A rebirth for the pharaoh: reflections on the classification of the new kingdom divine birth cycle as a ritual
The interpretation of rituals enacted, or represented, in the temples of Egypt is limited by the often sparse survival of evidence; most of our knowledge of the Egyptian temple cult comes from the temples of the Graeco-Roman period. This paper deals with an aspect of ancient Egyptian divine kingship, the divine birth cycle, and the question of its rituality. The focus is on the well-known but somewhat enigmatic event of engendering the divine child (i.e. the king), as depicted during the New Kingdom period. Following the various types of ritual classification, one might be tempted to interpret the divine birth cycle as a political ritual designed to legitimize the pharaoh's rule. At the same time, it coequals with various aspects of religious renewal, such as the annual re-creation, and rebirth of the pharaonic state through its socio-ideological self, represented by the king. In this respect, one might categorize divine birth as a festival or calendrical rite. The purpose of this paper is to explore various ways of interpreting the divine birth cycle as a ritual, or as a religious representation of a different type.
The Search For God In Ancient Egypt
First English-language edition, with revisions and additions by the author.This classic work by one of the world's most distinguished Egyptologists was first published in German in 1984. The Search for God in Ancient Egypt offers a distillation of Jan Assmann's views on ancient Egyptian religion, with special emphasis on theology and piety. Deeply rooted in the texts of ancient Egypt and thoroughly informed by comparative religion, theology, anthropology, and semiotic analysis, Assmann's interpretations reveal the complexity of Egyptian thought in a new way.Assmann takes special care to distinguish between the "implicit" theology of Egyptian polytheism and the "explicit" theology that is concerned with exploring the problem of the divine. His discussion of polytheism and mythology addresses aspects of ritual, the universe, and myth; his consideration of explicit theology deals with theodicy and the specifics of Amarna religion.
Gill diseases of cultured salmonids in Ontario.
Between 1977 and 1981, the Fish Pathology Laboratory of the Ontario Veterinary College received 239 cases from trout farms of southern Ontario, 51 (21.3%) of which had diseased gills. Branchial lesions in 86.3% of these 51 cases were characterized by marked lamellar epithelial hyperplasia with epithelial hypertrophy and lamellar fusion. Filamentous bacteria were seen on the surface of the branchial filaments and lamellae in 68.6% of the cases. Our observations highlight the importance of gill diseases as a production problem of farmed salmonids in southern Ontario.