Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri

Ancient Egyptian religious imagery—ranging from Horus and Seth contending for the throne of the kingdom to Anubis in the act of embalming the deceased—is well known from Egyptian temples, tomb walls, and ubiquitous cippi. Less well known but equally fascinating are the miniature representations of t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Nick West
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Presses universitaires du Midi 2011-10-01
Series:Pallas
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/pallas/2130
_version_ 1811167867111997440
author Nick West
author_facet Nick West
author_sort Nick West
collection DOAJ
description Ancient Egyptian religious imagery—ranging from Horus and Seth contending for the throne of the kingdom to Anubis in the act of embalming the deceased—is well known from Egyptian temples, tomb walls, and ubiquitous cippi. Less well known but equally fascinating are the miniature representations of these images engraved on small magical gems produced with a personal function in mind. How exactly did iconography from Pharaonic Egyptian tradition make its way from the walls of temples and tombs onto magical gems used by individuals in Late Antiquity? This chapter is a presentation of comparative material from the Greek and Demotic magical papyri and sets the imagery on the gems in the context of the Graeco-Egyptian ritual tradition. It entails an examination of the relationship between the gems and the papyri, in the case of Egyptian influenced iconography, and a consideration of the likely agents of transmission for the traditional Egyptian monumental iconography, which may be found on both the magical gems and papyri.
first_indexed 2024-04-10T16:16:23Z
format Article
id doaj.art-d0326eed55064de39411841a50b60a45
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0031-0387
2272-7639
language fra
last_indexed 2024-04-10T16:16:23Z
publishDate 2011-10-01
publisher Presses universitaires du Midi
record_format Article
series Pallas
spelling doaj.art-d0326eed55064de39411841a50b60a452023-02-09T16:31:55ZfraPresses universitaires du MidiPallas0031-03872272-76392011-10-018613516610.4000/pallas.2130Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyriNick WestAncient Egyptian religious imagery—ranging from Horus and Seth contending for the throne of the kingdom to Anubis in the act of embalming the deceased—is well known from Egyptian temples, tomb walls, and ubiquitous cippi. Less well known but equally fascinating are the miniature representations of these images engraved on small magical gems produced with a personal function in mind. How exactly did iconography from Pharaonic Egyptian tradition make its way from the walls of temples and tombs onto magical gems used by individuals in Late Antiquity? This chapter is a presentation of comparative material from the Greek and Demotic magical papyri and sets the imagery on the gems in the context of the Graeco-Egyptian ritual tradition. It entails an examination of the relationship between the gems and the papyri, in the case of Egyptian influenced iconography, and a consideration of the likely agents of transmission for the traditional Egyptian monumental iconography, which may be found on both the magical gems and papyri.http://journals.openedition.org/pallas/2130magical gemsiconographyEgyptian artEgyptian priestsGraeco-Egyptian magiclate antiquity
spellingShingle Nick West
Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri
Pallas
magical gems
iconography
Egyptian art
Egyptian priests
Graeco-Egyptian magic
late antiquity
title Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri
title_full Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri
title_fullStr Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri
title_full_unstemmed Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri
title_short Gods on small things: Egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the Greek and Demotic magical papyri
title_sort gods on small things egyptian monumental iconography on late antique magical gems and the greek and demotic magical papyri
topic magical gems
iconography
Egyptian art
Egyptian priests
Graeco-Egyptian magic
late antiquity
url http://journals.openedition.org/pallas/2130
work_keys_str_mv AT nickwest godsonsmallthingsegyptianmonumentaliconographyonlateantiquemagicalgemsandthegreekanddemoticmagicalpapyri