"On That Day When the Long-Horned Bull Was Lassoed..." (PT [254] 286). A Scene in the
"Corridor of the Bull" of the Cenotaph of Sethos I in Abydos: An Iconologic Approach
Author(s): Lucas Baqué
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur, Bd. 30 (2002), pp. 43-51
Published by: Helmut Buske Verlag GmbH
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25152858
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(PT [254] 286).
A Scene
in the ?Corridor of the Bull"
of the Cenotaph of Sethos I in Abydos:
an Iconologic Approach
von Lucas Baque
Abstract
The present article analyses a scene located in the so-called ?Corridor of the Bull" in the cenotaph of king Sethos I in Abydos, in which king Ramesses II and his eldest son, prince Amenhirkhopshef, are represented lassoing a bull. The iconographic treatment of the animal and human figures evidences, in our opinion, two levels of interpretation: 1) religious; from a specific meaning centred on what we believe was a ritualistic Osirian practice, 2) political; revealed through what the figures explain and how they complement one another. By using an iconologic approach, we offer an alternative explanation based on the valuable information contained in this relief.
1 Introduction
A good example of artistic achievement in the art of the Ramessid period is, without a doubt, a relief belonging to the decoration of the south rooms, within the so-called
?Corridor of the Bull" in the cenotaph of king Sethos I in Abydos, representing king
Ramesses II and his eldest son, prince Amenhirkhopshef, lassoing a bull1. The relief [see Fig. 1], described as ?unusual" by some scholars, was superbly executed and deserves
indeed the qualification of masterpiece. The scene design is well planned and perfectly
balanced. The figure of a running bull is shown with its head erect and its horns pointed
upwards, although slightly inclined toward the back. This is so because a rope strains at the base of the horns, pressing the ear of the animal, forcing the muscles of the neck and the forequarters to tense, in order to restrain its impetus. We observe also how the rope is shown tied to the right leg of the mammal's hindquarters. The pressure on the bull is made by the above-mentioned figures of Ramesses II and his son, both of them depicted
behind the animal, also in a running position, but with a graceful tip-toe attitude: the first
is holding the rope in his hands, while the second grasps the tail of the beast. The scene
is titled with the legend:
sph nglw-tly Smcw jn nswt
?Lassoing of the long-horned bull of Upper Egypt by the King".
Leaving aside its technical perfection, this relief has been interpreted, from an iconographic point of view, as a way of expressing the capacity of the King for victory2, and it has also been compared with the hunting scene preserved on the back of the
projecting part of the south wing of the First Pylon at Medinet Habu. Another author3
1
PM VI, 26, 236-237. 2
44 L. Bacque SAK 30
has noted that this type of ?hunting scenes" would reflect something more than just a sporting activity. Thus, the nature of the action has been related to the symbolic ?maitre des animaux sauvages", through which the king assimilated physical strength from animals. According to the former interpretation, we could include some earlier parallels of lassoing animals from the Pre-dynastic and Archaic periods. We find two good figurative details in the Hunter's palette, where we see a running man lassoing an antelope (genus alcelaphusl) or, maybe, a gazelle (Gazella dorcas), and in the opposite row, a second man holding a rope. We can also mention the two long-necked felines on the Narmer palette; the two confronted animals are leashed and each one is being restrained by one man. In a symbolic interpretation of these art specimens, a link between the undomesticated animal world and the human world has been observed, elements that can be incorporated into the so-called notion of ?containment of disorder"4.
