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Presenting four coloured linen in Ptolemaic temples

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2020

Abstract

This article focuses on the ritual offering of four types of coloured linen that are depicted five times on the walls of the Edfu temple and once in Dendera. In these types of scenes, the king is presenting the HD.t- (white) linen, the w#D.t- (green) linen, the jrtjw-linen, and the jdmj-linen.

The recipient of this offering is either the god Horus, or Horus in the company of another deity or deities. Based on a comparison of the associated inscriptions and iconography, this paper focuses on every variety of coloured linen and its meaning and the arrangement of these offering scenes in certain temple chambers as well as in the entire temple.

Overall, the study shows the existence of recurring patterns in the distribution and placement of these scenes, not only in a single temple, but also the patterns which show clear continuity in the arrangement of texts and images between temples in time and space.