Table Of ContentLucía Díaz-Iglesias Llanos
Naref and Osiris Naref
Zeitschrift für ägyptische
Sprache und Altertumskunde
Beihefte
Herausgegeben von
Susanne Bickel, Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert,
Antonio Loprieno, Sebastian Richter
Beirat
John Baines, Elke Blumenthal, Julia Budka,
Richard Parkinson, Kim Ryholt,
Stephan Seidlmayer, Jean Winand
Band 3
Lucía Díaz-Iglesias Llanos
Naref and
Osiris Naref
A Study in Herakleopolitan Religious Traditions
ISBN 978-3-11-050104-9
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-049856-1
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-049824-0
ISSN 2198-5790
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Foreword
This study on the toponym Naref and the god Osiris Naref derives from my doctoral
dissertation on the mythological traditions of Herakleopolis Magna (capital of the
20th Upper Egyptian “province”) and its surroundings, written under the direction of
Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo and defended in the University of La Laguna (Spain) in
2012. This previous work aimed to explore the local mythemes, i.e. core mythologi-
cal notions reworked in connection with the main — religious, historical, cultural,
landscape — features of this city and area. While analysing these mythemes, it be-
came clear that local beliefs, particularly the role played by the tutelary deity of a
province/region, were of crucial importance in the development of local Osirian
forms (Osiris Naref in the case of the Herakleopolitan area). For space limits it was
not possible to include a chapter on Osiris Naref in the publication of the disserta-
tion. I originally intended to publish the sources and results of my research on this
local Osirian manifestation in an article, but the information collected in the mean-
time and its interpretation reached an untamable size for a journal article. A post-
doctoral scholarship of the Swiss Confederation for the academic year 2013‒2014
and a project centred on the regional characterisation of the god Osiris undertaken
under the supervision of Susanne Bickel at the Egyptological Seminar of the Univer-
sity of Basel allowed me to turn a preliminary study on this deity into this mono-
graph. The process of revision and preparation for print was undertaken while en-
joying two contracts, first at the University of Basel and then at the Spanish National
Research Council (within the Djehuty project, directed by José Galán). Thanks are
due to Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo as well, with whom I discussed the germ of many
ideas related to Osiris Naref in the course of the preparation of my doctoral disserta-
tion. I am grateful to Miguel Ángel, Susanne, and José for their continuous support
in the process of developing and bringing this research to publication. Sadly, Cova-
donga Sevilla Cueva, under whom I took my first steps in Egyptology, will not see
the publication of this book, but I’d like to extend grateful thanks for her continuous
encouragement.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the colleagues that have con-
tributed to this book in numerous ways: by providing me with bibliographical refer-
ences or scans of irretrievable articles and images, by actively discussing some of
the issues addressed here, by suggesting new venues of research, and for kindly
sharing their yet unpublished work with me. Due thanks thus go to: Hartwig
Altenmüller, Burkhard Backes, Susanne Bickel, Ralph Birk, Francisco Bosch-Puche,
Laurent Coulon, Andrés Diego, Silvia Einaudi, Henning Franzmeier, José Manuel
Galán, Ann-Kathrin Gill, Monica Hanna, María de los Ángeles Jiménez, Giuseppina
Lenzo, Andrea Loprieno-Gnirs, David Klotz, Michela Luiselli, Daniel Méndez, Miguel
Ángel Molinero, Matthias Müller, Leire Olabarría, José Ramón Pérez-Accino, María
Carmen Pérez Die, Mark Smith, Hannah Sonbol, Katharina Stövesand, Nùria Torras
VI | Foreword
Benezet, and Alba Villar. I am particularly indebted to Renate Germer and Sabine
Schmidt for sharing with me their archival work on the material from Abusir el-
Meleq kept at the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung (Berlin) and for an-
swering all my doubts with infinite patience. At a personal level, Manuel Rivas Fer-
nández has offered me his affection and constant support during this work, helping
me to overcome the difficult moments that every research entails and engaging in
the work of image processing. My family, specially my mother Eugenia Llanos, has
always given me endless support during these years. This book is dedicated to Ma-
nuel and my mother for all the time that I could not spend with them.
