A Lexicog=hical Study of the PtolemaicTexts in the Temple of Edfa Ibesis submittedin accordance with the requirementsof the University of Liverpool for the Degreeof Doctor of Philosophy by PenelopeWilson March 1991.

LIvERPOOL UNIV"F', TTY-I,

Abstract A LexicoUaphical Studyof thePtolemaic Textsin theTempleof Edfu - Penel= Wilson.The thesis studies four thousandand sixty words which occur in different types of texts in the Temple of Edfu. 'rbe etymology and useof each word in the Egyptian languageis establishedfrom its earliest attestationup to the Edfu texts and then in dernotic and Coptic if appropriate.The words are exemplified with varied hieroglyphic writings reflecting the diverse orthographyof the Ptolemaic texts. The investigation aimed to show that although the texts were written in adead language',no longer spokenin Egypt, they continuedto be edited,compiled and composedby priest-scribeswho created 'new' words to add to the heightenedpoetic diction of the texts, and which were appropriatefor the ideological framework of the temple embodiedin the principles of 'Maat'- order and the continuation of the kingship. Though the words reflect a local Edfu mythology they also show the full integration of other theological systemssuch as thoseof Hermopolis and Heliopolis suggestingclose contact between the Housesof Life attachedto templesin the major religious centresof Egypt. The varied vocabulary of the texts and the amount of written material suggeststhat the priests who compiled the writings worked from texts which were carefully copied and emendedor edited within firm guidelines. Ile processwas continuous throughout the Late Period from which there is comparatively little temple evidenceand the Edfu texts attest to the transmissionof the texts throughout that time. Priestswho copied the texts also understoodthe languageand they were not only capableof further developmentof the orthographyand vocabulary of the texts but they also had the confidence to composetexts in the'dead' tongue. The way in which words amused -particularly in ritual offering texts - also shows the continuity in religious practice in Egyptian temples,with the by texts being editedand augmented an expandedvocabulary.Offerings are describedin more ancient varied forms using many different words in order that magically the ritual covers every possibility for example Seth is destroyedin every possible form by every possible meansof slaughter.The texts also have an artificial style and in somecasesa heightened'poetical'diction where by meansof paranomasiaand alliteradon the rituals not only are worthy for the gods to read and hear,but have a potent magical force to ensuretheir success., The study of individual words also revealsthe types of developmentthrough which they could go: intransitive verbs can also be used transitively, causativeswith an s-prefix continue to be formed and complementarynounsare derived from verbs or vice versa.

Acknowledgments Research thethesis for by wasfundedfor threeyears a grantfrom theBritish Academy. I wouldlike to thankmy supervisor Professor F.Shore his help especially demoticmatters, A. for in , andencouragementeverystage. at Themembers staff of theSchoolof Archaeology, Classics OrientalStudies havealways of and I offeredfriendlyencouragement in particular wouldlike to thankfor theloanof articles and Dr.C.J.Eyre,Dr.A.M.J.Tooley for otherassistanceW. A.Millard, Professor A.Kitchen, K. , Dr.P.Lawrence, C.Bennett for helpin all kindsof ways,some Mrs. beyondthecall of duty, Miss and P.Winker. Dr.R.J.Beynonnot only introduced to my Apple Mactinosh Plusbut allowedme to usethe me MicrobiologicalUser printerto print out thethesis Mr. Steven Downderof theAppleCentre, . LiverpoolUniversitykeptmy computer goingwhentheweightof Ptolemaic wordsprovedtoo much. TheFacultyof Arts andMYs. MacEwan theDepartment Ifistory alsodeserve thanks. A. my of of Ile EgyptExplorationSocietyawarded a studentship a SwanHelleniccruiseduringwhichI on me mademy first visit to theTempleof Edfu andsawthe textsin situ. TheMacGorians Douglases in haveprovidedanenvironment which I couldwork easilyandin and for I of this respect am gratefulto Miss A.Bawden removingBlakeduringthe final stages thethesis. in Finally, my family andrelations havealwaysprovidedsupport and especially nutritionalmatters I do in this instance would like to thankMr andMrs E.H.Dickinsonmostsincerely. perhaps not I of me realise fully the waysin which Mr.J.R.Dickinsonhasaffected duringthecourse my research haveassisted in everypossible but my debtto him is enormous. parents My way throughout me my and time at theUniversityof Liverpoolandwithouttheir generosity moralsupportI would neverhave It this stage. is to Mr. andMrs. D.Wilson at homein Durhamthat I offer all my love, reached and gratitude respect. drudge',but, whatever Johnson defineda lexicographer 'a harmless Dr.Samuel as elseI am ,I hopeI am neverharmless.

ii;

Cont"nAcknowledgments ................................................ i

Contents Introduction Plansof Temple

iii - iv ................................................................................................ v-

x1vii

x1viii -I ................................................

Map of Egypt andKey ................................................ - iiii ii 3 vulture i reed ' arm w quail chick b foot P stool f homedviper m owl n water r mouth h shelter h twistedflax h placenta h animalbelly s bolt, cloth Ypool q hill k basket g pot stand t loaf of bread I tethering rope d hand................................................ ................................................ ................................................ ................................................ ................................................ ................................................

1-52 ................................................ 53-242 ................................................ 243-348 ................................................ 349-533 ................................................ 534-619 ................................................ 620-698 ................................................ 699-707 ................................................ 708-870 ................................................ 871- 1020................................................ 1021-1071 ................................................1072-1094 1095-1247 1248-1353 1354-1385 1386-1734 1735-1838 1839-1889

1890-1923 ................................................ 1924-1961 ................................................ 1962-2029 ................................................ 2030-2070 ................................................ 2071-2126 ................................................

IV

d serpent

2127-2194 ................................................................................. 2195-2198

Words cited erroneouslyby Wb Bibliography Abbreviations

2199-2246 ................................................2247-2266 .................................................

V

Introduction The temple of Edfu is at the heart of the modem town of Tell Edfu, on the west bank of the Nile and the capital of the second nome of Upper Egypt. It was known as Apollonopolis Magna in Roman times and its Egyptian names were D.W in Vil documents (Coptic TB(J) and Bodt for religious .. building was excavatedby Mariette in about 1860, having been covered by the housesof purposes.71be the town's inhabitants, and the central stone temple is one of the best preservedin Egypt, lacking only some roof shrines.The surrounding complex of buildings beyond the stoneenclosurewall are however still buried under the modem town. Excavations to the south and west were carried out by the Institut frangais d'arch6ologie orientale from 1914 to 1933 and by a Franco-Polish mission from 1937-1939 The difficulty of excavation because of the proximity of modem dwellings, contrasted with the completeness of the temple and its inscriptions, and the resulting lack of an overall picture of the Edfu, meansthat the history and people at Edfu are considerably less well known ancient community at than their god.2 The site of the town was at the centre of an area of rich agricultural potential. The land for cultivation was six kilometres across at its widest point stretching 13 kilometres downstream to EI-Sayada and fifteen kilometres upstream to south of Nag el-Hasaya In ancient times a branch of the Nile flowed . 3 behind Edfu, irrigating a further expanseof land and contributing to the agricultural resources. The Wadi Abbad on the east bank gave connections with the gold mines of the easterndesert and the Red Seaand a trade route on the west bank brought Edfu into contact with the resourcesof Nubia. Edfu does to have been a significant town in the archaic -period, but in the Old Kingdom there is not appear town here, which reachedits apogeeof importance in the First IntermediatePeriod. evidenceof a walled The development of the town brought it into conflict with 1-fierakonpoliswhose governor Ankhtify for time controlled Edfu. The cult of Horus becameprominent at Edfu from the Middle Kingdom and it is a

listed in LA VI 327 nn.5-6 andalsoPM V 200-6. 1.Published accounts the excavations of from the Graeco-Roman 2. Somepapyrusdocuments period havebeenpublished: W.Speigelberg, Papyri Hauswaldt, Leipzig, 1913; B.Menu, Regusd6motiques Die Demotischen Gr6co-Romaines dEdfou, Hom.S.Sauneron pp.261-280. I provenant 3. For a diagram of the Edfu hinterland and descriptionof the townsite see M.Bietak, Urban Archaeologyand the 'Town Problem'. in Egyptologyand the SocialSciences, editedby K.Weeks, Cairo,1979p.110-114.

vi

possible the falcon god owed something to the previously dominant Horus of Nekhen (Merakonpolis)A In the 13th dynasty and the SecondIntermediate Period there is evidence for royal patronageof the god Horus which continued into the New Kingdom as attestedby blocks bearing the namesof kings Tuthmosis III and Hatshepsut.More substantial temple remains in the form such as Amenhotep 111, II III of the lower coursesof a pylon with the namesof Sed II, Ramesses and Ramesses indicate that the site upon which the present temple standsmust always have been the sacredtemple area, for the Ramessidepylon lies at right angles to the main Ptolemaic pylon. There are lesser remains from the Saite period, but the great black granite naos of Nectanebo II, at the heart of the standing temple, suggeststhe possibility that during this period an important temple building stood at Edfu. The extant temple was, according to its inscriptions, founded in year 10 of Ptolemy III Euergetes237 B. C. and the final decoration and hanging of the pylon doors was completed in 57 B. C. under Ptolemy XI Alexander 11and Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos.5 There were two stoppagesin work due to loss of royal control in Upper Egypt. In 206 B. C. Haronnophris (Hurgonaphor), a native Egyptian was by proclaimed 'king'at Thebesand he was succeeded Cha :)nnophris(201/200), their revolt lasting for 20 years until 186 B. C.6 There were further breaks in construction at Edfu during the unrest of the 160s and 130s B.C. which at least demonstratesthe strong links between the king and the principles and reality of temple building and decoration. The relative completenessof the temple itself and the wealth of its inscriptions have made Edfu. a focal point for studies into Egyptian temple ritual and Ptolemaic hieroglyphs, in particular. Further, the texts are easily accessiblein published form (cited throughout this study by volume number alone E) begun by M. de Rochemonteix 7 continued to completion by without preceding ,a project

