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Egypt Exploration Society

Anubis and the Lunar DiscAuthor(s): Robert K. RitnerSource: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 71 (1985), pp. 149-155Published by: Egypt Exploration Society

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(I49)

ANUBIS AND

THE

LUNAR

DISC

By

ROBERT

K.

RITNER

ON

the north wall

of the

middle colonnade

of Deir

el-Bahri is

sculpted

the

earliest

representation

of

a

problematic

scene.'

Here

Anubis,

bending

over a

large,

smooth

disc,

is shown as a

participant

in the

activities

surrounding

the divine birth

of

Hatshepsut

(see

fig.

i).

Over a

millennium

later,

the scene

reappears

in the

mammisi

of Nectanebo

I

at Dendera2

(see

fig. 2)

and

becomes a standard feature in

the

Graeco-Roman birth houses. It

is

found at

Edfu,3 Philae,4

and

again

at Dendera5 in

the

temple

of

Augustus. Although subject

to

scholarly

inquiry

since

1896,

the

relationship between Anubis and his disc remains obscure, and the disc itself has

been

variously

identified.

One

complication

for our

understanding

of the scene arises from the fact that a

variant

tradition is

represented

at

Edfu

(see

fig.

3).

Here,

as has been

shown

by

Daumas,

the disc is

clearly

identified as

a

tambourine

which Anubis strikes

to

please

Hathor/Isis

and her

son.6

The relief

follows the standard

depiction

of

tambourine

players

as shown

in

the

examples

collected

by

Lise Manniche.7

In

this

representa-

tion the

disc is

quite

distinct

from

the

examples

at Deir

el-Bahri,

Dendera,

and

Philae,

being

smaller and held

by

a

standing-not bending-Anubis.

This

variant

tradition

is followed at

Deir

el-Medina

and

in an

inscription

at

Esna.8

The

prominence

of Hathor

and

the

special

importance

of music in

her

cult

may

explain

the

local

modifications

at

Edfu and

Deir el-Medina.9

In

contrast

to the clear textual evidence

regarding

the scene at

Edfu,

the

earliest

example,

at

Deir

elBai,

is

accompanied

only by ambiguous inscriptions

which

1

This

paper

is an

expansion

of a

lecture

given

by

the author at the

1982

general meeting

of

the

American

Research Center

in

Egypt

at

Austin,

Texas.

For

the

Deir el-Bahri relief

see E.

Naville,

The

Temple

of

Deir

el-Bahari

(London,

I896),

ii,

pl.

lv,

p.

18.

See

also

Porter and Moss

(hereafter

PM),

349,

scene

21.

2

F.

Daumas,

Les

Mammisis

de

Dendera

(Cairo,

1959)

(hereafter

Daumas,

1959),

pls.

ii, xxiii,

p.

II.

3

E.

Chassinat,

Le Mammisi

d'Edfou

(Cairo, 190)

(MIFAO

i6), pls.

xiii

(third

register),

Ixviii,

p.

21.

See also

PM

VI,

I73-4,

scene

83.

4

Daumas,

Les Mammisis des

templesegyptiens (Paris, 1958) (hereafterDaumas, 1958), pls.

vii. See

also

PM

vi,

224,

scenes

182-3.

5

Daumas,

1959,

pls.

xli

a,

lix

bis,

p.

I

i. See also

PM

vi, 104,

scenes

I

0-6.

6

Anubis states:

'I offer

you

the sound

of the tambourine'

(rdi('i)

n'k

nhm).

See

Daumas,

1958,

476-7.

7

L.

Manniche,

Ancient

Egyptian

Musical

Instruments

(Berlin,

I975)

(MAS

34), 2-5.

One

must,

however,

delete her reference

to Anubis

beating

a tambourine

in the Roman

mammisi at Dendera

(p.

4).

This

example

is

discussed

below. Cf.

specifically

the row

of

tambourine

players

at

Dendera in

Daumas,

1959,

pi.

lix.

8

B.

Bruyere,

Fouilles

de Deir

el Medineh

(1935-I940)

(Cairo,

1948)

(FIFAO

20/i),

63-4,

and

photo

in

ibid.

