Environment and Religion in Ancient and Coptic Egypt: Sensing the Cosmos through the Eyes of the Divine

Proceedings of a conference held in Athens in 2017, this volume presents 34 fresh and original papers (plus 2 abstracts) on ancient Egyptian religion, environment and the cosmos. Papers connect many interdisciplinary approaches including Egyptology, archaeology, archaeoastronomy, geography, botany, zoology, ornithology, theology and

Environment and Religion in Ancient and Coptic Egypt: Sensing the Cosmos through the Eyes of the Divine presents the proceedings of a conference held in Athens between 1st-3rd February 2017. The Hellenic Institute of Egyptology, in close collaboration with the Writing & Scripts Centre of Bibliotheca Alexandrina and the University of Alexandria, organized the conference concerning the ancient Egyptian religion, Coptic Christianity and Environment. Thus, the endeavour was to sense the Cosmos, through a virtual Einfahlung, as a manifestation of the Divine and the manifestations of the Divine in the environmental, cosmic and societal spheres. Egyptians were particularly pious and they considered their surroundings and the Universe itself as a creation and a direct immanence of the Divine, being also convinced that they were congenital parts of the Cosmos and adoring their divinities, who were also personifications of environmental and/or cosmic aspects and forces. There are many examples (epigraphic, textual, monumental, & c.) corroborating these relations and that ancient Egyptian piety was rooted on the bi-faceted texture of the ancient Egyptian religion, containing a solar and an astral component: the former was related to Rec, while the latter was related to Osiris. The conference took place with participations of a pleiade of Egyptologists, archaeologists, archaeoastronomers, theologians, historians and other scholars from more than 15 countries all over the world. In this unique volume are published most of the contributions of the delegates who sent their papers for peer-reviewing, enriching the bibliographic resources with original and interesting articles. This publication of more than 580 pages containing 34 fresh and original papers (plus 2 abstracts) on the ancient Egyptian religion, Environment and the Cosmos, fruitfully connects many interdisciplinary approaches and Egyptology, archaeology, archaeoastronomy, geography, botany, zoology, ornithology, theology and history.

