a group of sixth dynasty titles relating to ptah and sokar

A Group of Sixth Dynasty Titles Relating to Ptah and SokarAuthor(s): Henry G. FischerSource: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 3 (1964), pp. 25-29Published by: American Research Center in EgyptStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40000982 .

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A Group of Sixth Dynasty Titles Relating to Ptah and Sokar

Henry G. Fischer

PLATE XV

The false door that is the subject of the following pages probably derives from Saqqara, or at any rate a necropolis in the vicinity of Memphis, being inscribed for a certain *Irt-Pthy surnamed ^Iry,1 who was "revered by Ptah- Sokar/' and served this god, or pair of gods, in several capacities (PL XV). Although the monu- ment has twice been described and illustrated in the Bulletin of the University Museum in Philadelphia, where it has long been exhibited,2 it remains to be pointed out that the titles on the six jambs form a rare and interesting group, which, when studied in relation to each other, contribute a surprising amount of information on the development of the local priesthoods from the Old to the Middle King- dom. This is not to say that the false door belongs to the Intermediate Period; although its form and content show that it cannot be earlier than the Sixth Dynasty, there are no stylistic, palaeographic or orthographic peculi- arities that necessarily point to a date later

than the reign of Pepy II.3 The isolated pair of titles on the crossbar, which have no connection with the rest of the titulary and will therefore receive no further mention, are particularly characteristic of the late Old Kingdom. The first is \^ "noble of the king," the second ̂ Jf "courtier of the (royal) house."4 The remaining titles are the following:

;:n^l|^iLeftouler]amb (3) 1

^ )

v [^ ^ v _ > Left intermediate jamb

(5) Pf P& iU Right outer jamb and (6 only) (6) D I $t I I right intermediate jamb

1 For the first name see Ranke, Pevsonennamen II, 265.30, where the museum number is to be corrected, and ibid., 100, where iri.t-Pth is analyzed as an abbreviation of nfr -iri.t-Pth "what Ptah does is good." The second name is noted ibid., 343 (addition to Vol. I, 41.6).

2 Bulletin of the University Museum 2 (1930), 57-59 and 15, parts 2-3 (1950), 30, and Fig. 16 on p. 32, the latter being H. Ranke 's guide The Egyptian Collections of the University Museum. The registration number is E 1 43 18; purchased in 1921, without information regarding the provenance. The material is limestone, the maximum height 133 cm., width 81 cm.

3 The only abnormality worth mentioning is the presence of five jars in the hnt-sign instead of the usual |U^| or fjjjj), and this feature is exceedingly rare at any period. The closest parallel known to me, in an inscription dated to Amenemhet I (Hammamat 199) also contains five jars, but does not show the sides of the rack. An earlier Old Kingdom inscription (Brussels E 754; Capart, Recueil de Mons. II, PL 54) shows a double rack, evidently containing a total of eight jars.

4 For these titles see de Wit, Chronique d'Egypte 31 (no. 61, 1956), 89-104. Further remarks are to be found in AZ 86 (1961), 26-28 and JAOS 81 (1961), 423, where it is noted that the title spsw nhwt falls into disuse after the decline of the Old Kingdom; it should be added, however, that this term is still occasionally used in the Middle Kingdom as a general and non-titular term for a courtier: e.g., Sinai inscription 136 and 413, and BM 586 (Hieroglyphic Texts II, PL 12).

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(i) Ss sdswt-ntr m hwt Pth "Scribe of the treasure of the god in the mansion of Ptah"

