Shabaka Stone
| Country | Egypt  |
|---|---|
| Coordinate location | 51°31′9″N 0°7′41″W |
| Language of work or name | Egyptian |
| Collection | British Museum |
| Writing system | Egyptian hieroglyphs |
De Shabaka Stone, sam times Shabaqo, be a relic dem incise plus an ancient Egyptian religious text, wich dey date from de Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.[1] Insyd later years, na dem likely use de stone as a millstone, wich damage de hieroglyphs. Dis damage be accompanied by oda intentional defacements, wey dey leave de hieroglyphic inscription insyd poor condition.
Provenance
[edit | edit source]Historical origins
[edit | edit source]Na dem originally erect am as a lasting monument for de Great Temple of Ptah insyd Memphis insyd de late eighth century BCE, na dem komot de stone for sam point (reasons wey no be known) to Alexandria.[2] From der, na dem transport am by a navy vessel from Alexandria to England. Na dem bring am back as ballast along plus a capital of an Egyptian column, fragments of a Greco-Roman black basalt capital, two fragments of quartzite lintel of Senusret III, den a black granite kneeling statue of Ramesses II.[3] Insyd 1805, na dem donate de stone to de British Museum by George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834), wey he be First Lord of de Admiralty den since 1794 de trustee of de museum.[4] Insyd 1901, na dem decipher de stone, translate, den interpret for de first time by de American Egyptologist James Henry Breasted.[5] Na de monument remain for de museum to de present day.[2]
Dating
[edit | edit source]De stone ein dedicatory introduction dey claim say e be a copy of de surviving contents of a worm-ridden, decaying papyrus wey de pharaoh Shabaka find insyd de Great Temple of Ptah. Homer W. Smith dey date de original text to de First Dynasty, wey dey call am "de oldest written record of human thought".[6]
Na Breasted, Adolf Erman, Kurt Sethe, den Hermann Junker all date de stone to de Old Kingdom. De stone be archaic, both linguistically (ein language be similar to dat dem use insyd de Pyramid Texts of de Old Kingdom) den politically (e dey allude to de importance of Memphis as de first royal city). As such, na Henri Frankfort, John Wilson, Miriam Lichtheim, den Erik Iversen sanso assess de stone to be from de Old Kingdom. However, na Friedrich Junge den chaw oda scholars since then argue dat na dem produce de monument insyd de Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Today, scholars dey feel e be clear say e no fi predate de Nineteenth Dynasty.[7]
Composition
[edit | edit source]De stela be around 137 centimetres (54 in) wide, plus de left side height dem estimate at 91 cm (36 in) den de right side about 95 cm (37 in). De written surface be 132 cm (52 in) for width den on average, 66 cm (26 in) for height. De rectangular hole insyd de center be 12 by 14 cm (4.7 by 5.5 in), plus eleven radiating lines wey dey range insyd length from 25 to 38 cm (9.8 to 15.0 in), wey dey comprise an area 78 cm (31 in) across.
Insyd 1901, na Breasted identify de stone as a rectangular slab of black granite.[8] While na oda scholars postulate say na de monument be a slab anaa basalt anaa a conglomerate stone, na a recent analysis by a scientist of de British Museum reveal de stone be green breccia wey dey originate from Wadi Hammamat.
Content
[edit | edit source]
De text dey include two main divisions plus a short introduction den an ending summary. De first division dey relate de unification of Upper den Lower Egypt. Ptah work thru Horus make e accomplish dis unification. De oda be a creation myth, de "Memphite Theology" anaa "Memphite Drama",[6] wey dey establish Ptah as de creator of all things, wey dey include gods.
De text dey stress say e dey insyd Memphis wey de unification of Egypt take place. De inscription sanso dey state say na dis town be de burial-place of Osiris, after he drift ashore.
