Guilherme Borges Pires
I graduated in History at Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas - Universidade NOVA de Lisboa in 2013. I have an MA in Egyptology by the
same institution, where I presented the dissertation Perceiving the sacred: the
sacralisation of aquatic and terrestrial spaces in Ancient Egypt (2015).
Currently, I am a PhD candidate and my research focuses on the conceptions surrounding the Creator and Creation in the New Kingdom’s religious hymns (c. 1550-1069 BC).
In 2017 I was awarded a FCT Phd Studentship.
From September 2016 to December 2017 I proceeded my doctoral research and attended courses and seminars at École Pratique
des Hautes Études - Centre Wladimir Golénischeff (Paris, France).
More recently, I have been living and conducting my research in London. Since February 2020, I hold a volunteer position at the EES (Egypt Exploration Society, London, UK), within the project "Scanning the covers and contents of historical Egypt travel magazines".
I participated in several international scientific meetings, both as a lecturer and as an organizer and I am the author of some publications. I am one of the editors of Res Antiquitatis. Journal of Ancient History.
I am a Research Assistant at CHAM - Centre for the Humanities (FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Universidade dos Açores) and a member of the Association for Students of Egyptology (ASE) and of the International Association of Egyptologists (IAE).
Supervisors: Professora Doutora Maria Helena Trindade Lopes
Address: Portugal
same institution, where I presented the dissertation Perceiving the sacred: the
sacralisation of aquatic and terrestrial spaces in Ancient Egypt (2015).
Currently, I am a PhD candidate and my research focuses on the conceptions surrounding the Creator and Creation in the New Kingdom’s religious hymns (c. 1550-1069 BC).
In 2017 I was awarded a FCT Phd Studentship.
From September 2016 to December 2017 I proceeded my doctoral research and attended courses and seminars at École Pratique
des Hautes Études - Centre Wladimir Golénischeff (Paris, France).
More recently, I have been living and conducting my research in London. Since February 2020, I hold a volunteer position at the EES (Egypt Exploration Society, London, UK), within the project "Scanning the covers and contents of historical Egypt travel magazines".
I participated in several international scientific meetings, both as a lecturer and as an organizer and I am the author of some publications. I am one of the editors of Res Antiquitatis. Journal of Ancient History.
I am a Research Assistant at CHAM - Centre for the Humanities (FCSH, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Universidade dos Açores) and a member of the Association for Students of Egyptology (ASE) and of the International Association of Egyptologists (IAE).
Supervisors: Professora Doutora Maria Helena Trindade Lopes
Address: Portugal
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Papers by Guilherme Borges Pires
self-genesis in the Egyptian New Kingdom religious hymns (ca. 1539–1077
BC) in the context of an on-going PhD research on the Creator deity and
creation in the New Kingdom’s hymnology. This feature is referred to in
numerous different manners in this corpus, which might be grouped into
three main categories—self-emanation/manifestation, self-begetting/birth,
and self-cast/construction—through which the present paper is structured.
The term xpr is fundamental regarding the first, as it conveys the idea of
“coming to existence” or “assuming/taking shape”. As for the second
category, one finds attestations of the deity’s self-creation rendered by an
allusion to biological processes, where the Creator would have engendered
(wtT) and given birth (msj) to himself. Finally, the third group relates to
manual/craftwork with the use of different terms such as qd. However, it
will be argued that these groups are not to be taken as entirely separate units
but rather as operative categories. Msj, for instance, might refer to both a
biological process and a manual task. To sum up, this paper deals with the
phraseology employed to depict the Creator’s self-coming into existence in
this corpus, navigating its diversity and taking its complexity into account.
This paper focuses on this issue, arguing for a textual and religious continuity of theogonical and anthropogenic conceptions suggested by the Egyptian texts expressed, namely, in the persistence of an efflux-based theology and on the permanence of the wordplay tool in several corpora across time, whilst pointing to innovative shifts between different (con)texts and periods. By pinpointing selected sources, this paper aims at understanding the complexity surrounding ancient Egyptian theogonical and anthropogenic mentions as bio-physic demiurgic acts in the light of the “tradition/innovation” binomial.