In contrast to the former symbolic associations, lassoed bulls also appear in another kind of representational context. There is, for example, an inscribed relief located in the 6th Dynasty tomb of Mereruka5 where we find a group of men shown in different
sequences: grasping the tail of a bull, lassoing its horns or adopting acrobatic positions, trying to force the head of the animal in order to knock it down and thus prepare it for a ritual sacrifice. The essential characteristics of this scene can also be related to our Abydos group in the sense that both compositions are apparently associated with a
?ritual" activity which pursued, in its final stage, the death of the bull. That is a
conclusion we reach when we read the hieroglyphic columns6 inscribed in the upper part
of the Abydos relief:
?Words pronounced by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands
(Dd-mdw jn nswt-bjt nb tlwy), User-Maat-Re Setepen-Re (Ramesses II), to his father Wepwawet, residing in the Temple of Men-Maat-Re (the cenotaph of Sethos I,
Abydos)
(Wsr-mlct-Rc Stp n Rc n (j)t*f Wp-wlwt hr(y)-jb hwt Mn-mFt-RF): I lasso
for you the long-horned bull of Upper Egypt (sph^j n^k nglw tly Smcw), I grasp for
you the sacrificial ox of Lower Egypt (1mm n^k [ss(r)ty ?]7
Mhw), I slaughter for you
bulls in the forecourt (rhs^j n^k klw m wshi) and oxen and calves in the
slaughterhouse (jwlw mnw m shwy). Oryxes, ibexes and gazelles are immolated in your temple (shwy ml-hd nrlw ghswt hws m r-pr^k); short-horned cattle are upon
3
B. Menu, Ramses II, Souverain des souverains, 1998, 46. 4
B.J. Kemp, El antiguo Egipto, Anatomia de una civilization, 1992, 61-69, fig. 14-15. Cf. also, J. Baines, in: Archeo-Nil 3, 1993, 57-74.
5
PM III2, 527, 13-IV. 6
Publication: KRIII, 510 (translation: KRIII, 326). *m
^g [ss(r)ty ?] seems a corruption of the term ssr (Wb IV, 547, 8-9). The common determinative of the arrow has been replaced here by the phallus, perhaps emphasizing that the bull was finally emasculated. After this operation the bull became an ox. Pap. Jumilhac III, 18-21, XX, 15-18 refers to castration of Seth in the shape of a bull which is sacrificed. Cf., also, PT [277] 418.
altar before you8 (wndw hr hlwt n hlwt^k). Fat animals are in front of the byres, in
order to be presented as offerings to your ka (ddlwt n-hlt mdwt r smlct clbwt n kl^k),
endowed with your daily offerings (sdjlw jmnytek)".
Fig. 1 King Ramesses II and his eldest son, prince Amenhirkhopshef, lassoing a bull. ?Corridor of the Bull", Cenotaph of King Sethos I (Abydos)
As we can see, the iconographic criteria for the examination of this Abydos relief are diverse, although most interpretations given until now by different authors have not clarified too much about the real context of the scene. Far from wishing to raise any objections to the former arguments, we believe it important, however, to allude to the religious aspect displayed in this composition. In this sense, we observe how such an important component has not been clearly defined by specialists. In our opinion, any
detailed study of this relief needs to take into account, first, the place in which it was
located, second, the nature of the action developed in the scene, and last but not least, the characters who take part in it.
From this point of view, we suggest that this work of art can be observed at two levels: 1) religious; from a specific meaning centred on what we believe was a ritualistic
Osirian practice, 2) political; revealed through what the figures explain and complement
one another.
The method proposed for our analysis is based on an iconological approach to the subject. This we think to be the proper way to analyse the scene as a whole, and offers us an interesting, alternative explanation on the valuable information contained in it.
8
hlwt as ?das Antlitz des Gottes", so n hlwt-k, lit. ?to your forehead or face", in a more particular sense ?before the god's eyes" or ?at the sight of the god"; Wb III, 28, 15.
46 L. Bacque SAK 30
2 Religious level of interpretation of the Abydos scene
A first remarkable narrative feature to take into account in the scene is the presence of the canid-headed human god Wepwawet and probably Ptah(?)9 both represented in a standing position before Ramesses II and his eldest son Amenhirkhopshef.
Wepwawet is of special interest here, because it is on his behalf that the action of lassoing the bull is executed: ,J lasso for you the long-horned bull of Upper Egypt...". But what is really important is the fact that the god is described as a father figure: ?... to
his (of Ramesses II) father Wepwawet, residing in the Temple of Men-Maat-Reu; an aspect which, while suggesting divine family ties between the actors, introduces, as we will see later, an element of legitimation. Such circumstances are clearly stated through the fact that Wepwawet appeared in ceremonies as a figure representative of a royal ancestor10. Let us retain that argument for the moment, while the scene discussed here is considered in more detail.