4. Early developments by summarised Bietak,op.cit. andalsoB.Kemp,AncientEgypt - Anatomyof London 1989p.39 -41 and04 for references. a Civilization, , 5. For the inscriptionsseea translation IV 1-16and VII I- 10 by C.de Wit in CdE 36 no. 71,1961 of briefly by Fairmanin ASAE 43,1943 p.56-97and no.72 p.277-320; historyof templeconstruction p.93 and S.Cauville, Edfou, Le Caire, 1984p.61-64 ; S.Cauville, D.Devauchelle,RdE 35,1984 p.31-55. 6. P.W.Pestman, Harmaachis Anchmachis, deuxrois indignesdu tempsdesPtoldmdes, CdE 40, et 1965p.157-170; K. Vandorpe,The Chronologyof the Reignsof Hurgonaphor and Chaonnophris, CdE 61,1986 pp.294-302. f 7.1849-1891 for his career- Dawson Uphill, Who WasWho in Egyptology,London, 1972 and ,

vil

9 E.Chassinat,8 and now revised and correctedby S.Cauville and D.Devauchelle. The texts are printed in the extensive font of the Imprimerie de Hnsfitut frangais d'archaeologieorientale in CairolO which, though adequateand detailed enough for certain signs, do not reproduce precisely the highly detailed carving of the actual inscriptions. For the sake of consistency and time the study relies upon the published texts, and it was only possible to collate texts from available photographs rather than from the actual temple walls. Further the texts now also, mostly, lack their colour which may have had somebearing upon the understandingof the inscriptions.1I Scholars who have studied the temple and its texts have had different areas of emphasis in their investigations made possible by the vast amount of available textl2, and the diverse nature of those texts. 13 The kaleidoscope of approaches,from the complete structural and architectural view of the temple, to a room or chamber in the temple, to one type of scene throughout the temple, to each individual hieroglyphic sign gives information about religious beliefs and ideas, cult rituals, the use of religious systemsand an overall picture of Egyptian conceptsconcerning their gods and how they were 14 served. The texts contain words so far only attestedin this temple and some am not recordedin the Worterbuch or other diction, aries and lexicographical studies.Work in this field is continuous and as more texts

p.250 ; Le Temple dEdfou 1,1892. 8.1868-1948 for his career -Dawson and Uphill, op.cit. p.61-62 Wu texts .... probably the most , magisterial publication ever produced by a single Egyptologist', Le Temple dEdfou, Tomes H to VIII 1 ; however see review by A. Egberts in Bibliotheca Orientalis, 47 No. 1/2, Jan-Maart, 1990 85 pp. 102-107 with corrections. 10. Catalogue de la forite hieroglyphique de l'imprimerie de H. F.A. 0. . nouvelle Mtion, Cairo, 1983. 11. Chassinat notes.where signs are different from the published version, errors in the carving and tracesof colour on the walls. 12. over 3,000 printed pages (d)k complete bibliography of studies is not available, but the bibliography of S.Cauville in Essai 'snrlla thdologie du Temple d'Horus A Edfou, Le Caire, 1987 p.251-262-covers many of the most important works. For individual lines - J-C. Grenier, Temple Ptoldmaiques et Romaines, R6pertoire Bibliographique, Index des citations 1955-1974 incorporating the work of N. Sauneron 1939-1954, , Le Caire 1979. 14. The monumental study by M. Alliot, Le Culte dHorus A Edfou au temps de Ptoldmdes two , volumes, Cairo, 1954 provides an extensive survey of the cult of Horus ; S.Cauville, Essai sur la th6ologie du Temple d'Horus A Edfou , Cairo, 1987 investigates the theological systems in the temple.

andIX to XIV (plates). TempledEdfou 1,revisedin four fasiclesandTomeII, revisedin twOfaicles andTomeXV,

viii

15 their component arestudied, so vocabularies comeunderscrutiny. However,there hasbeenno completestudy of the building blocks of the texts - the individual for Ptolemaic dictionaryto incorporate 'Ptolemaic' words.A project hasbeenproposed a separate all words16andalsofor a complete translation theEdfu texts, 17 which is currentlyunder, studyand of way.Thethesis will not includeeverysingleword used Edfu - theconstraints time andresources at of precludethis - but it providesthe first all-embracing studyof wordsand how they are usedat Edfu, examiningdifferenttypesof textsand so usinga broadbaseof information.Eachentry is concerned in the with establishing earliestuseof the word and its latestoccurrence the Eg"tian language, to provide a temporalframeworkfor the history of the word, so that in somecasesit is possibleto follow the useof a word from the Old Kingdomthroughto Coptic.Ile etymologyof eachword is if in is established possible, changes its usearenotedandreasons why oneword ratherthananother 4%particular sentenceor context may be indicated. The inclusion of the demotic form of the word,

if one exists, is to indicate if that word is in use in the language spoken in Egypt at the time the texts were inscribed on the temple walls. 7be core of this study is the boxes of hieroglyphic index slips held in the archives of the School of Archaeology, Classici and Oriental Studies, University of Liverpool. They were compiled over a number of years, originally by Professor Aylward M. Blackman, Brunner Professor of Egyptology 1934-1948 and then Emeritus Professor at Liverpoool University 1948-1956,18 and then by his colleague and successorProfessor Herbert W. Fairman, Brunner Professor of Egyptology 1948-1974. 19 Upon the the death of Fairman in 1982, many of his papersand the boxes of index slips were left to the University as a bequest. The slips had formed a working index for the texts of Edfu and Dendera, which were the subject of studies by Blackman and Fairman alone and in collaboration. Blackman had a lifelong interest in Egyptian religion and ritual, resulting in his contributions to the

RdE 29,1977 pp.5-13 ; RdE 30,1978 pp.10-21and or some'new' wordsseeAndreu-Cauville, invaluable Meeks,AnndeLexicographique, D. 1977,1978 and 1979. 16.F.Daumas, Projetd'un dictionnaire dgyptienptol6maique, depen&ntto Acts Ist ICE pp.145-147, someextentuponthecompletion thepublicationof Dendera templeandalsoPhilae. of 17.D.Kurth, GM 92,1986 pp. 93L andpersonal (date 26/3/87). communication 18.Dawsonand Uphill, op.cit. pp.29-30andobituaryby H.W.Fairmanin JEA 42,1956 pp.102-4. 19. Obituaryby A.F.Shorein JEA 70,1984 pp.123-127.

Ix

Hastings Encyclopedia2O and articles about the daily ritual in Edfu temple.21 In his lifetime, Fairman significan tly advanced Ptolemaic studies with his two main contributions to reading Ptolemaic hieroglyphic signs and understandingtheir values22 Together they collated and published the Morning Hymn to Horus, translatedand explained "Me Myth of Horus of Behdet!and the ritual of 'Driving the Calves' and showed that the cerern 'onies for the dedication of the temple were directly . funerary rite of the Opening of the Mouth. 23 They elucidated many obscure passages, related to the bringing to light 'new' words and opening the way for the study of texts hitherto considered to be 'difficule. After the death of Blackman, Fairman continued to contribute to Ptolemaic studies and those he taught to read the late temple texts. His papersreflect his wide influence for they encouraged the years and the boxes of index slips were of great contain correspondence with eminent scholarsover assistancein providing references in answer to queries. It is clear from his papers that Fairman was book about the whole temple and its rituals and in particular the offering of Maat was contemplating a high among his interests24Though an invaluable help to Fairman for examples of words, the index slips were never intended to be a systematicand comprehensivesurvey of the temple vocabulary, or to

form thebasisof a dictionaryor similarwork, for theydo not covereveryword in the templeand

Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics - Priest and Priesthood (Egypticin) Vol. X

l

I

p

293,302 in 2 A.M.Blackman,Episodes the EgyptianDaily TempleLiturgyi JMEOS 1918-1919 27-53 pp. King of Egypt'sGraceBeforeMeat,JEA 31,1945p. 57 ff e Inscriptionsof the 22. H.W.Fairman,Noteson the AlphabeticSignsEmployedin the Ilieroglyphic Templeof Edfu, ASAE 43,1943 pp.193-310and An Introductionto the Studyof PtolemaicSigns andTheir Values,BIFAO 43,1945 pp.51-138. in 23. A. M.Blackman H.W.Fairman,A Groupof TextsInscribed theFaq. of the Sanctuary on ade and 1941pp.397-428; The Myth of Horusat Edfu Gregoriana, theTempleof Horusat Edfu, Miscellanea I, JEA 21,1935 pp.26-36 ; II, JEA 28,'1942 pp.32-38 ; III, JEA 29,1943 pp.2-36 ; IV, JEA 30, 1944 pp.5-22 with Additions and Corrections,JEA 30,1944 pp.79-80 -The Significanceof the Ceremony bw bbsw in the Temple of Horus at Edfu, JEA 35,1949 pp.98-112 ; JEA 36,1950 63-81 ; The Consecration an EgyptianTemple According to the Use of Edfu, JEA 32,1946 of pp. pp.75 ff. in 24. All theEdfu Maatofferingsaretranslated the MSS collectionand eachis individually indexed in Fairman alsointerested the'Sacred in Marriage,the festivals described a setof indexcards. was and ' in the temple (resulting in his article in BJRL'-37, 1954-5 pp.165-203)and the temple 'drama' in College,Chester culminatifigin the play The Triumph of Horuswhich wasperformedat Padgate 1972.

X

their coverageof texts is patchy.25 The study of the texts usesthe slips as a basis and also relies on the referencesfrom the Worterbuch Belegstellen volumes which refer only to Volumes I and 11of Chassinafs publication and other texts published elsewhere up to that time.26 The index slips provide often no more than a word and a reference for it - sometimes there is a little more text, a note on the location of the text and rarely there is a discussion of the word or referenceto (i study of it. Where appropriate theseare noted under each entry. The ten boxes of slips27 were firstly sorted and arranged alphabetically as they had not been organised in a systematicway, and from thesea working list of words and referenceswas made. Each word was studied in more detail to establish etymologies, 'dates' for words and to note their orthographies and use within the context of the sentencesand texts in which they appearedon the temple walls. In the caseof offering rituals - the item offered or function performed were studied as a group to establish the extent to which words were copied between texts and also more generally to note that they shared the samereligious symbolism as far as their inclusion in the temple texts was concerned. The study is not intended to be grammatical, the basic work still being that of Junker8 though the is noted if appropriate and if it deviates significantly from the usual Middle grammar of the texts Egyptian. The aim is to concentrate on the words of the texts to discover if their use provid es any how the texts in Ptolemdic, and by extension Roman, temples were written in the first clue as to how they were edited for inscription upon temple walls and perhaps also how the texts found place, their way onto the wall from original text on papyrus to inscription on stone. The stages in development of the individual words show their'historicar transmission,at least in theory, and the