Introduction den titulary of de King
[edit | edit source]De first line of de stone dey present de fivefold royal titulary of de king: "The living Horus: Who prospers the Two Lands; the Two Ladies: Who prospers the Two Lands; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Neferkare; the Son of Re: [Shabaka], beloved of Ptah-South-of-His-Wall, who lives like Re forever." De first three names emphasize de king ein manifestation as a living god (especially of de falcon-headed Horus, patron god to de Egyptian kings), while de latter two names (de king ein throne name den birth name) refer to Egypt ein division den unification.
De second line, a dedicatory introduction, dey state say de stone be a copy of de surviving contents of a worm-eaten papyrus na Shabaka find as na he dey inspect de Great Temple of Ptah.
De Unification of Egypt
[edit | edit source]Lines 3 to 47 dey describe de unification of Upper den Lower Egypt under de god Horus for Memphis. De text first dey declare de political den theological supremacy of de Memphite god Ptah, de king of both Upper den Lower Egypt, den de creator of de Ennead. De inscription then dey describe how Horus, as a manifestation of Ptah, initially dey rule Lower Egypt while ein rival Set dey rule Upper Egypt. However, Horus receive Upper Egypt from Geb, wey he cam turn de sole ruler of de land.
De Memphite Theology
[edit | edit source]Lines 48 to 64 dey recount de creation myth dem know as de Memphite Theology. Na Ptah, de patron god of craftsmen, metalworkers, artisans, den architects be viewed as a creator-god, a divine craftsman of de universe wey na e be responsible for all existence. Na creation first be a spiritual den intellectual activity, wey be facilitated by de divine heart (thought) den tongue (speech/word) of Ptah. Then, creation cam be a physical activity wey Atum carry out, wey, be created by Ptah ein teeth den lips, wey produce de Ennead from ein seed den hands.
Summary
[edit | edit source]Lines 61 thru 64 dey summarize de text as a whole.
Purpose
[edit | edit source]According to Ragnhild Bjerre Finnestad, der be three theories on de possible purpose of de Shabaka text:
- Make e assert de supremacy of de Memphite theological system over de Heliopolitan
- Make e claim de hegemony of de Memphis den ein priesthood over Heliopolis den ein priesthood
- To present an ontology.[9]
As a temple text dem wrep down wey dem set up insyd de temple of Ptah, e be likely say na de Shabaka Stone serve a religious, cultic-theological purpose, wey dey place ein subject matter within a cultic frame of reference.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ The Shabako Stone, British Museum
- 1 2 Bodine 2009, p. 5.
- ↑ El Hawary 2007, pp. 567–8.
- ↑ El Hawary 2007, p. 567.
- ↑ Bodine 2009, p. 2.
- 1 2 Smith, Homer W. (1952). Man and His Gods. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. p. 45.
Internal evidence has satisfied all authorities that the archetype from which the copy was made must have been written at the opening of the dynastic period.
- ↑ Van De Mieroop, Marc (2011). A history of Ancient Egypt. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. p. 303. ISBN 978-1-4051-6070-4
- ↑ Breasted, James Henry (1901). "The Philosophy of a Memphite Priest". Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde. 39: 39–54. doi:10.1524/zaes.1901.39.jg.39. S2CID 193638960.
- ↑ Finnestad 1976, pp. 82–83.
Sources
[edit | edit source]- Bodine, Joshua J. (April 2009). "The Shabaka Stone: An Introduction". Studia Antiqua. 7 (1): 17 – via BYU ScholarsArchive.
- Finnestad, Ragnhild Bjerre (1976). "Ptah, Creator of the Gods: Reconsideration of the Ptah Sections of the Denkmai". Numen. 23 (2): 81–113. doi:10.2307/3269662. JSTOR 3269662.
- El Hawary, Amr (2007). "New Findings About the Memphite Theology". In Goyon, Jean-Claude; Cardin, Christine (eds.). Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists. Leuven (Belgium): Peeters Publishers & Department of Oriental Studies.
External links
[edit | edit source]
- The Shabaka Stone, English translation by M. Lichtheim