Books by Silvia Zago
This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of the evolution over time of a foundational ... more This volume offers the first comprehensive overview of the evolution over time of a foundational concept of the Egyptian afterlife beliefs, the Duat, or netherworld. The Duat is a complicated, multifaceted notion, which was never canonized into a single version of the beyond, but offered instead a variety of alternatives attempting to describe the metaphysical realms beyond the visible world, and beyond life. Theological speculations gave rise to a rich textual and visual repertoire, which underwent a process of evolution over thousands of years, during which newer ideas and images were constantly introduced. Through the analysis of royal and non-royal funerary texts from the late Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom, this book traces the development of the conceptualization of the notion of Duat, outlining what it encompassed and where it was imagined to be located. In addition to the translation and discussion of the most significant passages of the texts analyzed, each chapter also provides an overview of the individual compositions and of the relevant theological, cosmological, and astronomical notions complementing the conceptual framework, of which the Duat formed but a part. Additionally, discussions of concurrent changes in Egyptian culture, society, and ideology are included in order to clarify the context in which afterlife beliefs and related texts evolved. An analysis of the correlation between funerary compositions and their material supports complements the study, emphasizing the Egyptians’ belief in a magical synergy between texts, images, and their contexts in the activation of a suitable, effective afterlife for the recipients of the texts.
Webpage: https://www.lockwoodpress.com/product-page/a-journey-through-the-beyond-the-development-of-the-concept-of-duat-and-related
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Articles (peer reviewed) by Silvia Zago
Landscapes: Studies in Honour of Steven Snape. Wallasey: Abercromby Press, 2024
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Rethinking the Visual Aesthetics of Ancient Egyptian Writing: Proceedings of the Conference, ed. S. Quirke, R. Lucarelli, and H. Rashwan. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2024
When studying various aspects of the ancient Egyptian culture, the iconicity of the script is oft... more When studying various aspects of the ancient Egyptian culture, the iconicity of the script is often left in the background in favour of more purely ‘linguistic’ and ‘grammatical’ approaches. Yet, as disciplines such as cognitive linguistics and linguistic anthropology have shown, the linguistic and visual aspects of writing systems should be considered together. In particular, the use of the soundless signs known as ‘determinatives’ extended beyond signalling the end of a word. The pictorial nature of hieroglyphs meant that they could convey a variety of literal and abstract (metaphorical) meanings tied inextricably to, and revealing aspects of, the Egyptian mindset, which are not necessarily expressed in the lexicon. Determinatives worked as ‘mute’ iconic tools to classify the world, mirroring the organization and categorization of knowledge, hence the collective mind, of the ancient Egyptian culture, while at the same time providing a wide variety of encyclopedic, pragmatic, and grammatical information. This paper aims to illustrate the value of a combined textual and linguistic-semantic approach, which also considers the figurative nature of hieroglyphs, and in particular determinatives, in interpreting the Egyptians’ conceptualization of their world. The case study analyzed will be that of one of the most ambiguous notions pertaining to the Egyptian afterlife beliefs: the Duat. This term refers broadly to the realm of the dead, and is commonly translated as ‘underworld’ or ‘netherworld’ – both terms inherently pointing to a ‘fixed’ meaning, namely the otherworld as a chthonic dimension located beneath the earth. Yet, this was only one of many alternative scenarios for post-mortem existence available to the ancient Egyptians, and indeed encoded in the word Duat. By examining the determinatives accompanying said word in Egyptian funerary literature, this paper will shed light on the wider range of information that can be gathered when considering not only the various textual context(s), but also the linguistic and visual aspects of writing. The multifaceted nature of the Egyptian Duat will be shown to have been encapsulated in the determinative(s) chosen to classify the word in the various (con)texts in which it appeared over the course of a multimillennial process of constant evolution, during which it never became a crystallized, canonical notion. This kind of analysis, therefore, not only has the advantage of redefining and enhancing our understanding of the Egyptian writing system, but is also argued to help gain insight into the ancient Egyptian thought and collective knowledge.