Co-Organizers and Sponsors ; Blessing by His Eminence the Archbishop of Sinai Mgr DAMIANOS ; Foreword by H.E. the Ambassador of Egypt in Athens Mr Farid MONIB ; Dedicatory Page, Theme, Honorary Organizing Committee, LOC and SOC ; Programme of the Conference ; Authors and Affiliations ; Foreword by H.E. the Former Minister of Hellas Mr Andreas ZAIMIS ; Introduction by the Principal Editor Prof. Dr Dr Alicia MARAVELIA ; Introduction by the Co-Editor Dr Nadine GUILHOU ; PAPERS ; Rania M. cABDELWAHED: Reflections on the Tree imA / iAm in Ancient Egypt ; Dalia ABU STET: New Insights into the Significance of Exotic Plants & Animals in Ancient Egypt ; Dalia ABU STET: The Use & Significance of Jasper in Ancient Egyptian Art ; Bernard ARQUIER: Nut et les Asterismes dans les Textes et le Decor du Double Sarcophage de Mesehty ; Mohammed AZZAZY: Pollen Flora from Archaic & Old Kingdom Egyptian Tombs ; Nils BILLING: You are not Alone: The Conceptual Background of Nut as the Eternal Abode in Text & Iconography ; Themis G. DALLAS: On the Orientations of Coptic Churches in Egypt ; Alexandra DIEZ DE OLIVEIRA: The Many Faces of God Bacal in Ancient Egypt: Metaphors & Syncretisms ; Ola ?EL-CABOUDY: Mice as Protectors in the Books of the Netherworld ; Wafaa ?EL-GHANNAM: Water-Lifting Devices in Hellenistic Egypt: A Manifestation of the Influence of the Nile ; Azza EZZAT: The Zenet-Game (?) & its Association with Garden Pools in Ancient Egypt: A Case Study ; Angus GRAHAM: The Interconnected Theban Landscape and Waterscape of Amun-Rec ; Nadine GUILHOU: Une Lecture Calenderique de la Tombe de Nakht (TT 52) ; Mona HAGGAG: The Ouroboros in Helleno-Egyptian Amulets ; Aml MAHRAN: The Oar: Religious and Everyday Life Usage in Ancient Egypt ; Ahmed MANSOUR: The Minerals as Divine Epithets: Notes on the Use of Lapis Lazuli in Divine Epithets ; Ahmed MANSOUR: Reflections on the Veneration of Dead Ancestor Kings in Sinai ; Alicia MARAVELIA & Mosalam SHALTOUT: The Influence of the Solar Activity & of the Nile Flood on Egypt ; Alicia MARAVELIA: The Function & Importance of Some Special Categories of Stars in the Funerary Texts, 2 ; Alicia MARAVELIA & Markos FILIANOS: The Kyphi/??f?/KApt-Incense of the Ancient Egyptians ; Giselle MARQUES CAMARA: MAat: Environmental Rhythms of the Ancient Kmt-Cosmos ; Pauline NORRIS: Lettuce as an Offering to Mnw (Min) ; Andre PATRICIO: The Case of the Millennial Protection: Carrying One's Amulets on One's Neck ; Jean-Pierre PATZNICK: L'Elephant sur le Signe des Trois Collines et Hierakonpolis ; Gyula PRISKIN: Mythological Associations of Lunar Invisibility in Ancient Egypt ; Detlev QUINTERN: The Nile in Early Arabic-Islamic Maps & Sources ; Ashraf-Alexandre SADEK: La Nature dans le Patrimoine Chretien d'Egypte ; Sherin SADEK ?EL-GENDI: Les Figures des 24 Vieillards de l'Apocalypse dans l'Art Copte: Etude Comparative ; Daniel L. SELDEN: Inundation & Allegory ; Tatjana A. SHERKOVA: On the Mythological Image of the Eye of Horus ; Mykola TARASENKO: Gliedervergottung Texts & Theogonic Ideas in Ancient Egypt ; Maria Helena TRINDADE LOPES & Guilherme BORGES PIRES: Sacred Space in Ancient Egypt ; Sophia TSOURINAKI: The Use of MuricidAe and Other Purple Colourants during Late Antiquity ; John WYATT: Birds of the Air: An Ornithological Overview of their Roles in Religion, Art, Hieroglyphs, & c. ; John WYATT: Fishes, Insects, Amphibians & Reptiles in the Art, Hieroglyphs & Religion of Ancient Egypt ; John WYATT: Lilies of the Egyptian Field: The Flowers & Plants of Ancient Egypt & Sinai ; Alicia MARAVELIA: Epilogue: Brief CV, Activities & Publications of the Late Prof. Dr M. Shaltout, Co–Organizers and Sponsors ;

Blessing by His Eminence the Archbishop of Sinai Mgr DAMIANOS ;

Foreword by H.E. the Ambassador of Egypt in Athens Mr Farīd MONĪB ;

Dedicatory Page, Theme, Honorary Organizing Committee, LOC and SOC ;

Programme of the Conference ;

Authors and Affiliations ;

Foreword by H.E. the Former Minister of Hellas Mr Andreas ZAÏMIS ;

Introduction by the Principal Editor Prof. Dr Dr Alicia MARAVELIA ;

Introduction by the Co–Editor Dr Nadine GUILHOU ;

PAPERS ;

Rania M. cABDELWAHED: Reflections on the Tree imA / iAm in Ancient Egypt ;

Dalia ABU STET: New Insights into the Significance of Exotic Plants & Animals in Ancient Egypt ;

Dalia ABU STET: The Use & Significance of Jasper in Ancient Egyptian Art ;

Bernard ARQUIER: Nūt et les Astérismes dans les Textes et le Décor du Double Sarcophage de Mésehty ;

Mohammed AZZAZY: Pollen Flora from Archaic & Old Kingdom Egyptian Tombs ;

Nils BILLING: You are not Alone: The Conceptual Background of Nūt as the Eternal Abode in Text & Iconography ;

Themis G. DALLAS: On the Orientations of Coptic Churches in Egypt ;

