The Donkey in Ancient Egyptian Religion: A Badass Perspective
Mon 07 Oct
|Sir David Davies Lecture Theatre G8
Dr Marie Vandenbeusch (Curator, Funerary Culture of the Nile Valley, British Museum)
Time & Location
07 Oct 2024, 18:15 – 19:30 BST
Sir David Davies Lecture Theatre G8, UCL Roberts Building\Torrington Pl, London WC1E 7JE, UK
About the event
Online participation
Please register to receive a Zoom link.
Abstract
In ancient Egypt, donkeys were essential in both trade and agriculture, but their value was greatly nuanced by their perception in religion. The ambivalent nature of the animal is often reflected in funerary, magical or ritual sources, while its well-known association to the evil god Seth is constantly reminded in the modern literature. Either benevolent or evil, donkeys are often seen as ambiguous entities that can be recognised as dreadful beings possessing powers praised for their protective efficiency. Although they can be associated to Seth, they also followed their own path. In magical texts, the animal was feared and revered at the same time, becoming a powerful entity holding spears and evoked as a protector, while in Graeco-Roman temples it will be annihilated as the archetype of evil. In this presentation we will attempt to follow these donkeys – the good and the bad – by exploring iconographical, textual and archaeological sources spanning from Predynastic to Roman times.