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Striking Cobra Spitting Fire

Kasia Szpakowska Orcid Logo

Archiv für Religionsgeschichte, Volume: 14, Issue: 1

Swansea University Author: Kasia Szpakowska Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1515/arege-2012-0003

Abstract

The Ancient Egyptians invented and employed a variety of devices to harness the power of gods and of benevolent demons, and to combat the ever-present hostile demonic forces. In this paper, a working definition and examples of “demonic paraphernalia” are provided, as well as methods of recognition....

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Published in: Archiv für Religionsgeschichte
ISSN: 1436-3038 1868-8888
Published: 2013
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa12024
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spelling 2019-06-21T12:07:03.2149064 v2 12024 2012-07-12 Striking Cobra Spitting Fire 79af40d0177760d56ab90a2742b02a74 0000-0001-9254-9495 Kasia Szpakowska Kasia Szpakowska true false 2012-07-12 ACLA The Ancient Egyptians invented and employed a variety of devices to harness the power of gods and of benevolent demons, and to combat the ever-present hostile demonic forces. In this paper, a working definition and examples of “demonic paraphernalia” are provided, as well as methods of recognition. Besides being of interest in themselves, these types of objects provide clues as to the nature of the demons, thus helping us in our quest for a taxonomy and “demonology” of Ancient Egypt. More specifically, this paper focuses on the use of Late Bronze Age clay cobra figurines as a case-study for the broader exploration of Ancient Egyptian “demonic paraphernalia”. Found primarily in settlement and military sites in middle to Lower Egypt, and along the Mediterranean Coast, one of the roles of these figurines was to ward away threatening demons. These “uraei” and their associated rituals were an important part of the religious practices and self-identity of the Egyptians— important enough for them to take their cult with them on the road even as far north as Lebanon. Un-inscribed, broken, and often crudely made, these humble artifacts nevertheless provide insights into the practical impact of demons on the everyday life of Egyptians. The investigation of this corpus weaves together related textual and representational evidence, as well as archaeological context. It illuminates the role of the fire-spitting serpent as a weapon of mass destruction in the constant battle against demonic agents of chaos. Journal Article Archiv für Religionsgeschichte 14 1 1436-3038 1868-8888 snake, Demonology, magic, Figurines, archaeology, cobra, fire, goddess, Levant, Israel, Lebanon, Ancient Egypt, Egyptology 31 12 2013 2013-12-31 10.1515/arege-2012-0003 COLLEGE NANME Classics COLLEGE CODE ACLA Swansea University 2019-06-21T12:07:03.2149064 2012-07-12T21:07:24.2062274 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Culture and Communication - Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology Kasia Szpakowska 0000-0001-9254-9495 1 0012024-07032015144952.pdf ARg__Szpakowska.pdf 2015-03-07T14:49:52.4100000 Output 2263550 application/pdf Version of Record true 2015-03-07T00:00:00.0000000 true
title Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
spellingShingle Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
Kasia Szpakowska
title_short Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
title_full Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
title_fullStr Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
title_full_unstemmed Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
title_sort Striking Cobra Spitting Fire
author_id_str_mv 79af40d0177760d56ab90a2742b02a74
author_id_fullname_str_mv 79af40d0177760d56ab90a2742b02a74_***_Kasia Szpakowska
author Kasia Szpakowska
author2 Kasia Szpakowska
format Journal article
container_title Archiv für Religionsgeschichte
container_volume 14
container_issue 1
publishDate 2013
institution Swansea University
issn 1436-3038
1868-8888
doi_str_mv 10.1515/arege-2012-0003
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Culture and Communication - Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Culture and Communication - Classics, Ancient History, Egyptology
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description The Ancient Egyptians invented and employed a variety of devices to harness the power of gods and of benevolent demons, and to combat the ever-present hostile demonic forces. In this paper, a working definition and examples of “demonic paraphernalia” are provided, as well as methods of recognition. Besides being of interest in themselves, these types of objects provide clues as to the nature of the demons, thus helping us in our quest for a taxonomy and “demonology” of Ancient Egypt. More specifically, this paper focuses on the use of Late Bronze Age clay cobra figurines as a case-study for the broader exploration of Ancient Egyptian “demonic paraphernalia”. Found primarily in settlement and military sites in middle to Lower Egypt, and along the Mediterranean Coast, one of the roles of these figurines was to ward away threatening demons. These “uraei” and their associated rituals were an important part of the religious practices and self-identity of the Egyptians— important enough for them to take their cult with them on the road even as far north as Lebanon. Un-inscribed, broken, and often crudely made, these humble artifacts nevertheless provide insights into the practical impact of demons on the everyday life of Egyptians. The investigation of this corpus weaves together related textual and representational evidence, as well as archaeological context. It illuminates the role of the fire-spitting serpent as a weapon of mass destruction in the constant battle against demonic agents of chaos.
published_date 2013-12-31T03:13:55Z
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