{"title":"The Seahorse (ḥJšš) from the Shaft Tomb of Iufaa: New Evidence of the Elusive Creature","authors":"Renata Landgráfová","doi":"10.2478/anpm-2019-0015","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The present study focuses on the text and vignette concerning two hippopotamus-headed serpents reclining on rectangular bases, each of them labeled as hayshesh accompanied by a short text stating that he is “a god who makes the ba live in the realm of the dead”. The study of the text reveals that the creature is of a triple significance, in the underworld, in the marine environment (as the sea-horse would) and in the sky. Finally, the development line of the hayshesh-creatures from the seahorses of the 22nd Dynasty coffins to the horse, crocodile or hippopotamus-headed snakes of the Ptolemaic temples shall be drawn and discussed, with Iufaa's attestation forming an important “missing link”.","PeriodicalId":38203,"journal":{"name":"Annals of the Naprstek Museum","volume":"40 1","pages":"59 - 68"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2019-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of the Naprstek Museum","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2478/anpm-2019-0015","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract The present study focuses on the text and vignette concerning two hippopotamus-headed serpents reclining on rectangular bases, each of them labeled as hayshesh accompanied by a short text stating that he is “a god who makes the ba live in the realm of the dead”. The study of the text reveals that the creature is of a triple significance, in the underworld, in the marine environment (as the sea-horse would) and in the sky. Finally, the development line of the hayshesh-creatures from the seahorses of the 22nd Dynasty coffins to the horse, crocodile or hippopotamus-headed snakes of the Ptolemaic temples shall be drawn and discussed, with Iufaa's attestation forming an important “missing link”.