Mesechtiu (Egyptian mythology)

Mesechtiu in hieroglyphics
	Constellation "Mesechtiu" (Great Bear)

Mesechtiu is the name of an ancient Egyptian sky deity from the constellation of the big dipper , attested toin the Old Kingdom . In the New Egyptian language , the hieroglyphic spelling of the expression changed. In addition, in the New Kingdom, in connection with the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the concept of the constellation “Mesechtiu” was partially replaced by “ Chepesch ”.

Mythological connections

With the beginning of the 2nd dynasty , Horus and Seth symbolized "the two countries" of Lower and Upper Egypt , the union of which every king celebrated with the " Unification Festival of the Two Countries " when taking office.

Old Kingdom to New Kingdom

The king ( Pharaoh ) saw himself in the early Old Kingdom as the embodiment of the kingship personified by Horus and Seth. In the Old Kingdom, the titles of Mesechtiu " He is the one who does not know the end " and " The Immortal " refer to the mythological role and the assignment to the desert god Seth , since from the Old Kingdom the astronomical circumstance occurred that the constellation of Seth as the only constellation of heaven not set. With the beginning of the 4th dynasty , various heavenly deities took on the role of messenger and preparer for the king's ascension to heaven :

“See, the king is rising, see the king is coming. But it does not come by itself. It is your messengers who brought it, the word of God has raised it up. "

- Pyramid text 262

In the Middle Kingdom , Mesechtiu appeared together with Sah , god of the constellation Orion , in order to prepare the throne of the late king, which he took after his ascension into heaven. Mesechtiu also belonged with Sah to the crew of the sky barque that brought the deceased king to his heavenly throne. Accordingly, Mesechtiu was considered to be the " companion of the deceased to the western horizon ".

In the New Kingdom Mesechtiu belonged to the gods group " the secrets of the great god of Duat brings ". The infinite lifetime of the king was equated with that of Mesechtiu, who never set. As a constellation, it was located in the “ northern sky ”, which “ could not enter the Duat, since Re watches over there as a bright sky deity ”. Mesechtiu takes third place among the nine Sechet-iaru regional deities.

Late to Greco-Roman times

During the Late Period “ Mesechtiu does not let Apophis into the northern sky, while Sah binds Apophis in the southern sky ”. In the Greco-Roman period , Mesechtiu is listed in an unclear context as a creation deity who participated in the “ creation of the world ”. However, its positive properties are reversed. In his capacity as Seth, Mesechtiu is considered to be "the enemy of the Sah ( Osiris ), who is tied up by Isis as a Sopdet and prevented from entering the Duat ".

The deceased sees Mesechtiu standing opposite Sah on the " day of restraint ", where Sah appears as the deity of the constellation Orion in the southern sky, while Mesechtiu stands for the northern sky. Accordingly, another title reads: " He is the one who is in the northern sky ". In other texts it says: " As Ipet, Isis ties up the" bull's thigh in the northern sky "to prevent it from falling into the duat ". In connection with the same constellation Chepesch , Mesechtiu is also considered an enemy:

“ Thoth cuts off Seth's thigh (Chepesch) and lifts him high into the middle of the sky. The knife demons Chatiu guard him, the Mesechtiu of the northern sky and Reret hold him tight. "

- Esna IV, 400

Forms of representation and other titles

In the Middle Kingdom, Mesechtiu appeared with raised arms as a standing deity who was holding a rope; from the New Kingdom without rope and with arms hanging down and as a standing mummy . With the beginning of the Greco-Roman period, the iconography changes again. Mesechtiu is now represented as a bull or with an oval-shaped bull torso.

He also has the following titles: "Iti-Mesechtiu", "Per-em-Mesechtiu", "Sebau-sefeh-nu-Mesechtiu" and "Ka-nechet-Sah-Mesechtiu".

literature

Jan Assmann : Death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt. Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-49707-1 .
Godefroid de Callataÿ: La Grande Ourse et le taureau Apis (Apis and the Great Bear). In: Claude Vandersleyen, Claude Obsomer, Ann-Laure Oosthoek: Amosiadès: Mélanges offerts au Claude Vandersleyen par ses anciens étudiants. Université catholique de Louvain - Institut orientaliste - Collège Erasme, Louvain-la-Neuve 1992, ISBN 2-87209-203-X , pp. 71-83.
JF Carlotti, C. Sambin: Une Porte de fête-Sed de Ptolémée II remployée dans le Temple de Montou à Médamoud. In: Bulletin de l´Institut Francais d´Archéologie Orientale. No. 95, Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Le Caire 1995, pp. 419-421.
Wolfgang Kosack : The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts. In a new German translation; completely edited and edited by Wolfgang Kosack. Christoph Brunner, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-9524018-1-1 .
Christian Leitz u. a .: Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods . (LGG), Vol. 3: P-nbw (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. [OLA] Vol. 112). Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1148-4 , p. 441.
Alexandra von Lieven : The sky over Esna - A case study on religious astronomy in Egypt using the example of the cosmological ceiling and architrave inscriptions in the temple of Esna. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2000, ISBN 3-447-04324-5 .

Individual evidence

↑ Kurt Sethe: Pyramid Text 458c . The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts based on the paper prints and photographs of the Berlin Museum, Berlin 1908.
↑ Christian Leitz u. a .: LGG Volume 3, p. 398.
↑ Jan Assmann: Death and Beyond in Ancient Egypt. Munich 2003, p. 167.
↑ Christian Leitz u. a .: LGG Volume 3, p. 441.

[1] Kurt Sethe: Pyramid Text 458c . The ancient Egyptian pyramid texts based on the paper prints and photographs of the Berlin Museum, Berlin 1908.

[2] Christian Leitz u. a .: LGG Volume 3, p. 398.

[3] Jan Assmann: Death and Beyond in Ancient Egypt. Munich 2003, p. 167.

[4] Christian Leitz u. a .: LGG Volume 3, p. 441.