Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

591

Date

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Art History

Concentration

Egyptian Art and Archaeology

Committee Chair

Lorelei Corcoran

Committee Member

Patricia Podzorski

Committee Member

Fred Albertson

Abstract

The scenes of the foundation ceremony from temples of the Ptolemaic Period (305/4-30 BCE) provide the most insight into the nature of this ancient Egyptian rite. In these scenes, the Egyptian king is depicted performing the acts associated with the various stages that took place at the founding of the temple. As the protagonist within these scenes, the king is depicted as being directly responsible for constructing the temple.This thesis will argue that when one combines the king, in his role as temple-builder, with the idea that the Egyptian temple represented the created universe or cosmos, the ruler is not only building a temple but also constructing the cosmos. With that in mind, the scenes of the foundation ceremony place the king among the gods, even so far as being considered the creator god.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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