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Journal of Ancient Civilizations 39
It is well-known that, for the ancient Egyptians, death was not an absolute end, but rather the b... more It is well-known that, for the ancient Egyptians, death was not an absolute end, but rather the beginning of a transition to a new state of being in another, metaphysical dimension (the Duat). The living and the dead formed a community that transcended the somewhat permeable barrier between this world and the next. The deceased were powerful liminal entities, ancestral spirits that continued to play a significant role in the everyday life of the living. This is attested by a broad range of textual and archaeological evidence, which centres around the tomb, regarded as an interface between dimensions. The interaction between the living and the dead was quite complex: if, on the one hand, the spirits of the deceased could be beneficial to the living and support them, they could also turn malevolent and influence their world in negative ways, including harming their health and wellbeing. This paper will explore the multifaceted relationship between the living and the dead, focussing on the magico-ritual practices aimed to enable a successful transition of the deceased into the afterlife and the means of communication with them, whether the contact be prompted by a conflictual situation or by a request for assistance from the hereafter. The discussion will thus illustrate not only what a concrete and important reality the otherworld represented for the Egyptians, but also the significant impact that this intimate interconnection between realms had on society.
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The Ancient Near East Today, 2023
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Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 2022
Natural as well as built landscapes in ancient Egypt were imbued with specific cultural meanings ... more Natural as well as built landscapes in ancient Egypt were imbued with specific cultural meanings derived from complex religious and mythical ideas, through which the cosmos of the Egyptians took shape and acquired meaning. This paper analyses the conceptual and material interactions with a particular aspect of the ancient Egyptian environment: the necropolis domain, which was perceived to embody divine and cosmic agency on earth and therefore represented a bridge towards the otherworld (Duat). In particular, it focuses on the notion of Imhet, which, originating in the physical Nilotic environment of Lower Egypt, gradually took on mytho-cosmological associations. The analysis of the attestations of this elusive notion in the textual record illustrates how Imhet, traditionally thought to be a cavern wherefrom the Nile originated in the north of the country, came to be conceptualised as a supernatural conduit between the sphere of human existence on earth and the otherworldly realm lying beyond death. Moreover, the partial overlap between the domains of Imhet and Duat may be shown to underscore the conflation of geographical and imagined landscapes – endowed with many layers of mythical and cosmological symbolism – that characterised the Egyptian culture down to its demise.
DOI: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/721488
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Egitto e Vicino Oriente 44 (2021), 2022
One of the most remarkable sets of Late Egyptian documentary texts is represented by the Tomb Rob... more One of the most remarkable sets of Late Egyptian documentary texts is represented by the Tomb Robberies papyri, which provide invaluable information on the political intrigues and scandals associated with the chaotic state of the administration in the late Ramesside period. Among these, Papyrus Abbott is one of the texts concerned with the investigation into the first wave of tomb robberies, which occurred during the reign of Ramses IX (1126-1108 bce), and ends with the summoning of the Great Court of Thebes, which is to pass judgment on the case. The papyrus mentions the location, where the magistrates convene, by a gateway in the temple of Amun-Re: the portal of Dwa-rekhyt. Pinpointing said place is certainly no easy feat, and as a result the task has received little attention in scholarly literature. This paper will therefore focus on the portal of Dwa-rekhyt, and will suggest possibilities for its identification.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12871/97888333964464
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Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, Sep 2021