(FIFAO 20/3) (Cairo,

1952),

130.

Bruyere

takes the disc as

'the

sun

in the horizon'. See also

PM

II,

406,

scene 28.

For

Esna

see S.

Sauneron, Esna,

11

(Cairo,

I963), 283,

inscription

i64b.

9

So

Daumas,

1958, 477.

Cf., however,

Manniche's statement

op

cit.

5:

'[the

round

tambourine's] presence

in

the

hands

of Anubis and Bes can

be

explained

by

the relation

of these

gods

to the world of

women',

and

reported

example

of

Anubis

playing

the tambourine

in

the

Ramesside

Tomb

A

26 at

Thebes

in

Manniche,

op

cit.

3

and

PM

1,

455.

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ROBERT

K.

RITNER

FIG.

I.

E.

Naville,

The

Temple

of

Deir

el-Bahari, II,

pl.

Iv

FIG. 2.

F.

Daumas,

Les

Mammisis

de

Dendera,

pl.

2

(by kind permission of

IFAO)

FIG.

3.

E.

Chassinat,

Le Mammisi

d'Edfou, pl. 13

(by

kind

permission

of

IFAO)

I50

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ANUBIS

AND THE

LUNAR

DISC

speak

of the

subjugation

of

foreign

lands to the ruler. This

ambiguity

has

invited

speculation.

Whereas Naville

equated

the disc with

the

moon,10

Blackman

(followed

by Frankfort) suggested

a sieve used for

support by

women

in

labour.11 More

recently,

Morenz has

preferred

a

solar

identification.12 The

original suggestion

of

Naville, however, has received convincing support through the analysis by Daumas

of the scene

and

its

accompanying

texts at Dendera.13 Here

parallel

inscriptions

from

the

temples

of

Nectanebo

I

and

Augustus

demonstrate a clear link

between the disc

of

Anubis and the moon. In

both,

the

speech

of

Anubis with his

disc

is

as

follows:

'I

have

come before

the

lord of the

gods

to

see the

son

whom

he loves.

I

have

formed

his

limbs in life

and

stability,

they being

rejuvenated

like the moon in

the

month.'14 The

gift

of Anubis to

the child is

symbolized by

the disc of

the full moon with

its

pattern

of

cyclical

rebirth.

This lunar

interpretation

has been

accepted by

Brunner

in

his

study

of

the

birth of

the

divine

king,

and he

has

attempted

to associate the scene with a

circumcision

ritual.l5

Directing

attention to

two

birth scenes

in

which

the disc is not

present-one

at Luxor of

Amenophis

III

where Anubis

appears

and the other at

Karnak from the

Third Intermediate

Period

where he

may appear-Brunner argues

that the

latter

relief with its

depictin

of circumcision

represents

the

original meaning

of the

scene.

He

would associate the full moon

in other

examples

with the time at

which the

operation

was

performed.

Despite

e the

abundant

suggestions

regarding

the nature

of

the disc and its

purpose

in

the

scene,

no

theories have been

put

forward to

explain

the

presence

of

Anubis and

his relation to

the

lunar disc. Daumas considers the

relation 'obscure'16

and Brunner

concurs.17 Neither Bonnet in his Reallexikon,18 nor the Lexikon der Agyptologie

venture

an

explanation.19

The

appearance

of a

funerary

deity

in a birth relief

may

at

first seem

surprising,

but

the

Dendera

inscriptions

quoted

above

show that it is in his

capacity

as

guarantor

of

rebirth,

as

the

god

of

mummification,

that Anubis is

present.

Like

the lunar

disc

which

he

accompanies,

Anubis embodies the

Egyptian concept

of the

transition

from death to life. But

while

it

is the

primary

function of Anubis

to re-form

and

10

Naville,

op.

cit.

I8.

11

W.

Blackman,

Luxor

and

its

Temples

(London,

1923),

168-70;

The Fellahin

of Upper

Egypt

(London,

1927),

63. See also H. Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods (Chicago, 1948), 386-7 n. 80, and Federn, YNES 19

(1960),

252

n. I

I7.

