The Gifts of “Darkness” (KKW). The Dark Waters of the Nile Inundation in Hydrological Processions of the Ptolemaic and Roman Era

Abstract

Abstract The article takes a closer look at a specific feature of the Nile, and more in particular an aspect of its life bringing inundation known to the ancient Egyptian priests as Keku (“Darkness”). This facet of the inundation occurs seven times among the gifts brought by offering bearers in hydrological processions on the soubassement in the Horus temple of Edfu, the Opet temple at Karnak, the Hathor temple of Dendara and the small Isis temple of Dendara dating from the reigns of Ptolemaios IV Philopator (221–204 BCE) to that of Emperor Nero (54–68 CE). The study of its location on the temple walls as well as the inscriptions accompanying this specific personification of the Nile inundation indicates the existence of patterns in the distribution of these texts not only within a single temple, but also between temples over time and space.