Min (Egyptian mythology)
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In the early dynastic period , Min is only occasionally documented as an ancient Egyptian deity of creation . In the Old Kingdom , Min appeared as a local deity in Koptos ; later in Achmim also as "Lord of Ipu, the strong Horus". In the further course of ancient Egyptian history he was associated with the characters of conception and fertility. The Greeks equated him with their shepherd god Pan .
background
In Egyptian mythology , individual properties of the Min were transferred to several other deities. The merger with Amun-Re to Amun-Re-Kamutef ("Amun-Re, bull of his mother") is documented for the first time in the Middle Kingdom . In the second intermediate period (1648 to 1550 BC) the special forms Min-Amun, Amun-Min ("Min-Amun / Amun-Min, bull of his mother") and Min-Kamutef ("Min, bull of his mother") followed. ). At the beginning of the 18th dynasty (1550 BC) Amun-Re-Kamutef merged into the new single form Kamutef ("his mother's bull"). Finally, in the 21st dynasty at the latest, Amenemope ("Amun of Karnak") was added as a new statue deity, which was derived from Kamutef.
meaning
Originally Min was the patron of the caravan routes to the Red Sea and “prospector for precious stones in the eastern Egyptian deserts ”, parallel to Seth in the oases of the western Egyptian desert . As the god of fertility and the “ bull of the nine ”, he is equated with the symbol of the moon , which is reborn every morning in the eastern Egyptian desert and renews itself every month.
As an animal, Min is the " white bull Min-Kamutef ", whose white appearance shows the relationship to the moon. The meaning " bull of his mother " describes his fertilization of a goddess who takes the rank of his mother and wife. Mythologically , Min can therefore produce himself as son and husband at the same time and clearly shows the mythical scheme of the royal inheritance.
In the “world chamber” of the sun sanctuary of Niuserre as well as in the Sneferu Temple , Min can be seen on fragments in connection with the goddess Seschat , whose activities shown were in connection with the Sedfest . From a later time there is a legend according to which Min, instead of the dead Osiris, procreated Horus .
presentation
Min is depicted on two-dimensional images in the Middle Kingdom as a dignified human-like appearance with a high crown made of two feathers. Striking is a protrusion protruding from the center of the front of the body, in which a slender, erect phallus is generally seen. However, the associated testicles are missing. It is also special that, in contrast to the otherwise continuous two-legged representation of people or gods in human form, Min is shown as a mummy wrapped in linen bandages with closed legs, sometimes with visible mummy ribbons. Except for his head and hand, Min's skin is covered. In the profile representation on pictures and reliefs, only one leg and one arm can be seen. The visible arm is angled upwards behind the body, the open palm points upwards into the angle formed by a flagellum resting above it , which is often explained as a symbol of sexual penetration. The figure usually stands on a pedestal-like elevation, from the crown a band leads vertically behind the body to the floor. In three-dimensional representations, in addition to the raised hand, a second hand can often be seen with which Min grasps the root of his erect phallus.
From the beginning of the Greco-Roman period he can be seen as a lion-headed fertility god with a sun disk on his head and raised arms with a scourge .
Assignments
In the New Kingdom , Min was considered the god of the first month of the Peret period .
In the Greco-Roman times, Min went through the classifications from 17th Peret II to 19th Schemu II as a chronocrat , which resulted from the shifting of the seasons in the Egyptian calendar . In Edfu he was fused with the deities Chenticheti and Sokar to form the deity Min-Chenticheti-Sokar.
See also
literature
- Claas Jouco Bleeker: The Birth of a God: A Study of d. egypt. Gott Min us Fest (= Studies in the history of religions. Vol. 3). Brill, Leiden 1956.
- Hans Bonnet : Min. In: Lexicon of the Egyptian religious history. Nikol, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , pp. 461-467.
- Christian Leitz : Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods . Vol. 3: P - nbw (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. 112). Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1148-4 , pp. 288-291.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Hermann Junker: The mastaba of Seschem-nefer III. In: Herman Junker: Gîza: Report on the excavations undertaken by the Academy of Sciences in Vienna at joint expense with Wilhelm Pelizaeus in the cemetery of the Old Kingdom near the pyramids of Gîza; Vol. 3: The Maṣṭabas of the advanced 5th dynasty in the Westfriedhof . Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky, Vienna 1938; 204. Louvre AF 9460, Paris catalog . Paris 1990, p. 272.
- ↑ a b Catherine Graindorge : From the white bull of Min to Amenemope: Metamorphoses of a rite In: Carola Metzner-Nebelsick: Rituals in prehistory, antiquity and the present - studies of Near Eastern, Prehistoric and Classical archeology, Egyptology, ancient history, theology and religious studies ; Interdisciplinary conference from 1-2. February 2002 at the Free University of Berlin. Leidorf, Rahden 2003, ISBN 3-89646-434-5 , p. 37.
- ↑ Geraldine Pinch: Handbook of Egyptian Mythology. ABC-CLIO, Oxford a. a. 2002, p. 164 (English)
- ↑ Bleeker: The Birth of a God. P. 49
- ↑ Bleeker: The Birth of a God. P. 51