Returning to the main group, we consider it important to analyse certain formal traits. In particular, those concerning the unity of the composition which is conveyed through the cohesion of the characters. First, in the fact that both Ramesses II and his eldest son and even the bull11, are shown together in the same running attitude. Second, because
these three figures are closely linked by the nature of the action itself:
a) grasping the tail (Amenhirkhopshef
-*
bull);
b) seizing the rope (Ramesses II
?
bull) and finally
c) lassoing the bull (Ramesses II + Amenhirkhopshef
--*
bull).
Such deliberate formal integration cannot be easily explained from a temporal
perspective. Thus, the tendency to view what in purely iconographic terms would just be a scene of ritual sacrifice or merely a ?selection" of a choice offering to be presented to the ka of Wepwawet, becomes less significant. We argue that a further interpretation should take into account the royal status of the figures and the divine context in which they are developed. From this criterion, the scene departs significantly from its original area of meaning to obtain one of a more essential nature. We may quote, on that score, two fragments of the Pyramid Texts12 which describe the same active roles played by the characters of the Abydos relief:
9
Doubtful, according to K.A. Kitchen (translation: KRI II, 326). 10
H. Frankfort, Reyes y dioses, Estudio de la religion del Oriente Proximo en la Antiguedad en tanto que integration de la sociedad y la naturaleza, 1983, 118-119.
11
The presence of wild long-horned bulls (Bos taurus africanus) in the Egyptian territory has been attested from predynastic times, see N. Sweydan, in: Atti VI0 Congresso Internazionale di Egittologia,
1992/1, 585-594. The use of bulls (nglw ?) in religious ceremonies could have encouraged some kind of trade with nomad populations Medjay in Gebelein during the Middle Kingdom, see P. Vermis, in: RdE 37, 1986, 141-144. The denomination ?bull of Upper Egypt" that we find in the Abydos scene might refer to an east-African subspecies of wild long-horned bulls (see, in this sense, the ?Aethiopian
bull" described by Claudius ^Elianus, De natura animalium XVII, 45). On the graffitti representation of long-horned bulls in wadi Hammamat, see G. Goyon, Nouvelles inscriptions rupestres du wadi Hammamat, 1957, 143-145.
PT (336) 547-548:
?Hail to you, Bull of Bulls (ng n ng(l)w), when you rise!
I grasp you by your tail, I grip you by the root of your tail when you rise,
a Great one (wrt, feminine) being behind you
and a Great one (wrt, feminine) being before you. Hail to you, greatest of the gods!
Receive me, for I belong to you, and your heart is glad. As for my corpse, it is rejuvenated".
PT (254) 286:
?0 you female apes who cut off heads, I will escape safely from you; I have affixed my head to my neck,
and my neck is on my trunk in this my name of Affixer-of-heads,
by means of which / affixed the head of Apis
on that day when the long-horned bull was lassoed'.
These two sections of the Pyramid Texts are an important element of reference. We see how in PT (336) 547-548, the act of grasping the bull's tail contains clearly ritual connotations. In relation to that passage R.O. Faulkner's13 footnote remarks: ?the det. o of wbnw may imply not only the usual det. of wbn but also proximity to the anus; the word seems to mean the ?root" of the tail, which rises (wbn) from the hinderquarters of the animal". Likewise, this author proposes the perfective active participle verb prjw in the sense of rising, lit. ?act the ascending one" referring to the sunrise. But prjw could also be a pun concerning the ?ferocius, vigorous bull" (pry)u in the moment that the beast rushes out into the arena.
However, the fact that the term prjw refers to the sunrise remains unclear in the text.
Faulkner has probably identified ng n ng(l)w ?bull of bulls" with the ?Bull of Re" (ng
RC-PT (304) 470) about which, for instance, we read in PT (334) 543: ?Hail to you Re,
you who traverse the sky and cross Nut, having traversed the Winding Waterway / have grasped your tail". The bull, as a cosmic animal, appears in some other contexts
associated with the moon: the rising moon, also related to the same term prj15, which
was compared to an inflamed bull (kl ps)16 (= the crescent moon) on its way to the full
moon17.