Não obstante, o Nilo não configura o único corpo aquático egípcio . As “Duas Terras” são banhadas por águas sal- gadas, mais concretamente, os mares Mediterrâneo e Vermelho . Embora um dos adjetivos com que habitualmente nos reportamos a esta geografia e cronologia seja precisamente “nilótico/a”, à luz das investigações mais recentes, parece inegável a existência de uma matriz marítima no devir egípcio .
Este artigo pretende pensar o lugar do mar no edifício religioso egípcio, norteando a reflexão em torno de duas perguntas fundamentais: terão sido os mares objeto de uma leitura sacra por parte dos antigos egípcios? Existiria uma hierarquização subjectiva das superfícies aquáticas no “País das Duas Margens”?
|
Ancient Egypt is undoubtedly one of the great fluvial civilizations of the world . The Nile, whose annual flood enabled the flowering and maintenance of the Egyptian civilization, was perceived as mimesis of the Nun, the primordial Ocean that would have been the stage of genesis, containing all the potentialities of the world to come . Thus, the sacredness of the Egyptian river permeates this human collective since its very beginning .
Nevertheless, the Nile is not the single Egyptian waterbody . The “Two Lands” are bathed by salty waters, more specifically, the Mediterranean and the Red Seas . Despite the common description of this particular geography and chronology employing the adjective “Nilotic”, in the light of the most recent research, the existence of a maritime matrix in the Egyptian becoming seems undeniable .
This paper aims to think about the place of the sea in the Egyptian religious structure, navigating through two core questions: are the seas subjected to a sacred perception by the ancient Egyptians? Is there a subjective ranking of the aquatic surfaces in the land of the “Two Riverbanks”?
The Egyptian creator deity, mainly male, has been understood as an androgynous entity due, among other factors, to his performance of msj-actions, usually associated to the female scope. The present paper deals with the different attestations of msjin thereligious hymns of the New Kingdom (c. 1539-1077 BC). It is structured into two main axis: on the one hand, it will be noted that msjdoes not always refer to a biological/reproductive act; on the other hand, it will be argued that the Demiurge’s (pro)creative ability does not necessarily place him into the non-binary gender spectrum. Particular attention will be paid to the classifiers’ distribution in the different writings of the word but also to their respective phraseological contexts in selected sources from this corpus. The key goal is to achieve a more nuanced understanding of this term and, consequently, ponder on the pertinence of the label “androgynous” in reference to the creator deity as a whole.
diff erent ways, with greater or lesser human adhesion. The case of the Egyptian civilisation is no exception. Indeed, the different components of the Egyptian land are assigned to different gods. Contrary to the idea of ‘Mother-Earth’, the most common Egyptian associations with earth are expressed through male deities. Connecting theoretical contributions of the phenomenology of landscape with the core of relations between Egyptian nature and religious beliefs, I intend to (re)consider topics on sacred nature, cosmic sacredness but also fertility in ancient Egypt.
archaeology to the progress of our knowledge about the Pharaonic civilisation. We should also not obliterate the input offered by
social sciences to our research. In this paper, the author intends to demonstrate how these domains of knowledge, such as philosophy,
anthropology or history of religion, can be very profitable to Egyptology, more specifically to the study of the Sacred Space
in Ancient Egypt. Thus, the aim of this paper is to acknowledge the importance of studying the sacralisation of space by the Nilotic
people from the perspective of the social sciences and to understand its benefits in the construction of a more solid and coherent
model of Egiptological studies.
self-genesis in the Egyptian New Kingdom religious hymns (ca. 1539–1077
BC) in the context of an on-going PhD research on the Creator deity and
creation in the New Kingdom’s hymnology. This feature is referred to in
numerous different manners in this corpus, which might be grouped into
three main categories—self-emanation/manifestation, self-begetting/birth,
and self-cast/construction—through which the present paper is structured.
The term xpr is fundamental regarding the first, as it conveys the idea of
“coming to existence” or “assuming/taking shape”. As for the second
category, one finds attestations of the deity’s self-creation rendered by an
allusion to biological processes, where the Creator would have engendered
(wtT) and given birth (msj) to himself. Finally, the third group relates to
manual/craftwork with the use of different terms such as qd. However, it
will be argued that these groups are not to be taken as entirely separate units
but rather as operative categories. Msj, for instance, might refer to both a
biological process and a manual task. To sum up, this paper deals with the
phraseology employed to depict the Creator’s self-coming into existence in
this corpus, navigating its diversity and taking its complexity into account.
