How would you Resurrect? Pattern of Rebirth on the Hands of the Goddesses in Ancient Egypt

Nasr, Youmna Adel Zaki

doi:10.21608/lijas.2023.240616.1017

How would you Resurrect? Pattern of Rebirth on the Hands of the Goddesses in Ancient Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Youmna Adel Zaki Nasr

Tourist Guiding Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

10.21608/lijas.2023.240616.1017

Abstract

In ancient Egyptian theology, the hands of the divinities played a remarkable role in the creation and continuity of the universe. The masturbation of god Atum was the prototype source of employing the divine hand in creating the first couple in the world. Textual and iconographic evidences confirm the similarity in personifying the resurrection of the dead on the hands of a number of Egyptian anthropoid goddesses. Moreover, the hands of several goddesses in human bodies were commonly involved in raising the sun aloft to announce its rebirth at dawn. The oldest of the goddesses, whose hands contributed to granting new life to the sun and the dead alike, was goddess Nut. She was of great importance in elevating the sky and the dead and ensuring the equilibrium of the universe. In addition, the responsibility of her hands was to upraise the sun out of the primordial water to move it from death to vitality. Likewise, the hands of the twin-goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, functioned as supporters of the solar-disc during its daily rejuvenation. Goddess Menkeret, who was strongly associated with immortality, also participated in uplifting the deceased king on her hands to emphasize his resurrection in the next world.

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