In the Book of Nut, the terms qbḥw and qbḥw nṯrw appear to designate a portion of the outermost f... more In the Book of Nut, the terms qbḥw and qbḥw nṯrw appear to designate a portion of the outermost fringes of the cosmos, to the north/north-west, where an opening of the Duat was located. This paper aims to explore the characterisation of that region, a topographical and cosmographical entity lying on the verge of this world and the next, by comparing the finds from the Book of Nut with the evidence from a Late period “map of cosmos”, on which a similar enigmatic label appears. This will provide a chance to reassess the characterisation of the cosmic boundaries of the world at the threshold of the Duat and the various regenerative scenarios conveyed by later cosmographic texts and representations.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/bifao.10285
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His Good Name Essays on Identity and Self-Presentation in Ancient Egypt in Honor of Ronald J. Leprohon, eds. Christina Geisen, Jean Li, Steven B. Shubert, and Kei Yamamoto. Material and Visual Culture of Ancient Egypt 5. Atlanta (GA): Lockwood , Mar 2021
In the New Kingdom Netherworld Books, the full potential of visual imagery is explored, with illu... more In the New Kingdom Netherworld Books, the full potential of visual imagery is explored, with illustrations and vignettes very closely intertwined with captions and annotations. The beyond is now more than ever encoded in images that articulate its essence in symbolic terms, thus serving as illustrated summaries of the main themes of the compositions. It is well known that the geographical aspect of the nocturnal journey of the solar god could assume the form of specific deities in funerary compositions since the Pyramid Texts. The 'spatialization' of divine beings, however, finds better delineation and depiction only in the New Kingdom compositions. This paper focuses on an intriguing aspect of the conceptualization of the otherworld in the Netherworld Books – a mysterious divine feminine figure called Shetayt, the "Mysterious One" – and discusses her identity, role(s), and the regenerative potential that she embodied within the Duat as well as her connection with the realms of magic and ritual. It will be shown that, harnessing natural forces as well as her own powers connected with the realms of fertility and magic on the one side while being connected and/or identified with the celestial goddess Nut on the other, Shetayt protected the nocturnal solar gestation taking place inside her body – that is, the netherworld space, thereby enabling the successful outcome of the solar journey at the end of the night.
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Sotto il cielo di Nut. Egitto Divino, ed. Sabrina Ceruti e Anna Provenzali, Mar 26, 2020
This short survey outlines the various ideas that the Egyptians had of what awaited them after de... more This short survey outlines the various ideas that the Egyptians had of what awaited them after death and of where the realm of the dead (Duat) was located, touching upon the main funerary texts that illustrated those ideas over time.
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Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception, ed. C. Helmer et al., Oct 31, 2019
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Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 145.2, Nov 8, 2018
The notion of Duat plays a major role in ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs. Yet, a single definit... more The notion of Duat plays a major role in ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs. Yet, a single definition of this notion is impossible to achieve, as it underwent a process of evolution over thousands of years without ever designating just one unambiguous place at a time. In this context, an approach based on cognitive linguistics and on the significance of the determinatives accompanying the word Duat can be exploited to shed more light on this elusive concept. The focus will be here on the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts as well as the intermediary phase of transmission of the funerary literature during the period between the end of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2018-0018
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Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 54, 2018
This paper focuses on the evolution of the concept of Duat in the Old and Middle Kingdom funerary... more This paper focuses on the evolution of the concept of Duat in the Old and Middle Kingdom funerary texts. This notion is already attested in the Pyramid Texts, which provide early but ambiguous references to it, seemingly identifying the Duat both with part of the sky and with a liminal domain located somewhere between earth and horizon, and endowed with regenerative power. Toward the end of the Old Kingdom, and with the emergence of the Coffin Texts, the depiction of the cosmos appears to have altered slightly. A better-defined universe was now sketched in the spells. Contrasted with the earth and the diurnal sky stood the Duat, which was, to some extent, described as including both nether sky and netherworld. This article traces the process of development of the concept of Duat within the broader frame of the ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs as attested in the Pyramid and Coffin Texts. Moreover, a brief analysis of a particular category of funerary objects popular in this period shows that the evolution in the conceptualization of the afterlife found in funerary texts underlies changes in material culture as well.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5913/jarce.54.2018.a016
