Astarte and the Sea (also pAmherst IX or simply the Astarte Papyrus) is an Egyptianhieratic tale, dating from the New Kingdom, which relates a story about the goddess Astarte and her rival Yam.[1][2] Though Astarte and Yam appear to have originated as Canaanite deities, both were, at times, worshipped in ancient Egypt as well.[3][4]
Yam, a deity who is a personification of the sea, demands tribute from the gods.[5][6] If his demands are not met, he will overrun the "sky, earth, and mountains."[7] 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.[6][2]
The conclusion to the tale is inferred from a papyrus fragment which mentions the god Seth, who appears to triumph over Yam.[3]
Scholarship
Interpretation has been a matter of continuous tweaking and addition.
History
This narrative was unnoticed until the photographic edition of Percy E Newberry[8] in 1899,[9] after first mention in 1871.[10]
Epistemic bind
The difficulty of study according to Pehal:
On the one hand, we want to identify as precisely as possible these devices “-emically,” i.e., within the frame of reference provided by that culture’s own linguistic or literary practice. On the other hand, to help us achieve this goal, we can rely only on “-etic” hermneutic categories derived from our own theoretical horizon.[11]
↑ 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.
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