Ägyptische und Orientalische Papyri und Handschriften des Ägyptischen Museums und Papyrussammlung Berlin
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At the temple of Soknopaios in Dimeh, the Faiyum, a daily ritual was carried out for the main God as in every other Egyptian temple. Papyri from the first and second centuries CE convey the ancient texts intended for recital, which were written down in "unetymological" Demotic script, which makes it particularly challenging to decipher them. This volume is the first to present these late versions of the ritual in an annotated edition.
Repurposing Ritual is the editio princeps of a group of papyrus fragments from ancient Asyut in Middle Egypt currently kept in the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung in Berlin. The papyri are significant for the study of ancient Egyptian religious and funerary culture because they contain in a neat hieratic handwriting magical spells which otherwise mainly appear on wooden box-shape coffins from the First Intermediate Period onwards (ca. 2205 BC). The so-called Coffin Texts originated in another context, however, and only received a funerary association when written down on coffins or other funerary equipment. At least some of the texts are secondary copies of ritual spells. The ‘Berlin papyri’ yield these spells in combination with an offering list and a Letter to the Dead dedicated to a male person called Sedekh who lived in Asyut around 2100BC. This unique combination of text genres gives valuable insights into the performative stages of a personalized mortuary ritual. It also shows how the Egyptians’ investment in preparations for the afterlife contained a wealth of information about the world of the living.
Papyrus Berlin P. 3057 is one of the most eminent specimens among the so-called “liturgical/ritual papyri”, which enjoyed some popularity during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. Besides a complete transliteration, translation, and palaeographical analysis, this edition offers extensive commentary and indexes. The introductory chapters highlight the manuscript’s value as a preeminent source for funerary belief and practice in Late Period Egypt.
First complete edition of two demotic manuscripts from the early Roman period. These papyri, written in the distinctive Soknopaiu Nesos hand (Fayyum), are inscribed with religious texts for which only a few parallels are known. Papyrus Berlin P. 6750 contains 10 fragmentary columns and can be described as a compendium of liturgical texts, including among others glorifications, lamentations, litanies of names and hymnic parts. The first seven columns are centred on Osiris, foremost in the West, with the description of his ‘resurrection’; the last three columns, which deploy more recent grammar constructions, are concerned with the birth of Horus-the-son-of-Isis inside the mammisi, and his accession to the throne. Papyrus Berlin P. 8765, in its present state, is made up of two large columns containing litanies of names and it is a close parallel to a section of papyrus Berlin P. 6750.? There is reason to think that the main papyrus was written by a scribe from Soknopaiu Nesos in the 1st century A.D. who both compiled earlier sacerdotal texts and composed new ones, combining traditional themes. This enterprise reflects the surge in creativity that can be witnessed throughout Egypt in the religious sphere during the early Roman period.
Édition originale de deux manuscrits démotiques religieux rédigés dans la main dite “ de Soknopaiou Nesos ” (Fayoum, début de l’époque romaine). Le papyrus Berlin P. 6750 décrit la “ résurrection ” d’Osiris, puis la naissance d’Horus-le-fils-d’Isis (Harpsenesis) dans le mammisi et son accession au trône, le fils succédant au père. Le papyrus Berlin P. 8765 préserve des litanies de noms également attestées dans le manuscrit principal.
This volume contains a collection of some 40 ancient Egyptian incantations written in hieratic cursive script. The partly illustrated texts date from the period between the late New Kingdom and the early Roman Empire (approx. 13th century BC to the 2nd century AD). They are typically protective oaths against harmful gods and spirits written on papyrus strips and rolled up to be worn around the neck in capsules, as is still done in Egypt today.
