Masters Degrees (Ancient Studies)
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- ItemIlluminating Ugarit: an iconographical study of the Egyptian influence on Ugarit during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1600-1150 BCE)(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) O'Connor, Peter; Cornelius, Izak, 1958-; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since the discovery and subsequent exploration of the ancient capital of the Levantine kingdom of Ugarit, dating back to the 2nd millennium BCE, the relationship between Ugarit and Egypt has captivated the scholarly community. This fascination has been intensified by the uncovering of unique objects, encompassing both personal and royal items. These archaeological discoveries have served as a catalyst for specialized research, concentrating on the domain of material culture, iconography, and epigraphy. In recent years, the focus of the scholarship has been centred around the historical and cultural backdrop characterizing the interaction between Ugarit and Egypt. As the collection of ‘Egyptian’ artifacts uncovered at Ras Shamra, Minet el-Beida, and Ras Ibn Hani continues to expand, numerous inquiries remain open for investigation. Foremost among these is establishing the significance of the Egyptian styles and motifs present on a select few objects. This requires the analyses of these objects in isolation from the broader International Style. The forthcoming investigation employs an iconographic analysis on these items within the contextual framework of Late Bronze Age Ugarit, shedding new light on the intricate relationship between Ugarit and Egypt and the consequent transfer of motifs and styles at Ras Shamra. This research focuses on four key items from Late Bronze Age Ugarit: the Mami Stele, the Vase of Niqmaddu, the Baʿal au Foudre Stele, and the Ivory Bed Panel. This study underscores the high value placed on Egyptian-style items in Ugarit and how the adoption of these motifs served political, religious and cultural purposes. It also illustrates how Egyptian culture influenced Ugarit on multiple levels (the divine sphere etc.) leading to the creation of imitations and emulations. .
- ItemShe is Tiye, Egypt’s “Dazzling” Queen : a study of the role of an active queen in the New Kingdom(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Griffiths, Marelize; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is a research study of the impact of an active queen on her pharaoh husband’s reign in the New Kingdom and focuses on Queen Tiye as an example during the reign of King Amenhotep III (ca. 1390 – 1352 BCE). It investigates how active queens were represented in texts, iconographical imagery, and in material and funerary culture and whether Queen Tiye moved out of the shadow of her pharaoh husband and acted independently in a formal royal setting. The study will further analyse what feminine active value looked like in New Kingdom, Egypt. In order to achieve this purpose, it is important to understand the roles and responsibilities of a typical New Kingdom queen. These findings will be examined against the principles of feminist epistemology to determine the extent of female active value in a male dominated power sphere. Therefore, the question will be addressed whether it was possible for a queen to have an active independent role in the New Kingdom court, and if so, whether Queen Tiye was a “dazzling” and active queen in her own right, or merely a servant under a masculine pharaonic shadow. The purpose of this study is to remove modern, predominantly male, biases from female subject representation and reception. Previous research has mostly represented female subjects within a male argumentative frame as accompaniments to highlight their husbands’ or sons’ achievements. This male bias is still prevalent, however while the female subject in ancient Egypt is receiving more individual attention, as has been bestowed on the likes of Hatshepsut, Nefertiti, and Cleopatra VII Tiye is still placed in an inferior position as it seems she was not as powerful, beautiful, or political - or even as active - as the other three queens.
- ItemKnots and binding in Ancient Egypt : a study of Ancient Egyptian knot magic based on material culture(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Cross, Dominique Ann; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis investigates the practice of knotting, binding and encircling based on ancient Egyptian material culture. It explores the two classifications of knotting: protective and functional. The approach of this study is focused on the analysis and interpretation of visual material which comprises of: votive amulets, objects, figurines, inscriptions on the walls of burial chambers, tombs and temples, as well as the component of functional knotting used for everyday purposes. The research method uses an iconographical approach which includes the symbolism of numbers, materials and the deities invoked. The various types of knots, encircling and binding are examined along with their uses. The study includes instructional steps from primary texts focusing on magical-medical papyri texts: spells and inscriptions. Provenance and context are addressed throughout the study as the role and use of the objects remain the focus to extrapolate what role knotting, binding and encircling played within the ancient Egyptian world. The study concludes that all three of these practices were deeply entrenched into the lives of the ancient Egyptians and that the number seven, Hathor and the Seven Hathors were inextricably linked. Furthermore, it is difficult to separate protective knotting from functional as the act of tying a knot enables the same outcome, to protect. The exact rituals involved with these practices may be open to discussion and this may be an area worth researching to gain even more clarity on this omnipresent practice in ancient Egypt.