12

S. Morenz, 'Das Werden

zu Osiris'

(1957)

in

Religion

und Geschichte des

alten

Agypten

(Cologne, 1975),

234-5.

13

Daumas,

1958, 477-8.

Daumas

(1958, 477)

also

shows

the error

in

Blackman's

theory

of

the sieve

which

shows

interior

markings

in

Egyptian

art. See

also

J.

Assmann et

al.,

Funktionen und

Leistungen

des

Mythos

(OBO

48) (G6ttingen,

1982), 49-50

n.

45.

14

Daumas,

1959,

11

and I

I-iy-n-i

m-b;h nb ntrw

hr

miw

s;

mr-f

qti

h4rwf

m

rnh was

rnpi

mi

irh m

;bd.

15

H.

Brunner,

Die

Geburt des

Gotteskonigs (Wiesbaden,

I964), 164-6.

16

Daumas,

1958,

478.

17

Brunner,

op.

cit.

i65:

'Warum freilich

gerade

Anubis dem Mond verbunden

ist,

bleibt dunkel.'

18

H.

Bonnet,

Reallexikon der

dgyptischen

Religionsgeschichte

(Berlin,

1952),

45,

s.v. 'Anubis'. See also

Assmann

et

al.,

op.

cit.

46

n.

23

'bleibt dunkel'.

19

B[rigitte] A[ltenmuller],

Lexikon

der

Agyptologie,

I

(Wiesbaden,

1975),

332,

s.v.

'Anubis'.

I5I

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ROBERT K.

RITNER

rejuvenate

the

limbs

of

the

dead

through

mummification,

the

moon's

association

with rebirth becomes

increasingly

prominent

in later

Egyptian religion through

its

identification with Osiris. The

link

between

Osiris and the moon has been

postulated

to exist as

early

as

the

Pyramid

Texts,

but

this

early

association is not

universally

accepted.20 References in the Coffin Texts have also been cited as proof of this

connection,21

but the clearest evidence

for the lunar

aspect

of Osiris is

in

the New

Kingdom.

Griffiths contends

that the fusion

begins

at this time.22

Funerary

texts of

the

period

reflect the

equation

of the

moon with

rebirth,

and the dead

wish for

'repeating

of

births

like the moon'23 and

to

be

'rejuvenated

like

the

moon'.24

The

first

unambiguous

declaration

of Osiris

as

the

moon is in a

stela of Ramesses IV

dedicated

to the

god:

'You are the

moon

in

the

sky;

you

rejuvenate yourself

according

to

your

desire

and become old when

you

wish.'25 The

conception

becomes

popular,

and

from the Late Period derive various

bronze

statuettes of the

god.26

The

funerary

wishes of the New

Kingdom strongly

recall the Dendera texts

detailing

the

gift

of Anubis to

the

divie child.

Indeed,

if the

lunar disc

in

these

reliefs is

equated

with the

body

of

Osiris,

then

the

role of Anubis

becomes self-

evident.

The

god

does

not roll

the disc as has

been

previously

suggested,

but bends

over

the

moon/Osiris exactly

as

he does in more conventional

scenes where he tends

Osiris

upon

his bier. The

posture

of Anubis-with torso

bent

and both

arms

shown

in front of

the Osiris

figure-is directly paralleled

in

mummification scenes in

painting,

relief,

and on

papyrus27

(see

figs. 4, 5,

and

6).

The

substitution

of

a

symbol

for the

body

of Osiris is well known in

Egyptian

representations.

The

most

frequent

example

of this is the

Dd-column which

may

be

provided with eyes, crowns, etc.28 A specific example of a substitution for the body

of

Osiris

in

a mummification scene

is

found

in

the tomb of

Khabekhnet

(Theban

tomb

2)

in which

a mammoth

ibdw-fish

occupies

the bier over which

Anubis

bends29

(see

pl.

XV,

i).

The birth reliefs would

represent

a

parallel

substitution.

If

Griffiths

20

H.

Kees,

Totenglauben

undJenseitsvorstellungen

der alten

Agypter

(2nd

edn.)

(Berlin,

1956),

145,

in

regard

to

PT

1450

b-e PM. See

also

P.

