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Krebsbach - The Persians and Atum Worship in Egypt's 27th Dynasty
Krebsbach - The Persians and Atum Worship in Egypt's 27th Dynasty
Jared B. Krebsbach
Introduction
In the past few decades, some valuable studies have helped shed light on Egypts 27th dynasty, also known as the First Persian Period (Kienitz 1953; Posener 1936). These studies have helped elucidate several aspects of this often enigmatic period. One such aspect is the Achaemenid Persians tendency to allow their subject peoples the freedom to practise their native religions unhindered (Allen 2005, 126 127). At the same time, the Persians inuenced their foreign subjects religious traditions to a certain extent, particularly with the taxation of temple revenues (Joisten-Pruschke 2008, 64). Similarly, to date, the inuence of Egypts long enduring religious traditions on the Persians remains unexamined. Textual evidence, surviving in both Egypt and Persia, suggests that the Persians had a special afnity to the Egyptian god Atum and may have altered their own religion at least publicly to conform to a more Egyptian religious expression. This paper will explore why the Persians favoured Atum over other Egyptian gods, particularly Osiris, and how Atum related to the Persians own religious practices. Ultimately, it will be shown that the Persians decision to alter or modify their religion publicly, was less a matter of trying to conform to the conquered Egyptians religion, but rather a conscious decision that was in line with their own theological beliefs. That this decision also helped realize their political and propagandistic agenda further demonstrates the Persians political acumen.
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as the son of Re born of Atum while Atum is referred to as the lord of Heliopolis (Yoyotte 1972, 253 266). The historical signicance of this statue cannot be overstated because it is the only known intact example of Persian colossal royal statuary from the Achaemenid Period (Muscarella 1992, 219 220), so the placement of Atum as foremost of the Egyptian pantheon is important. Two other 27th dynasty sources that place Atum in a central position are the naophorous statue of the doctor Udjahorresent (Posener 1936, 1 26) and the Hibis temple in the el-Kharga oasis (Cruz-Uribe 1988). Although construction of the Hibis temple began in the 26th dynasty during the reign of Psammetichus II and continued through the Roman Period, Darius Is cartouche is written in numerous places and there are several references to Atum and images of the king with this god (Cruz-Uribe 1988, 44, 62).
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The dead kings Osirian mortuary attributes, particularly mummication, are alluded to in the Pyramid Texts where he receives natron that you may be divine (Faulkner 1969, 140, Utterance 423) and is commanded to gather your bones together (Faulkner 1969, 150, Utterance 451). It is believed that the emergence of mummication although primitive by New Kingdom standards coincided with the emergence of the Osiris cult sometime in the Old Kingdom (Grifths 1980, 53), which may have been the result of a signicantly improved method of treating the body of the royal deceased (Lorton 1985, 119). Osiris importance as a mortuary deity associated with the dead king continued throughout Egyptian history and eventually combined with the divine Apis bull in the late New Kingdom to create a new syncretic deity who enjoyed a position of popularity among royals and non-royals alike. According to the transmissions of Manetho, the Apis cult was already active by the 2nd dynasty (Manetho 2004, 37 39), while a black and white diorite bowl from the reign of Aha, published by William Kelly Simpson, is the oldest known Egyptian text concerned with the cult (Simpson 1957, 139 142). Although the Apis cult had existed since the beginning of dynastic Egypt, it was not until the late New Kingdom that the Memphite Serapeum, the necropolis of the sacred Apis bulls, was rst built (Goma 1973, 39). Besides serving as the resting place of the sacred bulls, the Serapeum also became a repository for over thousand votive stelae (Vandier 1964, 130). Most of these stelae referred to the dead Apis bull as Apis-Osiris or Osiris-Apis, which combined the mythological attributes of potency and the chthonic into one deity. Although Cambyses invoked Apis-Osiris on the sarcophagus of an Apis bull interred in year six of his reign (Posener 1936, 35), the possibility that Osiris chthonic attributes appeared foreign to the Persians should be considered.
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and only professional undertakers and corpse-bearers approached it, who were trained to take ritual precautions. If possible the funerary service was performed the same day, and the body was carried at once to a place of exposure (Boyce 2001, 44).
Although the Achaemenid kings did not practice the ritual of corpse exposure themselves there is evidence of Persian nobles participating in this ritual during the Achaemenid Empire (Boyce 2001, 59) it probably originated during their rule. Herodotus observed that some Persians performed this burial ritual in his time:
There is another practice, however, concerning the burial of the dead, which is not spoken of openly and is something of a mystery; it is that a male Persian is never buried until the body has been torn by a bird or a dog. I know for certain that the Magi have this custom, for they are quite open about it. The Persians in general, however, cover a body with wax and then bury it. The Magi are a peculiar caste (Herodotus 1996, 64, Book I, 140).
Modern scholars of Persian religion believe that at around the time of the Achaemenid Empire the Magi, who were a hereditary caste entrusted with the supervision of the national religion (Zaehner 1961, 163), introduced the practice of exposing corpses to vultures, among other traditions, that would later become known as Zoroastrianism. Zaehner wrote:
It does, however, seem fairly certain that it was the Magi who were responsible for introducing three new elements into Zoroastrianism the exposure of the dead to be devoured by vultures and dogs, the practice of incestuous marriages, and the extension of the dualist view of the world to material things and particularly the animal kingdom (Zaehner 1961, 163).