12
For the Pyr. passages quoted here we have mainly used R.O. Faulkner's translation in: The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, 1969.
13
R.O. Faulkner, op. cit, 108, n. 3. 14
Wb I, 526, 2. Also, Sin. B-123. 15
Wb I, 521,18. 16
See S. Aufrere, L'univers mineral dans la pensee egyptienne, BdE 125/1, 1991, 221-222. 17
For the bull (kl ps) becoming an ox (scb = castrated bull) as an image of the waning moon, Urk. VIII, 74, 89b.
48 L. Bacque SAK 30
The association that the Egyptians established between the bull - as an image of genesic power - and some astral deities, especially within a funerary context (e.g., Osiris-Apis), or the procreative-cosmic image of gods such as Min or ithyphallic Amon
is well known. In our opinion, both in the formerly quoted PT (336) 547-548 passage
and especially in the Abydos relief the bull could have represented a cosmic numen, a recurrent figure with implicit ambivalent functions.
On the other hand, in PT (254) 286-287 the long-horned bull is clearly identified
with the Apis bull, which seems to act as a ritual substitute for the dead king ?...on that day when the long-horned bull was lassoed". The implications of such an argument are interesting. Thus, perhaps reinforced by the ritual associations, Ramesses II and Amenhirkhopshef should be regarded as attendants of the dead king, acting on his
behalf respectively as ?(he) who affixes the head of the bull" and ?(he) who grasps the
tail of the bull". It seems clear that these two operations had a specific cultic significance: to allow the safe rebirth, the ?rising" (prj) of the deceased king in the hereafter, confirming, at the same time, his fusion with the deity.
PT (254) 293-294:
?I am happy, happy, for I am the Unique One, the Bull of the sky, I have crushed those who would do this against me and have annihilated their survivors. That which
appertains to my throne, which I have taken and lifted up, is this which my father Shu
gave me in the presence of Seth".
Likewise, because beliefs concerning the Afterlife were inextricably bound up with the
myth of Osiris, the action of lassoing the bull appears related to the framework of the so-called ritual of the Opening of the Mouth18. Thus, the ritual killing of the bull - first
called the bull (nglw) of the Upper Egypt and after the (castrated) sacrificial bull of
Lower Egypt -, evoked both the murder of Osiris by his brother Seth, and the sacrifice of the latter by Horus ?the avenger of his father", in order to contain the spirit of Osiris, whose destiny appears inexorably joined19 with that of the fraticidal adversary20.
The fact that the ritual killing of the bull nglw was considered in this manner is
shown again in some fragments of The Pyramid Texts. We read, for example, in PT (314) 504: ?Get back, O Long-horn, doomed to slaughter, on whose vertex are the
fingers of the Earth-god. Fall down! Crawl away!". Also in PT (539) 1304: ?Get back,
you needy long-horn! Your head is in the hand of Horus, your tail is in the hand of Isis,
and the fingers of Atum are on your horns". And finally in PT (580) 1544: ?0 my father
18
S. Aufrere, in: S. Aufrere/ N. Bosson/ Ch. Landes (ed.), Catalogue de l'exposition: Portes pour l'au dela, L'Egypte, le Nil et le ?Champ des Offrandes", 1992, 38-39.
19
However, as H. te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion, PA 6,1977,95 attests: ?Osiris is death from which life arises, and Seth is life which produces death".
20
Just as Osiris, the body of vanquished Seth - represented in the Abydos relief by the long-horned bull and the other sacrificial animals related in the text - is dismembered and distributed among the gods. Cf.PT (580) 1544.
Osiris this King, I have smitten for you who smote as an ox21; I have killed for you him who killed you as a wild bull; I have broken for you him who broke you as a long-horn
on whose back you were, as a subjected bull22...".
