Une grande reine et deesse
Journal Title: Études et Travaux (Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences) - Year 2014, Vol 0, Issue
Abstract
During the research led by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology at Heracleion a huge statue of black diorite was found on the site of the Temple. Preserved in four parts, the sculpture is nearly complete (2.20m). It represents a woman standing, with arms on her sides down and slightly forward. In her left hand she hold the sign ankh and on the chest of her garment she bears the ‘knot of Isis’. Also the hair, arranged in long, rolled-up curls, are characteristic for the goddess. But the broad flat diadem is clearly a royal one, therefore it is possible to see in this sculpture an image of a ptolemaic queen assimilated with Isis. Certain is that Berenice II, the wife of Ptolemy III, wore on some portraits this kind of ‘isiac’ hairdress. Close to the Heracleion statue are portraits of Cleopatra II, sister-wife of Ptolemy VI, and of her daughter – Cleopatra III. Distinction of the portraits of the mother and daughter is difficult, but considering the long reign of the last one, the Heracleion statue seems more probably an image of Cleopatra III as Isis.
Authors and Affiliations
Zsolt Kiss
Exposition « Fouilles égyptiennes » au Musée National de Varsovie, 1937
The University of Warsaw started the Polish-French excavations in Edfu (Egypt) under the agreement concluded in 1936 with the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo. The numerous artifacts found during the fi...
Child Burials at Saqqara: Ptolemaic Necropolis West of the Step Pyramid
The author analyzes the child burials from the Ptolemaic necropolis to the west of the Djeser pyramid in Saqqara. Issues of whether there was a separated child cemetery there in the Ptolemaic period and/or whether the bu...
Fragments of Wall Paintings From Polish Excavations at Kom El-Dikka, Alexandria
The study of mural painting in ancient Alexandria is still based on images decorating walls of Alexandrian tombs due to the fact that discoveries of painted plaster at archaeological sites in the ancient city are rather...
Fortified Sites at the Mouth of Wadis. Case Study of Abu Sideir and Abu Mereikh in the Fifth Cataract Region
In the introduction, the question of how deeply the fortifications are connected to the surrounding external context and how far analysis of this feature can provide answers on the fortifications themselves is raised. Ou...
‘A Temple Comes to Being’. A Few Comments on the Temple Foundation Ritual
Building a temple in Ancient Egypt began with the Foundation Ritual and ended with the consecration of the completed monument to its gods. The moment when the temple was ready for its cultic functions is by a majority of...