"Scribes of the treasure of the god" are less infrequent in the Old Kingdom than might be supposed. One case is probably to be recognized in the Sixth Dynasty tomb of Ppy-Cnh hry-ib at Meir, although it has been reproduced as ^ £b jHQj and interpreted as two titles: "treasurer of the god" and "draughtsman."5 Another example (written ̂ J^lif) appears above the head of an offering bearer in the tomb of ihty-htp at Saqqara, dating to the end of the Fifth Dynasty.6 A fourth occurrence may be quoted from one of a pair of Sixth Dynasty obelisks from Heliopolis, where the owners name is preceded by g g «{§= ^ Jft |]jf "scribe of the god's treasure (in) the great house (at) Helio- polis,"7 while the other obelisk bears the com- parable title jgf^ ^ \1Q "privy to the secret of the god's treasure (in) the great house (at) Heliopolis."8 In both these cases the context is apparently secular, with ntr referring to the king, and in another occurrence of the second Heliopolitan title, which makes its first appearance in the Sixth Dynasty, ntr is actually replaced by nswt : J^ p ̂ q ^ ̂ .9 Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, however, and somewhat later, hry sst? n sdiwt-ntr is sometimes associated with temples:

"Privy to the secret of the god's treasure in the houses of MW (Deir el Gebrawi tomb 72) 10

(Deir el Gebrawi tomb 46) u

XO^ri^^Q]£4>''-- in the up. land temple" (El Kab grafitto)12

t P 3 3^1 ^ & ^ ^ ? "- * the cham-

ber of offering (?)" (Naga ed-Deir stela)13 Z P n & _ 1 ® "- of Min" (coffin> Na§a ed-Deir tomb 3751). 14

Here, as in the case under consideration (and in the title ̂ ̂ _, to be discussed presently), it seems likely that ntr refers to the local god. A similar reapplication of a title that formerly pertained to the king is attested by two occurrences of hry-tp dd "overlord of the wardrobe:"

mMj$Mi 2 "overlord of the wardrobe (dity hp [ ?]J in the temple" (Naga ed-Deir tomb 89)15 %l\* *9 - K3^6 if "overlord of the ward-

5 Blackman, Meir IV, PL 4A (1) and p. 2. 6 Davies, Ptahhetep II, PL 34. 7 Daressy, ASAE 16 (191 6), 212; Kuentz, Obelisques,

PL 3 (Cairo Cat. 17002). 8 Daressy, loc. cit.; Kuentz, ibid., PL 2 (Cairo Cat.

17001). 9 Junker, Giza IV, 5, 18, 27 f., where the title is

translated "Der iiber den Geheimnissen der ver- siegelten Schriftstucke des Konigs steht." Apart from the inconclusive reason that the same titulary includes a scribal function, there is little to recommend "versiegelte Schriftstucke" as a translation of sdiwt rather than "treasure," particularly in view of the fact that one of the other titles refers to the pr-hd. Among the evidence offered by Wb. V, 637, Belegst. 2, for this meaning of sd;wt, note in particular p § ^ "^^l^l^^ "bringing the best of gold and every treasure" (Daressy, Mastaba de Meva, 571; cf. ibid. 573, LD II, 22, and Steindorff, Grab des Ti, PL 66).

10 Davies, Deir el Gebrawi II, p. 20 and PL 21. M'm is the cult center of the god (nty.

11 Ibid., p. 33 and PL 21; the false door C in tomb 72 probably has the same title; cf. also tomb 38 (A). >I;krnt is the cult center of the goddess M;tit.

12 L. Stern, AZ 13 (1875), PL 1 (k), facing p. 72. 13 Dunham, Naga ed-Der Stelae, no. 16. Some of the

signs have hieratic forms; there is no question about jfQ however, and the reading of o_d (suggested by Gardiner, ibid. p. 30) seems highly probable. The title is preceded by imy-r hwt-ntr "overseer of the temple."

14 C. N. Peck, Some Decorated Tombs of the First Intermediate Period at Naga ed-Der, University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, p. 135, n. 4. For the construc- tion of the title see the discussion on p. 123 of the present volume.

15 Quoted (in translation) by C. N. Peck, ibid., p. 136, n. 1. Dr. Peck, to whom I owe the facsimile made by Norman de Garis Davies, has also put me in mind of the possibility that the arm might represent ssp, and I have subsequently come upon examples of $sp (and Ssp.t) as a word for cloth or clothing in titles (JARCE 2 [1963], 25). The trace above the arm is difficult to explain, however, unless this and the sign <=> are actually |P, and =3 in itself might be a determinative for clothing (Gardiner, Gram.3, 507).

