Astarte and the Insatiable Sea explained
Astarte and the Sea (also pAmherst IX or simply the Astarte Papyrus) is an Egyptian hieratic tale, dating from the New Kingdom, which relates a story about the goddess Astarte and her rival Yam.[1] Though Astarte and Yam appear to have originated as Canaanite deities, both were, at times, worshipped in ancient Egypt as well.[2]
Contents
Yam, a deity who is a personification of the sea, demands tribute from the gods.[3] If his demands are not met, he will overrun the "sky, earth, and mountains."[4] Astarte brings tribute from Ptah, Nut, and Renenutet, who were native deities. Yam changes the deal: he wants her as his wife and divine jewelry that would grant him lordship over the world.
The conclusion to the tale is inferred from a papyrus fragment which mentions the god Seth, who appears to triumph over Yam.
Scholarship
Interpretation has been a matter of continuous tweaking and addition.
History
This narrative was unnoticed until the photographic edition of Percy E Newberry[5] in 1899, after first mention in 1871.[6]
Epistemic bind
The difficulty of study according to Pehal:
Bibliography
Notes and References
- Book: Pehal, Martin . 2008-09-16 . Interpreting ancient Egyptian mythology. A structural analysis of the Tale of the two brothers and the Astarte papyrus . en-US.
- Book: Kelly . Adrian . Gods and Mortals in Early Greek and Near Eastern Mythology . Metcalf . Christopher . 2021-05-06 . Cambridge University Press . 978-1-108-48024-6 . en.
- Ayali-Darshan . Nogah . 2015 . The Other Version of the Story of the Storm-god's Combat with the Sea in the Light of Egyptian, Ugaritic, and Hurro-Hittite Texts . Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions . English . 15 . 1 . 20 . 1569-2124.
- Shupak . Nili . 2006 . 'He Hath Subdued the Water Monster/Crocodile': God's Battle with the Sea in Egyptian Sources . Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society Ex Orient Lux . 40.
- Percy E. Newberry, The Amherst Papyri in the Collection of the Right Hon. Lord Amherst of Hackney,London: Quaritch, 1899, p. 47, pl. xix–xxi.
- Birch . Samuel . Varia . Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache [ZÄS] . 1871 . 119–120.