25. All Mut texts are included as are the publishedtexts,but the 'Geographical' texts, and some , k%rjt rAkfiTipfthirm namVIe, = rjunrit at all. Vurther,bothFirman and Blackmanmusthaveretainedin their memories locationsof examples painstalcingly or searched the themto a slip for the indexbox. out required as references needed withoutcommitting i 26. E.Naville, TextesRelatifsau Mythe d'Horusrecueillesdansle Templed'Edfou,Gentve et Bale, 1870 ; Brugsch,. ThesaurusInscriptionum Aegyptiacarum,Leipzig, 1883 ; K.Piehl, Inscriptions hidroglyphiquesrecueillies en Europe ct en tgypte, 1884-1903; J.Dilmichen, Geographische Ins -hriften altAgyptischer Denkmaler vols. 1865-1885 AlulgyptischerKalenderinschriften 4 1866 ; AltAgyptische Tempelinschriften, vols. 1867 amongothers. 2 , 27. Containingan estimated 32,000slips in 10 woodenboxes. 28. H.Junker,Grammatik DenderatexP- Leipzig, 1906. der L ,

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use of words in the context of the Edfu texts is an important factor in this. The context of a word may not only be the type of text in which it is used, but also its position on the wall of the temple, or its use in a particular part of the temple. Words have both a temporal and spatial context and this study recognizesthe interaction of words from different levels of thoseareas. Since the suggestion of the existence of the 'temple grammar', that is that temples were built and inscribed according to certain rules and prescribedregulations,29 the texts of Ptolema1cand their texts Roman temples are no longer regardedas unoriginal, stale, pale imitations of earlier periods, but show the triumph of text transmission and the complex mechanismof mythological integration which was by the composersof the writings. 30 achieved All the texts inscribed on the walls at Edfu were written there between 237 and 57 B.C. eriod of

180 years. This precision makesits possible to discern which words were current in the vocabulary of W" those who compo sed the texts and , unlike other templeswithffidfti could be compared- for example Dendera, Philae, Kom Ombo Esna - it has a relatively short period of construction and inscription. , The construction of the temple does not extend into the Roman era as at Dendera3l and Philae, and Ptolemaic period - so that in many ways it is regardedas the leader was completed wholly within the Upper Egyptian temples whose texts provided the standardsfor the temples which of this series of followed. Parts of Edfu temple can be datedmore precisely, narrowing down the date for different areasbecause there were a number of phasesof construction . The nucleus of the temple - the sanctuary, its side first hypostyle hall, the hall of offerings , hall of the gods - was begun in 237 B. C. and chapels, the dedicated in 142 B. C. (Ptolemies IV to VIII). The Pronaoswas addedbetween 140 and 124 B.C. was (Ptolemy VIII) and the Court, the enclosurewall and pylons were constructedbetween .

du 29. The phrase'grammaire temple'wascoinedby P.Derchainin CdE 37, Nr. 73,1962 p.33 ff. and des in Rdflexionssur la d6coration pyl6nes', BSFE46,1966 pp.17-24. Zeit, 30. E.Winter, Untersuchungen den AgyptischenTemplereliefsder Griechisch-Romischen zu Wien, 1968and reviews: P.Derchain,RdE 22,1970 pp.242-3 ; J.Gwyn.Griffiths in JEA 56,1970 228-230-; J-C. Goyon, CdE 45 Nr.89,1970 pp.98-102 (among others which summarisethe pp. historicalapproach the studyof theLate temples) alsoE. Winter, WeitereBeobachtungen to and zur Zeit du 'grammaire temple'in der griechisch-romischen in Tempelund Kult AA 46, Wiesbaden,1987 pp. 61- 76. 31. At Denderathe decoration the templewasbeginningjust as it was endingat Edfu, Fairman, of ASAE 43,1945 p.194.

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1 116 and 57 B.C. (Ptolemy IX to Ptolemy XII)32. The temple inscriptions are published from the inside of the temple out, working in a roughly chronological fashion from the sanctuaryin Volume I to the pylons in Volume VIII and it is noticeable that the quality of the carving of the texts deteriorates over that time, and also the pylon texts tend to be written in complex hieroglyphs and have more errors than the clearer,more accurateearlier texts. Di=Qsition of the Texts in the temple and in the Publicatien 33

Naos Sanctuary 'CouloirMyst6riuex' Chamber cloth of Hall of theEnnead Chamber the Crypt of Chapelof the Crypt Vwt-sr Chapel Mesen of Chapelof Khonsu Chapel Hathor of Chapel 11irone Re of of

19-11 Room 15 Y Room21 Room20 Room 19 Room 17 Room 18 Room 16 Room 22 Room 23 *,'Room 24 112-51(int.), 52-88(exL),Niles (319-326). 189-117; 1327-344; 1345-356 1118-136 1137-155 1156-174 1175-201 1203-225 1227-245 1247-264 1265-280 1281-2991301-318I,

(Osiris-Sokar Chambers)

Chapel of Mehyt or Room of the Ibrone, Room 25 Hall of associated gods Chapel of Mn

Room 11 Room 12 Room 13

1357-385 1387-408 1409-436 1437-445

Hall of the Food Altar

'Pure Placeor place of robing Room 14

32. Basic outline : Fairman,BJRL 37,1954-5, p. 167, more detailed analysis with historical ' by 'A in consequences S.Cauvilleand D.Devauchelle RdE 35,1984 pp.31-55and noteby A.Egberts, Noteon the Building Ifistory of theTempleof Edfu, RdE 38,1987 pp.55-61. 33. Numberingfollows that of Sauneron Stierlin in Edfouet Philae,Paris, 1975 which is based and , on that of Fairmanpp.36-37.

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Hall of Offerings

Room 9

1447-505 1507-533 1535-546 1577-583 1547-576 1585-592 111-136 11137-146 11147-187 11189-230 11231-267 11269-299 1111-328 111329 338 111339-351 IV I- 393 VI I- 340 VI328

Room10 Antechamber Western of stairway, Weststairway Antechamber Eastern stairway of Eaststairway Antechamber Hall of FoodAltar to Hall Second Hypostyle WestDoor of temple EastDoor of temple Laboratory Chamber theNile of Treasury Pronaos, First HypostyleHall Houseof Morning Library Room 5 C E Room 6 Room 7 Room 8 Room2 Room 3 Room4

Exterior of NaosandPronaos X Interior of Enclosure Wall Court 1 X

from Connecting doorsandpassages Court Wall Exterior of Enclosure in Connecting wall passage enclosure Pylon Gate SouthTemenos

V 329 - 402 VII 1 -332 VI 341 - 352 VIII I- 149 VIII 151- 170

The outline enables positionof a text to be roughly identified either from a reference the suchas I 327,11 (Room 25) or from a descriptionsuchas SokarChamber(Room 17 or 18). The templeis to orientationfrom descriptions locationsof of alignedwith the sanctuary the north,so that compass on as text are straightforward Scenes the wall arearranged follows from the groundupward: reed .

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decoration, soubassement, registers 1,2,3 and so on, architrave, corniche34. T_y1jes Texts of The main body of texts at Edfu are ritual offering texts, where the king offers an object to the god or gods, or performs some service for him. These can be subdivided into broad types of offering funerary and mortuary offerings (48 examples); kingship rituals (177 examples) ; food offerings (322) ; purification, libation and liquid offerings (414) ; offerings of symbols (Maat for example) and cosmic rituals (218); rites of adoring god (73) ; specific rituals for a goddess(146) ; specific rituals for a god (30) ; protection rituals (120)35 - many of these overlap becausethey all share the common purposeof showing the establishmentand maintenanceof Maat, or guaranteeingthe legitimacy of the kingship so that he is able to care for the gods and provide for them in the temple. They also include rituals from the 'Daily Temple Culf of attending to the god. Certain other texts appearin the temple and can be conveniently referred to as groups: Cosmozonical Texts VI 181-185 ; 36 Donation Texts : VII 215 - 251.37 Processionsof minor god with offerings: 1565-567; 11189-96and 147-151 ; IV 42-49; and 194-201 ; VI 223 - 227 ; VIII 68-76. Festival texts; V 29-35 ; 124-136 ; 343-4 ; 346-360 ; 394-40138 , list of festivals 1359. Geographic processions (the nomes of Egypt and their land, canal and pehu are brought with their 1329-344 ; 11 173-4 ; IV 20-42 and 170-194 ;V 12-28 and 105-124 ; VI 19-48 VI offerings) : 193-213.39 41 40.1118-9 and 32-34 ; VI 328-331 ; VIII 147-148 and also the Eon-gargoyletexts. Guardian gods Hymns: The Morning Hymn to Horus 114-1842; Good Year hymn VI 93.9943; Table god Hymn

Edfou VolumeI pp. i- xvi. 34. Basedon Chassinat, du 35. Based the figuresandtypologyof Cauville,Essaisur la th6ologie TempledHorus AEdfou, on Cairo, 1987pp.VIII - IX n.I. 36. E.A.Reymond, 1969. The Mythical Origin of theEgyptianTemple,Manchester, 37. D.Meeks,Le grandtextesdesdonations templed'Edfou,Cairo, 1972. au 38. Alliot Le Culted'HorusAEdfouau tempsde Ptoldm6es, Cairo 1954,Vol. 11. , 39. P.Derchain,Un Manuelde geographie liturgique A Edfou, CdE 37, No.73 1962pp.31-65and , H.Beinlich,Die spezfischen SAK 7,1979 pp.11-22. OplerderOberagyptischen Gaue, 40. J.-C.Goyon,Les Dieux-gardiens la gense temples, Cairo,1985. des et 4 I. C.de Wit, Les Inscriptions Lions-Gargouilles, des CdE 29, No.57,1954 pp.2945. 42. Blackman Fairman,MG 1941,pp.397428. and ,

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VI 152-15644 ; SakhmetLitany VI 263-26945 ; Sayings of Re chant VH 28-42. Instructions to priests: 1414 ; 111360-362;V 392-3 VI 346-746. Ka and Hemsut processions: 11196-102 and 152-158 VIII 112-117. List of gods at Edfu : 1122-25 ; 152-53 ; 180 also VI 48-54 ; VI 228-234. Myth of Horus. Myth of the Winged Disk. the Struggle Between Horus and Seth: VI 60 90; 109 136; 213 -223A7 Names of Horus New Year Texts 1118-20. 1553-556 and processionof priests at the New Year festival to the temple roof :1

537-544 1556-564 ; 1567-576.48 Nile processions: 1319-326.1465-470 ; 1580-583 ; IV 332-339 VIII 31-32 50-51 ; 59-60. Temple Descriptions and dedication texts : 1327-328 ; 1345-347 1348-355 119-12 ; IV 1-2049 ; IV 327-331 *V 1-10 ;V 304-304 ; VI 5-18 ; VI 169-173 ; VI 318-327 ; VII 1-27 49 ; VIII 67-68. Various : benu bird and falcon texts VIII 106-8 ; 144-146 ; Filling the Eye ritual VIII 135-137 ; Moon texts and the hours of the day 111207-229.