This paper focuses on this issue, arguing for a textual and religious continuity of theogonical and anthropogenic conceptions suggested by the Egyptian texts expressed, namely, in the persistence of an efflux-based theology and on the permanence of the wordplay tool in several corpora across time, whilst pointing to innovative shifts between different (con)texts and periods. By pinpointing selected sources, this paper aims at understanding the complexity surrounding ancient Egyptian theogonical and anthropogenic mentions as bio-physic demiurgic acts in the light of the “tradition/innovation” binomial.
Não obstante, o Nilo não configura o único corpo aquático egípcio . As “Duas Terras” são banhadas por águas sal- gadas, mais concretamente, os mares Mediterrâneo e Vermelho . Embora um dos adjetivos com que habitualmente nos reportamos a esta geografia e cronologia seja precisamente “nilótico/a”, à luz das investigações mais recentes, parece inegável a existência de uma matriz marítima no devir egípcio .
Este artigo pretende pensar o lugar do mar no edifício religioso egípcio, norteando a reflexão em torno de duas perguntas fundamentais: terão sido os mares objeto de uma leitura sacra por parte dos antigos egípcios? Existiria uma hierarquização subjectiva das superfícies aquáticas no “País das Duas Margens”?
|
Ancient Egypt is undoubtedly one of the great fluvial civilizations of the world . The Nile, whose annual flood enabled the flowering and maintenance of the Egyptian civilization, was perceived as mimesis of the Nun, the primordial Ocean that would have been the stage of genesis, containing all the potentialities of the world to come . Thus, the sacredness of the Egyptian river permeates this human collective since its very beginning .
Nevertheless, the Nile is not the single Egyptian waterbody . The “Two Lands” are bathed by salty waters, more specifically, the Mediterranean and the Red Seas . Despite the common description of this particular geography and chronology employing the adjective “Nilotic”, in the light of the most recent research, the existence of a maritime matrix in the Egyptian becoming seems undeniable .
This paper aims to think about the place of the sea in the Egyptian religious structure, navigating through two core questions: are the seas subjected to a sacred perception by the ancient Egyptians? Is there a subjective ranking of the aquatic surfaces in the land of the “Two Riverbanks”?
The Egyptian creator deity, mainly male, has been understood as an androgynous entity due, among other factors, to his performance of msj-actions, usually associated to the female scope. The present paper deals with the different attestations of msjin thereligious hymns of the New Kingdom (c. 1539-1077 BC). It is structured into two main axis: on the one hand, it will be noted that msjdoes not always refer to a biological/reproductive act; on the other hand, it will be argued that the Demiurge’s (pro)creative ability does not necessarily place him into the non-binary gender spectrum. Particular attention will be paid to the classifiers’ distribution in the different writings of the word but also to their respective phraseological contexts in selected sources from this corpus. The key goal is to achieve a more nuanced understanding of this term and, consequently, ponder on the pertinence of the label “androgynous” in reference to the creator deity as a whole.
diff erent ways, with greater or lesser human adhesion. The case of the Egyptian civilisation is no exception. Indeed, the different components of the Egyptian land are assigned to different gods. Contrary to the idea of ‘Mother-Earth’, the most common Egyptian associations with earth are expressed through male deities. Connecting theoretical contributions of the phenomenology of landscape with the core of relations between Egyptian nature and religious beliefs, I intend to (re)consider topics on sacred nature, cosmic sacredness but also fertility in ancient Egypt.
archaeology to the progress of our knowledge about the Pharaonic civilisation. We should also not obliterate the input offered by
social sciences to our research. In this paper, the author intends to demonstrate how these domains of knowledge, such as philosophy,
anthropology or history of religion, can be very profitable to Egyptology, more specifically to the study of the Sacred Space
in Ancient Egypt. Thus, the aim of this paper is to acknowledge the importance of studying the sacralisation of space by the Nilotic
people from the perspective of the social sciences and to understand its benefits in the construction of a more solid and coherent
model of Egiptological studies.