- ItemEnheduanna, priestess, princess and poet: a historical study of the ‘world’s first author’ and her iconic poetry(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Coetzee, Akira; Cornelius, Izak; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the life and work of Enheduanna of Akkad (c. 2334–2279 BCE), who besides holding a powerful cultic position as entu (high priestess), has been attributed with the title of ‘world’s first author’. This research investigates whether she played an important role, what can be gleaned about her life from her texts, and what influence these have had on both her direct as well as contemporary reception. Additionally, I investigated why she has been overlooked as a pivotal figure and whether there are any other instances of female authorship comparable to her. Even though Enheduanna is recorded as the first identifiable author by name, there have been few studies on her and her work. This study firstly highlights her importance as an entu priestess by looking at the various roles of priestesses as they relate to her, what her position entailed and how this influenced the later Mesopotamian cult. Following this, Enheduanna is discussed in relation to her writings, and each of her longer texts is analysed and interpreted. The analysis of these texts has uncovered and expanded on significant historical, mythological and personal information regarding Enheduanna’s life. This culminates in a discussion on what all this conveys regarding her impact during her lifetime and her contemporary reception as a religious figure, an influential author and a woman. Through a nuanced application of feminist theories of power, agency and oppression, the results indicate that her involvement in the cult was crucial in facilitating powerful religious roles for women. However, her influence on authorship outweighs even that significance, as the research indicates that her texts can be read as “self-writing”, not only providing information on mythic and historical thinking, but also her authorial voice. This thesis concludes that Enheduanna has been overlooked even though she is highly significant, both in her capacity as a religious icon with agency and in her immense abilities as an author. Furthermore, this research identifies other women who occupied similar cultic positions and also authored texts. Questions for further research identified in this thesis are a full study on the categorisation of autobiographical texts within a West Asian literary corpus, further studies on the instances of female self-writing, and an additional look into whether the depiction of Inanna within Enheduanna’s texts is limited to her because she was a woman representing a female deity.
- ItemIn memory of votive time: a new perspective on votive anatomicals from the Asklepieion of Corinth.(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Goedhart, Jeani Margje; Masters, Samantha; Nitschke, Jessica; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Ancient Studies.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Anatomical votives are body part models, which were dedicated in thanks of, or in request for, healing. In the ancient Greek context, such objects were prominently associated with the healing sanctuaries (Asklepieia) of the god of medicine, Asklepios. Central to the scholarship on these objects is the attempted mind-shift from medical representation to lived experience. This mind-shift is problematic since it follows from a suppliant-centred approach, which implies that the votive’s meaning, as a memory object, relates to it being a material record of the suppliant’s healing/disease experience. This is not, however, how this mnemonic process plays out in the votive ritual since the concept of memory, which the suppliant applies to the anatomical votive, changes when the object, and by extension the memory applied to it, is transferred into the god’s ownership. In this thesis, the relations and non-relations between memory and ownership, with regard to how these concepts change throughout the course of the anatomical votive’s life-history, are studied and developed into a new theoretical approach termed ‘votive time’. The corpus of anatomical votives from the Asklepieion at Corinth are employed as a case study for the application of votive time since it is by far the largest corpus in the ancient Greek context. The methodology employed to develop and apply the theory consists of two parts. In the first part, a religio-historical context is configured for votive time, which provides the basis for the second part. The second part involves arts-based thought experiments in which Art-analogues are used to fill gaps in the context. As a method invented for this thesis, Art-analogues are artworks featuring visual interpretations of body parts that mimic how votive time can be interpreted. The same research questions asked about votive time, when applied to the anatomical, can be asked of the art-analogue. In the thesis, three of Joel-Peter Witkin’s still life prints are used as analogues. Through the applicatory medium of collage, the analogue becomes a comparative research tool through which the theory of votive time can be finalized and applied to the corpus as a new approach. The study finds that the approach of votive time illuminates previously unstudied aspects of votive-related memory and its role in the Asklepieion scenario. These aspects include the roles of the different variables of the god’s acquisition of memory: following a latent-to-active process of the votive changing into a final product of god-owned memory within its sanctuary-defined roles. insightful finding involves the state of memory after deposition, when the object had been dispossessed of its prior god-owned status in the sanctuary, and what this implies for the memory-ownership relation attached to both its individual and collective life-history.