43. P.Germond, Invocations la BonneAnn& autempledEdfou, Geneva, Les A 1986. 44. Blackman, The King of Egypt'sGraceBeforeMeat,JEA 31.1945 p. 57 ff 45. P.Germond, Sekhmet la Protection Monde,Geneva, 1. du 198 et 46. Fairman Scene theOffering of Truth in theTempleof Edfu in MDAIK 16,1958p.86-92. of ,A 47. Blackman Fairman,seen.23. and 48. Alliot, Cultel pp.33IFf.. 344ff. 49. Cde Wit, Les Inscriptionsd6dicatoires TempledEdfou, CdE 36, N0.71,1961 pp.56-97and du CdE 36, No.72 1961pp.277-320.

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Statostical Analy5l& Total number of words OK Pyr. MK CT Mod NK BD Late GR Error 526 814 568 31 100 492 81 148 831 18 % lKr category

12.95 20.05 13.990.76

2.46 12.12 1.99 3.6420.47 0.44

Not Wb

451

Total

4060

Words Occurring in Dernotic and Coptic Total of words occurring in demotic only and at Edfu Total of words occurring in Coptic only and at Edfu: 137 103 3.37% 2.54% 14.56%

Total of words occurring in both demotic and Coptic and at Edfu 591

Total of wordsattested from demoticandCopticandat Edfu : 831

20.46%

xvi ;

Statistical SurveyA statistal analysisof the wordsin the studyshowsthat from a total of 4060 separate entries,11 % are not attested the W6rterbuch(andthis doesnot includeextensions the useof verbs- for in in intransitiveverbsbecomingtransitive)and20.5 % areattested the first time in Egyptian for example from GR templetextsonward.Overall,therefore, almosta third of all wordsin the studyareattested for the first time in Egyptianfrom asearly as the Edfu texts,which represents total of 1282words. a The statistic could be usedto indicatea hugeincrease in'text compositionand writing during the Ptolemaic period on the part of the priest scribesin the temples, who may havederivedwordsfrom time. The textsin the the spokenlanguage usedthemin hieroglyphictextsfor the first attested and is templeare written in Middle Egyptianwhile the spokenlanguage demotic.The term demoticis also used of the script which can be used to write Middle Egyptian texts, for examplefunerary 50 (medical)andreligioustextsboth in hieroglyphicscript texts. The vocabulary funerary, of magical is anddemoticscriptandlanguage likely to havehavebeenin usem'Egyptianfrom theearlieststages 51 in .demotic. hieroglyphicword alsoattested of the language, it is rare to find a newly attested and in While statisticscanbe usedto indicatebroadtrendsor patterns a set of results,in the caseof the Edfu vocabulary thereareotherimportantfactorswhich mustbe takeninto consideration. Firstly, the extantstonetemplewalls at Edfu andcontemporary templetownsin UpperEgypt,are buried underthe mud brick the last phaseof templebuilding at thosesites,which wassubsequently houses the growing town. The later buildings ensured that the templetexts survivedto a much of greater extent than either temple walls of earlier times or even contemporarypapyrus texts Statistically, one would expectto find many words attestedfor the first time from thesetemples, The because muchtext,relativeto earlierperiodshadbeenpreserved so well preserved. and so simply to of to exactdegree which the factorof preservation text affectsthe statisticis impossible determine, Louvre E 3452,Diss. Chicago,1979 '-7he DemoticMortuary Papyrus 50.For example Mark Smith, pp. andcomments 246-7. 51. sbsb in dernoticand Coptic-;p'i demotic; dp't demotic.

xviii

though it may be high. Secondly, the extensivepublication of thosetexts has ensuredthat a large body of words is available for study, and almost three quartersof the texts were published after the Wrterbuch was completed,so that again one should expect a certain amount of 'new' words. Subsequentand continuing publication of other earlier material might be expectedto reduce the number of 'Graeco-Roman'words.52 In this context a complete index of vocabulary in Underworld Literature, in the Ramesside Inscriptions Historical53 and Religious, for the 11ibisTemple texts and for demotic 54 religious and magical texts would provide valuable comparison with the Edfu texts. Thirdly, among the vast amount of material not representedin Egyptological records, and,which have significance for the Ptolemaic and Roman temples, are the temples of the 21st to 30th dynasties those of the Persian occupation in Egypt. The relatively complete temples of Edfu, Dendera, and Philae.. have nothing comparable in terms of text except for portions of the Karnak complex and the Abydos Temple of Seti I from the New Kingdom and the temple of 11ibis in Kharga oasis from the Persian period. The New Kingdom temples show some of the ritual offerings found at Edfu but they have very little text accompanying the scenes- so that the abundant vocabulary is not present.During Late Period in Egypt, and especially from the 25th dynasty, there was an upsurge of interest in the Egypt's past and a desire, particularly on the part of of rulers whose positions were not secure,to copy 55 kind of archaic legitimacy to the present. the authentic styles and texts of the Past to give some 0 , There are cnly smaa traces QfyastbjjjjdjnZ,, vo&s whichhav e,nots ury 1ved complete ir ffis period at , the centresof Tanis, Sais, Buto, Memphis itself and even at Edfu, Dendera, Philae

52. The publicationand studyof the Coffin Texts hashad a similar result of bringing to lightnew' knownanearlierattestation. wordsandof giving wordsalready 53. Currentlybeingprepared Profesor A.Kitchen by K. 54. A supplement Erichsen's'Demotisches Glossar'is currentlybeing prepared Chicago[R.K. to at Ritner, The Chicago Demotic Dictionary :A StatusReport in ed. S.P. Vleeming, Aspects of Deiiiotic Uxicography, Ieuven, 1991pp.145-149.

55.For theEgyptian Egypt- Anatomy a Civilazation, viewof tht past'ordef, B.Kernp,Andent, of Undrin, 19%9 20-21. pp.

xix

the and Esna. Only the temple of Hibis has anything approaching- preservedform of Edfu, and amountsof text, which by no meanscopious,at least attestto the continuedcompilationOf texts 56 Thereis evidencefor earlier Late Periodand in sucha comparatively remoteplace. evenat this templesomekind of latershrineor templebuildingsat Edfu andonewouldexpect aftertheRamesside templewould be built by -a king who wantedto patronisethe importantcult of Horus here.Such buildings may haveprovidedtexts and vocabularywith which the Edfu texts cannotbe compared because that their predecessors longer exist. It hasbeensuggested the Late Periodrepresents a no whenpriestsbeganto collect all their movetowarda culminationof religiousideasandexpression, and religious ideas and put it into a complex but coherentform which explained mythological Egyptian'world-view' - the importance the kingship,the maintenance Nlaatandthe positionof of of the gods in the cosmos.The increasingforeign influencesin the country are cited as one of the for this move toward 'codification' to protect Egyptian thought from the influence or reasons 57 foreign systcm. The priests of the Ptolemaicand Roman periods were superimpositionof a for traditionwhich hadexisted hundreds yearsso thattheEdfu textsusethevocabulary of continuinga 58 LatePeriodandmayhaverecovered fromevenearlierperiods. of the words in Egyptianhieroglyphictextsand that no The statisticalresultsshowthe remarkable consistency to field of 'literature!wasexcludedfrom providing vocabularyfor templetexts.'Mere seems be no dichotomybetween 'religiousand'seculae texts.20 %.of wordsoccurfrom thePyramidTextsonward further 13 % from theOld Kingdom,therefore third of all wordsat Edfu havebeenin usefrom a anda periodis vital for our the theOld Kingdom.Theperiodbetween Old KingdomandtheGraeco-Roman 'mythological' texts.If a corpusof specialist of of understanding the transmission 56. The temple,dedicatedto Amun, was begununder Darius 1 (521 - 486 B.C.) , completedby H Nectanebo andhadadditions madeto it by someof thePtolemies. in Tempelnund Papyrider MythischeMotive und Mythenbildung den Agyptischen 57. H.Stemberg, 1985p. XVII with reference an unpublished Zeit, to Griechisch-R(imischen Wiesbaden, thesisof , Religion,Gottingen,1981. der F.Junge- Die Endsituation Agyptischen 58. For examplea few words are attested Edfu and in the PyramidTexts only : m3s . mds both at b'b' 'knife'and perhaps meaning -I

xx

words is assumedto exist, which were used originally to write the Pyramid texts, and these words appear in significant numbers in Graeco-Roman texts, then even allowing for coincidence, the 'mythological' vocabulary must have continued to be used in the intervening period. New' vocabulary would be introduced when the texts were reedited for the Coffin Texts or for the New Kingdom Underworld Literature, and they are addedto the corpus and usedover time, so that by Graeco-Roman times the priest-scribeshave a huge vocabulary at their disposal from which to choosewhen they edit the texts for the temple walls, other buildings or even papyri. The copying of older texts in Egypt is attested from both documents and monuments - perhaps with the use of 'pattern' books - and variations in the copies indicate that changesin texts were madeby personal choice on the part of the 59 scribe.

in A surveyof the number wordsat Edfu whichareattested Copticand/ordemoticindicates a that of total of 20.5 % (831) of the words at Edfu appearin either or both Coptic and demotic,and the majority of the 831 words are attestedin both Coptic and demotic. In some respectsthe total is but depends percentage lessthanmayhavebeenexpected suchananalysis uponthematerialalready published therearealmostcertainlyfurtherexamples whichcanbe addedto thetotal.Ibis is vividly shown as more demotic texts are edited, especiallythoseof a more specialistnaturesuch as the Among thesea Medical Book' provides Fayumtemplearchivenow in Viennaand CopenhagenO in plant names(P.Vindob. D 6257)61,a book of regulationsfor building a temple equivalences terms(P.Vindob D 6319A)62. Demoticbooksof the deador funerary containstemplearchitectural of and textsusethesamevocabulary their earliercounterparts provideexamples termsknownfrom as 63 hieroglyFhic texts,but written in demotic. Votive artefacts connected with temples,59. W. Schenkel, Zur Frage der Vorlagen spAtzeitlicher 'Kopien', in Fs.Otto, Wiesbaden 1977 , pp.417-441. 60. Described by E.Reymond,Ancient Hermetic Writings, Wien 1977 and A. Volten, The Papyrus Collection of the Egyptological Institute of Copenhagen, 'Archiv Orientalni 19,1951 pp.70-74. 61. E.A. E.*Reymond, A Medical Book From Crocodilopolis, Wien 1976. 62. E.A. E.Reymond, Ancient Egyptian Hermetic Writings, Wien 1977. 63. for example G.Mbller, Die Beiden Totenpapyrus Rhind des Museums zu Edinburg, Leipzig, 1913 ; M. Smith, Demotic Papyri III - The Mortuary Texts of Papyrus BM 10507, London 1977 - listed by M. Smith, The Demotic Morutuary Papyrus Louvre E.3452; PhD Chicago University, 1979.