The AEF-funded Mastaba of Akhmerutnisut Documentation Project (MAD-P) provides the first context-sensitive study of this tomb. In its first season in December 2023, MAD-P’s goals consisted of improving the mastaba’s documentation from the early 20th century, which lacks consistency in measurements and includes no mentions of significant portions of its decoration and masonry; as well as producing two reports, one on the tomb’s structural integrity and state of conservation, and one on potential avenues for future excavation of the shafts. Our new documentation includes a photogrammetric model, which allows us to bring the scattered parts of G 2184 back together. Future work at the mastaba, incorporating conservation and excavation, aims to reinvigorate interest in the Giza area beyond royal monuments, as well as foster an impetus to protect the rapidly deteriorating Fifth and Sixth Dynasty private tombs on the plateau.
This paper will consider how Egypt-based pop culture products come up in our discussions and how fruitful they can be in disseminating scientific knowledge. In providing examples featured on previously published episodes and sharing our personal experience, Egypt-related pop culture will be discussed not only in terms of its fundamental role in fashioning ideas on/about ancient Egypt, but also as a core factor to enlarge our audience, including via the podcast’s Instagram page.
A few common creation-related phraseological features can be observed among the tombs, be they contemporary or not (e.g., TT 57 (7) [temp. Amenhotep III] and TT 41 (6) [temp. Ramesside]). Furthermore, such an (inter)textual repertoire is likewise observable in contemporary non-Theban sources (see, for instance, the late-Eighteenth dynasty TT 50 (7/8) and the Hymn of Tura), hinting at possible wider textual production and circulation patterns. On the other hand, even if said inscriptions may appear identical at first glance, a closer look at them invites to nuance such an assumption. Factors such as textual layout, spatial constraints, the location of the text within the tomb, or even scribal agency and expertise may impact specific spellings and other (ortho)graphical features.
This contribution will offer some preliminary thoughts on phraseological correspondences attested in creation-related texts engraved in New Kingdom Theban tombs. By adopting a synchronic and a diachronic approach, an attempt will be made to answer the following and related questions: where and when does this textual transmission occur? Are the tombs geographically close? Are the texts engraved in the same ‘location’ within the tombs in which they are attested? Can one detect clusters of textual motifs? Which variations can be observed in different scribal ‘copies’? Furthermore, is the attestation of identical phraseology in several texts, particularly in incipits, clear-cut evidence of intertextuality? In sum, understanding that similarity does not necessarily equate to sameness, New Kingdom Theban creation hymns will be taken as a fruitful textual corpus to address intertextuality and interconnectedness in Theban scribal practices of the period.
Tomando os hinos religiosos do Império Novo (c. 1539-1077 AEC) como estudo de caso, a presente comunicação visa (re)avaliar o carácter alegadamente “andrógino” da divindade criadora, propondo como lente interpretativa alternativa uma concepção de “masculino” que não se circunscreva exclusivamente ao biológico e ao humano, partindo de dois pressupostos teóricos: por um lado, a noção de que a masculinidade é um fenómeno plural; por outro, o postulado de que a(s) masculinidade(s) divina(s) não se arquitectam forçosamente numa óptica de espelho face à(s) humana(s). Nesse sentido, defender-se-á uma “identidade masculina” do Criador no corpus em causa, a partir da rejeição de leituras monolíticas de identidade de género, e de uma abertura epistemológica à pluralidade de manifestações, construções e significados de que se reveste a complexidade do “ser(-se) masculino”.
It is safe to assert that Portuguese Egyptology/ies pertain to the latter group. Despite evidencing both the historical and the geographical criteria that have traditionally facilitated the rising of a given national/regional Egyptology to the core of the discipline – i.e., a former colonial power located in the Global North – the Southern European country’s Egyptological (hi)stories have been left out of works dedicated to the History of Egyptology, including recent states of the art. Nonetheless, Portuguese Egyptology/ies do exist.
