Medjed

This article is about the figures in Egyptian religion. For the peak in the Dinaric Alps, see Medjed (mountain).

Medjed refers to two distinct entities in ancient Egyptian mythology, both associated with the god Osiris: a god mentioned in the Book of the Dead, and a species of fish worshipped as sacred.

God

Two vignettes thought to represent Medjed.
Greenfield papyrus, British Museum.

Spell 17 of the Book of the Dead mentions, among many obscure gods, one Medjed (meaning "the Smiter"), in the following line:

"I know the name of that Smiter among them, who belongs to the House of Osiris, who shoots with his eye, yet is unseen."[1]

Nothing else is known about that god.[1]

In the illustration to the spell on sheet 76 of the Greenfield papyrus, what is thought to be Medjed[1] is depicted as a figure covered entirely in a conical covering except for the eyes and feet, which are visible. After the papyrus was exhibited in Tokyo in 2012, this depiction began appearing in Japanese popular culture, including as an Internet meme and as a character in video games.[2][3]

Fish

An elephantfish, Gnathonemus petersii

"Medjed" also refers to a species of elephantfish worshipped at Oxyrhynchus in ancient Egyptian religion. These fish were believed to have eaten the penis of Osiris after his brother Set had dismembered and scattered the god's body. A settlement in Upper Egypt, Per-Medjed, was named after the fish and is now better known under its Greek name Oxyrhynchus.[4]

The elephantfish (Mormyridae) are medium-sized freshwater fish abundant in the Nile. They figure in various Egyptian and other artworks. Some species of mormyrid have distinctive downturned snouts, lending them the common name of elephantnoses among aquarists and ichthyologists. A figurine from Oxyrhynchus of one of the sacred Medjed fish has many attributes typical of mormyrids: a long anal fin, a small caudal fin, widely spaced pelvic and pectoral fins, and of course the downturned snout.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Taylor, John (22 September 2010). "What is a Book of the Dead?". British Museum. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "Meet Medjed, The Egyptian God Who’s Big in Japan!". Tor.com. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Stimson, Eric (31 July 2015). "The Obscure Egyptian God Medjed and His Bizarre Afterlife on the Japanese Internet". Anime News Network. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Blumell, Lincoln H. (2012). Lettered Christians: Christians, Letters, and Late Antique Oxyrhynchus. BRILL. p. 1. ISBN 9789004180987. Fn. 3 and 4, referring also to Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride 353C.
  5. ↑ "Bronze statuette of Oxyrhynchus fish: date uncertain". Imaging Papyri Project. 1998. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, November 24, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.