xx i

64 in particular a group of objects from Dendera, also use the languageof the temple texts and provide demotic examples of hieroglyphic words - the most striking example being a bronze tablet with the title of a priest who was responsible for the sgmo 'cult spear' at Edfu. Demotic is the vernacular language which is contemporary with the Edfu texts and if the need arose to express a cult object in demotic script the scribe can easily do so - there seemto be no constraints and 'sacred' vocabulary is rendered without difficulty in the 'seculae script. The exchangebetween dernotic and hieroglyph also operatesthe other way in the caseof the Donation texts, where words which are only used in demotic are written in hieroglyphs as the need arises - for example gt 'a well', di 'a type of land! c f. dni 'dyke for land demarcation'. The Coptic script, the Greek alphabet with extra signs from demotic, may have come into existence primarily to write magical and medical texts in order that the spells and recipes in them could be 65 As-an example P.BM 10808 66 is an pronounced correctly and retain their magical potency. Egyptian text written in 'Coptie script and it contains many terms common to the Edfu temple texts. The majority of words which occur at Edfu and then in the later stagesof Egyptian are words which known from the Old and Nfiddle Kingdoms and represent a core vocabulary of words in use are throughout the language. Some of the terms change their meaning slightly over time , for example the basic meaning'to go round' becomes'to charin'in demotic and Coptic and ptr'to see' plir with becomes'to dream'. and others, especially nouns, retain the sameuse. 20.5% of the total number of terms at Edfu are words which are only attested from the Graeco-Romantemples onwards. Dendera seemsto sharemuch of the Edfti vocabulary and it seems likely that as more researchis undertakeninto- the comparative texts of Philae, Esna, Kom Ombo the Mammisi of Dendera,Edfu and Philae, the Ptolemaic and Roman buildings at Karnak andThebes

Period,in Glimpsesof Ancient 64. A.F.Shore, Votive Objectsfrom Dendera the Graeco-Roman of . Egypt pp.138ff. Agyptemund Die Texteals Zeugnisse Beziehungen der 65.5eeH.Satzinger, altkoptischen zwischen Griechen in ed. P.Nagel, Graeco-Coptica : Griechen und Kopten im byzantin Agypten, 1984pp.137-146. Halle-Wittenberg, Papyrus 66. J.Osing,Der spAtAgyptische BM 10808, Wiesbaden 1976.

xxii

and also into the Nubian temples of Kalabsha, Dakke, Debod - the texts at Edfu will be seento be part of a network of temple construction and developmentstretching over hundredsof years and over the whole of Egypt. Of course the emphasisin each temple is slightly different depending upon the temple god and the vocabulary of the texts will be affected as a result. Edfu is concerned with the triumph of Horus over Seth and establishing Maat therefore there are a high proportion of scenes showing the destruction of Seth requiring many variant terms for 'to kilr 'to slay' and the weapons used to achieve this end and for every conceivableform of Seth and Apopis. At Denderathe emphasis is on the goddessHathor - her pacification her identification with Maat - but both temples overlap in their concerns and reflect the basic Egyptian ideology. Both temples use a common vocabulary and sometimes the sametexts. This would be expectedat Edfu and Den dera becausethey are so closely linked - but even farther afield at Kom Ombo, Philae, Esna and Thebes the common purpose results in a common vocabulary which is modified according to the specific requirements of each temple. Contact between the temples would have been close, particularly in areaswhere land was owned by the god of another temple much further away, and even allowing for natural human quarrels and between foundations67, the scribes or priests of the Houses of Life would have animosity communicated. is not discern ble nor is the extent to which temple 'schools' The extent of such communication , libraries but the gods themselvesare known to have visited each other and workshops guarded their their respective houseswould meet. Provided those who entered and on such occasions the priests of purified in the correct manner it may have the buildings around the temple were serving priests and 68 In order to preserve the integrity of the been possible for them to consult copies of the sacredrolls. document scribes would be continually copying and recopying all or part of it - so that original master the Housesof Life were producing copies for their use and perhapsalso for the use of other

67.Thedisputebetween priestsof Hermonthis priestsof Pathyrisconcerning ownership the the of and in of recorded a dossier a fertile pieceof landandan additionalplot of landresultedin violent clashes documents[T.C.Skeat, Greek Papyri in the British Museum Volume VII, The Zenon Archive, London, 1974',Papyrus 2188]. 68. A 'literary' precedent this occurson the FamineStela, whereImhotep, for entersthe 'Mansionof the Net! at Hermopolis to consult the b3w-r' 'sacredbooks' in the 'Mansion of Life' Stela line,5 P.Barguet, St6lede la FamineA S6hel,Cairo, 1953p.17. La

,Axlil

temples. Only by close communication and consultation of temple rolls could the whole ideological system be harmonised and maintained throughout Egypt . In this way traces of the Heliopolitan and Hermopolite schools are mingled with the Edfu systemand incorporate the Osirian system. It is likely that the impetus for the overall system came from what was perceived to be the main religious centre of the day, Heliopolis or Karnak for example, and certainly in Ptolemaic Egypt the king himself is unlikely to have had any control over the texts in temples - though the Ptolem4ticdecreesestablisheda royal interest in the temples. It is unclear, however , whether or not the main religious centres imposed their will on outlying areasand exercised any kind of monitoring of Housesof Life and the texts which they copied.

The vocabularyat Edfu is not an homogenous group of words for the texts cover a numberof differenttypesso that specialist of vocabularies couldbe listedfor certaincategories text: to textsfrom the laboratory'and copiesof them,in the recipesfor makingsubstances be usedin the in elsewhere templecontainthe names plants,resins,incenses mineralswhich do not appear and of in the templeor are unattested any other text (thoughthe Egyptiansmay havebeenuncertainof the identity of someof the substances); of broughtby countries places unattested containthenames minerals textsdescribing minerals and the elsewhere; the termsfor the describing inundation manyvariantwordsfor the flood andcomplementary texts use impuritieswhich theyremove; texts describingthe produceof eachnomeand its landsusevarianttermsfor grains,flowers,fruits, fowl andanimalswhicharefoundthere; plants,offerings, requirenounsfor 'column'and'heaven' textswritten on the frisesof the columnsof thePronaos with for 'to carry'Aolift' 'to hold'. verbs appropriate Suchgroupsof words'are mainly nounswhich aremorelikely to occurin word lists which couldbe consultedduring the compositionof the texts. Ilie ritual texts in the temple also need specialist of vocabularies consisting nounsandverbs, for "ample: -

xx1v

killing of Sethian opponents requires words for Seth, Apopis and their cohorts and verbs describing the killing action. Maat offerings - variant words for 'throae, metaphorsfor Maat and verbs of offering to accompany them. Vingship rituals words for ruling, nouns for symbols of kingship - crowns, sceptres,the testament, -

the king in his palace,the uraeuskd eyesof god. Food offerings have variant terms for bread, cakes,beer, wine, water, milk, meat cuts birds, grains, , vegetationPurification rituals have nouns for the substances which purify and verbs for the action of purification. Offerings of adornment need the appropriate vocabulary to show the purpose of the offering, be it cloth, an amulet, cosmetics. The rituals then will use certain types of vocabulary so that the role of the ritual is clearly defined even if it is expressedin different forms. Other specialisedterms are neededat Edfu: in the poetical description of the warship of Horus Behdet each part of it is named and praised in a metaphor. This text requires technical nautical terms and follows the tradition of careful descriptions of boats as found in the Coffin texts and Book of the Dead. The mythology and cosmogony of Edfa require words which would not be expected to be used for example : lb tyw 'creator beings' M3 'ancestoe , i3wty 'harpooner' Wb tyw pure elesewhere, , ancestors' Ibb 'winged beetle' si3 falcon, and there are also local terms - sm3t , sbn. rbyt , Opt-rby! and 03p-iwtyw 'necropolis of Edfu'. There are also words which are not exclusive to

Edfu, but the temple provides perhaps the earliest example, especially words for Seth Ijnp sndmti , dr 'red one'wr 'great one' dns 'heavy one! . qm3 , dn' , 11dy, mdy , nhs as the hippopotamus , , btm 'destroyer'. as the crocodile ib 'ox', qmw as the turtle t-rs, Xt3 'hidden one'- or Apopis , sbbty , sbty, smsty. i

The Geographical texts of the couloir mysterieux.lists for each nome the name of its principal shrine, the canal and pchu there, the name of the sacred barque, the sacred serpent who controls the

xxv

flood in the canal, the priest and priestess,the taboo of the god, the relic of Osiris kept in the nome . the name of the sacred tree, important festivals of the nome - and mostly the terms are different. A version on papyrus also exists, perhaps representing one of the standard works 'in the temple library. 69

Among the words at Edfu are somewhich are attestedearlier, perhapsrarely and then they are next attested at Edfu, tacitly implying that the term existed either in other texts, now lost , or in the spoken languageand was more frequently used than might be thought. Pyramid Texts : m3s 'knife' mds 'knife', iwn 'wind' (and in other GR temples) ; bIbI 16 bathe , in'. I

Old Kingdom Texts : snbtboae ; by-mbt 'tool of the north'. Medical Texts : often namesfor plants and substances recur at Edfu nirw'flowers, also wdd'to bum', bsw'mould, fungus!, wnw 'child'. Literary Texts : ibin 'make go slowly' (Peasant) ; db fisherman (Peasant)- dbb 'to fish! (Edfu) m3o 'open space'(Tale of the Herdsman); mm 'giraffe (Shipwrecked Sailor). Coffin Texts : imrt lioe', whm 'to bum', 3f3f 'to ed, ns 'knife', wprt 'haie., Middle Kingdom Tombs : bng3 'type of bird' (Beni Hasan) - also in Coptic, Opg 'to dance' (Beni Hasan): Onbn'to measure (el Bersheh). Such a group provides an interesting set of words, but it is always subject to the publication of new k3p meaning 'crocodile! was originally attestedfrom P.Prisse 9,3 and the Edfu texts where examples. it occurs often asa word for the crocodile form of Seth, then at Kom Ombo where Up refers to Sobek, With the publication of the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut at Karnak Up here provides a clear eightee nth dynasty example. There are also words which might be expected to have been attested earlier such as jlnmt-wrt i3gwt 'drug', but

#straineedhnt'prow of ship% t3w'sacrificial animal'andexamples may yet be found. , Papyrus, 69. Petriein Two HieroglyphicPapyrifrom Tanis,The Geographical London,1889.

xxv!