This comparative material is valuable in order to better understand the religious
meaning of the Abydos ceremony. Thus, the ritual killing of the long-horned bull could
be interpreted as an act of culmination within the Osirian Mystery, since with the death of the animal the deceased king, Sethos I, became Osiris himself, assuming his new
place as king of the dead in the Netherworld, while the new Horus, Ramesses II, was confirmed in his right to perform his father's function.
Therefore, in the context of Abydos, the bull appears as a sacred mediator, a being whose ambiguous/dual character permits, in terms of religious conception, both the
opposition and the correlation between the different implied personalities.
3 Political level of interpretation of the Abydos scene
In the light of the previously given arguments, some other ideological - more properly,
political
-
messages could have been invoked through the well planned design of the
Abydos scene. From an analytical vision of the royal iconography here displayed, the
attitude shown by Ramesses II and his eldest son Amenhirkhopshef
is undoubtedly
crucial to our interpretation. Thus, the ?actors" work together, side by side, in the task of lassoing the bull. This close interdependence - to which we should add the religious nature of the act itself - would confirm them as playing a sole role: that of the god Horus as his father's attendant. To us this is an important element because it focuses not only on a particular ceremony somehow in relation with the exercise of the effective
office of the king, but also on the filial attachment as an alternative figure of authority
within the traditional conception of government.
On the one hand, the fact that the function of the king (Horus function) is here shared
by the royal hereditary prince would allow us to consider him as incorporating lofty responsabilities, involving knowledge and abilities corresponding to those of the divine ruler. On the other hand, as he intervenes in the affairs concerning exclusively the divine person of the pharaoh, his position is potentially emphasized through practices
implicitly related to the duties of the state. The text over prince Amenhirkhopshef is very significative in this sense: ?Great Hereditary Prince of the entire (land), King's eldest son, (rpct wr n mj kd^fsl smsw nswt) bodily (son), beloved of him. Fanbearer on
the King's right hand, troop commander, good strategist of infantry23 (n ht^f mr^f tlw
hr wnmy nswt tsw pdt shy m r-dlw hr rdwy^f), unequalled, Amenhirkhopshef, justified, (n mjtt^fJmn-hr-[hps]^fmlc-hrw)u.
21
?Long-horned bull" (ng) is here translated by R.O. Faulkner as ?ox", denoting that through the ritual the bull became a castrated animal.
22
See H. te Velde, op. cit., 97-98. 23
50 L. Bacque SAK 30
Indeed, concerning the presentation of the king's role, the Abydos scene goes further, proclaiming the royal heir's institution as an extension, an important appendix within
the executive-religious functions of kingship, in the sense that it contributed actively to maintain and perpetuate the order of Cosmos and its powers24.
Now we should take up again the figure of Wepwawet, who acted as witness and delegate of the gods, supporting - thanks to a ritual concluding with offerings to his ka -
the association and legitimation of the royal heir to the throne of Egypt. Likewise, on the basis of a quid pro quo deal, the capacity to command is granted to Ramesses II, who receives from Wepwawet's hands the throne of Geb and the office of Atum. The
first lines of the opening section of the relief are addressed directly to the king in the
following terms: ?Words spoken by Wepwawet: I grant to you the seat of Geb, and the effective office of Atum".
Within this ceremony of perpetuation and confirmation of royal power, the bull nglw contributed25, also in a similar manner, to uphold, in its role of sacred mediator, the continuity of the divine royal office26. It is noteworthy that, in the context of ceremonies of confirmation of royal power carried out during the New Year and described by the Brooklyn Museum Papyrus 47.218.50, the bull had a great importance throughout the
rituals. On that score, J.C1. Goyon27 attests: ?Le Taureau
(fe)^^^), deja nomme plus haut (col. XVI, 8) est nettement celui qui donne son heritage (ou le ?confirme" smn). II ne peut done s'agir que d'un roi mort divin, Osiris-Onnophris, ou plus vraisemblablement, du predecesseur du roi qui subit le rite".
