Remerciez-le!

Remerciez @Admin pour avoir partagé cet document gratuitement, de la manière la plus simple, en partageant sur les réseaux sociaux.

THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANC I ENT YPT DONALD B. REDFORD EDITOR IN CHIEF VOLU

THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANC I ENT YPT DONALD B. REDFORD EDITOR IN CHIEF VOLUME 2 ^R M OXJ.ORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 2001 Kingdom Writings. Norman, Okla., 1991. A broad variety of texts from, or thought to date to, the Middle Kingdom, the so-called clas- sical period of Eglptian writing. Includes an excellent discussion of Egyptian genres, with short, helpful introductions to each text and an emphasis on the oral basis of many Egyptian writings. Simpson, W. K., ed. The Literature of Ancient Egtpt: An Antholog of Stories, Itstructions, and Poetry. New Haven, 1973. Standard one- volume collection of materials from all periods, with short intro- ductions for each text. Secondary Discussions Dijk, J. van. "Myth and Mlthmaking in Ancient Egypt." In Civilizn- tions in the Ancient Near Edst, edited by J. Sasson, vol. 3, pp. 1697- 1709. New York, 1995. Short overview with a current bibliography of primary sources and secondary discussions. Foley, J. M. Ihe Theory of Oral Composition: History and Methodolog. Bloomington and Indianapolis, 1988. A classic in the field. Foley, J.M. 'Word-Power, Perfoimance, and Tladition." Ioumal of Ameican Folklore 105 (1992), 275-301. Brings together different strands of discussion of oral tradition. Hollis, S. T. The Ancient Egtptian'Thlz of Two Brothers": The Oldest Fairy Tale in theWorld. Norman, Okla., 1990. A "thick description" of the New Kingdom tale in its Egyptian and ancient Near Eastern context, suggesting the kinds of thinking an audience might have brought to a performance of the tale. Lord, A. B. The Singer of Tales. Cambridge, Mass., 1960. The classic work on oral composition that forms the basis for any fiscussion of the topic. Lord, A. B. Epic Singers and Oral kadition. Ithaca, 1991. Collection of Lord's papers, some refining the work presented in 1960. The opening essay, 'Words Heard and Words Seen," is particularly rele- vant to the present discussion. Muhawi, I., and S. Kanaana. Speak, Bird, Speak Again: Palcstinian Arab Folktales. Berkeley, 1989. Examples of contemporary oral folk- tales collected from illiterate and semiliterate narrators, accompa- nied by an excellent discussion explaining and setting the tales in their contemporary context. Niditch, S. Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature. Louisville, 1996. Excellent discussion ofbiblical materials as origi- nating in an oral culture. Ong, W. J. Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. Lon- don and New York, 1 982. Discussion of the psychodynamics of oral- ity, and theory about the impact of writing and eventual literacy on oral cultures. Redford, Donald B. "Ancient Eg;ptian Literature: An Ovewiew." In Civilizations ofthe Ancient Near East, editedby J. Sasson, vol. 4, pp. 2223-2241. New York, 1995. Fine overview with a short introduc- tory section paying special attention to oral composition and trans- mission. Vansina, J. Oral Tiadition as History. Madison, Wis., 1985. A classic in the field. SUSAN TOWER HOLLIS OSIRIS. In origin a royal mortuary god, Osiris exempli- fied a cult that was begun in a fairly restricted context, but one which achieved wide popularity and a notable expansion of functions. The exclusive link with royalty was abandoned just prior to the Middle Kingdom; the fu- nerary aspect, howevel always persisted, and Osiris was always shown in mummy wrappings. While the funerary aspect was primarily based on the experience of death, it OSIRIS 615 enabled believers, through the force of myth and ritual, to accept the conviction that life after death was warranted. Fom and Name. The representation of Osiris in its developed form shows him wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt and carrying the crook and the flail. Else- where, the White Crown often became the atef-crown through the addition of feathers, and there were various complex vensions of it. The preponderance of the White Crown in the earlier versions of Osiris suggests an Upper EgSptian origin for the god. As for the crook and the flail, they both raise questions of political and sociological im- port. The crook suggests a shepherd god, and Wolfgang Helck (1962) has argued that the Syrian Adonis provides the closest contemporary analogy. Marked differences ex- isted, howeve4 in both myths and cults; and, in fact, the concept of a sovereign gd as shepherd of his people was shared by other religious