'NeV Words at Edfu A survey of the words attestedeither at Edfu alone or for the first time from Edfu revealspatternsin the types of words found. WeapQns Most striking is the abundance 'new'words for 'knife', derived from an earlier verb to of slaughter used in texts for the slaughter of foes or animals : ngnt knife (nkn 'to injure) ; in knife (inin to slay) ; bbyt knife (bbi, bbhb 'to divide, chop up'), 'jit knife ('dt 'to massacre' (also noun)), w9m. knife (w9rn 'to kill) ; bbnt knife ftn 'to slay) or vice versa, a verb 'to slay'derived ,

from the killing implement : m3s to slay (m3s 'knife') ; b3gs to cut, slay (b3gst 'knife). Columns Words for columns derived from verbs meaning 'to raise, liff and used in column texts iwht (iwh 'to carry, raise) ; rmn (rmn 'to beae ); bn (bn plant). Throne. Chair. Couch used in the texts on the outside of the enclosure wall with the formula wnn KING Or throne Previously unattested terms supplement older words (such as p, bbdt 4t' . , mn-bit, hdm) -new' words: ", "m , bkr . bt-n-wrd for example. -

Road. Way used in processional texts : unattestedw1l3t b3mt and Odr used with w3t, mtn. . Male Member is denoted by a variety of metaphorical terms : wb3 'the openee ; wd3 'healthy' b'w. 'nb 'limb of life'; nfr 'beautiful'. There is also a group of words which may be termed metaphorical orpoetic'in origin: iwn-4" lun iwn-m-pt

the moon -,3pd-ib 'bird heart'a wine; iw4 'to mourn' from iwb 'to flood; rejoices =

heaven - blue dye plant; words for milk denoting its qualifies - lmnw 'hidden' , 'nb. w3s colour of 'life and power; bnrw 'sweetness', bdw'white'; beer - wnf Joy'; water whm-'nt which repeats

life'; words for offerings denoting their qualities - ibt-nbb 'substanceof eternity' (an oil) ; Vbt pure cloth ; h3-snd bread of reverence; b pwt diadems of all the king's domain Other terms describe an aspect of something : wr hippopotamus - Great One ; dns hippoptamus Heavy One n' lion - Who drives away ; bbsw birds - stars ; wd3t road - safe way ; brt high inundation wrm height of flood - roof ; pb3 harpoon blade - Which splits open ; b'yt primeval

mound - That Which Appears (glorious).

Sources For the Vocabul=

of the Edfu Texts.

Texts with mythological information can be considered as source material for rituals and rites at Edfti, and a number of exampleshave survived: The Papyrus Jumilhac (Louvre E 17110) 70: a copy made at the end of the Ptolemaic period and demotic glosses dating to the same period or slightly later. It is an anthology of provided with information about the 17th and 18th Upper Egyptian nomes and their gods, but though it has vignettes they are not ritual offering scenes. The Saft el Henneh Naos7l : from the reign of NectaneboII, contains a hymn and short text about the gods at Saft el Henneh. Naos72: from the sanctuaryof the 20th Lower Egyptian nome, contains a 'Ptolemaic' The EI-Arish text about Soped. Papyrus Salt 825 (BM 10051)73 -: Ptolemaic copy of a text written between the reigns of Psammetichus I and Alexander, containing rituals from the House of Life, prophylactic rites and be comparable to the rituals in the Mehyt rituals for the mummy of Khenty-Amentiu, which may Chamber at Edfu (Room 25).74 :-

75 : book containing rituals to be recited at the Tomb of Osiris at Papyrus N 3176 (S) Louvre Karnak. A New Kingdom text but copied in the Late Period. 76 :a 5th or 4th century B. C. copy of an old ritual modified in the New. P.Brooklyn 47.218.50 Heliopolitan ritual for the affirmation of the kingship. later influences Kingdom, with .A (P.BM 10188) 77 :a collection of religious works, perhaps intended for a temple P.Bremner-Rhind including songs of Isis and Nephthys, Ritual of Bringing in Sokaris, Book of Overthrowing library,

Paris1961andalsoin LA. IV 708-712. Jumilhac, 70. J.Vandier,Le Papyrus London,1887; alsoG.Roeder, Naville, The Shrineof Saftel Henneh theLand of Goshen, and 7 1. E. CGC Naos,J.E. 70021pls.17-33a. 72.1h E.Naville, The Mound of the Jew and the City of Oniasand F.D. Griffith, 'Ibe Antiquitiesof London,1890. Tell el Yahudiyeh, 1965. 73. P.Derchain,P.Salt 825, Brussels, by 74. Suggested S.Cauville,BIFAO 821982p.105-125. 75. P.Barguet,Le PapyrusN.3176 (S) du mus6edu Louvre, Cairo, 1962, pp.59-60 ; pp. -especially viii- ix. 76. J-C.Goyon,Confirmationdu pouvoirroyal au Nouvel An, Cairo, 1972. in (P. Brussels, 1933andtranslated JEA Bremner-Rhind BM 10188), The Papyrus 77. R.O.Faulkner, 166-185; JEA 24,1938 pp.41-53. 22,1936 pp.121-140;JEA 23,1937 pp.10-16-and

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Apopis and Names of Apopis which shall not exist. A colophon is dated to Year 12 of Alexander II (c.312-11 B.C.). The Book of Overthrowing Seth, contained in P.Louvre 3129 col. B. 39 - E,42 and P.BM 10252 Col. 13,1-18,278 written in Year 15 of Nectanebofor the Osiris Temple at Abydos. Such texts provide the genre of text which appears at Edfu and researches in magical texts, purification rituals79, and anything of this nature will be directly comparable to the Edfu material, if not in directly copied blocks of text, then certainly in the style of the text and in its vocabulary. Established types of texts, such as sun hymns, hymns to Thoth, hymns to the Nile inundation and also the Pyramid Texts, Coffin texts and 'Book of the Dead' can provide points of direct comparison Edfu examples.80 It is only in texts in other Graeco-Roman temples where there is direct with evidence of the copying of certain texts, especially the geographical processions around the soubassementof the walls81 and in texts from the time of Ptolemy XII on the pylon at Philae82.

Not only the vocabulary in the texts is comparablebut their organisation and content. If the existence of 'pattern books' is proven by the later texts, the temple House of Books lists the names of books known from other texts and if the vocabulary shows the continuity of the language used in the texts then the method of transmission of the Edfu texts can be demonstrated more certainly. A date of composition for those texts would, however, be unrealistic becausethe Edfu texts represent a final stage in a long and cumulative process of compilation, composition and editing. It is not simply a copying of 'ancient' texts, but they are supplementedwith words current in the languageand

by 78. Published S.Schottin UrkundenVI. 79. cp Berlin P.13242purification of the king in a Memphite temple, S.Schott,Die Reinigung in Pharaos einemMemphitischen Tempel,NAWG Nr. 3,1957 ppA5-92. 80. The offering of the psg-kfaccurately suchas evenancientsources refersto the old rite, perhaps the Pyramid Texts were comparedand consulted,Van Walsem, OMRO 59/60,1978-9 p.206 ; Pyr.376bwas found to be very closeto 111130,14-15 indicating a link perhapsthroughfunerary A. faithfully from theOld Kingdomonwards, Grimm,Ein Zitat riteswhich werecopiedandre-copied in RitualtextdesHorus-Tempels Edfu, GM 3,1979 ausdenPyramidtexten einemPtolem1ischen von pp.35-46. Gaue,SAK 7.1979 pp.11-22using 81.5ce Beinlich, Die spezifischen Opfer der Oberagyptischen Kom Ombo Opet (Thebes), Medamoud, texts from Edfu - main templeand Mammisi, Dendera, Un liturgiqueAEdfou,CdE 37 Nr.73,1962 pp-31-65alsoDerchain, Manuelde gdographie Procession Kas,PhiU 1 91 - 98 = VIII 82. Filling the Eye text Phild 1 104-108= VIII 135-137; of 112-117; Destruction Enemies, Phild 125 ff. = VIII 117-118. of

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words with a pseudo-etymology which augment and explain in a more poetic language the meaning and underlying implications of the texts. The multititude of metaphorical or euphemistic terms endows the texts with a heighteneddiction which is directed toward the goal of securing NWt and the lasting legitimate rule of the Horus-king, especially at Edfu. While the physical performance of the temple cult provides the bodily needsof the sacredfalcon and the god, the texts provide the magical requirements which through their multiplicity of expression cover all possibilities. If the offerings

fail, the textsprovide them,being inscribedin hard,enduringstone and provisionis madefor the -forcesin everyimaginable form. destruction enemy of The conservatism the Egyptianideologyis shownby the lack of Greekinfluencesin the texts, of Iq-wr ccpyupoq 'silver' entering the vocabularyof the temple textsbut only only the term , ,becauseit had been usedfrom the Persianperiod and had no'foreign'connotations. I

%m

Aspectq or Word Use Each text is, in theory, composed by the lector-priest (the king or his scribe), who shares itsunderlying meaning with the god. This sharing of knowledge unites the god and his priest more closely together as the joint-sharers of knowledge and makesthem party to the 'hidden' message the of 'god's words. By the sametoken, those outside the temple and beyond the boundariesof-Maat would be unable to know the meaning of the texts and therefore to take advantage of them for their own benefit. This idea of knowledge, which excludes the uninitiated, is the basis of 'power magic', whereby knowledge sharedby only a few, is usedfor their advantageand gives them power over those who do not have that knowledge. In our own culture puns appearin incantations and spells said to be usedfor black and white magic. The danger here is that the ultimate aims of the westernand Egyptian systemsare different. Western magic aims to harnesssupernatural and occult forces or spirits in the hands of a magician who can then control the course of events for evil or for good purposes.Egyptian magic acknowledgesdivine power, accepts its existence and control over the world and only the king or those who know the 'divine words'and how to use them, can share in it and so maintain the world order by removing the forces of chaos.In the end Egypt benefits and through her, her gods so that the magical power comes full circle with Egypt and the king acting as a transformer, so that the divine magical power is into material benefits by the abolition of physical and ethereal threats. One system converted representspersonal power, the other is concernedwith cosmic power. The very sharing of secretsand 'hidden knowledge'has connotations of secretsocieties,initiation into by ritual and the implication that the knowledge which is sharedis dangerousif misusedor can them be shared by those who are united by a common secret which if widely known would bring only The sharing of a common secret gives each shameand disgrace on the members of the group or SeCt. knower of it power over his sharer - power which could conceivably be used to good or ill -for example to advancea fellow Mason, or to blackmail. 'SecreLs'and'hidden knowledge! therefore have implications of being bad or dangerous even the early Christians were persecutedby the successful allegations of human sacrifice and cannibalism brought against them. The Gnostic sects insisted on the power of 'knowing' and its roots can be seen in nelief Ancient Egyp in the power -of

