Bigeh
| Bigeh in hieroglyphics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||
|
|||||
Senmet Snmt |
|||||
|
|||||
Iat-wabet / Per-wab J3t-wˁbt / Pr-wˁb Place of purity (Abaton) Demotic : House of purity |
|||||
| Greek | Abatos The inaccessible |
||||
 |
|||||
Bigeh (also Bigga, Biga, Bigge, Bigue ; Arabic بجح; ancient Egyptian Senmet and Iat-wabet ; demotic per-wab ; Greek Abatos ) is an island in the first cataract of the Nile in Egypt. It is located west of Philae Island, which was sunk by the construction of the Aswan Dam, and south of Agilkia Island, now known as Philae . Bigeh belonged to the "Islands of the Osiris Tomb " and was therefore considered the original hill of creation in ancient Egyptian mythology . Osiris acted as patron of the ancestors in this context . In order not to disturb the "calm of creation" by making music, hunting or fishing, every non-priestly person was forbidden to enter an Osiris tomb island in the Nile.
Modern finds
So far, fragments of a statue from the Middle Kingdom , rock inscriptions from the 18th Dynasty and remains of a former temple have been discovered on the island . Only parts of one of Ptolemy XII's can be found today . erected porch and fragments of a pylon dated under Augustus . This temple was dedicated to Isis and Osiris . It was a station temple with a mooring on the processional path from Hadrian stor on the west side of the former island of Philae across the water to the described temple opposite as a landing stage on the island of Bigeh and from there on a land route to the Abaton (Osiris tomb).
Due to the flooding of the island of Philae after the construction of the Aswan Dam and the relocation of the temple complex from Philae to the northwestern island of Agilkia in the years 1977 to 1980, this relationship between the two temples can no longer be observed directly today. The sources of the Nile were once believed to be under the Abaton. A round arch in the gate, the remaining part of the pylon, bears witness to the temple's later use as a church. There is no archaeological evidence for a temple of Hathor - Tefnut known from hieroglyphic inscriptions .
Local meaning of the deities
Khnum
Since the early 12th dynasty , Khnum was the ruler of the island. As the cult on Philae grew stronger, it was pushed back by the gods of the Osiris circle. In sub-Nubian temples, a god with a so-called war helmet has been worshiped as " Pharaoh of Bigga " since the Greco-Roman times . There was also the deity Pharaoh , who, as the son of Osiris, was equated with Horus, since the late period . It is striking that human sacrifices are made before him on Philae. In a Greek rock inscription on Sehel , a "god of Senis (= Bigga)", Petensenis, is mentioned. Maybe it is a deified pharaoh.
Hor-pa-chered
The child god Hor-pa-chered was nicknamed "Lord of Abaton" in addition to his name "Lord of Philae". The temple belonging to it was on the processional path near the landing stage. Augustus had Hor-pa-chered and his parents Isis and Osiris offer sacrifices. In addition, a king, whose name cartouche remained empty, can be seen on a relief laying a wreath offering to Hathor von Bigge and Hor-pa-chered. The relief has been badly damaged in the meantime.
Naming
In 2000, a bright spot on Jupiter's moon Ganymede was named after Bigeh with the explanation "Island where the Egyptian Nile god ruled" .
literature
- Aylward M. Blackman: The temple of Bigeh (= Les temples immergés de la Nubie. Volume 7). Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Le Caire 1915.
- Hans Bonnet: Bigge. In: Real Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2000, ISBN 3-11-016884-7 , p. 118.
- Harry Eilenstein: Hathor and Re: Myths and Magic in Ancient Egypt. Edition Magus, Bad Münstereifel 1990, ISBN 3-924613-19-2 .
- Richard Pietschmann : Abaton 2 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 21.
- Erich Winter: Bigga. In: Lexicon of Egyptology. (LÄ) Volume I, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, pp. 792-793.
- Günther Hölbl: Ancient Egypt in the Roman Empire. The Roman Pharaoh and His Temples II. The Temples of Roman Nubia. von Zabern, Mainz 2004, ISBN 3-8053-3396-X .
Individual evidence
- ^ Rainer Hannig: Large Concise Dictionary Egyptian-German . 2001. p. 1381.
- ↑ Harry Eilenstein: Hathor and Re: Myths and Magic in Ancient Egypt. Bad Münstereifel 1990, p. 83.
- ↑ Günther Hölb: Ancient Egypt in the Roman Empire. ... Mainz 2004, p. 98.
- ↑ Erich Winter: Bigga. In: LÄ I column 792.
- ↑ Sandra Sandri: Har-Pa-Chered (Harpokrates). The genesis of an Egyptian god child (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. Volume 151). Peeters, Leuven 2006, ISBN 90-429-1761-X , pp. 58-59.
Web links
Coordinates: 24 ° 1 ' N , 32 ° 53' E