Alexandra DIEZ DE OLIVEIRA: The Many Faces of God Bacal in Ancient Egypt: Metaphors & Syncretisms ;

Ola ᾿EL-CABOUDY: Mice as Protectors in the Books of the Netherworld ;

Wafaa ᾿EL-GHANNAM: Water–Lifting Devices in Hellenistic Egypt: A Manifestation of the Influence of the Nile ;

Azza EZZAT: The Zenet–Game (?) & its Association with Garden Pools in Ancient Egypt: A Case Study ;

Angus GRAHAM: The Interconnected Theban Landscape and Waterscape of Amūn–Rēc ;

Nadine GUILHOU: Une Lecture Calendérique de la Tombe de Nakht (TT 52) ;

Mona HAGGAG: The Ouroboros in Helleno–Egyptian Amulets ;

Aml MAHRAN: The Oar: Religious and Everyday Life Usage in Ancient Egypt ;

Ahmed MANSOUR: The Minerals as Divine Epithets: Notes on the Use of Lapis Lazuli in Divine Epithets ;

Ahmed MANSOUR: Reflections on the Veneration of Dead Ancestor Kings in Sinai ;

Alicia MARAVELIA & Mosalam SHALTOUT: The Influence of the Solar Activity & of the Nile Flood on Egypt ;

Alicia MARAVELIA: The Function & Importance of Some Special Categories of Stars in the Funerary Texts, 2 ;

Alicia MARAVELIA & Markos FILIANOS: The Kyphi/Κῦφι/KApt–Incense of the Ancient Egyptians ;

Giselle MARQUES CAMARA: MAat: Environmental Rhythms of the Ancient Kmt–Cosmos ;

Pauline NORRIS: Lettuce as an Offering to Mnw (Min) ;

André PATRÍCIO: The Case of the Millennial Protection: Carrying One’s Amulets on One’s Neck ;

Jean–Pierre PÄTZNICK: L’Éléphant sur le Signe des Trois Collines et Hiérakonpolis ;

Gyula PRISKIN: Mythological Associations of Lunar Invisibility in Ancient Egypt ;

Detlev QUINTERN: The Nile in Early Arabic–Islamic Maps & Sources ;

Ashraf–Alexandre SADEK: La Nature dans le Patrimoine Chrétien d’Égypte ;

Sherin SADEK ᾽EL-GENDI: Les Figures des 24 Vieillards de l’Apocalypse dans l’Art Copte: Étude Comparative ;

Daniel L. SELDEN: Inundation & Allegory ;

Tatjana A. SHERKOVA: On the Mythological Image of the Eye of Horus ;

Mykola TARASENKO: Gliedervergottung Texts & Theogonic Ideas in Ancient Egypt ;

Maria Helena TRINDADE LOPES & Guilherme BORGES PIRES: Sacred Space in Ancient Egypt ;

Sophia TSOURINAKI: The Use of Muricidæ and Other Purple Colourants during Late Antiquity ;

John WYATT: Birds of the Air: An Ornithological Overview of their Roles in Religion, Art, Hieroglyphs, & c. ;

John WYATT: Fishes, Insects, Amphibians & Reptiles in the Art, Hieroglyphs & Religion of Ancient Egypt ;

John WYATT: Lilies of the Egyptian Field: The Flowers & Plants of Ancient Egypt & Sinai ;

Alicia MARAVELIA: Epilogue: Brief CV, Activities & Publications of the Late Prof. Dr M. Shaltout

Alicia Maravelia is Founder and President of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology (2011). She is Professor of Egyptology at the People’s University of Athens and at the Institute’s Seminar. A member of the Editorial Board of several peer-reviewed journals, she is the Editor in Chief of the JHIE. She is Coordinator of the Athens Mummy Project. ;
Nadine Guilhou studied French Literature, History of Art & Archaeology in the University Paul-Valery, Montpellier, obtaining her PhD in Egyptology under Prof. Dr Fr. Daumas. She specializes in ritual and funerary texts from the OK to the PP and has published many books and papers concerning this topic.

• Edited by Alicia Maravelia
• Edited by Nadine Guilhou