26



robe of Hathor, Mistress of Dendera" (Dendera, tomb of Mrrl).1Q The first of these examples may be as early as Dynasty VI, while the other is probably no earlier than Dynasty VIII. At a slightly later date the closely related title try nfr-h?t "keeper of the Headdress, " which was formerly held by those who arranged the king's wig, is readapted to the local cult as follows : ^I^^I^tÂ® "keeper of the headdress in attiring his lord (namely) his city god" (Naga ed-Deir tomb 3737). 17

Among the later evidence for ss sdswt-ntr there is a Tenth Dynasty example referring to the pyramid cult of King Merykare : ( o ̂ c LJM

I J J J 1 (Pf ̂ -18 At least one Twelfth Dynasty occurrence again makes mention of a local divi- nity - the god Amun,19 and this connection is wrell attested in later times.20

(2) Ss htpw-ntr "scribe of the god's offerings "

The present occurrence is the only one known to me from Old Kingdom sources. At least one other example may be cited for the Twelfth Dynasty,21 but the title does not become com- mon until the New Kingdom.22 If ntr in the preceding title refers to the local god, the same conclusion seems equally justified in this case.

(3) yIt-ntr "Father of the god"

Considering the context of the other titles, and the absence of tnry-ntr, a phrase which is

generally added to U-ntr when courtly rank is involved, or relationship to the king, it is extremely likely that this title designates a priestly office. If so, it is one of the earliest examples of its kind, although an equally good case can be made for the same interpret- ation of U-ntr in the titularies of three Helio- politan high priests whose tombs evidently antedate the end of the Old Kingdom.23 Here the title in question regularly follows wr-m^(.w) "greatest of the seers" or hry-hbt "lector priest," and sometimes occurs between the two. As Kees points out, examples of U-ntr as a priestly function are rare even in the Middle Kingdom;24 it does not seem necessary, however, to deny their existence at a somewhat earlier period,25 when there is additional evidence for the assimilation of courtly titles to the priesthood of local divinities. This evidence has already been discussed in connection with the first of the preceding titles.

(4) Sch c;(?) m hnw Skr "Noble great (of years?) in the bark of Sokar"

The reading of the second sign is somewhat uncertain; the slightly bent attitude of the figure would favor iiw "old," or smsw "eldest," but this form also admits the possibility of c* "great," which is sometimes written with the same sign. A particularly persuasive instance of the latter occurs in the epithet wr m ist.f> c/ m sch.f, the last half of which is written $ ^ p -j* ^ *^ in the Sixth Dynasty tomb of 'Ibi at Deir el Gebrawi.26 But if it seems likely that this paraphrases ̂ jj}, so that the reading of the latter is &â‚-h-â‚-?, the bent attitude might still be

16 Petrie, Dendera, PL 8 (lower left: Cairo Cat. 1663) ; discussed in my dissertation Denderah during the Old Kingdom, etc. (University Microfilms, Ann Arbor), 269 ff.

17 C. N. Peck, ibid., PL 12 and pp. 109-110. For try nfr-hst see my remarks in AZ 90 (1963), 39, where I should have mentioned Dr. Peck's discussion as well as Helck, Beamtentitel, 42.

18 Cairo Cat. 39053, coffin of 'Ipi-m-st.f, evidently from the Teti pyramid cemeteries at Saqqara; one of

the other titles * (^fl ff j j j& 7 Q] â€¢ 19 Cairo Cat. 20677 d. 20 For the later evidence see Wb. V, 637, Beleg-

stellen 7-9. 21 Cairo Cat. 20335 c. 22 Wb. Ill, 185, Belegstellen 15ft.

23Daressy, ASAE 16 (1916), 198 (Mrw); 199*1. (tSbky); 209! (Hw-n-Hr). Helck (Beamtentitel, 94) mentions these occurrences, but apparently assumes that they are simply "Ehrentitel," without any reference to the local cult.

