Early Evidence for the Egyptian God Kheprer

Analysing early pieces of evidence for a phenomenon has always been a problematic task and it can be more difficult when dealing with a religious topic. Anachronistic approaches have often been projected in this kind of research, which brings inaccurate interpretations and findings. This paper concentrates on early testimonies for the ancient Egyptian god Kheprer, the deity of the morning sun and autogenesis. It discusses some previously suggested Predynastic, Early Dynastic, and Old Kingdom sources (such as finds of beetles in vessels, the so-called Libyan Palette, Giza writing board, figures of beetles, personal names and titles, Pyramid Texts) that can refer to the existence and belief in this deity. This study focuses mainly on the problematic issues in the interpretations of those finds, demonstrating thus that the only secure evidence for Kheprer comes from the Pyramid Texts.

Funerary beliefs and practices

This article provides an overview of the primary texts and images relating to funerary beliefs and practices in ancient Egypt. Following death, the individual was subject to a series of rituals performed by priests. Evidence concerning death and funerary rituals is contained in texts and images on tomb walls, coffins and papyri. The main focus here, however, is on the textual record, including the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead, including discussion of the importance of the Osiris myth in all of these, given that the latter appears to have had a significant impact on almost every aspect of Egyptian rituals surrounding death and burial.

As serpentes vindas do Médio Oriente nos Textos das Pirâmides. Reflexão sobre as relações egípcias-orientais nos textos religiosos mais antigos

The Pyramid Texts created in Ancient Egypt and contextualised by the belief in life beyond death, were intended to accompany the deceased in their journey to the Hereafter, to protect and ensure the realisation of their needs there. The oldest religious texts demonstrate positive aspects, delight and lust for life and, due to the fact that they were composed in order to assist the pharaoh on his way to the sky and the true existence of the king in the Beyond, could never be questioned or endangered. However, despite everything evoked here, there are attestations of inimical forces, or perils, which are to be fought off. Emphasis will be placed on the question of how the “serpent spells” and use of language in them manifest the relationship of the pharaoh and the Egyptians with the inhabitants of the Near East. The ideas of the presumed origin of the formulae and the link with the creator Atum in the texts under discussion is also presented. One can trace the quiddity of the world as a complete work of the ancient Egyptian creator. Therefore, the author of the paper aims to scrutinise, with reference to contextual arguments, the language of the diagnostic “serpent spells” of the Pyramid Texts, namely the grammar, choice of vocabulary, phraseology, possible onomatopoeic effects, to elucidate linguistic means of expression used in the Pyramid Texts. The methodology of the linguistic worldview is used.

El acto sexual como agente del (re)nacimiento de Osiris

One of the most important myths of the Ancient Egypt civilization is Osiris’ cyclical myth. Even though not enough attention has been given to it, one of the most important mythemes is the sexual act between the god and Isis. This sexual act establishes two pillars of the monarchy in Ancient Egypt: the conception and the subsequent birth of Horus (the archetype of the earthly Egyptian king) and Osiris’ (re)birth (king of the Underworld and archetype of the dead). Regardless of the great importance of this sexual act, the sources that relate to it are scarce. On a textual level, the intercourse between both divinities has been documented since the Pyramid Texts until the end of the Pharaonic Period. However, it appears narrated on very few occasions with verbs carrying explicit sexual meaning. Only the context allows one to see that the protagonists are having sexual relations. Since Osiris is dead, Isis is the obvious agent of the action, an exception that makes the goddess different from the rest of her peers. Regarding iconography, only three images have been documented in the Dynastic Period: one in the Middle Kingdom and two in the New Kingdom. In all of them the image is the same, the anthropomorphic Osiris, lies in his funerary bed while Isis, in the shape of a bird of prey, copulates with him.