The ba-spirits of Amun-Re: Theology and Egyptian Exegesis in the Persian Period

Abstract

The imprints of the Achaemenid empire are scant in the monumental records of Egypt, and this lack of evidence has presented a significant hurdle in our understanding of the relationship between formal Egyptian religious institutions and the religious policies of the Achaemenid empire. Egypt comprises an incredibly important aspect of the discussion, where indigenous religious practice seemed to continue, though certainly were placed in far closer formal contact with other religious practices of the empire. However, in this environment of political domination by the Persians, Egypt produced one of the best-preserved temples of the Late Period: the Temple of Hibis in the Western Desert. The temple wall inscriptions of Hibis feature dedications to the Egyptian supreme deity and sun god, Amun-Re. The manifestations and forms of the sun god at Hibis find remarkable parallel with the theology of Amun and Amun-Re elsewhere in Egypt, including the former royal site of Thebes and the city of Hermopolis. As the only site with significant evidence of formal Egyptian religious thought from the Persian Period, Hibis offers an opportunity to understand the potential interactions between the empire and Egyptian religious thought. Due to the sheer scope of the subject of Amun theology, this talk will focus primarily on the manifestations of Amun and his eight ba manifestations in the hymns of the first hypostyle hall and examine the complex genealogies and theologies of this specific religious aspect of Amun theology presented at the Temple of Hibis.