Ancient Egyptian Rituals Against Enemies

edited by Carina Kuhne-Wespi and Joachim Friedrich Quack

Book cover: Ancient Egyptian Rituals Against Enemies

Extent: 220 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Ancient Egypt, Religious Studies

Series: Orientalische Religionen in der Antike

Series volume number: 56

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(July 2024)

ISBN: 9783161625435

9.45 x 6.65 inches

Price: $150.00

In stock

The contributors to this volume discuss several aspects and questions related to ancient Egyptian rituals against enemies (‘execration rituals’). This type of ritual is documented through various kinds of sources from the 6th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic-Roman period, thus making it an especially multifaceted phenomenon to study.


The contributors to this volume discuss several aspects of ancient Egyptian rituals against enemies (“execration rituals”). Various kinds of sources – figurines, textual descriptions, iconographical depictions – make it possible to trace this phenomenon from the 6th Dynasty to the Ptolemaic-Roman period. A special focus lies on Middle Kingdom and Late Period/Ptolemaic-Roman execration figures, the methods that were applied to produce them, the ritual acts performed with these figures, and the personnel involved in the rituals. Other chapters deal with possible connections between execration and female figurines, or the question of how killings of human beings can be assumed to have formed part of these rituals. The volume thus demonstrates how different approaches and perspectives can contribute to increasing and improving our understanding of Egyptian rituals against enemies.

  • Edited by Carina Kuhne-Wespi
  • Edited by Joachim Friedrich Quack