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Il Futuro nell’Archeologia. Il Contributo dei Giovani Ricercatori: Atti del IV Convegno Nazionale dei Giovani Archeologi, Tuscania (VT), 12-15 Maggio 2011, ed. G. Guarducci and S. Valentini. Rome: Scienze e Lettere, 2012
The presence or absence of myth in the Pyramid Texts has always been a matter of contention for E... more The presence or absence of myth in the Pyramid Texts has always been a matter of contention for Egyptologists since German scholars started to deal with the subject in the second half of the 19th century, making the status of myth one of the most problematic aspects concerning Egyptian religion and texts. Proceeding from a revisionist approach, this study examines the textual evidence from a "mythical point of view". Going through different features of this corpus, in particular the funerary ideology and the religious ideas therein enclosed, all the spells of the Pyramid Texts have been inspected looking for myths concealed behind the allusive language and the magical power of the words. The attention has been focused on those texts which displayed some kind of mythical traces and, collecting those referring to the same mythical account, it has been possible to identify and reconstruct the mythical traditions spread throughout the spells, proceeding also from their versions which have been passed on at later times. After his detailed analysis of the whole corpus, the author feels it to be like a sort of huge myth in itself, allowing the king to enter a new world after his death and creating a new form of – mythical – existence for him who is destined to live his eternity in company of the gods. The innovative conclusion of this study thus is that myth in the Pyramid Texts exists, but not in the narrative form which had always been looked for, instead through mythical allusions.
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Book reviews by Silvia Zago
Journal of the Society for the Studies of Egyptian Antiquities 43, Nov 2017
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Online Publications by Silvia Zago
The Database of Religious History, 2021
https://religiondatabase.org/browse/1232/#/
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Dissertations by Silvia Zago
The aim of this dissertation is to trace the diachronic development of the notion of Duat, the an... more The aim of this dissertation is to trace the diachronic development of the notion of Duat, the ancient Egyptian realm of the dead. Despite being a key component of the afterlife beliefs, this notion has defied all scholarly attempts at a clear definition, as it underwent a process of evolution over thousands of years without ever designating just one place at a time, but always possessing both chthonic and celestial features at once. Furthermore, new images and ideas were constantly introduced, and new layers were added to the core ideological framework established in earlier times. This study is based on the analysis of royal and non-royal funerary texts from the end of the Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom (Pyramid and Coffin Texts, Book of the Dead, Underworld Books, and Books of the Sky) and aims to outline what the term Duat encompassed, where it was thought to be located, and how its characterization evolved over time. Besides presenting the most significant passages mentioning and/or describing the Duat in the various funerary compositions, each chapter will also discuss any relevant theological, cosmological, geographical, and astronomical notions necessary to clarify the conceptual framework, of which the Duat formed but a part, and will try to relate its evolution to the
concurrent changes in Egyptian culture, society, and ideology. Additionally, since patterns of distribution of texts and imagery played a significant role in both temples and tombs, an analysis of the correlation between the various funerary texts and their material support complements the study, with the purpose of highlighting what the Egyptians believed to be a magical synergy between the texts for the afterlife and their context. By bringing together all these aspects, significant insight will be gained not only into the conceptualization of the next, metaphysical world but also into the understanding of the physical reality in which the Egyptians lived every day, long before those funerary texts would be of any use to them.
