Magic in ancient Egypt

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Magic in hieroglyphics
V28 n / a G1 A2

V28 n / a G1 Z7 A2

Heka
ḥk3
Activation of the Ka
( magic , sorcery)
G25 Aa1 G43 Z3

Achu
3ḫ.w
power (of the oh spirit) , magic power
Greek μαγεία (Mageía)
Coptic hike

As magic in ancient Egypt (also sorcery in ancient Egypt ) are understood actions that authorize a deity or the person chosen by him to acquire and use creative powers . In ancient Egypt, magical acts mainly extended to the areas of help, assistance and protection in the afterlife .

Terminology

The two main terms for magic acts in ancient Egypt were Heka and Achu . While 'Heka' mainly stood for magic as an action, 'Achu' comprised the power behind it. The word Heka literally means “activation of the Ka ” or “invocation of the Ka ” and corresponds to the Coptic word Hike and the Greek Magia . The word Achu means “power”, but also “magic”.

concept

In ancient Egyptian history, magic was understood as a creative as well as a protective force that was inherent in gods and humans alike. Together with the forces “will” ( Sia ) and “saying” ( Hu ) “magic” formed a divine trinity. In the New Kingdom , the elements "doing" ( Iri ), "hearing" ( Sedjem ) and "determination" ( Shai ) were added. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the use of magic was done by invoking the Ka , which aroused creative powers which the user could use in his favor. Magic-related (but purely ritual ) acts were practiced by priests for cult purposes , primarily during a funeral and / or during a cult festival in honor of a king or a deity in the form of chants, litanies and prayers .

In addition to the term Maat (“(world) order, harmony”), magic was one of the most important elements in the Egyptian belief in the afterlife and in the dead. In particular, the journey of the sun god Re through the Duat during the night in his sacred boat included the defense against enemies by magic. All companions of the Re were awarded the ability to do magic. The deceased person was also given the ability to do magic, and through various sayings and prayers the traveler to the hereafter tried to prevent his Heka from being snatched from him.

In later times magic was personified in the form of the god Heka .

Magic in Egyptian Literature

The best-known ancient Egyptian literary work on sorcery (but also prophecy ) is the Westcar papyrus , which dates from the late Middle Kingdom or the 13th Dynasty (Second Intermediate Period) and tells of priests reading aloud and wise men who use magic to bring wax figures to life awakening (cf. Voodoo ), moving lakes and rivers and giving prophecies. The use of magic is evidenced by the word heka .

literature

  • Adolf Erman : The fairy tales of the Papyrus Westcar I. Introduction and Commentar . In: Messages from the Oriental Collections . Book V, National Museums in Berlin, Berlin 1890.
  • Peter Eschweiler: Image magic in ancient Egypt: The use of images and objects in magical acts according to the texts of the Middle and New Kingdom . Universitäts-Verlag, Freiburg 1994, ISBN 3-525-53772-7 .
  • Friedrich Graf: The Egyptian Faith, Volume II: The Egyptian concept of the afterlife and gods in ancient Egypt . BOD, Norderstedt 2011, ISBN 3-8423-8081-X , p. 203.
  • Christian Leitz : Lexicon of Egyptian gods and names of gods: ḥ-ḫ (= Lexicon of Egyptian gods and names of gods , Volume 5). Peeters Publishers, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1150-6 .
  • Verena M. Lepper : Investigations on pWestcar. A philological and literary (re-) analysis . In: Ägyptologische Abhandlungen , Volume 70. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2008, ISBN 3-447-05651-7 .
  • Miriam Lichtheim : Ancient Egyptian literature: a book of readings. The Old and Middle Kingdoms. Volume 1. University of California Press, Berkeley CA 2000, ISBN 0-520-02899-6 .
  • David Rankine: Heka: The Practices of Ancient Egyptian Ritual and Magic . Avalonia, 2006, ISBN 1-905297-07-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Verena M. Lepper: Investigations on pWestcar . Wiesbaden 2008, pp. 41-47, 103, 308-310.
  2. ↑ Miriam Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian literature . Berkeley 2000, pp. 215-220.
  3. ↑ Adolf Erman: Die Märchen des Papyrus Westcar I. Berlin 1890, pp. 10-12.

Web links