This paper intends to inscribe Portuguese Egyptology/ies in the current discussions on the field. From philological studies to fieldwork, including Reception Studies and museum research, Portuguese Egyptology/ies have been contributing to the discipline, partaking in ‘global Egyptology/ies’ while simultaneously evidencing national/local specificities. Rather than aiming for a quest on the ‘essence’ or ‘identity’ of Portuguese Egyptology/ies – which would fall into reductionist views - the primary purpose of this contribution is to present a brief diachronic panorama of the different avenues walked in Portugal vis-à-vis (ancient) Egypt, emphasising momentous historical-political events and agents that shaped, on the one hand, Portuguese interest in/for Egypt, and the fundamental features of Portuguese Egyptological academic endeavours, on the other.
In this paper I intend to address gender issues in the Nilotic divine world. In fact the ideas of strict masculinity and femininity are somehow challenged by the myths that narrate deities’ stories. Seth’s virility, for instance, is perhaps threatened when he sees himself without testicles. Osiris, a male god in name and persona may be represented as female, expressing ideas of fertility and rejuvenation. Simultaneously, some goddesses (such as Anat and Neith) are said to act as men, due to their warrior and therefore supposedly “manly” performances.
Looking at these and other deities one might ask: given that duality is a fundamental feature of the Egyptian civilization, how can we refer to non-binary expressions revealed by the Egyptian goddesses and gods, particularity the birthing-giving creator-god (Atum)? Moreover, should we use this modern terminology when thinking about ancient realities? Is there an alternative?
In Egypt, however, there was no unified, uniform and consensual cosmogonical account. Instead different paths would be explored by the ancient Egyptian savants, from a physic-biological imagery to an idea of an “intellectual” genesis. To refer to this, called by the Egyptians as the “First
Time” (sp tpj) a multitude of discourses would be mobilized, one not invalidating the other, not necessarily referring to a linear and structured account of successive events. In this paper I intend to approach this plurality probing the “narrative” nature of the Nilotic cosmogonical accounts, trying to answer questions such as: can we refer to the ensemble of Egyptian genesis discourses as narrative? If not, how should they be otherwise classified? And if yes, do they relate more to “stories” or to “descriptions” of the creational act, that is, do they convey a linear
sequence of events and/or a specific or a plural worldview(s) portrait? Is it possible for them to be both?
In this paper I intend to address gender issues in the Nilotic divine world. Given that duality is a fundamental feature of the Egyptian civilization, how can we refer to non-binary expressions revealed by the Egyptian goddesses and gods, particularity the birthing-giving creator-god? Can we envisage the Egyptian pantheon as a source of discourses and representations that light out a certain gender order? To what extent does the Egyptian divine world mirror aspects of gender blurring?
In fact the ideas of strict masculinity and femininity are somehow challenged by the myths that narrate gods’ lifes. Seth’s virility, consequence of his link with the violent storms, is perhaps threatened when he sees himself without testicles. Osiris, a male god in name and persona may be represented as female, expressing ideas of fertility and rejuvenation. Simultaneously, some goddesses, like Anat, an “imported” goddess, who is said to act as men, due to their warrior and therefore supposedly “manly” performances.
Focusing on these particular deities and others, namely Atum, Hapy or Neith, we will try to propose a preliminary approach to envisage this issue in the Egyptian divine world.
believed they inhabited in the “Centre of the Cosmos”, the place where Maat ruled. Therefore all other human beings were said to be out of “civilization” and described in terms such as “evil” or “dangerous” in Egyptian sources. Consequently, all other peoples were connected to ideas of Caos, disorder and disquiet, being associated with Seth and hence with the desert. But were the foreigners despised due to their ethnicity or race or due to their different political, religious and moral values? Were the foreigners really disdained in the daily life or was this only a standing point that served the political discourse and the state ideology? Can we address the Nilotic civilization as a racist one?
