Transforming the Dead in Graeco-Roman Egypt: The Spells of P. Louvre N. 3122 and P. Berlin P. 3162

The belief that dead people could assume non-human forms is attested in Egyptian texts of all periods, from the Old Kingdom down to Graeco-Roman times. This book provides an up-to-date comprehensive edition of two important Graeco-Roman texts, P. Louvre N. 3122 and P. Berlin P. 3162, both written in hieratic and dating to the 1st century AD.

Format: Hardback
Length: 186 pages
Publication date: 08 May 2023
Publisher: De Gruyter

The notion that deceased individuals could transform into non-human forms is documented in Egyptian texts spanning various eras, from the Old Kingdom to Graeco-Roman times. It was believed that assuming these forms granted them increased freedom of movement and access to nourishment in the afterlife, as well as the opportunity to join the entourages of different deities and participate in their worship. Spells referencing or enabling the deceased's transformations can be found in the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead. However, it is during the Graeco-Roman Period that we encounter comprehensive compositions dedicated to this theme. Two of the most significant are P. Louvre N. 3122 and P. Berlin P. 3162, both written in hieratic and dating to the 1st century AD. These texts have been recognized by Egyptologists for over a century, yet neither is currently available in a comprehensive and up-to-date edition. This book aims to fill that gap by presenting a comprehensive edition, featuring high-resolution images of the manuscripts, hieroglyphic transcriptions, translations, descriptions of their material aspects, studies of their owners, their titles, and their families, reconstructions of their context of usage, analyses of their orthography and grammar, and detailed commentaries on their contents.

Weight: 498g
Dimension: 176 x 252 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783111079837