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One should also mention the ferocious,fanatical havoc wrought by the Coptic monks of the early Christain era. With chisel and hammer ,these simple and misguided souls wandered the length of the land ,hacking off the heads and limbs of the statues and defacing the inscriptions of the 'pagan' pharoahs. They devoted years of their lives to this appalling task,and did their jod only too throughly.
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Everyday Life in Ancient Egypt
Jon Manchip White
Posts: 8675 | From: Tukuler al~Takruri as Ardo since OCT2014 | Registered: Feb 2003
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That was the thing that first struck me on my first trip to Egypt--how there wasn't a site that I went to that had not been defaced. The things that are done in the name of the "true" religion are appalling! I would see beautiful art on the walls of tombs, and there was always a Christian cross added somewhere, or chiseled-out figures. To do such harm to art-work in the name of ANY religion is a slap in the face to us all, not only the work of the AE.
Posts: 174 | From: Long Beach, CA U.S.A. | Registered: Nov 2003
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A lot of artifacts were defaced by Muslims as well. It's amazing that so many artifacts have survived all the conquests of Egypt over the past 3000 years...
Posts: 887 | Registered: Jan 2004
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I remember learning that many artifacts were either destroyed or altered by Ancient Egyptians, too, making it that much more difficult to put pieces together during excavation.
For example, removing stones from a predecessor's monument to make another, recarving cartouches to change names, and the active eradication of any mention of unpopular pharaohs like Hetshepsut after her death.
(My post is not meant to excuse any of the destructive actions of later peoples.)
I also remember seeing non-religious graffiti from the earlier modern visitors from Europe and elsewhere. Names and dates from the 1800s carved next to hieroglyphs thousands of years old.
Posts: 18 | From: Los Angeles, CA, USA | Registered: May 2004
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The damage of Karnak Temple was more than disturbing to me as it is one of my favourite sites in Egypt. I have been told that these Christian vandals actually took up residence in abandoned temples and chiselled off the heads, hands and feet because they were scared the spirits of these so called pagan gods would leave the walls to come and kill them. Without heads, hands or feet their thinking was they couldn't go anywhere and would remain trapped and helpless in the stone walls. Any truth to this or just another tall tale ?
Posts: 32 | Registered: Mar 2004
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Yes, it's true that sometimes the ancient Kemetians[Egyptians] would scratch out names of unpopular presessors. Akenaten scratched out his father's name Amenhotep to eliminate the name Amun. The same happened with Thutmoses II and Maatakare where he sratched out his own half sister's name.
However,what the Christains literally did was destoy temples whereever they found them. Just smashed the artifacts with no logical reason what-so-ever then have the knerve to claim they arte direct desendants of the people who built them. Makes no sense to me since most modern Egyptian Fellahin peasents use temples for fertility rites or other spritual reasons. During the late antique Period whole temples were turned into churches.
Posts: 8675 | From: Tukuler al~Takruri as Ardo since OCT2014 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Don't forget about all the destruction Thutmose did to Hatshepsut's monuments in an attempt to destroy any evidence of her rulership. Although he was unsucessful as her memory still lives on.
Posts: 747 | From: Atlanta, GA USA | Registered: May 2004
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The destruction of ancient monuments and artifacts is serious and in a very real sense, pathetic. I mean, why would anyone choose to deface such a magnificent monument as the Great Sphinx by blowing its nose to smithereens (parts of which reside, along with its magnificent beard, in the basement of the British Museum)? And why would invading Muslims strip the fine white limestone casings from the Great Pyramid of Giza, a crowning testimony to Kemetian achievements, in order to build their mosques, which are, and not even arguably, of a lesser accomplishment? We have seen this insanity in other places as well.
And it is also worthy to note that the vandalism of the Copts, originally an ethnic group of Graeco-Africans (much like the 'coloreds' of South Africa), but now merely a religious order, must be seen in perspective. Because, by far, the greatest desecration heaped upon this most noble of civilizations was what was done to the remains of its human inhabitants...