The purpose of this paper concerns the Egyptian’s attitudes towards the foreigners throughout the Pharaonic Egypt’s history questioning who were they to the Ancient Egyptians in order to understand the image and role of these “others” in the Egyptian society and the perception of identity and alterity.
reality. It was part of the whole “being” that was brought into existence by the Demiurge, in the “First Time” (sp tpj). Therefore, following a linear conception of Time we can ask: if the Time had a beginning, how/when should we expect for it to come to an end? However a circular approach to Time makes us face each end as a new beginning and this permanent restart leads us to consider an “eternal return”. How should we approach the Time before it is Time? Does the fact that it had a beginning imply the assumption that it would have an end? How can we refer ourselves to the “post-Time”? Is the end definitive or temporary, awaiting for the (re)start of a new Demiurge’s action? Is the immobility of the pre-Creation similar to one after the “end of the world”? Can we identify “apocalyptic” ideas in ancient Egypt? Which are the pertinent texts to consider this? This paper intends to be a preliminary approach to this issue, considering these and other questions. We will follow the traces suggested by textual sources as we will be focusing on the Demiurge, the author of Creation and therefore extremely connected to Time by means of creation, destruction and recreation.
The case of the Egyptian civilization is no exception. The collective Nilotic experience of the land-based layer was marked by differently valued geographical units that fit in an environment characterized by several “dramatic transitions” (Richards). Thus the different components of the Egyptian land are assigned to different gods (e.g.: the deserts are associated with Seth; the alluvial land is mostly linked to Osiris).
Contrary to the idea of “Mother-Earth”, the most common Egyptian associations with Earth are expressed through male deities: Ptah, Min and, most notably, Geb. How can we envisage this Egyptian particularity? Connecting theoretical contributions of the phenomenology of landscape with the core of relations between Egyptian nature and religious beliefs, we intend to (re)consider some topics on sacred nature, cosmic sacredness but also fertility and rebirth in ancient Egypt.
This double aspect of the Mediterranean shaped the Ancient Egyptian men and women’s political, economical, cultural and religious approaches to that aquatic element, which underwent profound changes in the Greco-Roman period. Moreover, the Mediterranean allowed the Egyptians not only to recognize themselves but also to interact with foreign peoples and cultures. The Mediterranean was thus a real “Sea of Dialogue” and was crucial in the Egyptian identity’s building process throughout its history.
The aim of this paper is thus to understand how the Mediterranean was, at the same time, a “challenge” and a “gift” to the Ancient Egyptians.
As stated by the historian of religion Mircea Eliade, the Waters pre-existed the Earth, hence it should be the first element we focus on. In fact, the Waters are fons et origo, being the means by which every creation takes place. The Ancient Egyptians perfectly assimilated this as they envisaged their origins from the Primeval Waters, believing everything started in the Nun, the primordial ocean that gave life to all living forces and beings, from gods to plants. The Nile, as the river that enabled the continuing fertility of the Valley, was seen as the mimetic watercourse of the Nun, sacred and eternal.
Although it was true that the Waters open the path to existence it was also undeniable that they represented the end of life, destruction and alienation. Annually, the Nile’s flood caused several damages, which partially explains why the Egyptians thought their apocalypse would be a return to the Waters. But the destruction embodied a new beginning: after the flood subsided, the fields would be ready to be cultivated and once again the Egyptians would not starve.
However, when one thinks about the water symbol in Ancient Egypt, it is also crucial to look to the other waterways, for instance, the Mediterranean Sea, both an opportunity and a threat to the Nilotic people.
It is precisely this complexity surrounding the Waters in Ancient Egypt that we intend to explore.
We should similarly not obliterate the input offered by social sciences to our research. In this paper we intend to demonstrate how these domains of knowledge, such as philosophy, anthropology, ethnology or history of religion, can be very profitable to Egyptology, more specifically, to the study of the Sacred Space in Ancient Egypt.
In exploring the mental and social category of the “sacred”, which was somehow started by Rudolf Otto, and connecting it with the spatial dimension we will be able to comprehend the concept and implications of the “Sacred Space”, intellectually developed by Mircea Eliade. Moreover, we can analyse the concept of “topophilie” (“the love of the place”) proposed by the philosopher Gaston Bachelard, in order to understand the human significance of the space Egyptians felt they belonged to.
