published in this article has been made thanks to a grant of
the Lord Marks Charitable Trust (London), channeled through the Benaki Museum (Athens). My
warmest thanks are due to Lady Marina Marks, President of the above mentioned, very respected,
Foundation, as well as to Prof. Angelos Delivorrias, Director Emeritus of the Benaki Museum.
80 See Scholiast to Aeschines 2. 754 R.

81 See C. Picard, ‘Le mosaiste grec Gnosis’, RA (1963) 205-209,
220
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Traill 2004 = J. S. Traill, Persons of Ancient Athens 13, Toronto (2004).
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222
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JIIA ‘Journal of Intercultural and

Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology

Editor: Dr. Antonella D’Ascoli

Volume not available for sale / Edizione fuori commercio

Copyright notice © 2015

Cover illustration: Piede votivo (S.17137 RCGE 19497)

Volume not available for sale / Edizione fuori commercio

Free Section............................................................................................................................ 132

Contributors to this volume

Casanova Municchia, Annalaura

JIIA ‘Journal of Intercultural and

Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology

Renenutet - Iside Thermouthis: una breve nota introduttiva

Iside1 Ermouthis/Thermouthis2, è interpretatio graeca, di epoca tolemaica, della dea-cobra

Sul versante iconografico, Renenutet è rappresentata come ofiomorfa14. Essa è completamente

Iconografia di Iside Thermouthis

L’iconografia della Thermouthis, a Medinet Madi, a differenza di Iside33, è completamente

32 Dhennin 2011, 108; Ballet 2007, 157-160.

Figure 1. National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden (Inv. F 1960/9.1) CC BY licence

umana e kalathos, in coppia con Iside Thermouthis ai lati di Osiride-Canopo43 (Fig.1).

40 Museo Egizio Torino, cat. 7149. Spagnotto 1997, 233 cat.n.IV.230.

Fig.2 (tratto da Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, LIMC VII 2:512)

seguito, in quelli mitraici’: Fontana 2010, 411 p.5.

49 N.Invv.1073, 1024. Pirelli 1997, cat. n.IV.232-233.

Fig.3 © Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino

Fig.4 © Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie di Torino

il ritrovamento del sarcofago contenente il cadavere di Osiride, attualizzata e ritualizzata nella

72 Sampaolo 2006, 109, cat. n.II.49, 1.71.

75 Bricault 1992, 92:38. N.Inv.12674, Ägyptisches Museum, Berlino.

femmina è considerata più pericolosa e aggressiva.

dovesse recare alla necropoli degli dei ancestrali98.

97 Preys 2002, 285-298.

Oxford: Oxford University Press.

de 69 à 439, edited by B. Cabouret, 213-228.

The so called statue of Nehebkau. A comparative study.

Figure 1. Renenutet as a snake, from Figure 2. Thermuthis, Fouquet’s

3 Broekhuis, 1971, pp. 35-8 and 46-7.

7 CT VI, 392g-i [Sp 762].

Museum and inventory number Description Inscription

Cairo Museum Statue of Ptah-Tatenen walking

Statue of Ptah donated by

Museum and inventory number Description Inscription

Luxor Museum Statue of King Amenemhat III

Cairo Museum Aries lying on a base protecting

Cairo Museum Statue of King Tutankhamun

Cairo Museum Seated statue of Amun or Ay.

Alexandria Seated statue of King

Right side: N(y)-sw.t bjty wsr-Mȝʿ.t-Rʿ

Isis-Thermouthis and the anguiform deities in Egypt: a cultural

1 Leick 1991: 119.

2 Fronzaroli 1968: 285.

7 See Shaw – Nicholson 1995: 67.

10 On Mertseger see Bruyère 1930.

11 Leibovitch 1953: 105.

12 Cfr. Zecchi 2006: 119.

18 Leibovitch 1953: 113.

28 Dunand 1969: 25.

Bruyère, B. 1930, Mert Seger à Deir el Mèdineh, MIFAO, Le Caire.

The Role of Renenutet in New Kingdom Temples:

1. Depictions of Ren(en)ut(et) in Theban private tombs

11 For the identification of this building as a Treasury, see Masquelier-Loorius (forthcoming).

3. The figure of the goddess sealing containers

4. Ren(en)ut(et), fertility and the role of this goddess in society