Derchain, 'Mythes

et dieux lunaires en

Egypte',

in

Sources

Orientales,

5,

La Lune

(Paris,

1962),

44-6,

and

Bonnet,

op.

cit.

471-2

s.v. 'Mond'. Denied

by

J.

G.

Griffiths,

The

Origins

of

Osiris and

his Cult

(Leiden, 1980),

239-40.

21

CT

iv

372

a-b and

373

a-b. See

Derchain,

op.

cit.

44-6.

22

Griffiths,

op.

cit.

239-40.

23

Encomium of Horemhab: Urk.

iv, 2161,

6

24

Grapow-Erman,

Die bildlichen Ausdriicke des

Aegyptischen

(Leipzig,

I924),

34-5.

25

A. Mariette, Abydos

ii

(Paris, I880), 54-5, 1. 5, and M. Korostovtzeff, 'Stele de Ramses IV', BIFAO 45

(I945),

161.

26

Griffiths,

'Osiris and

the

Moon

in

Iconography',

YEA

62

(1976),

I53-9;

0.

Masson,

'Quelques

bronzes

egyptiens

a

inscription grecque',

RdE

29

(1977), 63-7;

E.

Graefe,

'Noch einmal

Osiris-Lunus',

JEA

65

(1979),

171-3;

Griffiths,

'The

Striding

Bronze

Figure

of

Osiris-Icah at

Lyon',

ibid.

I74-5.

27

Painting:

Tomb

14

of

the

Valley

of

the

Kings

(Twosret).

See

P

I/II2,

530,

scene

19,

side room

G,

rear wall.

For

illustration

see R. V.

Lanzone,

Dizionario

di

mitologia

egizia

(Amsterdam,

1974; reprint

of

Turin,

I88I

-4),

pil.

30,

p.

70.

Relief:

Philae,

Osiris

room. Berlin

photos.

i

i60 and

1146.

See

also

Lanzone,

op.

cit.

pls.

261,

265.

Papyri:

Standard

vignette

to BD

I

5

.

See E. A. Wallis

Budge,

The

Book

of

the

Dead.

III.

The

Papyrus

of

Ani

(London,

1913),

pl.

34

and A.

Piankoff,

Mythological Papyri

(New York,

1957),

pl.

22

(Papyrus

of

Djed-Khonsu-iuf-ankh II).

28

Cf.

Piankoff,

op.

cit.

60,

fig. 47;

6i,

fig. 48;

63;

42, fig. 27; 41, fig.

26,

etc. For

discussion see B.

Goff,

Symbols

of

Ancient

Egypt

in the Late

Period

(New

York,

1979), I78-9.

29

PM

I/I2,

8,

scene

20/2.

For

photo

see C.

Nims,

Thebes

of

the Pharaohs

(London,

1965),

i86.

152

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ANUBIS

AND

THE

LUNAR

DISC

153

FIG.

4.

R.