Without trying to go beyond the evidence, we believe it reasonable to compare this scene from Abydos with that decorating the so-called ?Gallery of Kings" in the same
building complex. Placed near the ?Corridor of the Bull", it shows king Sethos I and his
son, a young Ramesses, placed before the list of the monarchs of Egypt. In our opinion, both scenes share in essence a similar implicit ideological message: the value of kingship lies in the continuity of the office and in the permanence of its sacred function.
24
In this same context we should interpret another scene in the ?Corridor of the Bull", where king Ramesses II and prince Amenhirkhopshef appear with gods fowling, PM VI, 26, 234-235.
25
In our opinion, the long-horned bull of Upper Egypt and, later, the (transformed) ox of Lower Egypt, could be seen as an element introducing ?duality" in the scene of Abydos. This argument is reinforced by the fact that king Ramesses II wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt in the act of ?lassoing the long homed bull of Upper Egypt". According to the religious responsibilities of the king and the royal heir along the ceremony, an ideal of authority - i.e., the king Uniting the Two Lands - seems to prevail
through the action. 26
We may point out that the emblem jltf (sign-list O 44): ?office", ?function", by extension ?royal function", was represented by a pole supporting bull-horns and a coil of rope. See L. Baque in: J. Cervello/ A.J. Quevedo (ed.),...Ir a buscar lefia, Estudios dedicados al Prof. Jesus Lopez, AJES 2,2001, 43, n. 39.
27
J.C1. Goyon, Confirmation du pouvoir royal au nouvel an [Brooklyn Museum Papyrus 47.218.50], IFAO & Brooklyn Museum, 1972, 115, n. 282.
We are about to enter briefly into a line of historic interpretation already suggested by W.J. Murnane28, referring to (1) the need for the consolidation of a dynasty, the nineteenth, in which the solidity of the royal figure was only guaranteed by the capacity and experience of its rulers, and (2) a greater implication of potential heirs in the throne
functions, who will need to prove their ability and experience in tasks belonging to their future office. In Murnane's words29: ?The conspicuous display of the princes' position, both within the official hierarchy and in close association with the king, is something
that is not seen before Ramses II. In fact, the appearance of Prince Ramses in Seti I's war relief marks the beginning of a new trend, since princes were only sporadically
represented on public monuments before then".
Finally, the fact that the hereditary prince, Amenhirkhopshef,
appears in the Abydos
relief with that name, introduces an interesting chronological factor. For Amenhirunem ef, Ramesses IPs eldest son, had changed his name to Amenhirunemef in the year 5 of his father's ruling, once the battle of Kadesh had concluded30. An attractive hypothesis would certainly be to establish a link between this historical event and the act of royal
legitimation shown here, but such speculation goes beyond the objectives of this article31.
?Kingship - as J. Baines has stated32 - is so central to Egyptian culture, so complex and multi-faceted, that no single approach can exhaust its significance; its meaning can be illuminated from many directions". This point of view may help recognize the main political message contained in the scene: that Egyptian kingship
-
especially in the 19th Dynasty - was not only a divine prerogative, but also an ideal (both human and social)
that had to be assumed and defended with actions. In conclusion, we might say that in this scene from the cenotaph of Sethos I, king Ramesses II appears training his eldest son and future heir to the guarded secrets of his office.
28
W.J. Murnane, in: D. O'Connor/ D.P. Silverman (ed.), Ancient Egyptian Kingship, 1995, 185-217. 29
W.J. Murnane, op. cit., 203. 30
Ch. Desroches-Noblecourt, Ramses II. La verdadera historia, 1996, 303-304. 31
The question referred to the chronology of Ramesses IF s period is the nucleus of a debate that remains unsolved. While some authors accept only two years of the coregency of Ramesses II and Sethos I (W.J. Murnane, in: JNES 34,1975,153-190), some others establish a minimum of ten years (K.C. Seele, The Coregency of Ramses II with Seti I and the date of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, SAOC 19,
1940). Here Ramesside royal iconography is deceptive as it usually displays an intemporal representat ive ideal. Such an ideal related to the SW-festival has been recently evaluated by S. Costa, Las represen taciones del rey recibiendo los jubileos en los templos tebanos de epoca ramesida, Doctoral Thesis, University of Barcelona, 1998, 388-392.
32