Kolanthes or Kolanthes the Child (, ) is a child deity from the late period of
ancient Egyptian religion
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of Polytheism, polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with Ancient Egyptian deities, many deities belie ...
. He has been documented since the second century BC in the circle of the deities of
Akhmim
Akhmim (, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis () and Panopolis (), it is located on the east bank of the Nile, to the northeast of Sohag.
...
(Koine ''Panopolis'') in the ninth Upper Egyptian
Nome (Egypt)
A nome (, from , ''nomós'', "district") was a territorial division in ancient Egypt.
Each nome was ruled by a nomarch (, "Great Chief"). The number of nomes changed through the various periods of the history of ancient Egypt.
Etymology
The t ...
.
Divine Family
Kolanthes was a son within the patron trinity of Akhmim. In the
Temple of Athribis, his mother was
Repyt (Greek ''Triphis'').
[Jarus, Owen, ]
2,100-year-old temple from ancient Egypt discovered hidden in cliff face
', Live Science, December 2, 2024 Aperetiset also was identified as his mother. The god
Min acted as his father.
Kolanthes was identified with
Horus
Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...
, the divine child and the
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
, and he was called "the child of
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
and
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
".
Cultic sites and written evidence
The cult sites of Kolanthes are located north and south of Akhmim. In the quarries of
Gabal El Haridi and
Ptolemais Hermiou
Ptolemais Hermiou, or Ptolemais in the Thebaid, was a city and metropolitan archbishopric in Greco-Roman Egypt and remains a Catholic titular see.
Today, the city of El Mansha ()-Bsoi () in the Sohag Governorate is located where the ancient cit ...
(Arabic: al-Mansha),
Demotic (Egyptian)
Demotic (from ''dēmotikós'', 'popular') is the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Nile Delta. The term was first used by the Greek historian Herodotus to distinguish it from hieratic and Egyptian hiero ...
rock inscriptions mentioning Kolanthes have been found. Other sources include Greek inscriptions, a stele inscribed with hieroglyphs from the time of the Roman Emperor
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
, and the recently discovered extensive inscriptions from the temple of Athribis.
Name
The hieroglyphic and demotic spellings of the name “Kolanthes” are inconsistent. It may be presumed that this god is not of Egyptian origin.
In the Greek inscriptions, the name is written , , or . The demotic spelling may be translated as QrnDA, according to the
Manuel de Codage
The Manuel de Codage (), abbreviated MdC, is a standard system for the computer-encoding of Egyptian hieroglyphic texts.
History
In 1984 a committee was charged with the task to develop a uniform system for the encoding of hieroglyphic texts on t ...
.
The inscriptions of the Temple of Athribis have different hieroglyphic spellings in the various scenes.
Full spellings
Szene C 2, 31
2b:
q-F20:U28-A-Z1-A17Szenen C 1, 70
2; C 1, 74
3; C 3, 15
2; C 3, 17
2:
q-F20:U28-A17Szenen C 3, 16
2; C 5, 57
2; C 5, 67
2:
q-F20:D10-A17
Abbreviated Spellings
Szenen C 1, 41
1; C 1, 51
1; C 5, 5
2A17
Abbreviated versions of "Kolanthes the Child"
<-A17-A17-p->
References
Literature
* Hans Bonnet: ''Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte.'' de Gruyter, Berlin 1952, 3. unveränderte Auflage, Reprint, De Gruyter, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-11-082790-3, S. 379.
* Jan Quaegebeur: Kolanthes. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ). Band III, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1980,
ISBN 3-447-02100-4, Sp. 671–672.
* ''Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen.'' Band 8: ''Register'' (= ''Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta.'' Band 129). Peeters, Leuven 2003, ISBN 90-429-1376-2, S. 684
eingeschränkte Onlineversion.
* Rafed El-Sayed, Yahya El-Masry (Hrsg.): ''Athribis I. General Site Survey 2003–2007. Archaeological & Conservation Studies. The Gate of Ptolemy IX. Architecture and Inscriptions'' (= ''Publications de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale du Caire.'' Band 1010). Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Kairo 2012, ISBN 978-2-7247-0529-4.
* Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel, Yahya El-Masry: ''Athribis II. Der Tempel Ptolemaios' XII.: Die Inschriften und Reliefs der Opfersäle, des Umgangs und der Sanktuarräume'' 3 Bände (= ''Publications de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale du Caire.'' Band 1016). Imprimerie de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Kairo 2010, ISBN 978-2-7247-0539-3.
* Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel: ''Athribis III. Die östlichen Zugangsräume und Seitenkapellen sowie die Treppe zum Dach und die rückwärtigen Räume des Tempels Ptolemaios XII.'' 2 Bände, Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Kairo 2017.
* Christian Leitz, Daniela Mendel: ''Athribis IV. Der Umgang L 1 bis L 3.'' 2 Bände, Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Kairo 2017.
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