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knowledge. The ideaof 'hiddenknowledge'being in guarded Egyptiantemples keptfrom thosewhoarenot to and know it by thepriestsof thetemples voicedby Greekwriterswhentheycameinto was contactfor the first time with a religioussystem with which theywerecompletely they unfamiliar.Because werenot allowed accessto the temples,whosepriests had strangecustomsand whosegods looked even stranger,they assumed there was somehiddenknowledgeor power guardedby the temples.The preoccupation the medievalmind with the powersof darkness of saw the Egyptiansas holdersof ancientknowledge given themby thegodsandkept from the initiated.From the EgyptianpoinWiew between andmanperhapswqs aluoI5 based theservice therelationship god to on rendered thegodby his servant,the chief man,the king - and it is an honourthey neverrelinquished aboveall it set for them apartfrom the rest of Egyptians,maintainingtheir political position by emphasising the that 4epended The templeis the means showingthat well being of the cosmos of uponthat relationship. this is so.The texts,thescenes the architecture thebuilding areconcerned with the bondbetween of , godandthe king, do ut des- heserves god so thatEgyptis ordered, Nile is high, thefields and the the animalsareabundant heretainshis position.The textsreiterate bondin everygroup,in every this and in in ritual offering scene, eachsentence, the useof eachword ,- and punsshowthe intimatelink the sharingof knowledge.Written in hier'oglyphs, writing of the gods,readby a few priests,in the theorythe king and his scribes the divine books- the textsare the mediumof communication and of theword playsandpunsaretheaffirmationof mutualunderstanding. It is likely that therewasno encouragement Egyptians teamhieroglj FlisandtheEgyptianof for to for the temple texts, because there was no necessity it. As long as the Housesof Life instructed the the of of generations priest-scribes transmission textswasassured, templecontinued employed and from contactwith god - at festivalshe appeared for peopleon its lands.Peoplewerenot discouraged all to see,albeit in a shrine,they could cometo the temenos gatefor oracularpronouncements, they featuringthe god, if they worked his fields, they probablytold eachother storiesfor entertainment direct helptheyhadtheir ancestor household needed and gods.Therewasno needfor themto interact with any temple god, it was the duty of the 'king', there was no need to exclude them from the knowledge, because did not needto know it. they

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Punning and Paranomasia is Punning83 knownErorn earliest the corpus religioustexts- thePyramidTexts- andit continued of to be an importantfeatureof funeraryandtempletexts,until the endof theEgyptianlanguage when Coptic magicaltextscontinued tradition.The Edfu textsmakeextensive of punsby relating the use but One two or morewordswhich soundthesame havedifferentmeanings. of the aimsof word play is to increase magicalpotency thetextswhich aredirectedat the templegod andhis retinueof the of all gods.In orderfor the magicof thepun to work, thegodunderstands thewordsinvolvedin thepun the terms ideas theyembody. andsees meaning theinter-related of and In order to achievepunning successfully, at Edfu, the composer the text must havea wide as of of understanding the way in which similar soundingwords actually differ, and then be able to in or construct sentences phrases which theycanbe usedwithout makingthe sentence unintelligible. Therearedifferentdegrees puns; themoststraightforward of word play is to choose termand type of a is thenuseit in a sentence with a word which mayderivefrom it, so that a doubleemphasis givento fn' Xn' gn' 'the lion repelsSeth'(the one who the phrasemakingits meaningclear.For example in repels,repels, the one who is repelled)IV 111,6 bbb bftyw M bbt 'destroythe enemies the The slaughter place'1560,13-14. pun canalsogive to orpseudo-etymology the a spurious meaning

1459,11 ; Aturri is tm-blw : tnmm beer comes from Tnmmt, the beer goddess secondword limbs' heresuggesting nameof Aturn himself means'the completeone!IV 25,5. In the completeof are juxtaposed: idmi dmi r b'w Idemi cloth related rarer casestwo words which are not perhaps to the body' (of the god) 1289,10. Infrequentlya phrasecan havetwo different meanings cleaves depending how it is read,eachof which are valid in the contextof the whole text and this is the. on most subtle kind of word play : the phrase'pr WAR rn dbbw can mean'supplying the Eye of Horus with its parts' or 'supplyingEgypt (readW3.dt) with its requirements' - where the double impliesthatEgyptcanbeequated entendre with theEye of HorusVII 247,10-11. 83.For wordplay from theearliest Wortspicledes EgyptianTexts: Sander-Hansen, phonetischen Die liltesten Agyptischen, Acta Orientalia 20,1948 pp.1-22; S.Morenz, Wortspicle in Agypten in Fs. Johannes Jahn,Leipzig, 1957pp.23 ff (reprinted Religionund Geschichte E.Blumenthal in and ed. S-Herrmann, ' 1: Wien, 1975pp.331 ff. ) ; LA VI Wortspiel 1287-129 Derchain-Urtel,Esna: Schrift und 'Spiel',GM 27,1978 pp.11-21.

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Sometermssoundthe same(homonyms) havecompletelycontradictory but for meanings, example Idt 'to be safe'andalso 'to destroy: the sunbarque(m'ndt) at night m Idt is safe,Apopisis m 'dt destroyed. Punningis also usedto give divine justification to namesor epithetsand in particular to place 84 71iis occursmost clearly in the Myth of Horus, wherethe aim is to show that townsof names. hold a placein theHorus Egypthaveplayeda role in the Struggle HorusagaintSeth,andtherefore of cult, for examplethe town of Dmit is wherethe barques the godslanded(dmi) VI 21,6-7.This of for in methodaccounts a pseduo-mythological for placenames Edfu especially, Edfu (120) is way at the place whereHorus punished(db3) Seth; it is also st-wnp 'the place of Piercing'where Seth (wnp)., wasstabbed

Visual puns - both the written form and vocalised form of a word are of equal importance in giving the sentenceor phrasean addedeffectiveness.Signs used to write words could be chosenwith care and the form of some words representedthe same magical power to the eye as the sound does to the ear. For example at Edfu : Sn"'Sk S 3 -: falcon, a benu bird and a jackal are used to write nirw a

'gods'reflecting three forms of deity found at Edfu 1413,1416. The forms of the sign can be important 7107101 n-noo enduring for eternity takes w3o The

the appearanceof the phrase. interspersing tall signs with short signs M 87,14account of

to their use in writing certain terms : the heraldic plants of symbolic meaning of signs gives rise Upper and Lower Egypt are used to write t3wy TY Two Lands'; a cow is used to write nb

is primarily Nbwt 'Golden One. 85 becauseHathor, the cow goddesspar excellence, Play upon the form and and meaning of words as used at Edfu are also common to the Old Testament,for example, showing not perhapsa direct link in the composition of religious material

in 84. M-T. Derchain-Urtel,Wortspielezu 'Ort' und Bewignung Edfu und Dendera,Fs. A. dolphe Gutbub,Montpellier 1984pp.55-60. incriptionsdesgrandstemplesde 1)endereh dEdfou, 85. A. Gutbub,Jeuxdessignsdansquelques et 'signplay'using manyexamples discusses from Graeco-Roman BIFAO 52,1953 pp-57-101 temples; ASAE 40,1940 on cryptic signsin generalseeDrioton, Recueil de CryptographieMonumentale, du Salt 825,ASAE 41,1942 p.99 ff. pp.305-429; La Cryptographie Papyrus

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fascination materialbut a basichuman with

,

in manipulationanguageorderto hideor explainin a

86 behinda phrase. Modemwestern the techniques moresubtlemanner notion the cultureuses same for pureentertainment wit andhumourandoftento engage interest prospective in in the of consumers industry. theadvertising

Alliteration Alliteration in texts has the fortunate consequencefor modem scholars of enabling them to read signs whose values would otherwise be obscure. It is a feature found from the Pyramid Texts onward and like punning it has the underlying aim of making words in a sentenceeffective, especially against hostile forces. Those puns which use two words, where one is derived from the other, could be argued to be the ultimate form of alliteradon - with the whole words of a sentenceallitemting and not simply the initial sign.In these casesboth pun and alliteration serve the same purpose of explaining and emphasisingthe meaning of the phrase. Alliteration has a much more extensive use at Edfa, becausepunning requires a narrower variety of words than alliteration. The most striking set of alliterative phrases are in the texts describing the processionof standards at the New Year Festival. Each bearerof a standardhas an accompanyingline text in the inscriptions and it may have actually been spokenby each priest - in each line the eight of to nine words alliterate, eachline alliterates a different soundbut each expressesthe samepurpose - to impurity or hostile forces from the path of the procession. Each word is selected- firstly for remove its appropriate meaning and secondly to fit into the pattern of alliteration. 87

Functionsof Puns.Alliteration and'Cryptic'Writing features Ptolemaic Puns alliterationandcryptic writing are not simply Separate textsin general of , but are central to Egyptian religious texts from the earliest times and to some extent far from and makingthemeaning a text moreobscure actuallyenhance explainthetext in a moreeconomic of

86. TheJewishEnclyclopaedia, AlliterationandKindredFigures 424-5. pp. 87. In general B.Watterson The Use of Alliteration in Ptolemaic,Glimpsesof Ancient Egypt, , Fs-Fairman, Warminster,1979,pp.167-169.