ideologies of the ancient Near East, expressed both in art and literature. The function and origin of the flail are more enigmatic. Perhaps it is a fly-whisk or a shepherd's whip. It is shown sometimes with other deities, such as Min. Bothflail and crook, how- evef,, appear with the god Andjety of the ninth Lower Egyptian nome, which suggests a possible source. The constant feature of the figure of Osiris was its mummified form, with a close linkage of the legs. The fu- nerary import was thus stressed. Whereas the Old King- dom, by and large, has yielded no iconographic evidence, a relief on a block from the pyramid temple of the king Djedkare Izezi of the fifth dyttasty presents a figure bear- ing the name of Osiris; it belongs to a row of divine fig- ures, today partly damaged, and it has been dated to the closing years of that dynasty (c.2405 nce). The lower part of the Osiris figure is missing, but the left arm hangs freely, suggesting that here the figure was not mummi- form. Absent also are the flail and the crook, although the missing right arm might be grasping something; on the head is a long wig. Since the form is that of a standing anthropomorphic figure, with none of the distinctive Osi- rian attributes, discussion and debate about it have emerged (see Griffrths 1980; Lorton 1985; and Eaton- Krauss 1987). Rival gods at that time were Anubis, Khen- tamenthiw, and Wepwawet, and all three had jackal forms; that Osiris, too, was originally imagined as a jackal has been suggested by words in the pyramid of Neferkare, which say of the dead king, "thy face is [that of ] a jackal, like Osiris." Osiris'ensuing human form clearly became a vital feature of his appeal, and his identity with the dead king contributed to his popularity. The god's nameWsir (in Coptic, Oycipe or Oycipi) was written at first with the sign for a throne, followed by the sign for an eye; later the order was inverted. Among the many meanings suggested is one cognate with Ashur; irr'- plyrng a Syrian origin; but also "he who takes his seat or throne"; "she or that which has sovereign power and is 616 OSIRIS OSIRIS. Bronze statuette of Osiis, from the ptolemaic period. (University of Pennsylvania Museum, philadelphia. Neg. # S8-31580) creative"; "the place of creation"; "seat of the Eye,,, with the Eye explained as the Sun; "the seat that creates,,; and "the Mighty One," deriving from wsr (..mighty,,). Since the throne sign occurs also with the deity Isis, Wolfhart Wes_ tendorf tried to relate the two names, but he ended by positing an originally female Osiris, although the deitys male potency was so often emphasized. No consensus has been reached on the basic and original meaning of the name. Perhaps we must be content with the popular ety_ mology offered in the Pyramid Texts, 2054 (pN): ,,The king makes his seat like Osiris"; there, elements of the name were deployed but without a valid order (Erman 1909). Myth and Kingship. Although the pyramid Texts do not provide a consecutive account of the Osiris myth, they abundantly supply in scattered allusions the principal de_ tails about his fate and especially about his relationship to the deceased pharaoh. He was presented as the brother and husband of Isis and as a member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis; and in that group, Geb and Nut were named (clearly as parents) before Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Neph_ thys. Osiris' brother Seth was said to have caused his death and yet there is a lack of explicit statements about the death of Osiris. Not that the death of gods was unmen_ tionable to the Eglptian mind-even the sun god Re was depicted as suffering old age and death. In the case of Osiris, howeve4 despite the absence of a firm dictum that he died, a cluster of details have allowed that conclusion to be held. Above all, he was constantly represented as mummified. He was smitten by his brother Seth in a place called Nedyet or Gehestey. With that ac_ count should perhaps be connected the tradition, found in the Memphite Theology (late eighth century ecn) and elsewhere, that Osiris was drowned-a tradition that re_ sulted in the ancient Egyptian idea that being drowned in the Nile River was a blessed death. yet doubt has been cast on the validity of that tradition in an important study by Pascal Vernus (1991), in which he examines numerous allusions to the god's death; he concludes that the myth represents Osiris as being dead when he was hurled into the wate6 that it never tells of his being drowned. In the Memphite Theology, Horus commanded Isis and Nephthys to grasp Osiris so that they might protect him from uploads/Geographie/ oeoae-2-osiris-pdf.pdf