Journal Article

Ptolemaic and Roman Figural Graffiti from the Temple of Karnak

Altaher, Ahmed

2023

Overview

An important source of ancient Egyptian history is the graffiti found in the temples of Thebes, as it provides a comprehensive historical account of the relationships between individuals and temples, the pilgrimage rituals that led to these visits, and what visitors to the temples sought from their gods. Embroidering a personal message or image on the temple wall was one way to present oneself. As opposed to stelae and statues, these inscriptions clarified the relationship between the author of the graffiti and the gods in a cheaper, more accessible, and immediate manner. It is evident from all the inscriptions and scenes in those temples that all of the characters in them play a secondary role in the service of the king and the deity. In temples, the high ranks could place their own statues and paintings. In the Middle Kingdom, the rules prohibiting ordinary individuals from portraying themselves inside temples were broken, so the high priests and the high officials began making graffiti mentioning their names and depicting themselves on the walls of temples, eventually including most members of temple society. Despite the fact that the temples of Karnak were not designed to contain figural graffiti throughout, this paper discusses how graffiti are distributed throughout the temple. This study does not analyze or count these entries but rather addresses their spatial distribution.

• Publisher: جمعية تراث مصر
• Subject: البطالمة / الرومان / الكتابات التذكارية / النقوش الفرعونية / معابد طيبة