Open AccessCommentary on Heracleopolis Magna from the theological perspective (I): The image of the local lakes in the vignette of chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead
Author(s) -
Lucía Díaz-Iglesias Llanos
Publication year - 2005
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.25145/j.tde.2005.04.03
Subject(s) - vignette , meaning (existential) , perspective (graphical) , feature (linguistics) , history , the symbolic , aesthetics , geography , art , philosophy , visual arts , epistemology , psychology , social psychology , psychoanalysis , linguistics
The process of endowing a symbolic meaning to the most prominent marks in the landscape can be illustrated by a distinctive feature of Heracleopolis Magna: the sacred lake of the temple of Heryshef. Its dominant position in the city, its relationship with the local temple and its importance in the royal sphere led to its projection from this world to the Beyond. The analysis of funerary texts and vignettes from the First Intermediate Period onwards show that the lakes were considered as a significant place for the purification and rebirth of the deceased.