24 AZ 86 (1961), 121. 25 Ibid., 120. 26 Davies, Deir el Gebrawi I, PL 6; for other exam-

ples of the epithet cf. Janssen, Traditioneele Autobio- grafie I, pp. 6-7. His second Sixth Dynasty example of the same writing (Petrie, Abydos I, PL 54) is actually Middle Kingdom.

27



indicative, for c/ can mean "great in age/'27 and an early Twelfth Dynasty nomarch at Beni Hasan is in fact fo^2££ j^ + I "a noble great of years in the house oi'Imy-Snt."28 A yet closer, if less conclusive parallel occurs on a Middle Kingdom offering table of about the same date, belonging to a Memphite high priest who is

W, $ ^k ̂ ii -29 The text is only known to me from two hand copies, but both copies agree in giving the initial sign a decidedly bent attitude ; the preceding context and the size of the lacuna suggest that ^ might be restored at the head of the title, as in the case under consideration. The false door of a Sixth Dynasty master-metalworker again associates fy (slightly bent forward, as before) and p - * | 4fa with Sokar, this time in a consecutive pair of epithets :

"great (of years?) in respect to the divine office in smelting ; possessor of rank (as) a goldworker in the retinue of Sokar."30 A further indication that the idea of age may be implied in these epithets is provided by the title (j ̂ fy £ J -

Q^j "old one of the mansion of Ptah," on the false door of a Memphite high priest who lived in the latter part of the Fifth Dynasty.31

(5) §}!>i sm(.w) "Inspector of im-attendantsM

$hd sm is a lesser counterpart of the title

1 3^ hrp sm, which is attributed to most of the Memphite high priests of the Sixth Dynasty and is regularly preceded by another title referring to Sokar.L2 In one case the name of Sokar is actually attached to it (g8icf lj,33 and the same is apparently true of the one case where

the title is simply sm: (oltfj S A& T1 I £ i 11 S ^ -U The im (not t0 be confused with stm) therefore appears to be a minor officiant of this god.35 For the meaning one should probably compare a verb of identical appearance which involves an attitude or action towards a god, and which, in the case of Pyr. 892, has been taken to mean "revere" or "respect. "36

No further examples preceded by shd appear to be known until Saitic times, when titles referring to sm are revived ;37 such titles do not occur at all during the intervening periods, from the end of the Sixth Dynasty to the beginning of the Twenty-sixth.

(6) Wcb <; Pth "Great ze>c&-priest of Ptah"

Here the addition of c? apparently dis- tinguishes the head of the priesthood in question,38 and the title is in fact sometimes held by

27 For a Sixth Dynasty example see Sethe, AZ 61 (1926), 74 (Papyrus Berlin 9010, line 3).

28 Newberry, Beni Hasan I, p. 22 and PL 7. For the god in question, see Kees, AZ 64 (1929), 107-112. A somewhat similar Middle Kingdom epithet is j^ ^» iTI Mf" "overseer of offering tables as a digni- tary of his house," in this case referring to Horus the Behdetite (Alliot, Tell Edfou [1933], PL 16 [1]).

29 Berlin 1189, Hier. Inschr. I, 208 andLZ> II, 118 (i). 30 Goyon, Kemi 15 (1959), p. 18 and PL 4. Goyon

translates the last part "Orfevre pour les ornements de la cour," equating skr with a Middle Kingdom word ̂ * 5 meaning "adorn* ' and evidently related to Shkr (Wb. Ill, 487.12; cf. IV, 318.13). In this case, however, one might expect P rather than - »- in the Sixth Dynasty text. For Snwt Skr cf. Wb. IV, 5 11. 13 flf. "Hofleute eines Gottes." For the association between Sokaris and metal working see also CT 660 a (Vol. VI, 284): ©l^-^-^n^ a s^» a Y/i^h w^-JHIj./l f 1-1M fn> "It is this skin belonging to Sokar and to his own smelting; indeed, it is not the smelting of his craftsmen." I am unable to explain the particular significance of h>y.t in this passage, beyond the fact that it is apparently related to h?w and hiw.t in Wb. Ill, 225 (8, 9).