Lanzone,

Dizionario di

mitologia egizia,

pi. 30

~~~~~~~~~~

FIG.

6.

Cairo Museum

I66.

Courtesy

Cairo Museum

FIG.

5.

R.

Lanzone,

Dizionario di

mitologia egizia,

pi.

26i

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ROBERT

K.

RITNER

is

correct in

dating

the

origin

of the lunar Osiris to the New

Kingdom,

then the Deir

el-Bahri

relief

stands at

the

beginning

of

the

tradition,

and is the earliest clear

reference

to the fusion.

at

Meir

(see pl.

XV,

2). Examples

known

to

me include New

York

Inv.

11.155.5,30

Cairo

33.137,

33.138,

33.140,

and

33.I4I.31

In

each,

a

gilded

and

painted

canvas

figure

of Anubis elevates a disc above

his

head.

This

depiction

seems the

counterpart

of that found

in

the birth reliefs. Whereas the latter

portray

the

operation

of

embalming

the

body

of the moon

(Osiris) by

Anubis,

the

examples

from

the

mummy wrappings

stress the moment

of

resurrection;

Anubis raises the

now

mummified and reborn Lunar Osiris

into the heavens. The

position

of

the

representa-

tion beneath

the

feet

is of

significance;

for

by

virtue

of

the identification of the

deceased

with

Osiris,

Anubis

elevates not

only

the

disc,

but also the

mummy

which

stands above him.

The second

group

of

representations

consists of

images

in

which Anubis wears a

prominent

disc either behind his

head,

to form a

halo,

or

atop

it.32

Examples

from

painted

shrouds have

been

studied

by

Morenz,

who

concludes that solar

discs,

given

indiscriminately

to

Egyptian

deities,

are intended33

(see

pl.

XV,

3). Although

the influence of solar nether world

mythology

cannot

be

excluded in

these

scenes,

it

would seem from the

foregoing

discussion

that a lunar

association for Anubis is more

likely, and would be logical rather than capricious. Moreover, the examples in

painting,34

wall

relief,35

and

gilded plaster36

in which

Anubis

wearing

the disc

attends the

body

of Osiris on his bier evoke the mammisi reliefs of Anubis with their

associated

Lunar Osiris

imagery,

and would favour a lunar rather than solar

interpretation (see pl.

XVI,

I).

Potential verification

of

the lunar

nature of

the disc

worn

by

Anubis

may

be found on the

marble

statue of the

god

from

the

port

of Anzio

in

the

Vatican museum

(Inv.

76).37

Though admittedly

a

classical

work with

Egyptianizing

attributes,

the statue does

show

affinity

to

contemporary Egyptian

representations

of Anubis

by

the inclusion

of

a disc

atop

the

god's

head. Beneath the

disc is an

indisputable

lunar crescent

(see

pl.

XVI,

2).

30

Cf.

K.

Parlasca,

Mumienportrats

und verwandte Denkmaler

(Wiesbaden,

1966),

pi.

2,

p.

148,

for

mummy,

but the Anubis

figure

not mentioned

in

publication.

31

M. C. C.

Edgar,

Graeco-Egyptian Coffins,

Masks,

and Portraits

(Cairo,

1905)

(CGC

26),

pl.

19,

pp.

33-6.

See

p.

iv

for

date.

32

Disc behind

head:

Moscow

Inv.

3401

/I

Ia

5747

in

Parlasca,

op.

cit.,

pl.

12;

Berlin

1I65

I in

Morenz,

op.

cit.,

pi.

4,

smaller

figure

of

Anubis.

Atop:

Moscow

Inv.

4229/I

Ia

5749

in

Parlasca,

op.

cit.,

pi.

35

and

Morenz,

op.

cit.,

pl.

io;

Louvre Inv.

no.

3076

in

Parlasca,

op

cit.,

pl.

6I

and

Morenz,

op.

cit.,

pl.

9;

Berlin

I

i651 (larger

figure

of

Anubis)

in

Morenz,

op. cit.,

pi.

3.

33

Ibid.,

p.

234.

34

Ibid.,

pi.

4

(Berlin

11651).

35 K.

Michalowski,

The Art

of

Ancient

Egypt

(London,

1969),

428,

no.

689

from

Kom el-Shukafa.

36

Edgar,

op.

cit.,

pi.

31, pp. 69-72,

Cairo

33.215

and

33.2I6.

37 Jean-Claude

Grenier,

Anubis alexandrin et romain

(Leiden,

1977),

frontispiece, pl.

i6,

p.

141.

I54

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ANUBIS AND THE

LUNAR

DISC

155

Far from

being

obscure,

the

relationship

of Anubis to

his

disc-whether

in

birth

or

funerary

scenes-becomes at once clear and coherent if the disk is

identified

with

the moon and Osiris. Sieves

and

circumcisions are extraneous.

In

each

instance,

the

imagery

recalls the role of Anubis

as

the

agent

of resurrection and as the

guarantor

of

a

repetition

of births like Osiris the moon.

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PLATE

XV

i. Mummification

scene

in

the tomb of Khabekhnet

(Theban

Tomb

2)

Courtesy

Charles F. Nims

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PLATE XVI

i.

Staatliche Museen zu

Berlin,

Agyptisches

Museum,

inv.

no.

1651

Courtesy

Staatliche Museen

*I

2.

Vatican

Museum

22840

Courtesy

Vatican Museums

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