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way than using several lines of text. By using variants on words and phrases, Egyptian scribes can write the same basic statement many different ways - covering every possibil4l, for example for the destruction of Seth, or for the provision of food - and by using alliteration and puns they can enhancethe content of the texts and elevate their meaning into the,realm of the divine and addressthe gods for whom the texts are intended. The aim of the texts is not necessarilydiversity for the sake of aesthetics,but for completeness- so that nothing is omitted and all dangersare dealt with The widdread use of this type of writing suggeststhat it is the style in which the gods adequately. should be addressedand it is possible that the actual inspiration of the texts was believed to be of divine origin so that the composition of a text, its language and style was derived directly from them.Some texts were directly from the gods as works of Thoth or the revered Imhotep; others with the collective names b3w-RI or b3w-Itm books from the temple libraries and suggest perhaps

Heliopolis which could be studied and adaptedby those who had the ability in all the major schools of Egypt. There would have been a structured framework into which temple schools and scriptoria of ckQ ngescould be made ornew' words addedto the texts. The scribe had to respectthe alliteration of a it was therefore simplest to derive new nouns for example from already existing verbs or sentence,and (less frequently) so that there was a ready made alliteration and pun. At Edfu this results in vice versa large number of words for Icnife' being derived from a verb 'to slay' . ngnt nkn 'the knife wounds' a for example, or in the creation of complementary terms :UU is paired with k3w 'food and so at

Edfu Ornswt 'female life force' is paired with brnsw1bod'i The creation of 'new' words had to be done within the mythological framework of the text in the temple as a whole and within the the ideas of Ibat and world order. 'New' words are therefore often derived from existing parametersof that they do not upset the balancedorder and can easily be used within the allowed style. The terms so the words at Edfu to the existing corpus is therefore within boundariesestablished addition of some of by centuries of religious thought and writing. The extensive use of alliteration suggeststhat their aural effect is also important, implying in turn that certain texts were meant to be recited and heard.Priests must have learned by heart certain specific chants and hymns for use in the daily ritual service, as part of their training, and more complex rites

xxxv;

were recited from papyrusrolls - rather than being read directly from the temple walls for example, for it would have been too dark inside the temple to see all the texts without a lamp of some kind and sometexts are too high on the wall to be read without a ladder or scaffolding. The lector priests would be versed in all the rituals and Clemens of Alexandria reports that they were knowledgeable in holy in their handsas a sign of their office. 88 writings and carried a papyrus roll and writing palette The recitation of texts also raises the question of whether alliteration gives to the texts a poetic effeCt.The rhythm of the lines cannot be discernedbecausethe exact phonetic structure and therefore the metre of the lines is unknown. It is not clear whether rituals were spoken, chanted or sung but it is most likely that a mixture of methods of recital were used. If the purpose of the alliteration is to make the meaning of the text magically more effective does this preclude the possibility of any kind in the ritual offerings or processional chants ? Part of the difficulty is in the definition of poetry but 'elevated expression of elevated thought or feeling especially in metrical form' , then the regarded as temple texts are most certainly a heightenedand elevated form of expression,not only addressingthe highest level of existence but in rich and varied languagewhich gives the texts either an artificial air Both Sauneron89 and Junker9Osuggestedthat the rhythm of sounds in the or an elevated meaning. the part of alliteration can be comparedto the temple texts and the phonetic word play are poetry and in Anglo-Saxon runes for example -which also have a principally magical effect. use of alliteradon Similar difficulties - principally of definition - exist when dealing with the writing system and the Where possible at Edfu the words are spelled differently using a range orthography of Egyptian words. least 4,000 - 5,000 signs and their variants. Sauneron rejected the notion that the use of of at 'Ptolemaic' writing came from a leaning towards 'occultation' or 'esoterism' and that even the term 'cryptography' can lend to the Egyptians an intention which they did not have originally. He noted texts are usually not the most essential theological texts, for at Edfu the that the most cryptic bandeauxtemple descriptions are much more difficult to read than the Myth of Horus for example, and in the cosmogonical texts their difficulty is in understanding the content of texts though they can be relaively easily read. Ptolemaic temple texts representthe ongoing processof writing A 88. Cited by Weber, Buchwesenpp.3940; Hopfner, Fontes p.372 from Stromata VI 4,35,3 - 37,3. 89. Sauneron Esna VIII pp. 1-20. ,

90. Junker,Poesie der Spatzeit, ZAS 43,1906 pp.101-128; Grammatikder Denderatexte36. aus

xxxvil,

development in temples, a process begun at least from the New Kingdom and perhaps earlier - the point at which the language of religious texts begins to diverge from the spoken tongue - so that 'cryptography' is not a Ptolemaic feature at all. 91 It seems that though the texts were written in a language no longer spoken by anyone, they were understood by a small minority of priests who indulged from temple to temple in what amounts to an intellectual game composing and reediting texts. It can be argued that cryptic writing actually makes texts easier to read - once the basic key to is used and logical thought processesare applied. Ibe values of signs can be recognised by the texts logical means and the key to the understanding of the hieroglyphic script of the late temples is do with understanding the background theology of the temples and experience in perhaps more to ic basic texts. Fairman began his list of approachesto PLoIemQ texts with the basic rule that reading followed logical rules and also that simple and direct explanations prevailed in reading the signs Ptolemaic signs92. Kurth has most recently expandedand exemplified the approach to the reading of hieroglyphs in a set of ten basic principles which are followed by the Egyptians in the system - but 93 basedon a direct and common senseapproach. again all are Once the principles of what is allowed in writing texts are understood - then the texts express not basic messagebut in cryptic writing and heightened diction can denote a great amount of only the information in addition. As a result more is 'understood' from the texts allegorical and metaphorical in one sentence.In this way the intellectual content of the text is increased,the than they actually say imparted by the text is augmentedand it is the use of the vocabulary and the way in which knowledge it is written which is the tool used to do this rather than grammatical constructions or expressions.

91. S.Sauneron,Esna VIII , L'tcriture Figurative dans les textes dEsna, Cairo, 1982 pp.1-12 Introduction. 92. H.W.Fairman,ASAE 43,1943 pp.55-61 . der in 93. D.Kurth, Die Lautwerteder Hieroglyphen den--Tempelinschriften Griechisch-Romischen ASAE 69,1983 pp.287- 309. ihrer Herleitungsprinzipen, Zeit - zur Systematik -

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From Papyrus Text to Inscription The texts of the House of Books provide a list of the titles of works written on the papyrus, leather rolls and metal tablets which were kept there( 111347and 351). A total of thirty five books are listed of which some can be identified with texts upon the temple walls and some with extant papyri.,They are the 'best of the Souls of Re' and were stored in boxes, perhaps in the temple itself and existed probably in the form of copies in the House of Life attachedto the temple. Texts found in the temple : s3 wnwt the protection of the hours, known as the Stundenwachen, , this is the watch of the hours for the mummification of Osiris, written in the Sokar Chamber of the temple (1208-217 ; 219-225) ; s3 pr 'protection of the house' (VI 144-152) *.md3t rt4 pt Book of subduing the people (VI 235,6 net ritual) ; mkt b'w protection of the body (VI 298-304) . Identifiable texts : sbr Stb Overthrowing Seth (P.Louvre 3176 5,32/33 has this title) but it may provide elements for rituals to deal with the destruction of Seth ; two copies of bsf msbw driving away the crocodiles , also bsr df3w driving away snakes - specifically for crocodile and serpent destruction rites ; sb'i nswt 'appearanceof the king' and s3 nswt m pr. f protecting the king in , his palace - the rituals of the royal coronation and procession of the king from the palace ; nt-' nb DmA r-s3 pr. k m bbw. k "Every ritual of the appearance of your majesty from your' nw sb1i house at your festivals' -a list of festival rituals at Edfu, most likely at the great festival of Horus Hathor ; btp Sbmt pacifying Sakhmet - either in rituals or the Litany of Sakhmet ; "ro know and divine offerings of your divine images' - perhaps the daily offering ritual for the temple cult'. sX the reference to the Horus and Seth Myth ; s3.w nb n r3-1-bt all the writings of warfare - perhaps a 'guardians of the temple' lists of the temple geni and minor guardian gods ; 'to know the gs-prw Two lights' - an astronomical text perhaps like the texts describing the hours of the day course of the in the Pronaos ; sip i3t nb rb imi. sn 'list of every Sacred mound and knowing what is in them' perhaps the geographical text of the couloir mysterieux which lists the sacredplaces of Egypt and thei main towns , their osirian relics, canal names, sacred serpentsand local taboos ; s3 rnptprotection of the year'- the Good Year Litany (V193-99). Funerary texts : s3bw mTw nw Ory nmit 'great spells of the one who is upon his bier' spells for the resurrection of Osiris ; s3 Pnqt 'protection of the bed' (alluded to VI 145,1 , 151,3 ; VII 13,6 and

ix lrxx

P.Boulaq 7; P.Carlsberg I line 20) ; Protection texts :m

know all the mysteries of the Wabee (embalming place). -"ro

wi3 protection of the barque (also wn n9mt 'revealing the barque) ; s3 niwt

Trotection of the City' s3 wrrt Trotection of the White Crown' ; s3 Trotection st of the Throne' , 'Spells of Destroying the Evil Eya'; one damagedbook of protection. Ritual: s9m.bs Terforming the ritual' - daily offering rites or Opening of the Mouth. General : 'Book of What is in the Temple' inventory of cult objects and fittings ; sXrn Owt-nir Tlan of the temple' - the book which was by tradition written by Imhotep and set out the basic form of the temple tp-rd n sphr s3t 'Regulations for inscribing a wall' - perhaps guidelines on the inscribing of texts ; To rule the coursesof the Stars' book of astronomy perhaps connected with -a the observation of stars at the setting out of the temple plan ; md3t dmd 'Book of Uniting' connectedwith the New Year rituals where the ba of the god unites with his image on the temple roof bbs m3iw 'Hunting Lions' 94. The contents of the House of Life provide the rituals and lists necessarywhich could be copied onto the temple walls, in some casesdirectly and with little adjustment. Such texts would be the product of many years of compilation, copying and refinement which may have been continued by the scribe priests of the temple long after the texts were written on the stone walls themselves. Evidently the inscribing of the texts did not represent the final stage of the life of the texts, for the rolls were carefully preserved in the temple perhaps for future consultation or study by scribes learning their craft. That study in the hieroglyphic, hieratic and demotic scripts continued at the temple is implied by a number of graffiti found in the temple itself. 95 About fifty inscriptions were written on'the rooj of the temple, which was completed in 124 B. C. , and the texts date after that time and probably being written from the eM of the 2nd century to the Ist century B. C. They usually record the name and rank of the priest who writes the text, often with the formula Iwhose name is beautiful before Horus of Behdet, the great god, lord of heaven' or with an invocation to another god. The

94. Library texts at Edfa : Weber,BeitrAgezur Kenntnisdes Schrift- und Buchwesens Alten der Agypter, Diss. Koln, 1969pp.131-134with comparison other known book lists Sauneron, The of ; Priestsof Ancient-Egypt,EvergreenBooks,Londonp. 133 ; Garth Fowden. -The Egyptian hermes pp.56-58 ; individual -entriestranslatedby S.Schott, E.Schott, Bficher und Bibliothek im Alten Agypten,Wiesbaden, 1990. Les 95. D.Devauchelle, graffitesd6motiques toit du templed'Edfou,BIFAO 83,1983pp.123-138. du

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inscriptions are mainly in demoticand the priestshavehigh rank in the templeincluding Takhom books' the scribeof booksandthird prophef (No.7) Takhom,the first prophetandscribeof divine, , (nosAO,41). Someof the graffiti are in hieroglyphs- but with exactly the sameformula as the demoticdedications 47) and one hasa mixture of hieraticand demoticsigns(No.19). At this (No. in temple the stage, whenthetempledecoration inscriptionhadbeencompleted, scribe-priests the. and If the werestill learningand teaching hieroglyphicscript,hieraticanddemoticscript andlanguage. theycouldreadhieroglyphs theymustalsohavebeenableto readthelanguage textsin thatscriptof basis.Te