31 British Museum 682: Mar., Mast., p. 113 and James, Hieroglyphic Texts I2, PL 17.

32 Mar., Mast., p. 113 (and cf. 130) (Pth-spss, BM 682: James, Hier. Texts I2, PL 17); p. 123^ R'-nfr, Cairo Cat. 18-19), P- 157 (Ssbw-km), p. 375 (£;bw/ >Ibbi).

33 Cairo Cat. 93 (statue of Pth-spss). 34 Mar., Mast., p. 250 (Ny-miH-Pth, Cairo Cat.

1701), 35 Cf. Charles Maystre, JNES 8 (1949), pp. 85-86.

For stm see Gardiner, Onomastica I, 39*-4i*. 36 Wb. IV, 120.8. 37 Maystre, Ibid., p. 88 and Wb. IV, 121, Belegst. 7. 38 Cf. Gardiner, On. I, 54*. Compare also the

terminal element in the title hry-tp '/ (n spt) "great overlord" (of a nome), which is first attested at the beginning of Dyn. VI, and in which c/ is a purely titular addition (JAOS 76 [1956], 103).

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overseers of hm-ntr priests in the Twelfth Dynasty.39 In the present case, however, the "great ze>c6-priest" is not at the summit of the local hierarchy, since there is no mention of the title that is distinctive of the Memphite high priests (^ff), and since he is only a slid sm rather than hrp sm. The same status is indicat- ed for a second "great w'b-priest" whose false door is apparently as early as the Sixth Dynasty ; he is ~P? L J | I I

an(i - 5 $8**" OX "Inspector "

of the L J | I I 5 OX wm "

House of Min" and "Great z#c6-priest of Min."40 The next earliest examples of (^ J occur on two Saqqara false doors of the First Intermediate Period, one of which is probably as late as the Tenth Dynasty.41 There is no indication that either of these "great wcb- priests" was of very exalted rank. Conversely, two Memphite high priests of the Sixth Dynasty are merely °f$| - ,42 but their inscriptions doubtless antedate the title that is under discussion. Once the rank of "great ze^ft-priest" was established, it must have conveyed a considerable degree of importance when it referred to a cult so central and well-established as that of Ptah.

Resume and Conclusions

The foregoing group of titles indicates that while *Irt-pth was not at the summit of the

Memphite clergy (being only a shd sm rather than hrp sm), his position (as wcb </ and it-ntr) was evidently very high indeed, and it will be recalled that one of his more distinctive titles - "noble great (of years?) in the bark of Sokar" - recurs in the titulary of a Twelfth Dynasty high priest. If several of the individual elements of *Irt-pth's titulary reflect relatively late developments in the organization of the local priesthood, the same is apparently true of the specific position to which they relate. There is reason to think that the office of high-priest, which was shared by two individuals during most of the Old Kingdom, was restricted to a single incumbent early in Dynasty VI.43 Since 'Irt-pth probably attained his highest titles after that change had been effected, it is possible that these titles represent a position of vice-command that was created to replace the second of the two presiding officials. The most interesting question that is raised by his titulary, however, is the reinterpretation of titles that originally applied to the king and subsequently, towards the end of the Old Kingdom, were associated with the cults of local gods. This development is doubtless to be explained in terms of the decentralization of royal powers and prerogatives that is characteristic of the period.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 39 Cairo Cat. 20514; Newberry, Bersheh II, PL 17;

Blackman, Meir II, Pis. 10, 11. 40 Cairo Cat. 1407. 41 Firth and Gunn, Teti Pyr. Cent., PL 70 (1), and

Quibell, Excav. Saq. 1906-07, PL 7 (3). 42 Mar., Mast., p. 130 (Pth-spss; cf. note 32 above;

the architrave on p. 377 is apparently the same, copied in reverse), p. 375 (S;bw ).

43 See Maystre, JNES 8 (1949), 87-88, referring to Sethe's reconstruction of the biography of &sbwjTty in Urk. I, 84-85.

29



PLATE XV



a group of sixth dynasty titles relating to ptah and sokar

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