Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/594

Browse

Browsing Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies) by browse.metadata.advisor "Cornelius, Izak"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Enheduanna, priestess, princess and poet: a historical study of the ‘world’s first author’ and her iconic poetry
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Coetzee, Akira; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the life and work of Enheduanna of Akkad (c. 2334–2279 BCE), who besides holding a powerful cultic position as entu (high priestess), has been attributed with the title of ‘world’s first author’. This research investigates whether she played an important role, what can be gleaned about her life from her texts, and what influence these have had on both her direct as well as contemporary reception. Additionally, I investigated why she has been overlooked as a pivotal figure and whether there are any other instances of female authorship comparable to her. Even though Enheduanna is recorded as the first identifiable author by name, there have been few studies on her and her work. This study firstly highlights her importance as an entu priestess by looking at the various roles of priestesses as they relate to her, what her position entailed and how this influenced the later Mesopotamian cult. Following this, Enheduanna is discussed in relation to her writings, and each of her longer texts is analysed and interpreted. The analysis of these texts has uncovered and expanded on significant historical, mythological and personal information regarding Enheduanna’s life. This culminates in a discussion on what all this conveys regarding her impact during her lifetime and her contemporary reception as a religious figure, an influential author and a woman. Through a nuanced application of feminist theories of power, agency and oppression, the results indicate that her involvement in the cult was crucial in facilitating powerful religious roles for women. However, her influence on authorship outweighs even that significance, as the research indicates that her texts can be read as “self-writing”, not only providing information on mythic and historical thinking, but also her authorial voice. This thesis concludes that Enheduanna has been overlooked even though she is highly significant, both in her capacity as a religious icon with agency and in her immense abilities as an author. Furthermore, this research identifies other women who occupied similar cultic positions and also authored texts. Questions for further research identified in this thesis are a full study on the categorisation of autobiographical texts within a West Asian literary corpus, further studies on the instances of female self-writing, and an additional look into whether the depiction of Inanna within Enheduanna’s texts is limited to her because she was a woman representing a female deity.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Image, words, magic: A case study of the influence of images on the use of amulets from Egypt and Mesopotamia
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Fritz, Annerie; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis intends to examine to what degree the use of images on certain objects may have influenced the way in which such artefacts had been used. To this end this thesis utilizes ancient amulets from both Egypt and Mesopotamia as case studies. The iconographic method as adapted by Bonfiglio (2016) is applied throughout. This method allows for a closer examination not only of the amulets, but of the image-function relationship and the visual awareness behind the use of images as well. The corpus of this thesis consists of eight amulets of varying types, functions and origin, with supporting examples provided as additional figures in the body of the text. This allows for the focus of the study to remain with images and their role with regards to the use of these objects rather than the objects themselves.The study concludes that while the interpretation of the image as the determinative factor in the use of the amulet may be valid, the eventual ambiguity as to the validity of this interpretation as well as its opposite, in equal measure, may require further study in order to reach a definitive conclusion.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Knots and binding in Ancient Egypt : a study of Ancient Egyptian knot magic based on material culture
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Cross, Dominique Ann; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the practice of knotting, binding and encircling based on ancient Egyptian material culture. It explores the two classifications of knotting: protective and functional. The approach of this study is focused on the analysis and interpretation of visual material which comprises of: votive amulets, objects, figurines, inscriptions on the walls of burial chambers, tombs and temples, as well as the component of functional knotting used for everyday purposes. The research method uses an iconographical approach which includes the symbolism of numbers, materials and the deities invoked. The various types of knots, encircling and binding are examined along with their uses. The study includes instructional steps from primary texts focusing on magical-medical papyri texts: spells and inscriptions. Provenance and context are addressed throughout the study as the role and use of the objects remain the focus to extrapolate what role knotting, binding and encircling played within the ancient Egyptian world. The study concludes that all three of these practices were deeply entrenched into the lives of the ancient Egyptians and that the number seven, Hathor and the Seven Hathors were inextricably linked. Furthermore, it is difficult to separate protective knotting from functional as the act of tying a knot enables the same outcome, to protect. The exact rituals involved with these practices may be open to discussion and this may be an area worth researching to gain even more clarity on this omnipresent practice in ancient Egypt.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The metamorphosis of Bastet: a study of the changing iconography of the Feline Goddess Bastet
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Brand, Ilsebeth; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The feline deity Bastet is best known for her depiction as a cat, or a woman with the head of a cat. In early depictions, Bastet, however, did not appear with the head of a cat, but rather with the head of a lioness. In Bastet’s earliest depictions, she is represented as a woman with the head of a lioness, and an uraeus on her forehead, while holding a sceptre in one hand and an ankh in the other hand. This depiction of Bastet is similar to the depiction of another feline deity, Sekhmet. Around 1000 B.C.E. Bastet’s iconography changed from a lioness-headed deity to a cat-headed deity. This study aims to investigate why there was a change in the iconography of Bastet. The similarities in the iconography of Bastet in her leonine form and Sekhmet will be investigated to determine whether it is possible to identify Bastet or Sekhmet in a depiction without an accompanying inscription, and thus distinguish the two goddesses from each other. Throughout this study, Panofsky’s iconographic method as revised by Bonfiglio (2016) will be applied to all statues and amulets. The corpus of this study will consist of forty-seven statues of varying size, material, and origin, and twenty-one amulets of varying size, material, and origin, depicting either Bastet or Sekhmet. The study concludes that Bastet’s iconography changed due to her pairing with Sekhmet, and a shift in power in Dynasty 22 to Libyan pharaohs who favoured the cult of Bastet. Although her iconography changed, she did not completely lose her lioness iconography, but rather could manifest as both a lioness and a cat after her transformation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    She is Tiye, Egypt’s “Dazzling” Queen : a study of the role of an active queen in the New Kingdom
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Griffiths, Marelize; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a research study of the impact of an active queen on her pharaoh husband’s reign in the New Kingdom and focuses on Queen Tiye as an example during the reign of King Amenhotep III (ca. 1390 – 1352 BCE). It investigates how active queens were represented in texts, iconographical imagery, and in material and funerary culture and whether Queen Tiye moved out of the shadow of her pharaoh husband and acted independently in a formal royal setting. The study will further analyse what feminine active value looked like in New Kingdom, Egypt. In order to achieve this purpose, it is important to understand the roles and responsibilities of a typical New Kingdom queen. These findings will be examined against the principles of feminist epistemology to determine the extent of female active value in a male dominated power sphere. Therefore, the question will be addressed whether it was possible for a queen to have an active independent role in the New Kingdom court, and if so, whether Queen Tiye was a “dazzling” and active queen in her own right, or merely a servant under a masculine pharaonic shadow. The purpose of this study is to remove modern, predominantly male, biases from female subject representation and reception. Previous research has mostly represented female subjects within a male argumentative frame as accompaniments to highlight their husbands’ or sons’ achievements. This male bias is still prevalent, however while the female subject in ancient Egypt is receiving more individual attention, as has been bestowed on the likes of Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra VII Tiye is still placed in an inferior position as it seems she was not as powerful, beautiful, or political - or even as active - as the other three queens.