It should be noted that although the Achaemenid kings did not practice the ritual of corpse exposure themselves, their tombs still separated the living from the unclean corpse. The tomb of Cyrus demonstrates with what care Zoroastrian kings prepared their sepulchers so that there should be no contact between the embalmed body unclean in death, even though there was no decay and the living creations (Boyce 2001, 53). Perhaps the Egyptian ritual of mummication with its excessive handling and reverence of unclean corpses seemed too foreign to a people who were accustomed only to burial, but were on the verge of accepting a new practice that involved the annihilation of the corpse. Therefore Osiris, a god associated with mummication, by extension may also have been viewed as strange and foreign to the Persians.
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mainly serves as a protector of Darius and bestower of his role as the king of the Achaemenid Empire. Lines 48 61 of column one proclaimed:
After that I besought the help of Ahuramazda; Ahuramazda bore me aid; of the month Bagayadi ten days were past, then I with a few men slew that Gaumata the Magian, and those who were his foremost followers. A fortress by name Sikayauvati, a district by name Nisaya, in Media there I slew him. I took the kingdom from him. By the favor of Ahuramazda I became king; Ahuramazda bestowed the kingdom upon me (Kent 1953, 120).
In the fourth column of the Old Persian inscription from Behistan, Darius further explained that Ahuramazda gave him aid because I was not a Lie follower (Kent 1953, 132). The Lie known in Persian as Drugh is, in the Behistan texts, explicitly equated with the rebellions against Darius, on both a physical and metaphysical level, as a violent onslaught against the established order (Zaehner 1961, 156). As such, Darius was viewed as Ahuramazdas chosen representative on earth [...] who maintains the just moral order within society while protecting society from rebellion (Malandra 1983, 47). The Behistan inscriptions were written to commemorate Darius Is victory over numerous usurpers, but gives us a glimpse into the theological functions of the god Ahuramazda as protector, upholder of order, and bestower of kingship. Other Achaemenid Period inscriptions from Persia also describe this deity as the creator of the universe. Inscriptions from the magnicent palace at Persepolis, built during the reign of Darius I, and his tomb at Naqsh-i Rustam also reveal much about how the Persians viewed Ahuramazda. At Persepolis, Ahuramazda is credited as the one who created Darius the king, he bestowed on him the kingdom (Kent 1953, 136) while at his tomb the god is described as the one who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man (Kent 1953, 138). Perhaps the most important Old Persian inscription, as far as the current topic is concerned, that invoked Ahuramazda and his attributes as a creator is on the statue of Darius I mentioned above. The Old Persian, Akkadian, and Elamite cuneiform inscriptions on the robes of the statue proclaimed Ahuramazda as the god who created the sky and the below, who created man, who created happiness for man (Vallat 1974, 161 170). The fact that Ahuramazda is invoked on the same statue as Atum and is the only known such occurrence suggests that Atum is extremely important when considered in the context of the current study. The Persian afnity for Atum appears to originate with their own religious beliefs, as Atums attributes concerning creation, kingship, and protection most closely mirror those of their own god, Ahuramazda. Ahuramazdas hatred of the Lie and love of the Truth can also be seen in the Egyptian idea of truth or Maat, versus chaos or Isfet. The Persians would have had access to the Egyptian priesthood and knowledge of Egyptian myth and cult, as seen in the example of the Egyptian priest/doctor and collaborator, Udjahorresent mentioned above (Posener 1936, 1 26), so therefore would have been able to choose an Egyptian deity in 27th dynasty texts who most closely represented their own theological ideas. As much as the functions and attributes of Atum corresponded closely to Ahuramazda, Osiris, who ruled from the Underworld and was associated with death and mortuary cult, may have appeared foreign and strange to the Persians. These theological factors for the Persians afnity to Atum are compelling, but a nal reason for their worship of this god which concerns the Persian concept of kingship must be examined.
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The Mesopotamian idea of the king as the ruler of the world can be traced back to Sargon of Akkad who rst designated himself as he who rules the Four Quarters (Frankfort 1978, 228) while his son Naram-Sin took the epithet King of the Four Quarters (Frankfort 1978, 228). Later, the Assyrian king Shamsi-Adad would modify the epithet further to King of the Universe (Frankfort 1948, 229). It was from these ideas of kingship that Cyrus, the rst king of the Achaemenid Empire, styled himself as ruler when he marched victoriously into Babylon in 539 BC as is written on the Cyrus Cylinder. On the cylinder Cyrus was very explicit that he was king not just of Persia and Mesopotamia, but of the entire world. He stated:
I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king, legitimate king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four rims of the earth (Oppenheim 1992, 316).
As mentioned above, Atum was often referred to in religious texts as the All Lord or Lord of All which coincides with the Persian concept of kingship. When Cambyses conquered Egypt he found a god, Atum, who not only corresponded theologically in many ways with his god, Ahuramazda, but also with his inherited position as king and lord of the universe.
Conclusion
It is well documented that the Persians left their conquered subjects free to practise their native religions throughout the Achaemenid Empire. But numerous Persian inscriptions also indicate that the Persians held strongly to their own religious beliefs. Examination of 27th dynasty religious texts reveals a pattern in which the Egyptian god Atum was given a place of prominence by the Persians because of his similarity to their own god. The Persian theological ideas of the Lie versus Truth also paralleled the Egyptian concepts of Maat and Isfet. Ultimately, the Persians elevation of Atum had to do with this particular gods association with kingship and the Persian concept of kingship. In Egyptian texts Atum was the Lord of All while the Persian king was described as the king of the world. It is clear that Persian theologians made a conscious decision to elevate Atum to a place of prominence in the 27th dynasty. This elevation helped them legitimize their rule over Egypt while never forfeiting that which was important to them on a spiritual level. University of Memphis, United States of America
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