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The presence or absence of myth in the Pyramid Texts has always been a matter of debate among Egy... more The presence or absence of myth in the Pyramid Texts has always been a matter of debate among Egyptologists since when German scholars started discussing the issue in the second half of the 19th century. The research on the subject is analyzed, and a revised definition of myth is presented and applied to the textual evidence, with the conclusion that older views are inappropriate to deal with the complexity of the problem of myth in ancient Egypt. After presenting the various features of the Pyramid Texts, including the funerary ideology they convey and the religious and political ideology lying at its origins, an analysis of all the spells of the corpus is undertaken in order to determine whether or not myths are concealed behind the allusive language and the magical efficacy of the utterances. The focus is on the texts that show traces of myths, which are first collected and then arranged according to the mytheme that they contain. By grouping all the details of the same mythical account scattered throughout the texts, it is possible to reconstruct the mythical traditions behind them, also with the aid of the attestations of those myths dated to later periods. Seen under this lens, the whole corpus of the Pyramid Texts appears to be a giant myth in itself, which allowed the king to access a new world after his death and created a new form of (mythical) existence for him, one in which he was destined to spend eternity in company together with the gods. The original conclusion of this study is therefore that myth in the Pyramid Texts does exist, although not in the narrative form that scholars had always been looking for in the past. This collection of texts was not the proper setting or context for the entire narrations to be included, given especially their (mostly) ritual nature, but their importance was most certainly given credit by means of a dense net made of hints and allusions, which contribute to the elusive and difficult character of the Pyramid Texts.
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Invited Lectures and Talks by Silvia Zago
Current Research in Egyptology 2024, Liverpool, 2-6 September 2024 (invited keynote speaker)
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The North East Ancient Egypt Society (Durham), 18 May 2024 (invited speaker)
The talk focuses on the sacred landscape at Abydos and its connection with underlying notions of ... more The talk focuses on the sacred landscape at Abydos and its connection with underlying notions of the afterlife as embodied in that landscape (natural and built).
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Books by Silvia Zago
Webpage: https://www.lockwoodpress.com/product-page/a-journey-through-the-beyond-the-development-of-the-concept-of-duat-and-related
Articles (peer reviewed) by Silvia Zago
https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2023/08/egyptian-conceptualization-otherworld
DOI: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/721488
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12871/97888333964464
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/bifao.10285
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2018-0018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5913/jarce.54.2018.a016
Book reviews by Silvia Zago
Online Publications by Silvia Zago
Dissertations by Silvia Zago
concurrent changes in Egyptian culture, society, and ideology. Additionally, since patterns of distribution of texts and imagery played a significant role in both temples and tombs, an analysis of the correlation between the various funerary texts and their material support complements the study, with the purpose of highlighting what the Egyptians believed to be a magical synergy between the texts for the afterlife and their context. By bringing together all these aspects, significant insight will be gained not only into the conceptualization of the next, metaphysical world but also into the understanding of the physical reality in which the Egyptians lived every day, long before those funerary texts would be of any use to them.
Invited Lectures and Talks by Silvia Zago
Webpage: https://www.lockwoodpress.com/product-page/a-journey-through-the-beyond-the-development-of-the-concept-of-duat-and-related
https://www.asor.org/anetoday/2023/08/egyptian-conceptualization-otherworld
DOI: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/721488
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12871/97888333964464
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/bifao.10285
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/zaes-2018-0018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5913/jarce.54.2018.a016
concurrent changes in Egyptian culture, society, and ideology. Additionally, since patterns of distribution of texts and imagery played a significant role in both temples and tombs, an analysis of the correlation between the various funerary texts and their material support complements the study, with the purpose of highlighting what the Egyptians believed to be a magical synergy between the texts for the afterlife and their context. By bringing together all these aspects, significant insight will be gained not only into the conceptualization of the next, metaphysical world but also into the understanding of the physical reality in which the Egyptians lived every day, long before those funerary texts would be of any use to them.
Link to lecture on YouTube (in Italian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhEA2UBUoHM&t=61s
With special thanks to the conference team: Rachel Barnas (University of California, Berkeley), Beatrice De Faveri (University of California, Berkeley), Walid Elsayed (Sohag University), Maysa Kassem (Fayum University), Jason Silvestri (University of California, Berkeley).
The conference will be live-streamed on Thursday18, Friday 19 and Saturday 20, November 2021
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMQxVsWyKtc
Link to lecture on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhQlFrk6-SA&t=8827s (starts at 2:23:50)
Link to lecture on YouTube (in Italian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhEA2UBUoHM&t=61s
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9JE124ho78&t=231s