In sum, the aim of this paper is to acknowledge the importance of studying the sacralisation of space by the Nilotic people from the perspective of social sciences and to understand its benefits in the construction of a more solid and coherent Egyptology.
um lugar secundário na empresa criacionista, contrariamente ao que sucede, nomeadamente, em Génesis e na tradição antropogónica mesopotâmica. Não obstante, também os antigos Egípcios, mediante a observação do espaço nilótico em que estavam inscritos, produziram um pensamento a este respeito, arquitectado ao longo do tempo, oferecendo uma resposta mitológica para a realidade histórica do surgimento do Homem. É justamente este o processo que aqui nos propomos a
trabalhar e a pensar. Procuraremos assim compreender de que forma o homem egípcio percepcionava a sua própria criação, apontando para os dois eixos fundamentais que nos são sugeridos pela leitura das fontes textuais e expressos nos elementos terrestre e aquático.
Efectivamente, na tradição literária e teológica egípcia, coexistem duas
narrativas centrais em torno da antropogonia: uma segundo a qual o Homem terá sido fruto do trabalho oleiro executado pelo divino tendo a argila (terra) como matéria-prima; e outra que nos dá conta da criação do ser humano como consequência do choro do demiurgo, ou seja, que coloca no material aquoso o gérmen da vida humana.
Partindo destas narrativas, encetaremos uma compreensão da realidade
antropogónica egípcia, questionando-nos a respeito da sua possível conexão com os elementos naturais supra-citados e da articulação destes aspectos com a noção de espaço sagrado, neste caso, o Egipto, entendido pelos seus habitantes como berço e palco da criação da Humanidade.
In this paper, we intend to consider the lexeme mw.t in two textual ensembles: Middle Kingdom stelae from Abydos; and New Kingdom religious hymns. In the Abydian stelae, despite undeniable biological connotations, mw.t also comprises obligations and duties towards the child. As for New Kingdom laudatory texts, the male Creator deity can be described as a ‘mother’ (e.g., pLeiden I 350, V.3-4). While this has been understood in Egyptological literature as an argument in favour of the so-called ‘Creator’s androgyny’, it can be argued that such a characterisation could serve to emphasise the deity’s ceaseless zeal towards his creatures, without compromising his masculinity.
Taking these two corpora as case studies, combining both Egyptological data and the Gender Studies theoretical background, this paper will ponder on mw.t’s possible non-biological implications, both in the human and divine spheres. Given the common practice of adoption in ancient Egypt, and in the absence of a specific lexeme for adoptive mother, could this word also be used to refer to women who performed motherly roles despite not giving birth? What would such a care-centred understanding imply vis-à-vis divine male entities labelled as mw.t? In sum: what was the ontological scope conveyed by mw.t concerning both humans and deities?
For the Ancient Egyptians, the Mediterranean Sea was a permanent challenge. Northern border of Egyptian territory, the Mediterranean Sea was perceived as an opening to the world, an aquatic surface that enabled the paths to dream and imagination. The “Great Green”, as the people of the “Black Land” called it, presented an opportunity to establish new trading relationships, making it a way of increasing the Nilotic country’s wealth. Nevertheless, the Mediterranean was also regarded as the opened door to foreign invasions and to the subsequent loss of Egypt’s unifying elements, such as the pharaoh, religion or language.
This double aspect of the Mediterranean shaped the Ancient Egyptian men and women’s political, economical, cultural and religious approaches to that aquatic element. The Mediterranean Sea allowed the Egyptians not only to recognize themselves but also to interact with foreign peoples and cultures. In what terms was this “Sea of Dialogue” crucial in the Egyptian identity’s building process throughout its history? Can we talk of a “Mediterranean” influence in the Egyptian religion? Was the Mediterranean Sea used by the political and ideological official discourse? Which were the core moments to Egypt’s “Mediterranean” history? In this talk I intend to briefly explore these and other related questions.
With special thanks to the conference team: Rachel Barnas (University of California, Berkeley), Beatrice De Faveri (University of California, Berkeley), Walid Elsayed (Sohag University), Maysa Kassem (Fayum University), Jason Silvestri (University of California, Berkeley).
The conference will be live-streamed on Thursday18, Friday 19 and Saturday 20, November 2021
* Formación Permanente en Egiptología I (14 ECTS, 4 asignaturas, sin trabajo de investigación)
* Formación Permanente en Egiptología II (30 ECTS, 5 asignaturas, con trabajo de investigación)
* Máster de Formación Permanente en Egiptología (60 ECTS, 8 asignaturas, con trabajo de investigación)