Finally, Anna Garnett has undertaken with great diligence the task of proofread-
ing this manuscript and has enhanced the English text making it easier to read,
while Susanne Bickel has carefully and patiently gone through this research making
useful suggestions and comments. Any shortcomings in the content or the interpre-
tation of the sources used are, however, the sole responsibility of the author. I am
further grateful to the editors of ZÄS-Beihefte for accepting this book in the series
and to Mirko Vonderstein, Katrin Hofmann, and Florian Ruppenstein (De Gruyter)
for their technical and editorial support and assistance during the formatting and
publication process.
Contents
1 Introduction | 1
2 Traditional interpretation | 4
2.1 Location of Naref | 5
2.1.1 Reassessment of the different attempts at locating Naref | 5
a. Identification of Naref with Abusir el-Meleq | 5
b. Other suggestions | 17
2.2 References to Naref in the Herakleopolitan territory | 17
2.3 New perspective of analysis | 27
3 Philological analysis of the word Naref | 36
3.1 Constituents | 36
3.2 Revision of interpretations concerning spelling and etymology | 39
a. Spellings and suggested transliterations | 39
b. Analysis of spellings | 43
c. Suggested translations and etymologies | 51
4 Interpretation of Naref | 54
4.1 Mythological contexts: analysis | 54
a. Funerary sphere | 55
Osirian aspect: burial of the god's body and relics | 56
Solar aspect: entrance to the Beyond | 76
b. Legal sphere: triumph and justification | 82
c. Royal sphere: assumption of royal power | 104
4.2 Mythological contexts: interpretation ‒ divine space and figure | 119
5 Osiris Naref, Osiris in/of Naref | 127
5.1 Iconography | 130
5.2 Epithets | 140
5.3 Priests | 149
6 Conclusions | 181
7 Catalogue of sources | 185
7.1 Remarks | 185
7.2 New Kingdom | 188
7.2.1 Statues and Stelae | 188
7.2.2 Tombs | 192
7.2.3 Temples | 198
VIII | Contents
7.2.4 Papyri | 200
7.2.5 Miscellany | 202
7.3 Third Intermediate Period | 204
7.3.1 Statues and Stelae | 204
7.3.2 Tombs | 210
7.3.3 Papyri | 216
7.3.4 Miscellany | 217
7.4 Kushite and Saite Periods | 220
7.4.1 Statues and Stelae | 220
7.4.2 Tombs | 233
7.4.3 Coffins | 235
7.4.4 Papyri | 240
7.4.5 Miscellany | 243
7.5 Last Dynasties (27th‒30th) – Early Ptolemaic Period | 246
7.5.1 Statues and Stelae | 246
7.5.2 Temples and Naoi | 252
7.5.3 Coffins | 253
7.5.4 Papyri and Mummy Bandages | 258
7.5.5 Miscellany | 260
7.6 Ptolemaic and Roman Periods | 264
7.6.1 Statues | 264
7.6.2 Temples | 266
7.6.3 Coffins | 277
7.6.4 Papyri | 278
7.6.5 Miscellany | 283
8 Tables of spellings of Naref/Osiris Naref | 284
8.1 Table 5. Catalogue of spellings of Naref (funerary spells, hymns, Letters
for Breathing, Osirian liturgies) | 284
8.2 Table 6. Catalogue of spellings of Naref | 303
References| 318
List of figures and tables | 350
Figures | 351
Indices | 364
1 Introduction
Naref was a conspicuous landmark of the Herakleopolitan territory (20th Upper
Egyptian “nome”, with capital in Herakleopolis Magna, modern Ihnasya el-Medina),
frequently mentioned in funerary, cultic, and encyclopedical sources from the First
Intermediate Period/Middle Kingdom until the Graeco-Roman Period. It rated
amongst the most prestigious Osirian centres of the land, although it did not reach
the overall importance of Abydos, Busiris, or Rosetau. A local form of Osiris, called
Osiris Naref or Osiris in/of Naref, developed in connection with the traditions of this
Upper Egyptian area and is attested from the New Kingdom onwards. Some articles
and sparse references in monographs have been devoted to the analysis of different
aspects of Naref. However, no comprehensive study has hitherto been undertaken to
explain its meaning(s), function(s), and local attachment or to explore the different
features encompassed in the figure of Osiris Naref.