"One of the strangest fates of all awaited the mummies of ancient Egypt. Some time around the year 1000, people in Europe began to get the idea that dried mummies had miraculous healing powers... What was ground-up mummy thought to be good for? Almost everything. It was taken by mouth as a remedy for concussions, paralysis, epilepsy, ulcers, coughs, headaches, and poisoning. It was also applied to bruises and broken bones, and it was said to stop bleeding and prevent infection. King Francis I, who ruled France in the 1500's never went anywhere without his pouch of ground mummy just in case he fell off his horse or had some other unexpected injury... By the 1600s, so many ancient Egyptian grave pits had been emptied that there wasn't enough ground-mummy medicine to go around. A grisly new trade sprang up. The bodies of criminals, beggars, disease victims, and other newly dead were manufactured into 'instant' mummies by dipping them in pitch or asphalt and letting them dry quickly in the sun. Even the bodies of animals were said to have been used for this purpose... With all the terrible destruction of the mummies over the years, it's a wonder that there are any left today. Compared with the millions--possibly hundreds of millions--of mummies that were made in Egypt(read:'hundreds of millions of human corpses'), the number of those that have survived is indeed very small." from "Mummies, Tombs, and Treasures" by Lila Perl, pp105-107
[This message has been edited by Wally (edited 03 July 2004).]
quote:The destruction of ancient monuments and artifacts is serious and in a very real sense, pathetic. I mean, why would anyone choose to deface such a magnificent monument as the Great Sphinx by blowing its nose to smithereens (parts of which reside, along with its magnificent beard, in the basement of the British Museum)?
The nose of the Sphinx according to 14th century Cairo historian Al Marquizi was knocked off by a deranged Sufi monk who lambasted the monument as idoltry. The nose was already gone by the time Napolean and his men came into Egypt. The myth that Napolean blew off the nose was circulated by bedouin tour guides who amused western tourist. Nothing more than an urban legend.
I agree,however,that the limestone casing on the pyramids were used by Muslim rulers to build their mosques.
[QUOTE]And it is also worthy to note that the vandalism of the Copts, originally an ethnic group of Graeco-Africans (much like the 'coloreds' of South Africa), but now merely a religious order, must be seen in perspective[/QUOTE
Really you see the Copts in that manner? Please explain more your views. I have never honestly seen a Coptic Christain who looks like any of the sculpture nor arrwork in the tombs. Most I have seen look Syrian or Greek. This is why I asked you originally Wally where you got that picture of the Copt because he certainly does not look like most I have seen.
My belief is most of them are Syrians and Greeks who lived amungst the indigenous Fellahin or Jews who converted to Christainty to stay in Egypt. Most people don't realize that during the Ptolomeic period many pockets of foreginers lived within Middle Egypt. Lots of refugees from Judea came into Egyptand Syrians served in Ptolomeic armies were awarded plots of land in Egypt particular around Faiyum. Even during the Middle Ages Faiyum has a couple of Jews.
You might want to read the book by Alan K. Bowman called ''Egypt After the Pharoahs'' which explains what I have just stated.
The Arabs during the Middle Ages used ground up mummies in their remedies. The Arabs were the ones who introduced Europeans. Most people don't understand what havoc foreginers have done to indigenous Egyptians culture.
Posts: 8675 | From: Tukuler al~Takruri as Ardo since OCT2014 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote:Originally posted by ausar: The nose of the Sphinx according to 14th century Cairo historian Al Marquizi was knocked off by a deranged Sufi monk who lambasted the monument as idoltry. The nose was already gone by the time Napolean and his men came into Egypt. The myth that Napolean blew off the nose was circulated by bedouin tour guides who amused western tourist. Nothing more than an urban legend.
I agree,however,that the limestone casing on the pyramids were used by Muslim rulers to build their mosques.
[QUOTE]And it is also worthy to note that the vandalism of the Copts, originally an ethnic group of Graeco-Africans (much like the 'coloreds' of South Africa), but now merely a religious order, must be seen in perspective[/QUOTE
Really you see the Copts in that manner? Please explain more your views. I have never honestly seen a Coptic Christain who looks like any of the sculpture nor arrwork in the tombs. Most I have seen look Syrian or Greek. This is why I asked you originally Wally where you got that picture of the Copt because he certainly does not look like most I have seen.
My belief is most of them are Syrians and Greeks who lived amungst the indigenous Fellahin or Jews who converted to Christainty to stay in Egypt. Most people don't realize that during the Ptolomeic period many pockets of foreginers lived within Middle Egypt. Lots of refugees from Judea came into Egyptand Syrians served in Ptolomeic armies were awarded plots of land in Egypt particular around Faiyum. Even during the Middle Ages Faiyum has a couple of Jews.
You might want to read the book by Alan K. Bowman called ''Egypt After the Pharoahs'' which explains what I have just stated.
The Arabs during the Middle Ages used ground up mummies in their remedies. The Arabs were the ones who introduced Europeans. Most people don't understand what havoc foreginers have done to indigenous Egyptians culture.
A) Yes, I've heard that version of how the sphinx lost his nose... B) About the Arabs, yes, in the book I referenced, it mentions that the word "mummy" itself comes from the Arabic word for bitumen. C) I'll respond in depth later about the Copts, I'm rushing...Holiday time, you know...
[This message has been edited by Wally (edited 03 July 2004).]
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