The Famine Stele is an inscription located on Sehel Island in the Nile near Aswan in Egypt, which speaks of a seven year period of drought and famine during the reign of the 3rd dynasty pharaoh Djoser. The top part of the stele depicts three Egyptian deities: Khnum, Satis and Anuket. In front of them, Djoser faces them, carrying offerings in his outstretched hands. It was perhaps made during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
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The inscription
The text [1] describes how the king is upset and worried, as the land of Egypt has been in the grip of a drought for seven years, during which time the Nile has not flooded the nearby lands. Djoser asks the priests of his minister Imhotep for help. They decide to investigate in the archives of the temple of Thoth in Hermopolis. A priest informs the king that the Nile flooding is controlled by Khnum at Elephantine Island, in the south of the valley: the god Khnum is angry, and for this reason, he does not allow the waters of the Nile to flow properly. Djoser orders offerings to be carried to the south, to try and placate the god. In the following night, the king has a dream in which he sees Khnum, who promises an end to the famine. The king issues a decree in which he grants the temple of Khnum at Elephantine the region between Aswan and Takompso with all its wealth, as well as a share of all the imports from Nubia.[2]
Dating of the inscription
The Famine Stele was probably carved during Ptolemaic times (likely during the reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes), but claims to record events of the time of Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. Some Egyptologists think that it recalls a genuine decree issued by Djoser, others consider it to be fiction.[3]
Notes
- ^ The Famine Stela. Retrieved June 1, 2005. "After a German translation by Günther Roeder, Jena, 1923"
- ^ M. Lichtheim, op.cit., p.95
- ^ M. Lichtheim, op.cit., p.95
References
- Lichtheim, Miriam (1980). Ancient Egyptian Literature Vol 3. The University of California Press 1980.
- Barguet, Paul (1943). La stèle de la famine à Séhel. Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire.
- Yan Haiying (1998). "The Famine Stela: A Source-Critical Approach and Historical-Comparative Perspective". in Christopher John Eyre (eds.). Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress of Egyptologists; Cambridge, 3–9 September 1995. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters. pp. 515–521.
- Vandier, Jacques Victor Edmond Raymond (1936). La famine dans l’Égypte ancienne. Cairo: Imprimerie de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire.
Coordinates: 24°03′N 32°52′E / 24.05°N 32.867°E
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