This work has a two-fold objective. On the one hand, it aims to approach the fu-
nerary, legal, and royal mythological associations developed around the toponym
Naref, which are attested for the first time in the so-called Coffin Texts (abbreviated
CT from here onwards) and endure until the latest religious productions. On the
other hand, it also seeks to analyse the characteristics of the local figure of Osiris
Naref, a prominent deity in the Herakleopolitan pantheon from the New Kingdom
onwards, who was informed by these mythical contexts and also achieved suprarre-
gional importance. As will be argued in the different sections of chapter 4, his key
features centred on the mythical arguments of rebirth and defeat of enemies, justifi-
cation, and assumption of royal power gave rise to an Osirian form “who can-
not/will not be evicted” from the legitimate and secluded place he has reached. The
diachronic analysis of the sources bearing references to Naref and to Osiris Naref
also allows the detection of shifts of emphasis in religious concepts, thus contrib-
uting to the study of the different trends of theological speculation at both a central
(or global) and regional levels.
For the analysis and interpretations to be undertaken in this book, the work of
scholars such as Laurent Coulon and Marco Zecchi — to quote only two of the most
actively engaged in the study of Osiris in recent years — are fundamental. Both have
recognised the importance of the background of local religious ideas and practices
in the progressive inflections that Osiris underwent in the course of time in different
localities.1 The former underscores that: “l’ « osirianisation » est un phénomène
d’échelle nationale, mais qui se décline dans les provinces d’Égypte en autant de
||
1 See the contributions of these authors mentioned in the bibliography, as well as the works of
other researchers regarding the Osirian traditions in Heliopolis (el-Banna 1989), Athribis (Vernus
1978, 416‒454), Imet (Razanajao 2006), Hut-Sekhem (Collombert 1997, 55–61), and Oxyrhynchus
(Torras Benezet 2016, 398‒421, 434‒443).
2 | Introduction
variantes régionales s’enracinant dans le substrat des traditions locales. […] Osiris
[...] voit de fait sa personnalité se démultiplier en une myriade de formes particu-
lières, possédant leur individualité et leur clergé propres”.2 Drawing upon the ideas
of these authors and those mentioned in footnote 1, I propose the following hypoth-
esis on which to base the analysis of the figure of Osiris in local contexts: the core
attributes of this god (i.e. his main aspects and functions, as well as the mythical
episodes defining his life) were manifested to a higher or lesser degree wherever he
was venerated. However, the cultual background of a province, particularly its reli-
gious traditions and tutelary deity, as well as its historical development and cultural
role, provided a different and subtle angle from which to perceive one or several of
Osiris’ aspects and episodes of his life.3 The example of the god’s resurrection serves
to illustrate this hypothesis. Osiris’ resurrection was a key element of his mythologi-
cal cycle and of the concepts conveyed by this divine figure. It was therefore main-
tained in the different religious regional traditions and became a trait highlighted by
means of iconography, epithets, or mythological constructions in many Osirian
local forms. Nonetheless, how the rebirth process was portrayed or which forms it
adopted depended to a large extent on the aspects emphasised by the local tradi-
tions and tutelar deities of a given area. Thus, the strong solar character of the local
deity in Athribis (Ḥr-ḫnty-ẖty) led to the reshaping of Osiris’ resurrection according
to a “solar pattern” in this region. In the case of Osiris Hemag, his rebirth was
prompted by the container called Hemag, made of gold and precious stones. One
can probably see in the figure of Osiris Hemag the influence of the network of reli-
gious ideas developed in the Memphite area around Ptah and Sokar as patrons of
metallurgy and crafts.
Taking these studies and hypotheses into account, this monograph explores the
contribution of the Herakleopolitan region to Osiris and the specific attributes and
connotations with which he was endowed in this area (especially in Naref), as well
as their local anchoring.4 Given that the complex figure of Osiris was continuously
enriched through the absorption of local religious traditions, the study of one of his
local forms enriches the overall understanding of this polyhedral deity.
Regarding the Herakleopolitan religious and mythical backgrounds, which I
consider to have strongly influenced the conception of the god Osiris Naref, this
work is a continuation of my previous study on the mythological conceptions and
||
2 Coulon 2010b, 6‒7.
3 A frame of reference and model for understanding the development and meaning of Osirian forms
in local context, based on this hypothesis and in four case-studies (Osiris Khenty-khety, Osiris
Hemag, Osiris ity in the Land of the Lake, and Osiris Naref), has been suggested elsewhere (Díaz-
Iglesias Llanos in press a and in press b).
4 For Osiris in the Herakleopolitan region, see Rusch 1957; Mokhtar 1983, 169–170; Díaz-Iglesias
Llanos 2015.
